Teen's suffering as a boy detailed

Five-year-olds are not supposed to witness genocide in Sudan.

They aren't supposed to see men shocked while chained to a metal bed or watch other children parade around with machine guns.

They shouldn't be beaten by their own family members or raped by a drunken aunt.

All this happened to the juvenile charged with the October 2005 murder of Aurora resident Marilyn Bethell, a court psychologist testified Friday.

Kane County Diagnostic Center psychologist Robin Watkins said the boy, who turns 16 next month, told him of the sexual abuse during one of nine interviews she conducted between June and September.

"He had not spoken to anybody about it before," said Watkins, who recommended the youth be transferred to a boot camp facility in Pennsylvania that emphasizes a positive peer culture.

Prosecutors want the teen moved from juvenile to adult court for the slaying of the 47-year-old substance abuse counselor who worked in Hoffman Estates. If convicted in adult court, he could face 45 to 60 years in prison for murder with a handgun. If tried in juvenile court, he could be released at age 21.

Bethell's body was found off the Illinois Prairie Path on Dec. 26, 2005. She had been shot in the head.

The hearing was abruptly halted after defense attorney Eric Mitchell argued Watkins had only a chance to skim a 19-page DuPage County probation report she received Friday morning.

"She's being cross-examined about information she has not even received," Mitchell said.

Judge Wiley Edmondson continued the matter to Wednesday, saying Watkins needed more time to digest the report for "a hearing of this magnitude."

A DuPage County probation officer earlier this week testified the youth committed 11 crimes, including eight felonies, since October 2002. He threatened to kill a judge, repeatedly broke into homes, stole cars, joined a gang while in a juvenile facility and exhausted all intervention programs and services available.

DuPage County reports said the youth was at a "high risk" to reoffend and felt no remorse or empathy toward victims.

In addition to the boot camp, Watkins recommended the teen undergo therapy and continue his education.

Earlier this week, prosecutors outlined physical evidence -- including DNA, the youth's student ID, a rare Russian pistol and a pillow with a bullet hole in it -- they say links him to the murder.