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10-year-old testifies he killed his cousin by accident

E-mail|Link August 3, 2010 04:41 PM

Josh Reynolds for The Boston Globe

Lakeisha Gadson wept as the death of her son, Liquarry Jefferson, was described.

By Brian R. Ballou and Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

The 10-year-old boy who accidentally fatally shot his cousin in 2007 in Roxbury testified today at the trial of the boy's mother, who is facing an involuntary manslaughter charge for not properly storing the gun used in the shooting.

The boy, who is going into fifth grade, was 7 years old at the time. He wore a dark-brown polo shirt and black slacks as he took the witness stand in the trial of Lakeisha Gadson. His head barely peeking over the top of the stand, he began his testimony with smiles, but grew glum as he recalled the day of the shooting.

He said he was watching TV with Liquarry Jefferson, 8, when Jefferson showed him the gun belonging to his teenaged half-brother Jayquan McConnico.

"I asked him if there were bullets in the gun. He said, 'No,'" the boy said.

"I did it by accident," he said.

Gadson, 33, and McConnico, were both charged in the June 24, 2007, death of Jefferson with wantonly and recklessly storing an unregistered pistol within reach of a young child. McConnico pleaded guilty to nearly identical charges in 2008.

As the trial entered its second day, a paramedic also testified, describing the scene when he arrived, then recounting how, as Jefferson was rushed to Boston Medical Center, he complained repeatedly that his stomach hurt.

On hearing the testimony about the last minutes of her son's life, Gadson wept uncontrollably, saying, "He said it hurt. He said his stomach hurt." The outburst was so intense the judge called a recess in the trial.