13-year-old charged with first-degree murder in stabbing of 10-year-old in Donegal Township

A 13-year-old boy was charged as an adult Thursday in connection with the fatal stabbing of a 10-year-old boy in Donegal Township.

James C. Campbell is accused of stabbing Hunter Meyers in the head multiple times, according to state police and the Westmoreland County coroner.

Campbell wore blue scrubs and was barefoot as he walked into district court in Greensburg for his arraignment Thursday afternoon, nearly 11 hours after state police said they were notified of the fatality at his home along Donegal Lake Road. He answered District Judge Jason Buczak’s questions and requested a public defender.

“At this point, I’m denying bond,” Buczak said.

“OK,” Campbell replied before being led out of the courtroom by state troopers.

He is charged with homicide and first-degree murder. Investigators said the boys were acquaintances.

Troopers were called to Campbell’s house at 6 a.m. Thursday and found Meyers dead in an upstairs bedroom. He had multiple stab wounds to the head, according to court papers. A knife was lying next to him. An autopsy was being conducted Thursday afternoon.

Campbell had blood on his pants and feet, and police said he had multiple lacerations on his right hand. He confessed to the stabbing during an interview with state police, according to court papers.

Trooper Steve Limani said Meyers lived nearby and was an overnight guest at Campbell’s house. Authorities were trying to determine a motive for the stabbing, and they consulted with the District Attorney’s Office before filing charges.

The home is in a rural area on Donegal Lake Road, just east of Stahlstown and not far from Donegal Lake in the southeastern part of Westmoreland County. There are a handful of houses nearby, and resident Mark Harman described it as a quiet neighborhood.

The family who lived in the house where the stabbing happened kept to themselves, he said. Harman called the incident shocking and hard to believe.

“For something like that to happen … it’s very uncommon to happen here,” he said. “That just floored me.”

Attempts to reach family members of both boys were unsuccessful.

Both boys were enrolled in Agora Cyber Charter School, according to Mt. Pleasant Area School District Superintendent Tim Gabauer. He said neither had ever attended classes at the district.

The Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office and Pennsylvania State Police were processing evidence for hours at the scene Thursday, their vehicles parked along the narrow rural road.

“It’s very difficult to investigate any loss of life, and our sympathies and our deepest regards go out to the family of the young boy that was killed,” Limani said. “It’s a tragedy.”

A preliminary hearing is set for Aug. 9.