Teen Says He Stabbed Sleeping Discovery Bay Boy To 'See What It Was Like'
MARTINEZ (CBS SF) -- A teen confessed to fatally stabbing his best friend's 9-year-old brother in a jailhouse interview on Monday.
William Shultz, 18, told the Bay Area News Group that he wanted to "see what it was like to take a life before someone tried to take mine."
Matthias Gafni, the investigative reporter with the Bay Area News Group said throughout the interview, Shultz seemed very calm and even smiled at times and made contact.
"It was when I asked him if he felt remorse about killing the boy that he broke down in tears."
He mentioned his family's concern over his mental health in the past month and his belief that the world was coming to end.
One day earlier, a doctor discharged him from the county hospital to his mother's Discovery Bay home. After fighting with his mother, he spent Saturday night at his best friend's house where he then killed Jordon Almgren early Sunday morning.
Shultz was arrested Sunday on suspicion of murder and is being held on a $1 million in at the county jail in Martinez.
"This wasn't some sort of stranger that came into the home and murdered a child," said Lt. Ken Westermann. "This was a family friend."
A nurse at Kaiser in Antioch saw the reports of the homicide and Shultz's mugshot when she noticed he was inside the emergency room at that moment.
She then contacted the Sheriff's Department which led to Shultz's arrest.
Shultz's father, visibly shaken as he opened the door, told KPIX his heart went out to the victim's family.
As investigators comb the neighborhood for evidence, neighbors are in shock wondering what made Shultz allegedly snap and kill a little boy.
"It's hurtful to many people around here," said neighbor Nina Hernandez. "We don't have many things like this ever happen so it's very shocking to everyone around here."
Hernandez said she went to school with Shultz her junior year.
"Their whole family is very nice," she said. "I don't understand."
Through friends, Hernandez said she heard Shultz got kicked out of his home and was staying with his home.
Neighbors told KPIX Shultz was on a psychiatric hold, but there's no word on why.
In the Bay Area News Group interview, Shultz commented that his family was concerned about his mental state in the last month. He talked about finding his purpose in life and his fascination with symbols and coincidences that he thought were miracles.
Gafni said he bought survival gear because he thought the end of the world was coming and had plans to go to South America. Gafni added that he started to obsess over the number three, which was why he he couldn't sleep around the three o'clock hour when the stabbing occurred.
