8/4/2021- 11:24 a.m.
Florida – Matthew Kirby a 16-year-old Florida boy has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly stripping a disabled 14-year-old boy naked, dragging him into the woods and knocking him unconscious before leaving him for dead.
The victim, whose name has not been given, survived and was taken to Arnold Palmer Hospital in stable condition.
Matthew Kirby of Leesburg, is said to have admitted to investigators that his aim was to kill the 14-year-old victim after the younger boy made a comment about his sister. Kirby is also said to have laughed when describing the violent attack.
The child’s parents told officers that their 14-year-old son, who has a learning disability, left the house around 7:30 PM to go on a bike ride but still hadn’t returned by 8:45 PM, raising concerns about his health. safety.
Officers searched the area for three hours before discovering the victim walking naked on the 11,000 block of Huggins Street.
Arrest records describe the 14-year-old’s face as covered in bruises, with blood dripping from his mouth and both eyes closed nearly swollen.
Before being taken to hospital, the victim told officers it was Kirby who attacked him and choked him until he lost consciousness.
When the victim came to, he said he was naked in the woods, where Kirby continued to punch him in the face while asking “why he wouldn’t die,” the arrest report said.
The victim passed out again and when he later regained consciousness, he said he was naked and alone.
A sheriff’s deputy discovered the 14-year-old victim with both swollen eyes nearly closed while walking naked on the 11,000 block of Huggins Street in Leesburg, Florida, early Tuesday
The 14-year-old gave a detailed description of the house where Kirby lived with his father so that officers could track him down.
During an interview with investigators, Kirby is said to have said that he saw the 14-year-old riding his bicycle and struck up a conversation with him.
Kirby said the younger boy said something about his sister, which prompted Kirby to choke the victim until he passed out, according to the records.
Kirby admitted to dragging the unconscious child to multiple locations near his home before taking him into the woods to continue the beating.
The victim begged Kirby to stop, but the attacker admitted to ignoring the boy’s pleas, hitting him with both fists and feet and kicking him in the throat, according to the report.
Kirby told deputies that he only stopped hitting the 14-year-old when he got tired. He reportedly confessed that his goal was to kill the child, expressing frustration that instead of dying, the teen passed out only four times.
Deputies noted in the report that Kirby showed “no remorse” for his actions and even laughed at the victim during questioning.
Kirby was committed to a juvenile detention center on charges of attempted murder, kidnapping, bodily harm and violent theft.
It is unclear how the boy knew each other before Monday’s attack.
