911 Call Captures Father Finding Children Bloody in Fuquay-Varina Attack

A father's 911 call from Tobacco Barn Road near Fuquay-Varina, released publicly last week, captured the exact moment Wake County deputies learned that Clara Borrello, 12, was dying and her 9-year-old brother was gravely injured. "I just got home and my kids are bloody. They are on the floor. I think my other son did it, he's gone, I can't believe this is happening," he told a Wake County dispatcher in the recording.

The call reveals how quickly it shaped the response on the ground. When the dispatcher asked about weapons, the father confirmed he saw a hammer in the home, a detail that directly matches arrest warrants accusing 16-year-old Jackson Borrello of attacking his siblings with both a hammer and a knife. Because the father also told the dispatcher that his 16-year-old son had fled and his whereabouts were unknown, Wake County deputies who arrived at the 1200 block of Tobacco Barn Road around 5:20 p.m. immediately deployed a drone and K-9 units to search the area. That search, involving multiple agencies, lasted approximately 3.5 hours before Borrello was located and detained nearby.

Clara, a student at Fuquay-Varina Middle School, later died at the hospital. Her 9-year-old brother survived with serious injuries. Arrest warrants state that Jackson Borrello, a Willow Spring High School sophomore, attempted to kill the younger boy with a knife and a hammer.

A Wake County judge arraigned Borrello on Wednesday, one day after a scheduled Tuesday appearance was postponed because he could not be transported to court. Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman, when asked about potential warning signs in Borrello's background, said, "Right now, we're not in [a] position to talk about the facts of the case." Details from Wednesday's arraignment were not publicly disclosed, and Borrello remains held under no bond.

Before the attack, Borrello had been active in a death-metal band whose catalog included tracks titled "Dead Premature" and "Severed Tendons." As recently as December 2025, he had posted online seeking a bass player for the group. Investigators are still examining motive. Mental health professionals caution that involvement in dark musical genres does not, on its own, predict violent behavior, but the case has renewed calls in Wake County for more proactive youth mental health outreach.

Fuquay-Varina residents seeking support can contact The Hope Center for Youth and Family Crisis, located at 400 W. Ransom Street, which provides 24-hour behavioral health urgent care and mobile crisis services for children and teens ages 4 to 20; call 877-888-7849. The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is also available around the clock for anyone experiencing a mental health crisis.