he stabbed his 8-year-old sister to death. a story that authorities now say was fiction. the boy s biological mother told reporters he was protective of and loved his sister. my son loved his sister so much. i know he would never hurt his sister. they never even used to fight when they were little. he never pushed her around like big brothers and sisters do. reporter: after the girth s death from multiple stab wounds, the town rallied around the family, covering the area with purple ribbons, leila s favorite color. now that the suspected child killer turns out to be a chil himself, a sense of betrayal is beginning to take hold says a man who had to remove the flyers and cancel a fund-raiser for the family. there was more shock than relief and sadness because it was actually the 12-year-old who had started all this stuff and then people got angry with it and then it just blew up. reporter: investigators would not discuss motive or evidence but the middle school says the boy had
reporters he was protect i of and loved his sister. my son loved his sister so much. i know he would never hurt his sister. they never even used to fight when they were little. he never pushed her around like big brothers and sisters do. reporter: after the girth s death from multiple stab wounds, the town rallied around the family, covering the area with purple ribbons, leila s favorite color. now that the suspected child killer turns out to be a chil himself, a sense of betrayal is beginning to take hold says a man who had to remove the flyers and cancel a fund-raiser for the family. there was more shock than relief and sadness because it was actually the 12-year-old who had started all this stuff and then people got angry with it and then it just blew up. reporter: investigators would not discuss motive or evidence but the middle school says the boy had been suspended for five days this school year after he
was our commitment to make sure that we did a thorough job as possible. reporter: the family remained visible throughout the investigation. leila s mother spoke about the closeness between her son and daughter. he never like pushed her around, like big brothers and sisters do. he never like was ever was mean to her. reporter: in the immediate aftermath of the killing two weeks ago, his usually serene northern california community of 7500 went into a near frenzy, as nervous residents believed a killer was at large. and wondered whether there would be more victims. i ve lived here 33 years. i ve never seen anything like this happen. we ve had bad things happen in our community, but never like this to a little child. reporter: patricia campbell owns a popular diner in town. she and everyone else we talked to her were shocked at the turn of events. it s bad enough to lose one of your own children. i can t imagine losing one, too. by the hand of one of my own.ha
town in a candlelight vigil amid a massive manhunt that terrified the community. the boy told investigators he is 6 feet tall, muscular, long haired man broke into his home while his parents were out. and stabbed his 8-year-old sister to death, a story that authorities now say was fiction. the boy s biological mother told reporters he was protect i of and loved his sister. my son loved his sister so much. i know he would never hurt his sister. they never even used to fight when they were little. he never pushed her around like big brothers and sisters do. reporter: after the girth s death from multiple stab wounds, the town rallied around the family, covering the area with purple ribbons, leila s favorite color. now that the suspected child killer turns out to be a chil himself, a sense of betrayal is beginning to take hold says a man who had to remove the flyers and cancel a fund-raiser for the family. there was more shock than