Ashland boy who murdered his mother sentenced

MEDFORD, Ore. – An Ashland boy who stabbed his mother to death and injured his sister will remain in custody until he’s 25 years old, prosecutors said.

The Jackson County District Attorney’s Office said before the stabbing occurred on January 10, 2017, the then-12-year-old boy had been “watching very violent games and reading violent graphic novels for a period of time.” He didn’t have a history of violence prior to the crime.

At the time of the stabbing, the boy’s mother, Pamela Wolosz, his grandmother and sister were all inside their home. There didn’t appear to be anything out of the ordinary, prosecutors said. While they didn’t provide a clear motive, the district attorney’s office said the boy’s mother took away his computer due to a poor grade in school.

In August of 2018, the boy admitted to committing murder, attempted murder and assault.

When a child between the ages of 12 and 14 commits murder, the state has to prove they must have “sophistication and maturity” to appreciate the nature of their crimes in order to be tried as an adult. In this case, the state couldn’t prove that burden. Therefore, the boy couldn’t be sent to prison.

On October 15, 2018, Judge Kelly Ravassipour committed the boy to the custody of the Oregon Youth Authority until the age of 25.

“Judge Ravassipour said this has been an extremely difficult case and no words could describe the anguish and betrayal felt by the family,” the district attorney’s office wrote. “She commented that no finding of a psychotic disorder leaves a chilling effect on this courtroom.” The judge also expressed concern about the type of video games the boy was being exposed to.

Jim Holmes, the father of the boy, agreed with the court’s decision. He shared the following statement:

Sentencing for my son [name redacted] is now complete. Tomorrow he heads to Portland to the MacLaren Oregon Youth Authority facility. His sentencing and relocation are an important step for my entire family, as we’re finally done with nearly two years of uncertainty and ambiguity, all heaped atop grief, tragedy, and shock.

As I mentioned in the letter I sent earlier this year to DA Heckert and Deputy DA Herriot, then gave to the judge today, my primary concern has been for the safety of my daughter [name redacted] and society at large. Mental health evaluations by the defense team’s experts and the report of the state’s own expert convinced me that with appropriate treatment [name redacted] will not be a threat to his sister or anyone else in society when he leaves the juvenile system at age 25.

I want to emphasize that leaving [name redacted] in the state’s juvenile system is the best possible outcome. I greatly appreciate the editorial in the Daily Tidings from 29 August supporting the same conclusion. Remanding him into the adult system and incarcerating him for decades would have no positive outcomes. None.

I hope the community can grow to see a different picture of [name redacted] than they may have heard from the DA’s office or that which people may have drawn on their own.

[Name redacted] was just 12 years old when he committed these awful acts. Despite the terrible situation, he’s a great kid.

He was involved with Boy Scouts, the Youth Symphony of Southern Oregon, and several bands at Ashland Middle School. He spent time volunteering and caring for animals at local animal shelters. He was an avid reader and spent large amounts of time in the AMS library either reading or playing chess with other students. He had a great love and close bond with the dogs and cats we’ve had in our home. He had an incredible, close bond with his grandmother Joanne who lives with us. He was very close to my parents who live in northern California.

[Name redacted] has matured and grown in the last 22 months of incarceration at the Juvenile Detention Center. He’s doing well academically and continues to be an avid reader, moving into many new, mature genres.

[Name redacted] continues to have close, important contact with his grandmother Joanne, and he also has weekly calls with my parents. [Name redacted] has taken a wonderful step in his faith thanks to the terrific staff from Rogue Valley Youth for Christ.

Finally, [name redacted] is looking forward to the future. He’s gotten excited about continuing his education and is looking forward to finishing regular school and moving on to college opportunities.

Again, I am very thankful for the incredible support of so many people in the local community. We’ve had extraordinary support and outreach from my professional community, and the love and support from our own families have been beyond words.

Thank you.

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