This is one of the most painful cases on the site. On September 1, 2024, Joe Cornelius Sr., 82, and his daughter Keisha Miles, 31, were shot to death inside a home on Austin Street in Minden, Louisiana. A six-year-old in the house wasn't physically hurt. Cornelius was a longtime city councilman, briefly interim mayor in 2013, a retired deputy marshal, and the founder of a youth group called Concerned Citizens of Minden.

An 11-year-old relative, Keisha's son, confessed and was charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Neighbors reported an argument over video game charges just before the shots. Then videos surfaced from Keisha's iCloud that appear to show her confronting her father about years of sexual abuse, and him seeming to acknowledge it. Family members have also said Cornelius was physically abusive toward the boy. The police chief said they'd heard rumors but found no substantive evidence.

None of that excuses two killings, but it changes the question from what happened to how a child ended up there. How do you think a court should weigh that history for an 11-year-old?