Jamarion Lawhorn, Kent County’s Youngest Convicted Murder, Is Suicidal

Just one year ago, now 14-year-old Jamarion Lawhorn was sentenced for fatally stabbing a young boy on a playground, and now his case manager says he is suicidal.

In August 2014, Lawhorn stabbed 9-year-old Connor Verkerke in Kentwood. At the time, Lawhorn was only 12 years old.

Lawhorn was convicted of murder in September 2015, and sentenced two months later. Since his sentencing (which requires him to remain in a juvenile detention facility until the age of 21 at which point his sentence will be reevaluated), he has been lodged at the Muskegon River Youth Home in Evart, Mich.

Lawhorn appeared in court for a delinquency review on November 10, part of that hearing was to assess his mental state. His case manager, Melissa Emmorey, says that he has been struggling with depression and is suicidal.

Officials saw improvement in the boy when his mother, Anita Lawhorn, was attempting to contact and visit him. She has since stopped and his mental state has declined.

Anita Lawhorn and her husband Bernard Harrold both served time in jail for child abuse following Jamarion's arrest.

Emmorey testified that Lawhorn is still processing just how serious his crime was, but is constantly plagued by the idea that because he took a life he does not deserve to live.

The judge overseeing the review did not order Anita Lawhorn to visit and contact her son, but did suggest that she do so of her own accord.

Lawhorn's case will be reviewed again in six months.