RAGLAND, Alabama -- A 9-year-old Ragland girl died Thursday night after she was found hanging from a tree, a homicide St. Clair County officials said they believe was deliberately performed by the girl's 14-year-old half-brother.

Katelynn Arnold's aunt found the girl hanging from a tree near their home, said St. Clair County Coroner Dennis Russell. Both Katelynn and her half-brother lived with their aunt and uncle, who were serving as their foster parents, St. Clair County Sheriff Terry Surles said.

The boy was charged with murder and was being held at the Coosa Valley Detention Center in Anniston, officials said at a Friday afternoon press conference. His name was not released.

The accused boy admitted killing her by hanging her from the rope, Surles said. He said the boy told investigators a motive but Surles did not release it.

"This is far from being over," Surles said. "It's just sad. So sad."

Surles said the little girl was apparently riding her bicycle when her half brother called her over near a tree.

The aunt didn't realize Katelynn was missing until after 7 p.m., Surles said. She drove around looking for the girl for about 45 minutes before finding her hanging from the tree and calling deputies, the sheriff said.

The girl's feet were touching the ground, Surles said. The rope used in the hanging was tied to a limb, using a simple figure-8 knot and tied to her neck.

By the time investigators arrived, rescuers had removed the girl from the tall hardwood tree. Katelynn was pronounced dead at St. Vincent's St. Clair Hospital at 9:01 p.m., Russell said.

After the girl was found and taken to the hospital, the boy went to bed, Surles said. He was arrested between 2 and 3 a.m.

It was not clear how long Katelynn and her half-brother had been in the care of the aunt and uncle. People gathered at the home Friday declined to comment.

Alabama Department of Human Resources spokesman Barry Spear said he did not know what, if any, involvement DHR might have had with the family. Authorities had no information about their parents.

Yellow police tape was strung around a couple of trees outside the home along a one-lane road. A small bicycle with pink handlebars was out front.

Neighbor Ricky Campbell, whose daughter often played with the slain girl, could only shake his head when thinking about Katelynn's death.

"She never got a chance to grow up. Her life was taken away," he said.

Campbell said he never saw any real signs of trouble out of the boy.

"He'd run off and do crazy things, but I never believed he'd do something like that. It's a bad situation," Campbell said.

Central office counselors were called in to assist the counselors at Ragland School, where Katelynn was one of 35 third-graders, said Principal Roger Wilkinson.

"She was a sweet little angel," Wilkinson said of Katelynn. "If you were a teacher, you'd like a room full of them."

Wilkinson said the half-brother also attends the school, but he would not say what grade he was in. Katelynn had been a student there for three years.

Despite Katelynn's death, the school on Friday held its spring fling for elementary students.

"We debated about canceling it, but we wanted them to have something to do other than sitting in a classroom and thinking about it," Wilkinson said.

Shelby Harden, 18, an 11th-grader at Ragland School, said she had attended Hardin's Chapel Church with Katelynn for about a year. Harden recalled Katelynn as a child who loved hugs and sometimes sang with other children during worship services.

"She was a quiet little girl. She was really sweet," Harden said.

It's been a little more than a year since students at the school had to say good-bye to another one of their own.

Leah Isbell, a 7-year-old first-grader at the school, died with her mother and grandfather on April 27, 2011, when a tornado demolished the assisted living facility the family owned.

"Unfortunately, we've had to go through this before, but we've found that kids are resilient," Wilkinson said. "They'll get better. It's just going to take some time."

This story is co-written by Jeremy Gray.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.





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