ATHENS, Ala. — A judge ruled that an Alabama teenager charged with killing five family members will remain jailed pending trial, denying a request by defense attorneys to move him to a juvenile detention center.
Mason Sisk, 16, is charged with capital murder in the 2019 slayings of his parents and three siblings in Elkmont. Sisk is being held at the Limestone County jail and his defense attorneys say he’s being kept in solitary confinement because Alabama law requires that juveniles be housed separately from adult inmates.
Sisk had initially been kept at a juvenile facility, but was moved to the county jail after being charged as an adult in November. Defense attorneys Michael Sizemore and Lucas Beaty argued that solitary confinement is not appropriate for the teen defendant and that his needs would be better met if he was confined with other juveniles.
Limestone County Circuit Judge Bob Baker denied their request in an order Friday, the Decatur Daily reported.
Sisk is accused of fatally shooting his father, John Sisk, 38; his mother, Mary Sisk, 35; and their three children, Kane, 6; Rorrie, 5; and 6-month-old Colson. All died from gunshot wounds while they slept.
Sisk was 14 at the time of the killings.
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.
Sisk has been scheduled for arraignment on the adult charges April 7.
