Leila Fowler 911 Tapes Released As Brother Charged With Second-Degree Murder
Editor's note: Now that Isaiah Fowler has been formally charged with murder, we are showing his face and using his name.
VALLEY SPRINGS (CBS13) — The 12-year-old brother of Leila Fowler is now facing a second-degree murder charge in her stabbing death on the same day the 911 tape has been released from the day of the alleged crime.
The call from the stepmother of Leila and Isaiah Fowler is panicked but not hysterical
OPERATOR: Hi, 911, How can I help you
CRYSTAL WALTERS: My children are home alone and a man just ran out of my house. My older son was in the bathroom and my daughter started screaming. There was a man inside of my house, I need an officer here.
Krystal Walters telling a dispatcher her kids are home alone, and she's learned of a possible intruder. But Walters seems to have no idea Leila was likely already stabbed.
CRYSTAL WALTERS: My daughter's boyfriend is on the phone with them right now. They said they're OK, but I need to get someone.
OPERATOR: OK
But indications show Leila was not OK. Deputies eventually would say there was no intruder, instead arresting the 8-year-old's brother for the violent crime.
In a bit of a surprise Tuesday, Isaiah was charged with second-degree murder, not first.
"There really isn't much of a difference, as far as the sentence goes," said Kevin Adamson, an expert juvenile defense attorney.
He says the charge likely means investigators don't believe Isaiah planned the attack. But if it can be proven the boy lied and concocted a coverup, Adamson says it will show callousness.
"I think it limits the defenses in the case if it turns out he was lying afterward," he said.
OPERATOR: Did they see the man? Were they able to describe him?
CRYSTAL WALTERS: They did see him, yes. My daughter is freaking out right now.
