15-year-old pleads guilty to manslaughter in killing of student in KC middle school
A 15-year-old boy charged as a juvenile in the killing of Manuel “Manny” Guzman in the bathroom of Kansas City’s Northeast Middle School has pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, according to a spokeswoman for the Jackson County Circuit Court.
The guilty plea comes on the eve of the one-year-anniversary of the fatal stabbing. On April 12, 2022, Kansas City police officers found Guzman suffering from fatal wounds after being called there on a reported cutting.
The Office of the Juvenile Officer, which acts as the prosecutor in juvenile criminal cases, initially charged the 15-year-old with first-degree murder, armed criminal action and unlawful weapon use. Under a plea agreement, the boy agreed to the lesser charge of manslaughter, which is a class B felony under Missouri law.
The juvenile’s identity has not been publicized or shared by authorities because of his age.
The killing touched off a response across Kansas City, especially among parents concerned for the safety of their children in Kansas City Public Schools. Among the concerns was how a weapon came to be inside the school building, which has metal detectors.
In response, the school district pledged to review its security features.
Family of the slain boy told The Star the pair had fought weeks before the fatal stabbing. The brawl was broadcast over social media and showed two boys, dressed in black, punching one another.
Vicenta Guzman, the boy’s mother, told The Star last April that she believed the boy who stabbed her son “wasn’t willing to take that loss of a fight and took his life.”
Valerie Hartman, a public information officer for Jackson County, said Tuesday that the 15-year-old would be in court on May 17 for a dispositional hearing where the judge would make a final decision “regarding his treatment.” He remains in the Juvenile Detention Center.
The Star’s Sarah Ritter contributed to this report.
