HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — An arraignment date has been set for a teenager accused of killing five members of his family, setting the case on a trajectory for trial.
A judge on Thursday set the April 7 court date for Mason Sisk, who’s charged as an adult with capital murder in the deaths of his father, mother and three siblings in Elkmont in 2019, WAAY-TV reported.
Sisk was 14 at the time of the slayings. The now-16-year-old is being held in the Limestone County Jail without bond.
Limestone County Circuit Judge Bob Baker, meanwhile, is considering a request to let him be transferred back to the Tennessee Valley Juvenile Detention Center, WHNT-TV reported. The teen was placed in the county jail after he was charged in November as an adult in the case. His attorneys, Michael Sizemore and Lucas Beaty, said the law requires Sisk to be separated from adult inmates but they argue solitary confinement is not appropriate for him.
Sizemore and Beaty also noted that Sisk was working to get his GED in the juvenile center — something they said he can’t do in the county jail. Limestone County District Attorney Brian Jones opposed the request, saying virtual school options are available. But the defense attorneys say Sisk, under the law, can’t even share a common space with an adult inmate.
Sisk is accused of fatally shooting his father, 38-year-old John Sisk; his mother, 35-year-old Mary Sisk; and their three children, 6-year-old Kane, 5-year-old Rorrie and 6-month-old Colson. All died from gunshot wounds while they slept.
Investigators said the teenager called 911 to report the shooting and later admitted to killing all of them.
Authorities have not publicly released a motive in the slayings.
