Raymond Childs Murders 6 In Indiana
Raymond Childs is a teen killer from Indiana who would murder his entire family of six
According to court documents Raymond Childs was seventeen years old when he asked to sleep over at his girlfriends home. When the teen killer was told no he would proceed to murder Kezzie Childs, 42, Raymond Childs, 42, Elijah Childs, 18, Rita Childs, 13, Kiara Hawkins, 19, and Kiara’s unborn son. Childs would also attempt to murder another person in the home
Raymond Childs would be arrested and charged with six counts of murder and an attempted murder. His first trial was declared a mistrial when a witness asked him why he would murder his family. Childs would be retried and convicted of the six murders and attempted murder
Raymond Childs will be sentenced at a later date and only his age at the time of the murders is saving him from death row
Raymond Childs Case
After a week-long jury trial, Raymond Ronald Lee Childs III was found guilty of a mass shooting that left six of his family members dead in January 2021.
Kezzie Childs, 42, Raymond Childs, 42, Elijah Childs, 18, Rita Childs, 13, Kiara Hawkins, 19, and Hawkins’ unborn child were all killed in that attack.
The jury convicted Childs of six counts of murder, one count of attempted murder, and one count of carrying a handgun without a license after deliberating the case for about three hours.
Childs is expected to have his sentencing hearing in January 2025.
Childs’ conviction comes several months after the first hearing of his case was ruled a mistrial on July 23, 2024.
A key witness for the prosecution team verbally confronted Childs in front of the jury, which led to Marion Superior Judge Chris Miller acknowledging the courtroom violation and ultimately declaring the case a mistrial after talking to individual jurors, Fox59 reported at the time.
Before the shooting at the FedEx Ground facility in April 2021, the mass shooting carried out by Childs was considered one of the worst the city had seen in a decade, according to local officials and law enforcement at the time.
“What occurred inside that home is as unfathomable today as it was in 2021,” Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said in a press release about Childs’ conviction.
“It has been an incredibly difficult journey for the family and friends of the six people that we tragically lost. I am proud of our trial team, law enforcement, and witnesses, whose dedication to our victims didn’t waiver when faced with adversity. Their commitment ultimately led to today’s verdict and justice for the victims of this horrific crime.”
On Jan. 24, 2021, Childs got into an argument with his father after Childs had returned home after leaving without permission, according to court documents. Childs was 17 years old at the time of the shooting.
The argument soon escalated, which led to Childs shooting his parents and the other members of his family with a Draco 7.62. The shooting left his mom, dad, two siblings, a pregnant teen and her unborn child dead.
One of the few people who survived the shooting was Childs’ 15-year-old brother, who officers with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department found suffering from multiple gunshot wounds on the front porch of the family’s house in the 3500 block of Adams Street.
The teen was immediately taken to the hospital in critical condition.
After surviving his surgery, the teen told police of the events that led up to the shooting and he heard their father say, “I’m sorry Raymond; I love you,” before being shot by Childs, according to court documents.
Before Childs shot his brother, the teen explained that he pleaded with his big brother to not shoot him, “I can give you 40 dollars. I won’t say nothing. Please don’t kill me,” according to court documents.
Police arrested Childs at the home of a relative the following day.
Raymond Childs Sentencing
Four years ago, an Indianapolis teenager angry at his father for punishing him for breaking curfew turned a gun on his family and mercilessly killed his parents, brother, sister and his brother’s pregnant girlfriend.
The cold-blooded teen even pulled the trigger on his 15-year-old brother while the younger sibling begged and bargained for his life. That sibling managed to survive the shooting, running to a neighbor’s house while bleeding from bullet wounds and knocking on the door for help.
After two trials, Raymond Childs III was found guilty in October of six counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and one count of carrying a handgun without a license.
On Tuesday, a punishment was finally handed down for Childs’ heinous crimes as a judge sentenced him to 360 years in prison. The rest of Childs’ life will now likely be spent behind bars.
In the early hours of Jan. 24, 2021, a then 17-year-old Childs picked up a gun and set about killing every single person in his family home on North Adams Street. He gunned down his parents, stepmom Kezzie and father Raymond Childs II. His gunned down his brother and sister, 18-year-old Elijah and 13-year-old Rita. He even killed Elijah’s pregnant girlfriend Kiara Hawkins, and her near-term baby.
While Childs worked his way through the home, his 15-year-old brother Xavier awoke to the gunshots. Xavier hid while his brother went room-to-room executing their family. Xavier heard their father’s last words — “I love you, Raymond” — before Childs gunned him and their mother down.
Xavier tried to flee and save himself, but Childs didn’t plan to spare anyone. He chased his younger brother, holding a gun on Xavier who begged and bartered for his life. Xavier even offered Raymond Childs III $44 in blood-soaked currency.
“Please don’t kill me,” he begged his brother.
But Childs shot his younger brother anyway.
”He looked in his brother’s face and said nothing. He raised his gun, shot him in the leg, causing Xavier to fall, then he shot him a second time and left him for dead and he left,” prosecutors said during Childs’ trial.
Xavier, bloody and hurting, was able to limp to a neighbor’s porch and call for help. When police arrived, he told the officers “He shot them all.” When asked who, the wounded child said, “Raymond Childs.”
Police walked into the Adams Street house to find the dead scattered about the whole of the home. “We got five,” officers said over the radio.
In the wake of the incomprehensible murders, police learned the spark that set Raymond Childs III on his bloody rampage was a broken curfew. Turns out Childs had taken his father’s vehicle without permission the night before the murders. When he returned home after midnight, his father let Childs know he was in trouble and promised discipline would be meted out later.
But the 17-year-old Childs wouldn’t wait to find out what his punishment would be. Instead, he picked up a gun in the dead of night and meted out his own retaliation — planning for no one to escape his wrath.
As police officers at the murder scene began to piece together the unthinkable familicide that occurred on Adams Street, investigators learned that Childs had returned to the home in the aftermath of the murders with his girlfriend, acting as if he’d only just learned of the slaying of his family.
Childs’ girlfriend was with him when she heard about police being called to his family home, but Childs denied any knowledge of what might be wrong. The girlfriend later told police Childs was acting nervous when they arrived at the crime scene and “acted a clown.”
Childs was arrested later at a relative’s home in Plainfield thanks to his surviving brother telling police at the hospital what occurred inside the Adams Street home on Jan. 24, 2021.
Childs was ultimately convicted of six counts of murder after his second trial in October 2024. It took a jury less than three hours to convict him.
Childs’ first trial was declared a mistrial after emotional testimony prompted a family member to turn to Childs and ask, “Why did you do it, Raymond?”
Judge Charles Miller said the killing of the Childs’ family was one of the worst mass murders ever committed in Indianapolis history. Miller doubted Childs could ever be trusted to live free among society.
During the sentencing hearing on Tuesday, Childs took the stand and addressed his surviving family. He didn’t apologize and he accepted no responsibility for his family’s deaths.
”Just as I sit here four years ago I’m innocent,” Childs said. “There’s not a day that goes by when I don’t think about them and wish they was here. Even on my bad days, I tell myself they’re still here.
”I’m not a killer. I’m not a murderer. I’m not a bad person. And a lot of people honestly agree with that.”
Deputy Prosecutor Daniel Cicchini said it was disappointing that Childs wouldn’t face responsibility despite evidence he felt could be characterized as “overwhelming.” This included cell phone evidence, Childs’ being caught with the murder weapon and the most compelling evidence of all — Childs’ surviving brother identifying Raymond Childs III as the killer in open court.
“It would have been nice if he had expressed remorse about what had happened,” said Cicchini.
Little brother Xavier was the only one left alive to tell the tale…and now lives with the knowledge that Raymond’s mother and sister don’t believe him.
Rhonda Smith, mother of Raymond Childs III, stands by her son and denies his guilt.
”Everything that he said, I believe,” she said. “I don’t too much believe justice was served but I do hope that they do find the real people that did it.”
Childs’ sister Kayla Smith, during sentencing, recalled the domestic violence she witnessed growing up in a household with Raymond III.
”For him to be seen as a monster it just breaks my heart because that’s not who he is,” she said, wiping away tears. “He’s always been a person who cares for people, do whatever he can to take the stress off other people.”
Raymond Childs, Jr. had a dream to turn his sons into rappers and a video was posted of the teens displaying a semi-automatic rifle to enhance their image.
Rhonda compared the father of her son to another famous music family patriarch from their hometown of Gary — Joe Jackson, father of the Jackson 5, who also battered his children.
“He was that Joe Jackson,” said Smith who testified that Childs Jr., “loved his kids and went overboard.”
Smith said that Childs Jr. battered her in front of her children, and she fought back, and that the State Division of Child Protective Services failed to step in and protect the family.
She also said her current boyfriend, who at times tangled with Childs Jr. over his raising of Smith’s children, is under arrest for murder in Lake County.
A child developmental psychologist testified that while Raymond Childs III was a victim of beatings and suffered PTSD as a result of the violence he witnessed growing up, the youth professed his love for his father and siblings he was convicted of murdering and that all the children couldn’t wait to turn 18 in order to leave their abusive home environment.
During his sentencing, Childs turned to the family of Kiara Hawkins in the courtroom.
”To Miss Hawkins, I know you don’t know me that well but I promise you I didn’t hurt your daughter. I’m gonna do everything in my power to prove that to you.
”I lost family like y’all did. And still to this day I’m still grieving and trying to cope with it.”
The prosecution thanked the victims’ families for the long, arduous journey that finally ended in a 360-year prison sentence.
“The defendant brutally murdered six people: his father, stepmother, older brother, younger sister, his older brother’s girlfriend, and her unborn child. There is no penalty that could ever reflect the harm and unimaginable loss caused by the defendant’s actions.
“This resolution would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of law enforcement, our trial team, and the victims’ families, who have shown incredible strength and resilience in the face of an unimaginable tragedy.
“We should join together to support and honor the families of Raymond Childs Jr., Kezzie Childs, Elijah Childs, Rita Childs, Kiara Hawkins, and Khaos Hawkins and the legacies they leave behind.
Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears
