Parents charged in 9-year-old Azuree Charles' death face preliminary hearing
NEW KENSINGTON, Pa. (KDKA) — The parents of a boy found dead behind his New Kensington home faced a preliminary hearing on charges one killed the 9-year-old and the other helped.
Luella Elien and Jean Charles, the parents of Azuree Charles, were silent when they walked into court on Wednesday.
In the courtroom, the two were featured in images and sounds. The prosecution showed a video of a man they say is Jean Charles pushing his son's bike in the early morning hours the day prosecutors say he killed his child.
"Everything downstairs is a mess, there's ketchup on the floor, there's juice. There are bikes, my debit card, all my cards are on the floor. I'm really just trying to understand what's going on right now. My back door is wide open."
That's audio of a call prosecutors say Eline made to Westmoreland County 911 to report her child missing.
"His bike is gone," she said in the call. "I'm assuming that is what happened."
911 operator: "Do you know where he might have gone?"
Eline: "The last time he tried to run away, he tried to go to McDonald's."
Prosecutors say the boy was not at McDonald's, but he was covered with lawn furniture in the woods behind where he lived with his mother.
Elien and Jean Charles remain in the Westmoreland County Jail, held without bond. Their trial dates are not yet set.
