Background: The home on the 3900 block of Germania Street in Fairfax, Ohio, where Sheila “Denise” Tenpenny was killed (WLWT/YouTube). Inset: Sheila “Denise” Tenpenny (Vankirk-Grisell Funeral Home).
A 13-year-old boy in Ohio planned for months to kill his neighbor before ultimately doing so and then bragging about the “chilling” crime online, authorities say.
The child, who is now 14, pleaded guilty to aggravated murder, aggravated burglary, and strangulation on Monday as part of a plea deal with prosecutors, per local reporting, including from Cincinnati-based ABC affiliate WCPO. Because of his age, the killer”s name has not been released.
Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox.
In the early morning hours of Feb. 2, Sheila “Denise” Tenpenny was alone at her home on the 3900 block of Germania Street in Fairfax, a Cincinnati suburb. While she lay in bed, the teen entered her home, struck her, causing blunt-force trauma, and then strangled her until she died.
But Tenpenny did not die without putting up a fight. According to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, authorities believed the suspect was injured during the crime and likely had visible cuts or bruises on their face or hands. Investigators also determined that Tenpenny’s killer was a male.
Authorities arrived at the victim’s home and noted that the 64-year-old woman’s death was “suspicious.” She reportedly had the boy’s hair in her hands, his DNA under her fingernails, and had scratched him in the face, causing drops of his blood to have fallen throughout the house.
According to prosecutors, the boy left the woman’s home and returned to his social media network with a message: “This one was a fighter.”
It was not uncommon for the boy to be on the internet with killing on his mind, authorities said. He planned the murder for months, researching online and asking ChatGPT how to “choose the perfect victim,” how to strangle someone, and how to “defeat a police interrogation,” local NBC affiliate WLWT reported.
Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation Agent David Ward said that in his 20 years of working violent crimes, he’s never seen someone “of this age commit this type of crime.”
“And to add to that the premeditation of the offense is just chilling to me,” Ward said, per WCPO. “As the investigation went on and continued, his social media communications with individuals … there were several other communications that are very disturbing.”
“He made mistakes. He left his DNA; he tried to clean up the crime scene with items that wouldn’t have been successful,” the agent added. “It was good luck for us that he did make those mistakes, but in the future, is he going to learn from those mistakes? That’s what I’m concerned about.”
As part of the plea deal, the boy will reportedly be held at the Ohio Department of Youth Services until he turns 21, the oldest age that the agency can hold a juvenile convicted of a crime.
Tenpenny is remembered as having been “a beacon of light who touched the lives of many with her kind heart, unwavering resilience, and exceptional humor, leaving behind a legacy filled with valuable lessons and unforgettable memories that will continue to inspire those who were fortunate enough to know her.”
