Teen pleads guilty to horrific murder of Iraqi immigrant, 13, who he tied up, sodomized, and strangled to death
- Jean Sanchez, 14, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the slaying of Ameer Al-Shammari, 13,
- Sanchez, who was just 13 when he carried out the horrific attack was charged as an adult
- He met Al-Shammari after promising to give back a cell phone that he had stolen from him but launched a vicious attack and killed him
- His defense team said that he was remorseful for his crime, however in court he was stoic and showed little emotion
A teenager who was accused of murdering a 13-year-old Iraqi immigrant by strangling him to death has pleaded guilty to the horrific murder.
Jean Sanchez, 14, pleaded guilty on Friday in Erie County Court in Buffalo, New York, to second-degree murder in the slaying of Ameer Al-Shammari in May 2014.
Sanchez, who was just 13-years-old when he carried out the deadly attack was charged as an adult.
Jean Sanchez, 14, pictured, pleaded guilty on Friday in Erie County Court in Buffalo, New York, to second-degree murder in the slaying of Ameer Al-Shammari, 13, in May 2014
Sanchez knocked Al-Shammari down, tied him up with his own shoelaces, sodomized him and strangled him with the string from his victim's hooded sweatshirt
But, due to his age, the maximum sentence that he faces is nine years to life in prison.
According to prosecutors, Sanchez had previously stolen Al-Shammari's cell phone.
Sanchez, a student at Bilingual Academy, lived on Germain street, one street away from his alleged victim.
He allegedly lured Al-Shammari to a secluded area where he promised to give back the boy's cell phone.
But when Al-Shammari arrived, Sanchez knocked him down, tied him up with his own shoelaces, sodomized him and strangled him with the string from his victim's hooded sweatshirt.
Al-Shammari was reported missing by his family and later found dead at the abandoned and overgrown former Tee to Green golf facility on Amherst Street near Churchill Street.
In court, the suspect had also faced charges of criminal sexual act, however all other charges were dropped in accordance with a guilty plea in adult court, WIVB reported.
In April, Erie County Court Justice Sheila DiTullio ruled that Sanchez would stand trial as an adult due to the heinous nature of his crimes.
Sanchez's defense team said that he was remorseful for his crime, however in court he was stoic and showed little emotion
And Erie County's District Attorney Frank Sedita argued that despite Sanchez's young age, he clearly knew right from wrong.
Sedita said: 'Just about every 13-year-old, 14-year-old, fifteen, 16-year-old, by that age, knows that there are certain things you don't do.'
'You don't rape people. You don't burn people's houses down. You certainly don't sodomize them and strangle them to death.'
Sanchez's guilty plea comes three years after Al-Shammari and his family immigrated to the U.S. as they fled the raging Iraqi war.
His sentence will be made official on December 10.
His defense team said that he was remorseful for his crime, however in court he was stoic and showed little emotion.
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