The woman’s dead body was discovered during a routine welfare check by local deputies.
17-year old Joda Cain of Portland, Oregon, is accused of killing his 71-year old great-grandmother, Jacqueline Bell, with the help of his 19-year old cousin, Micus Ward in a situation no one had foreseen because of Cain’s constant proclamations of love for the older woman.
Ms. Bell, who died of blunt force trauma, had taken Cain in after he had gotten into trouble several times while living with his mother in Kansas City, Missouri.
According to KGW, Ms. Bell had also bought Micus Ward a plane ticket to visit his cousin; he arrived the night before the two allegedly killed the woman.
Police apprehended the boys after a car chase during which Cain and Ward drove the Lexus they had stolen from the dead woman at 135 miles per hour; police were unaware of the murder when they took the boys into custody.