When Milwaukee police found an old pizza receipt at the scene of a murder, they knew it was a clue that could help unravel the crime.
Then came the sickening moment police dialed the number on the receipt and found themselves talking to a child.
The 12-year-old to whom police spoke was later charged with the death of Brandon Felton, 34, who was found dead in his home on March 18, according to NBC News.
As police began their investigation, they found the receipt in the vicinity of a spent shell casing, according to a criminal complaint.
“That receipt was for a ‘Domino’s Pizza’ order which showed an order for food was placed by ‘Brandy,’” the complaint said. The order was placed on March 15.
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The complaint said a detective dialed the number. A “young-sounding male” answered, denied knowing anyone named Brandy and hung up, the complaint said.
Police were able to connect the number to the boy, Felton’s neighbor, because he had made a 911 call on March 7 and given his name, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
Police met with the boy and his mother and the boy admitted the phone number was his.
But, according to the complaint, the truth took some time to emerge.
“The defendant then continuously stated that he did not order food that night and has never ordered food from Felton’s house. He claimed he had no idea about the pizza and that Felton never used his phone to order food,” the complaint said.
“The Defendant was then shown the receipt that was recovered from Felton’s residence and was asked if he knew what happened to Felton. The Defendant replied he did not know, then was told that Felton was killed.
“The Defendant then stated he did not know about that (despite earlier indicating that his grandma informed him about what happened to Felton),” the complaint said.
The boy admitted he was at Felton’s home when he was killed but insisted it was a friend of Felton’s who shot him in the head. But the boy’s mother said he was lying.
“He and his friends went to Felton’s residence to buy Felton’s guns. Felton was not going to sell the guns and then the Defendant and his friends went to Felton’s to take the guns,” the complaint said.
Police found incriminating texts on the boy’s phone, according to WITI-TV.
In one text, the suspect wrote, “Or should I kill him…(right now).”
“Don’t let him know we coming,” the friend replied.
“He on the couch laying down…” the boy texted, later adding, “Cuz I can belt him (right now).”
The boy was charged as an adult with first-degree intentional homicide and faces a bond of $100,000.
