North Las Vegas girl, 12, sent to juvenile detention facility after killing father
A 12-year-old girl will spend an unspecified amount of time in a juvenile detention facility for fatally stabbing her father, a judge ruled Thursday.
She was such a young homicide suspect that she could not be certified for prosecution as an adult, according to attorneys.
“I hope it’s not lost on anyone in this courtroom that this is a girl who is still only 12 years old,” defense lawyer Jon Chagoya said during a hearing in Juvenile Court. “There is a lot of help that is needed here.”
The resolution reached by prosecutors and her defense attorney means the child admitted to manslaughter and can be released after completing rehabilitative programming, according to Chagoya.
North Las Vegas police have said James Waldie, 56, was found dead in December at an apartment in the 3400 block of Mercury Street, near Civic Center Drive, north of Cheyenne Avenue. Soon after, police identified his daughter as the suspect and said she admitted to them that she stabbed her father over a disagreement that stemmed from discipline.
In Nevada, minors 16 or older who are accused of murder are automatically certified as adults in the court system, while children 13 or older may be certified and tried as an adult upon a motion by the district attorney and after a full investigation and hearing by the court.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal is not naming Waldie’s daughter because she was not prosecuted as an adult.
Her mother, Samantha Waldie, claimed James Waldie was an alcoholic who abused his daughter, threw away most of her clothing and did not provide her with a bed.
“He was an awful person,” she said after court.
Chagoya said Child Protective Services case records suggested that James Waldie had struggled with substance abuse.
Assistant District Attorney Brigid Duffy, who directs the juvenile division of the Clark County district attorney’s office, said she had seen no evidence that James Waldie had addiction problems.
“I couldn’t speculate on her motivation,” Duffy said, adding that the case underscored the need for better youth mental health services.
The 12-year-old was previously ordered to undergo a competency evaluation.
Juvenile Court Judge Linda Marquis ordered the girl committed to the Nevada Division of Child and Family Services, finding that she posed a public safety risk. The judge also ordered the child to participate in counseling with grief and anger management components, undergo mental health evaluations and follow the recommendations made, attend classes and not possess weapons.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Christina Calderon said the juvenile “was deemed a high risk to reoffend.”
The girl also acknowledged using marijuana and alcohol, according to Calderon.
Chagoya said his client’s risk assessment was skewed by questions about her father.
“Those are going to be terrible questions for her just off the bat,” he said.
He added: “The things that occurred were really specific to that situation.”
Samantha Waldie said Child Protective Services removed her children on the grounds that she had a drug problem and placed the girl with her father.
Chagoya said that at one point, the girl was removed from both parents and may have spent time at Child Haven, a county facility that houses children.
“She has been exposed to a lot,” he said.
Now, Samantha Waldie hopes her daughter will live with her after leaving the state facility. She doesn’t know what led her child to commit the killing at the time she did, but she said her daughter has nightmares about “the event” and about being alone.
“Sometimes, she’ll say she’s a monster, and I have to talk her out of it,” the mother said.
Carol Rankin, the girl’s maternal grandmother, hopes her grandchild will be able to have a brighter future.
“Hopefully, with our support, she’s going to overcome this,” she said.
Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrighamNoble on X.