HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — A 17-year-old charged in the shooting death of his 16-year-old brother in the Tomball area tried to blame the killing on someone else, according to court documents.
ABC13 was there Tuesday morning as Rhyder Tettleton appeared in court.
A judge found probable cause against Tettleton, meaning the legal process will proceed. The teen is facing a manslaughter charge due to reckless behavior instead of a charge for murder, which is done with intent, according to the Texas Penal Code.
Authorities said a murder charge was accepted initially but, upon further review, was changed to manslaughter, a crime punishable by two to 20 years in prison.
The shooting happened at about 3:30 a.m. Monday inside a barn on Stone Creek Court in the Stone Lake subdivision when the brothers’ parents weren’t home, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office said. Instead, sources say, the parents were at a hospital overnight, awaiting the mother’s back surgery.
Deputies said a group of six teenage boys were at Tettleton’s home, drinking and handling a 9mm handgun.
Tettleton pointed what he thought was an unloaded weapon at his 16-year-old brother and pulled the trigger, shooting him in the abdomen. The 16-year-old died at the scene.
Witnesses told officers they heard a gunshot, looked up, and saw the suspect holding the gun as he stood next to his brother.
Another person claims he heard the 16-year-old say, “I think I’m gonna die. Help me. Help me.”
The suspect allegedly told the others in the barn to say they shot his brother.
When authorities spoke to Tettleton, he denied being involved or being able to remember what happened, according to information learned in court Tuesday.
He later admitted, with his attorney present, that he picked up the gun, thought it didn’t have any ammunition inside, and shot it within six inches of his brother, but didn’t mean to hurt him.
Tettleton also admitted to telling everyone where to hide the weapon, according to records.
Tettleton, a 12th grade student, was placed in the Harris County Jail.
As part of his bond conditions, he can’t be around the other teenagers who were there when the shooting happened.
