William Roger Fitts
William Fitts being escorted by police after being processed
DISTRICT HEIGHTS, Md. (WUSA) -- William Roger Fitts, 15, charged in the murder of his neighbor 92 year old Thelma Steele, was ordered held on 2 million dollar bond Thursday.
Prince George's County Police say 15-year-old William Fitts was taken into custody Wednesday afternoon and was being charged as an adult for her murder, police said on Wednesday.
Thelma Elaine Steele's body was found Tuesday morning in the 2900 block of East Avenue after police were called to check on the welfare of a resident.
SEE THE CHARGING DOCUMENTS
Police say Fitts knocked on Steele's door last week. After she let him in, he beat her and stabbed her repeatedly, then he ransacked the home, they say. Charging documents state that detectives found the rear kitchen door open and the place had been ransacked.
Fitts was Steele's neighbor and she knew him for a while, police said.
The suspect's brother, Warren Fitts told 9NEWS NOW he doesn't believe his 15-year-old brother committed the murder. Despite the admission the teen gave police, and the recovery of the murder weapon inside his home, his brother still can't come to grips with what police have concluded. Fitts said, "Keep searching because none of us believe this. We can believe other things, but not this and especially not with Mrs. Thelma Steele. That was just a loved lady in this community."
Warren Fitts said he and his brother had grown up living across the street from Mrs. Steele and considered her a grandmother.
He said, "Mrs. Steele loved William, and I think William felt very highly about her. We refuse to believe it. It's just not possible."
He later went on to defend his brother saying the teen may be covering up the murder for someone else: "It's possible that there maybe something that we don't know and that he is covering for some body."
Steele lived alone in her charming brick home and when neighbors noticed her mail piling up they called police.
Robert Jackson says neighbors called the victim's daughter after they didn't see Steele for a couple of days. Her daughter hadn't either (police say the victim's daughter is local but does not live in Prince George's County) and that's when they called police.
"They came in and found she had been dead 2 or 3 days," said one person.
Detectives broke into the home and found the 92-year-old's decomposing body on the couch, fully clothed. They say it was clear she had suffered trauma.
"We're outraged that such an act of violence can happen in a community like this," said one neighbor.