SOURCE: SUSPECT WANTED ATV, DISH HOOKUP; TEEN GIVES STATEMENT IN DEATH OF HIS GRANDMOTHER

Sixteen year-old Joshua Wolf is believed to have killed his grandmother because she wouldn't buy him an all-terrain vehicle or hook up his television set to a satellite dish, a source close to the investigation said.

Carol Jean Lindley, Wolf's 56-year-old grandmother, had refused Wolf's request to connect a new satellite dish to his television set or buy him an all-terrain vehicle after they had moved here three weeks ago, the source said. Wolf told investigators that he shot Lindley in the head with a rifle while she sat in a chair, the source said.

When Lindley was killed remains uncertain. While Cape Girardeau County Coroner John Carpenter said the woman was shot on Sunday, another source said it is possible she was killed on Saturday.

The woman's body was discovered Monday afternoon when firefighters responded to a house fire at 175 Paiute Lane off Route W north of Cape Girardeau.

Fire damage to the house was minimal, confined to a first-floor living room, while smoke damage extended to the second floor, said a firefighter who was at the scene. The fire was under control within minutes after East County firefighters arrived.

Flammable liquids had been poured in areas on both floors, but a lack of ventilation prevented the fire from burning strongly, the firefighter said.

Lindley died of a gunshot wound to the head, but her body also had been burned, Carpenter said.

"The body was set on fire right along with the house," said the coroner.

On Thursday a detention hearing was held for Wolf before Judge Peter Statler.

Although charges of first-degree murder, second-degree arson and armed criminal action have been prepared against Wolf, he has not been charged with the crimes. Charges would not be formalized until after a certification hearing, which would determine whether Wolf should be bound over to adult court.

A certification hearing likely will take place within a week, Cape Girardeau County Prosecutor Morley Swingle said.

By law, a detention hearing for a juvenile must be held within 72 hours after a youth is taken into custody, said John Buchheit, chief deputy juvenile officer for Cape Girardeau County. If a juvenile is without a guardian, considered a fugitive or a danger to himself, property or others, the judge will require further detention, Buchheit said.

Since the juvenile detention center on Merriwether Street has only eight cells, juvenile officers have had to come up with alternatives for holding youths, he said. An electronic shackling program has been effective with petty-crime offenders. Juveniles who commit felony or violent crimes are not released with electronic shackles, Buchheit said.

Of 1,456 youths referred to the 32nd Judicial District Juvenile Division last year, 292 had committed violent offenses. Those included assaults, weapons violations and sexual assaults.

Of the 292, only four were certified to be tried as adults. The four boys committed crimes that included second-degree murder, drug trafficking, burglary and multiple counts of property damage.

A juvenile court judge uses 10 specific guidelines in deciding whether a crime merits an adult trial. Some are: the seriousness of the crime; the level of violence; the criminal history, if any, of the youth; the age of the youth; and local programs available to juvenile offenders.

Information on the guidelines is gathered by juvenile division officers and presented to the judge, Buchheit said. The certification report is not under a time constraint, but officers work as quickly as possible, Buchheit said.

"This doesn't go on for a year or more like in adult courts," he said. "A year is a long time in a kid's life."

The death of Lindley was the second homicide in Wolf's immediate family. His paternal grandmother, Georgia Wolf, was found stabbed to death nine years ago in her Columbus apartment, reported the Columbus Dispatch newspaper. The 1991 homicide remains unsolved.

"An 8-year-old didn't do it," Columbus homicide Sgt. William Fineran told the Dispatch.