A 9-year-old boy charged in a Goodfield fire that killed five people, including family members, will be evaluated by a child trauma expert to determine if he’s fit to stand trial.
The boy’s attorney, Peter Dluski, sought the expert to see if the child understood the charges and the consequences, among other things, according to The Chicago Tribune.
“Based on my interaction and conversations with (the boy), as well as his age, I have a bona fide doubt as to his fitness to stand trial,” Dluski wrote in a Woodford County filing this month.
The next court date is in February.
The child was charged with murder and arson in an April mobile home fire in Goodfield that killed four relatives and his mother’s boyfriend. The relatives were his two half-siblings, a cousin and his great-grandmother.
The boy and his mother survived the fire.
