Teen who slaughtered six family members learns his fate

The teenager who slaughtered six members of his family, including an unborn child, after his father banned him from sleeping at his girlfriend's house was found guilty of six counts of murder.

Raymond Ronald Lee Childs III, who was 17 at the time, fatally shot his father, Raymond Childs, 42, mother, Kezzie Childs, 42, sister Rita Childs, 13, brother, Elijah Childs, 18, his brother's girlfriend, Kiara Hawkins, 19, and her unborn son, on January 24, 2021 at an Indianapolis home. 

His five-day trial ended Friday with convictions on all six murder counts, as well one count of attempted murder.

Prosecutors said that Childs III barged into the home and opened fire on his family with a Draco 7.62 pistol and a 9MM handgun, killing nearly everyone in his path, including Kiara's unborn child, who was supposed to be delivered just two days later. 

During the massacre, the convicted murderer also shot his younger brother, Xavier Childs, then 15. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition and survived. 

'To see him behind bars for the rest of his life, that would be justice served for me,' Roniqua Hawkins, Kiara's heartbroken mother, told 13News when the trial began. 

At the time, Childs III's girlfriend, identified in a probable cause affidavit only as J.D., said the rampage occurred after the teen's father called him to return home from her home that day. 

The affidavit detailed how Childs III chased down a fleeing Xavier down and shot him twice as he begged for his life on the family's porch. 

After surviving emergency surgery, Xavier told police officers that he heard his father tell Childs III: 'I'm sorry Raymond, I love you,' before he shot his parents in their bed. 

Xavier also said that before his eldest brother Elijah died, he pleaded with Childs III not to shoot, saying: 'I can give you 40 dollars. I won't say nothing. Please don't kill me,' court documents revealed. 

Hawkins, who had been in bed with Elijah, was transported to a local hospital, where she died along with her unborn baby despite life-saving measures, police said. 

The killer's then-girlfriend later told police that he left in an Uber and then came back to her house sometime before 3am the following day in a white Chrysler that she said she had never seen him driving before.

About 30 minutes after Childs III returned to her house, J.D. said she got an alert on her phone about a shooting on Adams Street. She asked him if he knew anything about it, and he said no. 

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Later in the morning J.D. said she convinced Childs III to go to the crime scene, saying he seemed 'nervous.' When they both got there, he began crying and 'acted a clown,' she said. 

They then went back to her home, where he grabbed some of his clothes and asked her to drive him to another house. 

After she dropped him off, J.D. said she saw a gun fly out of the pile of clothes Childs III had left on the floor. 

Childs III was arrested at a relative's home a day after the murders after his brother identified him as the gunman. 

The handgun was recovered from the family home and the Draco firearm was found after Childs III was arrested, Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said.

Videos later resurfaced of Childs III, who used the name 'Lil Raymond,' rapping about guns and shooting people, Pastor Kenneth Sullivan Jr. previously told WTHR. 

'It's really gut-wrenching, it really hurts,' said Sullivan, whose relationship to the Childs family is unclear. 

Sullivan said it was possible that the 'aspiring artist' was 'acting out' things that he rapped about when he carried out the shooting. 

Following the slaughter, Kiara's mother, Roniqua, told DailyMail.com: 'She was my first. Everything she taught me made me the woman and mom I am today.' 

The grieving mother created a GoFundMe campaign at the time to raise money for funeral expenses, featuring a photo of her teen daughter cradling her baby bump.

On July 23, 2024, a judge declared a mistrial at Childs III's first trial after a witness verbally confronted the now convicted killer in front of the jury, AP reported. 

Last week's trial concluded after three hours of deliberation by the jury in a Marion County courthouse. 

In a statement, Mears said that the verdict provided 'justice for the victims of this horrific crime,' and that 'what occurred inside that home is as unfathomable today as it was in 2021.' 

'It has been an incredibly difficult journey for the family and friends of the six people that we tragically lost,' the statement added.

Childs III is expected in court for his sentencing hearing on January 7, 2025.

He could face 40 to 65 years in prison on each murder count, 20 to 40 years for the attempted murder charge and one to six years on a handgun charge.