15-year-old boy accused in deadly Longmont stabbing faces first-degree murder charge

BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. – The 15-year-old boy accused in the deadly stabbing of a Longmont woman was charged Wednesday morning with first-degree murder as a juvenile, though prosecutors will try and get the case moved into adult court.

The boy was charged with 11 counts in Boulder County juvenile court. The charges include first-degree murder, three counts of attempted first-degree murder, felony menacing and sentence enhancers that would kick in if the boy is found guilty.

A transfer hearing is set for March 5 in which a judge will decide whether or not to move the boy’s case into district court to prosecute him as an adult.

Denver7 is not naming the boy at this time, as he has not been charged as an adult.

He is accused of stabbing and killing Makayla Grote last Saturday outside her apartment in Longmont. Prosecutors said the boy had a “death list” that include Grote’s sister and another person.

Prosecutors said in court Monday the boy also went after Grote’s sister and the other person. He was about a mile from the third person’s home when he was arrested, prosecutors said.

Attorneys for the state additionally said in court Monday that investigators had found “troubling” text messages between the boy suspected of the murder and the victim’s sister, and that the boy was accused of assaulting his grandfather about a week before Saturday’s homicide.

Grote was an avid race car driver who often competed at the Colorado National Speedway. Her father told Denver7 Tuesday Grote was “an angel…God’s gift.”

The family plans to hold Makayla’s funeral service at the Colorado National Speedway Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. A vigil to honor her memory will be held Friday from 6 to 7 p.m. at Jackson’s Park in Lakewood near her Green Mountain High School.