Mom: Murder suspect, 8, 'loved his dad'

updated 4:12 p.m. ET Nov. 24, 2008

NEW YORK - The 8-year-old Arizona boy accused of fatally shooting his father and another man is a "good little boy" who loved his dad, his mother said Monday.

"He had a very good relationship with his father," the boy's mother, Eryn Thomas, told ABC's "Good Morning America." "He did a lot with him. They did everything together. He loved his dad."

During the interview, Thomas listened to the videotape of the boy's police confession and said she heard a "scared little boy. That's what I hear. Someone who's very afraid of what's going on."

The unidentified child was charged with first-degree murder in the Nov. 5 shooting deaths at his home in St. John's, Ariz.

Prosecutors on Friday sought to dismiss the charge stemming from the death of the boy's father, 29-year-old Vincent Romero, but did not explain why. Their motion, if granted, allows the refiling of charges. Attorneys would not comment because of a gag order.

The boy is also charged in the slaying of 39-year-old Tim Romans, his father's co-worker and housemate.

Videotaped confession
In the videotape of the confession, the boy sits in an oversized police chair, his feet dangling off the floor, and eventually admits that he pulled the trigger. As the video wraps up, he buries his head in his jacket.

"I'm going to go to juvie," the boy says after an officer asks what he's thinking.

Thomas said she's visited her son in the juvenile detention center, where on some visits they are separated by glass.

"He's in there by himself, definitely scared," she said, describing the boy as a "very small child" who is being housed separately from the older children.

Thomas lives in Mississippi. The boy had been living with his father and stepmother, who were married in September. Romero had primary custody of the 8-year-old.

Judge Michael Roca ruled that the boy could be released for 48 hours to spend Thanksgiving with his mother. Thomas said her son wanted to see the movie "Kung Fu Panda" and play games during his parole.

She described the boy as an average 8-year-old.

"He's very outgoing, he loves animals, he loves to ride his dirt bike, skateboarding, that sort of thing," she said.

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