Prosecutors charged a 10-year-old boy in the shooting death of his neo-Nazi father in Riverside County.
Late Wednesday, the defense attorney in the case said he may seek an insanity defense.
The boy was charged Wednesday in Riverside County juvenile court. He faces one count of murder involving the use of a gun.
Authorities said the boy intentionally shot his 32-year-old father at his Riverside home on Sunday. Authorities aren't talking about a motive.
"To say it's unheard of is not hyberbole in this case,'' said Ambrosio E. Rodriguez, senior deputy district attorney. "This is extremely rare. It is almost unheard of, until today."
The boy was handcuffed during Wednesday's brief court hearing but his detention hearing was postponed to May 18. He didn't enter a plea and remains in juvenile custody.
Public defender Matt Hardy said he will also request a psychiatric evaluation before entering a plea for the boy. After the hearing, the child requested a visit with his step-mother and grandmother.
Hardy said he anticipates a "long haul'' in the case and that he was waiting to examine files from county social workers who have monitored the boy's family following allegations of abuse and neglect. Child Protective Services records show investigators were called to the home four times in 2003 and four times during prior years.
The father was a regional leader of the National Socialist Movement, which promotes white separatism. His other children have been taken into protective custody.
