A teenage boy in Ohio has pleaded guilty for killing his neighbor. At the time of the killing, the boy, who has not been named publicly, was only 13 years old. After months of social media research, he broke into the home of Sheila “Denise” Tenpenny. The teen first struck the older woman before strangling her. After a haphazard clean-up job, he returned to social media to brag about his crime. So far, authorities have not released a motive for his actions.
On the morning of November 10, 2025, the boy, who is now 14, appeared in court. He pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated murder, one count of aggravated burglary, and one count of strangulation for the death of Tenpenny, WCPO reported.
The teen will be held at the Department of Youth Services until he turns 21. That is the longest the juvenile detention center can hold a juvenile convicted of a crime.
According to court documents, Tenpenny, 64, was found dead in her home on February 2. A man who said he was her brother was the one who found her, WLWT reported. He called 911 to report her unresponsive.
“I think my sister’s been murdered,” he said. “She’s got her head covered with a pillow, her legs exposed.”
A preliminary autopsy report from the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office said Tenpenny had trauma to her head and neck.
Prosecutors said the teen forced his way into Tenpenny’s home between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. He found her sleeping in her bed and hit her, which caused blunt force trauma, WCPO reported. Then he strangled her until she died.
The boy had allegedly “researched how to strangle someone, how to do it, how to find a victim” prior to killing the woman, prosecutor Linda Scott said, per WLWT. “For months the defendant did this sort of research,” she told the court.
Although the teen succeeded in killing Tenpenny, she didn’t go down without a fight. Prosecutors said she fought back, scratching the boy in the face and making him bleed. When investigators arrived, they found his hair in her hands. His DNA was under her broken fingernails, and his blood was found throughout the house.
After leaving Tenpenny’s house, he went online and “notified his social media people” of his crime. “This one was a fighter,” he wrote.
During the court appearance, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation Agent David Ward spoke about the crime. “I must say this is the first time I’ve ever had a person of this age commit this type of crime,” Ward shared. “And to add to that the premeditation of the offense is just chilling to me.”
Ward told the court that he found the boy’s social media communications “disturbing.”
“After the day we did our canvassing and swabbed the defendant, he indicated to whoever he was communicating on several social media outlets about ‘I think I just got caught,’” Ward said, per WCPO. He went on to point out that the boy made “missteps” while committing the crime and attempting to clean it up. But he articulated fear for the future.
“It was good luck for us that he did make those mistakes, but in the future, is he going to learn from those mistakes? That’s what I’m concerned about.”
Tenpenny’s family also spoke during the hearing, expressing their grief and anger.
“My sister was a good woman. She never hurt anyone. She lived a quiet, peaceful life and yet her life was stolen in the most violent, senseless way possible,” her sister told WLWT. “This was a deliberate and heartless act that took the life of someone who deserved nothing but kindness. My sister deserved to live and we deserve justice.”
Tenpenny’s brother-in-law spoke, saying “For the juvenile murderer — I do feel sorry for you. Sorry that you had a family that did not teach you right from wrong. For the family of the murderer, I’m sorry for you too,” he said, per WCPO. “Sorry that you appear to not know how to teach your offspring the difference between right and wrong. Maybe you don’t even know it yourself.”
The teen has been ordered not to attempt contacting Tenpenny’s family. While in juvenile detention, he must earn a high school diploma. He must also write a letter for a victim awareness class and undergo cognitive behavioral therapy.
