Name: Eric Leigh Whitehead
Victim: Patricia Leigh Troglen, 22
Age at time of murder: 14
Crime date: August 7, 2009
Location: Richmond County
Weapon: .22 caliber rifle
Murder method: 10 gunshots to the head
Convictions: Murder
Sentence: Life with parole possibly in 30 years
Incarceration status: Incarcerated at the Georgia State Prison
Summary of the crime
Whitehead fatally shot his step sister Patricia in the head 10 times as she slept on the couch.
Details
Teen Gets Life for Killing Step-Sister
By Alexis Stevens
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A 15-year-old Augusta boy was sentenced to life in prison for shooting to death his sleeping stepsister
Eric Leigh Whitehead shot his stepsister 10 times in the head Aug. 7, 2009, after he dreamed the two were arguing, The Augusta Chronicle reported.
Patricia Leigh Troglen, 22, was asleep on the couch when Whitehead shot her repeatedly with his stepfather’s 22-caliber rifle. Whitehead, who was 14 at the time of the shooting, was charged as an adult.Whitehead does have the possibility for parole, but he will likely have to serve 30 years first, an investigator told the newspaper. Eric Whitehead (WRDW)
(CBS/WRDW) A 15-year-old Georgia boy was sentenced to life in prison Friday after pleading guilty to murder after shooting his stepsister in the head 10 times while she was asleep on the couch.
Eric Whitehead, then 14, told investigators he had a dream Aug. 7, 2009 that he and his 22-year-old sister, Trish Troglen, were arguing, reports CBS affiliate WRDW. Whitehead reportedly woke up enraged, took a rifle from his stepfather’s room, and shot his stepsister in the head 10 times while she was napping on the sofa.
Judge Sheryl Jolly sentenced Whitehead to life in prison with the possibility of parole, according to The Augusta Chronicle. He was charged as an adult and may be eligible for parole in 30 years.
Whitehead, who had a tendency to run away and get into trouble, was temporarily staying with his stepfather at the time of the shooting, reports the Chronicle.
Shortly after the shooting, investigators said Whitehead told them he considered Troglen to be his best friend.
Investigators say Whitehead had a history of psychiatric problems. Following the fatal incident he underwent two mental examinations – both found him competent to stand trial, Assistant District Attorney Hank Syms told the Chronicle.
Whitehead’s biological father told WRDW that he believed “teenage hormones and peer pressures led to all that went wrong.”
Eric Whitehead, Ga. Teen, Gets Life in Prison for Deadly Shooting of Sleeping Stepsister
A 15-year-old Georgia boy was sentenced to life in prison Friday after pleading guilty to murder after shooting his stepsister in the head 10 times while she was asleep on the couch.
Eric Whitehead, then 14, told investigators he had a dream Aug. 7, 2009 that he and his 22-year-old sister, Trish Troglen, were arguing, reports CBS affiliate WRDW. Whitehead reportedly woke up enraged, took a rifle from his stepfather’s room, and shot his stepsister in the head 10 times while she was napping on the sofa.
Judge Sheryl Jolly sentenced Whitehead to life in prison with the possibility of parole, according to The Augusta Chronicle. He was charged as an adult and may be eligible for parole in 30 years.
Whitehead, who had a tendency to run away and get into trouble, was temporarily staying with his stepfather at the time of the shooting, reports the Chronicle.
Shortly after the shooting, investigators said Whitehead told them he considered Troglen to be his best friend.
Investigators say Whitehead had a history of psychiatric problems. Following the fatal incident he underwent two mental examinations – both found him competent to stand trial, Assistant District Attorney Hank Syms told the Chronicle.
Whitehead’s biological father told WRDW that he believed “teenage hormones and peer pressures led to all that went wrong.”
