A teenage boy accused of murdering his father then opening fire in an elementary school playground where he killed a six-year-old will be tried as an adult.
The decision to move Jesse Osborne, 15, out of Family Court and up to General Sessions was made by Judge Edgar Long on Friday.
Jesse faces two murder charges, three attempted murder charges and five counts of possessing a weapon during a violent crime.
If convicted as an adult, he would get a sentence of at least 30 years and could spend the rest of his life in jail, said a statement released by David Wagner, the 10th Judicial Circuit solicitor.
If convicted as an adult, Jesse Osborne, 15, faces a minimum sentence of 30 years for the murder of his father and a six-year-old student last September
Jesse was 14 when he allegedly murdered his father Jeffrey, 47, (right) then shot a six-year-old boy dead in an elementary school playground. He is pictured (left) before the killings
If he had been tried as a juvenile and convicted, his sentence would have been much lighter, and he would have been released by age 21, according to South Carolina law.
Forensic psychiatrist Dr. James Ballenger, who also evaluated Charleston white supremacist mass-killer Dylan Roof, recommended Jesse be tried as an adult.
‘In my opinion he should be waived up to General Sessions (adult court) for the protection of the public,’ Ballenger testified on Thursday, adding that it would be best for Jesse to be treated while being kept ‘under lock and key’.
He said that while Jesse can seem socially adept at times, he has ‘disturbing characteristics below the surface’, as reported by KHOU11.
Jesse allegedly bragged to Ballenger about how he liked to taunt his pet rabbit, which he described as his best friend, and shoot at or near dogs and smash frogs on concrete.
Although the teen has told various psychiatrists that he sees ‘blue people’, ‘people with no faces, and ‘Scooby Doo and a demon’, Ballenger said in court that Jesse’s claims were ‘not presented in a credible way.’
Judge Edgar Long (pictured during a previous hearing) decided Jesse will be tried as an adult on Friday
Sandra McAdams (pictured left on February 1), grandmother of Jacob Hall, hugs Townville Elementary teachers assistant Pamela Sanchez at the Anderson County Courthouse on Friday
Ballenger’s testimony at the Anderson County Courthouse was hard for many to hear, as the doctor described Jesse’s ‘indifference to his victims’, saying he has seen the teen smile while disturbing details of the case are discussed and ‘then try to hide it.’
Jesse, Ballenger told the court, has said he had done his six-year-old victim, Jacob Hall, a ‘favor’ by mortally wounding him.
‘The evil and premeditated planning which has been revealed this week through witness testimony clearly demonstrates that Osborne is a cold and calculated killer. May God have mercy on his soul,’ said a statement released on Friday from Renae and Rodger Hall, Jacob’s parents.
Unlike in other states, he will not face a life or death sentence because of a state Supreme Court decision which ruled out mandatory life sentences for juveniles who are convicted of murder in adult courts.
Other youngsters who have been convicted in adult court of the crime have been given between 30 and 40 years imprisonment.
In a newly released confession tape which was played to the court on Monday, Jesse told police that Jeffrey was violent towards him when he was drunk and often challenged him to fight
The teenager told police on the day of the shooting that his father ‘fussed’ at him and ‘fussed’ at his mother Tiffney when he had been drinking and that the night before his rampage, Jeffrey’s mood was particularly bad
The teen was 14 when he allegedly shot his father Jeffrey, 47, three times at their home then drove his pick-up truck to Townville Elementary School in South Carolina on September 28, 2016.
He told police that his rampage began when his abusive, drunk dad ‘went off’ at him over his unfinished math homework.
Jesse is said to have opened fire in the playground, shooting two students and a teacher with his father’s .40 semi-automatic pistol.
He was arrested at the school then confessed to the killings in a videotaped interview with FBI agents moments later.
A full transcript of that interview was released on Tuesday after being heard in court at a waiver hearing to determine whether or not he would be tried as a juvenile or an adult. In the interview, he said he snapped on the morning of the shooting but had been plotting a larger massacre for months and hoped to kill 30 children at the school and was saving up to buy an AR-15.
He said he had been trying to gain access to his father’s gun safe for weeks and even used dish soap on the keypad which unlocked it because it was ‘glow in the dark’ and would show where his finger prints had been.
Jesse was present for the hearing. He arrived in a yellow jumpsuit and was in a wheelchair because of a basketball injury he suffered last week.
I finally had enough of people bullying me. I was like, if I want to kill myself, I’m not going out without a fight
After his arrest at the school, he told police he wanted to get his confession ‘out of the way’.
He said that the seed for the rampage was planted the night before, when Jeffrey began ‘fussing’ over him because he was drunk and unhappy about his meager paycheck.
He also revealed that he was part of an Instagram group where other users including teens from ‘Manhattan, Germany and England’ talked about ‘shooting up’ their schools.
He claimed that he told the group about his plans and that they ‘cheered him on’.
The teen also said that he was interested in WWII history and liked learning about the Civil War.
Months before the shooting, he said he researched Columbine, the 1999 massacre in which 15 were killed by two teenage gunmen.
After allegedly murdering his father, Jesse drove to Townville Elementary School where he allegedly shot six-year-old Jacob Hall. Jacob (above center) died in hospital
Explaining what triggered the rampage, he said: ‘Last night, my dad was fussing to me and my mom about not getting paid enough for his chicken houses.
‘And he was getting up in my face and stuff. And whenever he’s drunk, he always, like, says he wants to fight me… and then my mom will have to step in and get fussed at, too.
‘Last night he was just worse than he has ever been. He was just drinking,’ he said.
The next morning, Jesse, who was homeschooled and accessed lessons online, was trying to work when Jeffrey became angry again.
‘He got the paycheck and then, he just went off. I hadn’t finished my math homework and he also got mad about that.
‘So that’s the point where I went into his drawer and loaded his gun,’ he said.
Jeffrey then left the house to go to the tax office, the teenager said. When he returned, he opened fire.
The teenager told police he was comfortable with the weapon because his parents had allowed him to use it before.
‘I have shot every gun in the house, with my parents,’ he said.
After loading the .40 semi-automatic with the wrong, ‘cheap’ ammo, Jesse said he went to find Jeffrey to kill him.
The man had his paycheck in his hands at the time.
‘He was reading his bill in his chair. I went in there and shot him three times,’ he said.
The teen then ‘immediately ran downstairs’ to say goodbye to his pets.
‘I gave my rabbit a kiss, went back up, gave all the dogs kisses, and then went in his truck and drove to the school,’ he said. He said his rabbit was his ‘best friend’. and that he loved animals ‘because they can’t emotionally hurt you’.
Despite opening fire on teachers and staff, Jesse said he did not mean to kill six-year-old Jacob Hall and was unaware that anyone was seriously hurt when he gave his interview to police.
He was reading his bill in his chair. I went in there and shot him three times. Then I immediately ran downstairs, gave my rabbit a kiss, went back up, gave all the dogs kisses, then got in his truck and drove to the school
‘Once I got to the school. I shot one round at a teacher. And then it jammed. and then I shot again. And it jammed again every time. And I thank God for that. Please say no one died. Did anyone die?’ he asked.
At the time, Jacob was in hospital clinging to life. He died several days later.
Later in the interview, Jesse said he did not have a problem with any of the staff or students there and said instead that he was lashing out at the school system in general.
After opening fire in the playground, Jesse said he realized what he had done and called his grandparents for help.
He was wearing an air soft vest which he had for playing games, he said, but tossed it on the ground.
‘It was just a vest that I could put ammo in and my phone if I needed to call my Papa because I was freaking out.’
FBI agent Aleta Bollinger and Anderson County Sheriff’s office investigator Tracy Call both testified about how they interacted with Jesse after he was arrested
Tiffney is pictured arriving at court in 2016, weeping into a tissue as friends escort her up the steps to see Jesse be charged with murder and attempted murder
‘Once I finally figured out I’m going to hell for this, I threw the gun away and I just took my vest off, threw my hat down, called my Nana and my Papa and just told them what happened.
‘And they said they were going to comedown, pick me up and take me to the sheriff’s office.
‘And I was like, “Papa, you can’t do that. I’m going to get arrested.” And that’s basically when the fireman came around the corner and told me to get on the ground,’ he said.
He said he ‘probably would have’ killed himself had the gun not jammed.
‘Before today I gave up hope in God because of all the thoughts. Now I know that he is real. And probably the reason why the gun jammed is because of God,’ he said.
Jesse said he had previously attended the school but ‘no one liked’ him there. He was later expelled from a different school for bringing weapons to class.
No one liked me there, no one ever likes me. Every school I’ve went to, I’ve been bullied
‘No one liked me there. No one ever likes me. Every school I’ve went to I’ve been bullied,’ he said.
When he hopped out of the car and began shooting, he said he yelled to himself: ‘What am I doing?’
The Instagram group included teenagers from all over the world who discussed mass school shootings, took their names from the Columbine massacre and were planning on ‘mass chaos’.
Jesse said he felt like he fit in with them.
‘There’s this group on my Instagram. It’s private and there’s this group of random people and they, like, told me they were my friends and stuff. And they said they were my friends and stuff.
Jesse’s grandfather told police that he had ‘no home life’ and that his parents were often drunk
After allegedly murdering his father, Jesse phoned his grandmother Patsy (pictured above at his October 2016 arraignment) to tell her what he had done
‘They said they were all going to shoot up their schools too. I was like, “Okay, actually people get me. But at the same time I don’t want to.”
‘I finally found people to actually talk to me,’ he said.
Jesse said that on the morning of the shooting, he told the group what he had planned and said they encouraged him.
‘They were cheering me on, so what else was I supposed to do? They’re just a bunch of lunatics,’ he said.
There’s this group on my Instagram where they said they were all going to shoot up their schools too… They were cheering me on, so what else was I supposed to do?
He felt ‘bullied’ and ‘isolated’ after being expelled from another school and said he sometimes struggled to contain his anger.
He admitted once bringing a hatchet and machete to the middle school which expelled him, and said he had brought the weapons to fight off bullies.
During his interview, he told police he did not want to be given the death penalty and made reference to Dylann Roof, the 21-year-old who slaughtered black parishioners at a church in Charleston.
‘I can’t get to death row can I? I’m pretty sure I can’t? Because I would not want that,’ he said.
Jesse’s lawyers did not want his confession to become public and argued that because he was 14 and had no adult supervision when he made the confession, he had no concept of how it could be used against him.
The shooting rocked the small community of Townville in South Carolina for weeks
Judge Edgar Long however sided with prosecutors and ruled that there was proof Jesse was aware of what he was doing at the time.
Police officers testified at the hearing that the teenager had ‘no home life’. His grandfather told one sheriff’s deputy that his parents were always ‘drunk’ and that Jesse was bullied by other youngsters.
Witnesses previously described how he shouted ‘I hate my life, I hate my life!’ as he sprayed the playground with bullets at Townville Elementary.
Another six-year-old was injured but survived as did first grade teacher Meghan Hollingsworth.