Boy, 11, guilty of murdering girl who wouldn't let him play with her puppy
McKayla Dyer was shot dead in a row over puppies (Picture: GoFundMe)
An 11-year-old boy has been found guilty of murder over the shooting of an eight-year-old girl in a fight over some puppies.
Benjamin Tiller will spend the rest of his childhood in custody after he was convicted of the murder of McKayla Dyer in White Pine, Tennessee.
He was sentenced on Tuesday, but court papers were only released this weekend.
Judge Dennis Roach wrote: ‘Mr Tiller is in desperate need of our help, and our society has a great need for Mr Tiller to receive it.’
He will remain in jail in the custody of the Department of Children’s Services until he is 19.
Tiller shot McKayla in October when she was outside his mobile home.

Floral tributes at the scene Picture: Mona Nair/WATE)
Floral tributes at the scene (Picture: Mona Nair/WATE)
He asked if he could see her new puppies, but she refused so he went to get his father’s 12-gauge shotgun, shot the girl in the chest from the window, and then threw the weapon outside by the girl’s body, authorities said.
An attorney for Tiller could not immediately be reached for comment, though local media reported that Tiller’s family plans to appeal the decision.
According to the court documents, posted online by local media, Tiller had been trained in firearm safety and had gone hunting with his grandfather and father.
After being blocked from the puppies, Tiller returned with the shotgun and the victim laughed at him, doubting the firearms were real, the documents said.
‘Tiller then made certain the gun was loaded, cocked the hammer of the gun, and shot the victim just above the heart,’ the documents said.