Labrina Brown

This awful story redefines the meaning of dysfunctional.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Labrina T. Brown, 13, didn't get along with the man who married her grandmother, even though they all lived in the same house.

She had even pulled knives on Robert A. Moon, a relative told police.

On Saturday afternoon, authorities say, the bad blood boiled over.

Brown poured herself a bowl of cereal. Instead of giving her the last of a gallon of milk, Moon poured it down the sink.

Brown swore at Moon and followed him out of the kitchen. She knocked a glass of milk from his hand, and when he turned around, she sliced his throat with a paring knife, according to a criminal complaint.

Moon, 48, died at the scene. The wound had cut his carotid artery.

Police showed up at the house in the 3200 block of N. 24th Place moments later. Brown was outside, covered in blood.

"I'm Labrina Brown and I killed him," she told an officer, according to the complaint.

Brown was charged as an adult Monday with first-degree reckless homicide, punishable by up to 60 years in prison.

...According to the complaint:

Moon's stepdaughter told police Moon sarcastically told Brown she could have the rest of the milk after he poured a glass for a baby who was in the house.

Brown swore at Moon, who then poured what was left of the milk down the drain and walked out of the kitchen, carrying the glass of milk for the baby.

The relative told police Brown swore at Moon again, picked up the knife, followed him out of the kitchen and attacked him.

Moon said, "She stabbed me, she stabbed me in the neck," before collapsing, his stepdaughter told investigators.

A neighbor told police she saw Brown run out of the house, covered in blood, and yelling, "I told you! I told you!"

The neighbor asked Brown what she meant.

"I told you, I stabbed him!" Brown said. "I cut his throat! He's dead."

The neighbor told police Brown later said, "I'm not afraid to go to jail for this."

What a horrific and bizarre scene, an explosion of violence!

It's like something out of a Quentin Tarantino film, gratuitous and gruesome violence.

According to a neighbor, Moon was "a really nice guy."

A really nice guy wouldn't pour milk down the sink rather than give it to his wife's granddaughter.

Not too nice, but what Labrina Brown did next was absolutely shocking.

Your typical 13-year-old kid would never slit someone's throat and brag about killing the person.

...State law dictates that children older than 10 who are charged with first- or second-degree homicide must be charged in adult court, Milwaukee County District Attorney John T. Chisholm said.

Brown will most likely have a hearing to determine whether her case will be waived back into juvenile court, Chisholm said.

...In Wisconsin, only a few youths younger than 14 have ever been tried as adults for murder; in 1996, a sweeping revision of the juvenile code mandated that youths accused of first-degree reckless homicide be automatically charged as adults.

However, those 14 and younger can be waived back into juvenile court. The older youths cannot.

I don't know if Brown should be tried as an adult.

She is aware that what she did was wrong. She understands that jail would be a consequence.

I need to know more about the home situation and the relationship between Brown and Moon.

For instance, was Brown subjected to relentless emotional and physical abuse?

Is Brown a victim who finally snapped? Is she simply a completely out of control cold-blooded killer?


I have no idea what all the circumstances are.

But obviously, there's something terribly, terribly wrong when a 13-year-old commits murder.