Police in Arizona say a group of fifth-grade girls conspired to murder a boy after luring him into a restroom.
The shocking plan to stab their fellow student to death was devised during lunch and recess in October 2024, according to authorities.
The murder would have occurred at the Legacy Traditional School’s West Surprise campus in Surprise, a large city in Maricopa County and part of the greater Phoenix metropolitan area.
Because of their young ages, the accused plotters’ names have not been released. The girls in question were 10 to 11 years old, according to the Surprise Police Department.
According to a police report obtained this week by independent Phoenix-based TV station KTVK and local CBS affiliate KPHO, which broadcast as “Arizona’s Family,” each of the girls was assigned a role to play.
According to law enforcement, one girl was to provide the murder weapon, a knife; one was to forge a suicide note to make it appear that the boy killed himself; one was to serve as a lookout; and one was to deliver the blows.
According to the police report, the goal was to “just end him,” which appears to reference the girls’ admissions. “K.I.L.L him.” “Kill him.
The alleged motive stemmed from a schoolyard romance that soured in the Arizona sun after the boy is said to have “cheated” on one of the girls while they were “dating,” according to the police report.
Following the breakup, the girls allegedly planned permanent vengeance.
“So, apparently, she wants him dead,” the police report states.
Authorities learned about the bloody scheme after other students allegedly overheard the girls and informed their parents.
“[H]is daughter had overheard a conversation of a group of students planning to kill a student at school,” a Surprise police officer wrote in the report. “It was stated the plan was for the four students to lure [the boy] to the outside bathroom, located on the north side of the school building, in between the cafeteria and doors.”
The would-be slaying was detailed down to the smallest detail: the girls allegedly intended to stab the boy in the side of his stomach, and the knife-wielding girl was to wear gloves while striking “to not leave their fingerprints on the knife,” the police report claims.
The plot, however, quickly unravelled.
The day after the plan was discovered, the girls’ backpacks were searched, and the children were interrogated individually in front of their parents. The girls were all arrested within a week and charged with misdemeanor counts of threatening and disorderly conduct, according to the police report.
According to police, three of the girls were repentant, meaning they expressed some remorse for their actions. One of the girls, on the other hand, was allegedly amused by the situation. Police say she smiled, laughed, and made excuses.
It’s unclear why the report on the alleged incident, which happened several months ago, was only recently released.
When the TV station asked for an update on the case, a spokesperson said the police department “has not shared and does not plan to share any further details about this incident.”
