12-Year-Old Girl Dead, 9-Year-Old Injured in Fuquay-Varina Assault; Teen Charged

A 12-year-old girl is dead and a 9-year-old boy was left with life-threatening injuries after Wake County deputies responded to a home in the 1200 block of Tobacco Barn Road, near Fuquay-Varina, around 5:20 p.m. Monday. A 16-year-old, identified by authorities as Jackson Borrello, was located nearby following a search involving a drone and K-9 officers and now faces murder and assault charges in connection with the attack.

Deputies arrived to find both children with injuries consistent with an assault, the sheriff's office said. The 12-year-old girl was later pronounced dead at the hospital. The cause and manner of death were not specified by authorities. An arrest warrant alleges Borrello attacked the 9-year-old with a knife and a hammer, according to reporting on the warrant's contents.

Borrello was scheduled to appear before a Wake County judge Tuesday afternoon but did not make that appearance. Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said he could not provide exact details on why, but confirmed Borrello could not be transported Tuesday.

Neighbor Arlene Melchiorre described the scene that unfolded outside her home Monday evening. "I was horrified and shocked, and I was wondering what is going on?" she said. "So I went out to see if I could see a little closer what was going on, because there were tons of law enforcement, fire trucks, and EMS. So I went out to my lawn, and two police officers basically said to me, get back inside. Stay indoors. And then I saw the K-9 unit right there in my little patch."

Neighbors said they had regularly seen the children on the street before the attack. Wake County deputies returned to the home Tuesday to continue the investigation. The Wake County Sheriff's Office would say only that the suspect and the victims knew each other, declining to specify the nature of their relationship.

The exact formal charges filed against Borrello, including whether he faces first- or second-degree murder, had not been publicly confirmed as of the investigation's continuation Tuesday. His custody and detention status remained unclear after the court appearance fell through. The medical examiner's findings on the cause of the girl's death had also not been released.