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A horrifying story emerged from Ohio this week, as a teenage boy confessed to strangling his 64-year-old neighbor to death.
The unidentified minor, who is now 14, but was 13 at the time of the crime, struck a deal with prosecutors that will require him to spend the rest of his childhood in Ohio Department of Youth Services facilities.
The assailant pled guilty to aggravated murder, aggravated burglary, and strangulation on Monday, and he has been remanded to state custody until his 21st birthday.
Investigators reveal shocking details surrounding senseless murder
The victim — identified as Sheila “Denise” Tenpenny — was found dead inside her home on Sunday, February 2, 2025.
According to a press release from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, Tenpenny’s body was discovered by her brother, who called 911 after finding her lifeless in her bed.
“I think my sister’s been murdered. She got her face covered with a pillow … She did not respond when I yelled at her,” he told a 911 operator.
Investigators believe that the minor broke into Tenpenny’s home sometime between 2 am and 5 am and struck her with a blunt object.
According to prosecutor Linda Scott, the defendant “researched how to strangle someone, how to do it, how to find a victim … For months, the defendant did this sort of research.”
With the crime completed, the assailant allegedly “notified all his social media people,” posting a message that read, “This one was a fighter.”
Investigators explained that the perpetrator fortunately did not do a good job of covering his tracks.
“He left his DNA; he tried to clean up the crime scene with items that wouldn’t have been successful,” Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation Agent David Ward told reporters.
“It was good luck for us that he did make those mistakes, but in the future, is he going to learn from those mistakes?”
Ward added that in his 25 years in law enforcement, “this is the first time I’ve ever had a person of this age commit this type of crime. And to add to that the premeditation of the offense is just chilling to me.”
The defendant was arrested ten days after Tenpenny’s murder.
Prosecutors say that after he was swabbed for DNA, the teen posted another social media message, this one reading, “I think I just got caught.”
Sheila ‘Denise’ Tenpenny: Ohio Woman Murdered By 13-Year-Old Who Googled How … was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.