Teen suspects to be tried as adults in triple shooting

Kyle Clayton Ray and Colby Allen Becker were scheduled to graduate from 8th grade this week at Battle Mountain Junior High.

Instead, they were being held in the Lander County Jail and were to be arraigned today in Battle Mountain Justice Court in an apparent triple murder that shook this mining town of 5,000 over the weekend.

The youths are too young for the death penalty, but could be sentenced to life in prison without parole, District Attorney Will Mattly said.

Undersheriff Mike Kranovich said they allegedly used a .22-caliber rifle to shoot Ray's parents, James, 42 and Kimberly, 37, and his sister, Jennifer, 12, at their Battle Mountain home Saturday night.

Kranovich said the motive was unclear.

"Right now, it doesn't make much sense," Kranovich said. "From our initial interviews with the boys, we learned the Ray boy may have had an argument with his mother and may have been upset with her.

"We've been seeing a lot of these shootings involving young people across the country, but you don't expect to see it in your own community. This is devastating to the community," he said.

Extra school counselors were on hand today to talk with students in the town located along Interstate 80 about 220 miles east of Reno.

Becker "was the nicest person, got along with everybody," said classmate Ryan Scherer.

"He just didn't seem like the kind of person who would go and kill somebody," he said.

Autopsies of the victims' bodies were pending at the Washoe County Coroner's office in Reno.

The suspects fled the scene in James Ray's vehicle and were arrested while making a 911 call at a Battle Mountain phone booth about 9 p.m. Saturday, two hours after the shootings.

An earlier 911 call made by the Ray boy alerted deputies to the shootings. All three family members were dead when deputies arrived.

Investigators believe the victims were shot with a rifle that was recovered in the vehicle and owned by James Ray.

Kranovich said a preliminary investigation shows the boys had no problems at school or with the law. They showed no sign of alcohol or drug impairment when arrested, he said.

"Both of them are pretty quiet right now, not saying much or talking much. Both of them seem pretty down," he said Sunday.

James Ray worked for a local mining company and was a relative newcomer to Battle Mountain, he said.

"When you lose a family like this, it's tragic," Kranovich said. "We're all struggling to make sense of it."

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