Teen accused of fatally attacking neighbor, 62, in her hot tub ‘to see what it was like to stab someone’

A 15-year-old boy remains in custody in Texas after he was accused of stabbing his 62-year-old neighbor to death.

Dana Magnuson’s body was found in her Harris County backyard shed with multiple stab wounds on 20 July at approximately 7pm. Investigators believe she was first attacked in a hot tub behind her house.

She was pronounced dead at the scene, and her alleged attacker was arrested nine days later on Monday (29 July), before being taken to the Harris County Juvenile Detention Center, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities have not released the suspect’s name due to his age.

ABC13 claims sources have revealed the teenager told investigators he wanted to “see what it was like to stab someone”.

In a Facebook post, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said his department’s “condolences go out to the victim’s family and all persons impacted by this tragic death,” and in another described her as “an active community member and beloved by everyone who knew her.”

He also congratulated his homicide investigators, who “worked tirelessly on this case.”

On a GoFundMe page Magnuson’s eldest son, Tyler Pitney, wrote that his mother was gardening when she was attacked, and said: “Anyone who knew my mom, knows that she loved everybody and would give the shirt off her back or the shoes off her feet for just about anybody in need-especially her friends and family.”

Fox26 also reported his claims that his mother had just returned from a bike ride when she began gardening.

He also said the boy accused of killing her was a neighbor who would go over to help her with household chores, explaining that he was “nothing out of the ordinary, regular looking kid, looks like he comes from a decent home.”