Teen admits role in 11-year-old cousin's death

ELKHART, Ind. -- A teenage cousin of an 11-year-old girl who was fatally shot at her grandparents' home last month admitted in court to showing the girl and another young cousin the gun.\nThe 16-year-old boy pleaded guilty Tuesday to a juvenile charge of reckless homicide with a deadly weapon.\nAaliyah Joiner died Dec. 5 at Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne. The day before, police officers found the girl lying on the floor of her grandparents' home in Elkhart with a gunshot wound to the head.\nThe 16-year-old testified that on Dec. 4, he took the handgun, which he said he found beneath his grandparents' mattress, and showed it to Aaliyah and a 12-year-old cousin. Aaliyah then placed the gun in a drawer. The 16-year-old testified that he later took the bullet clip from the gun, but that the 12-year-old boy must have already placed a bullet in it.\nThe 12-year-old told investigators that his older cousin later pointed the gun at Aaliyah and fired. But he said the shooting was an accident because the 16-year-old did not know the gun was loaded.\nThe 12-year-old also faces a reckless homicide charge in \nthe death.\nJuvenile Magistrate Deborah Domine said she needed more information from probation officials about the teenager before sentencing him. She scheduled a hearing for Jan. 16.\nAaliyah's mother, Tiana Joiner, said she did not believe she would ever know the truth about what happened.\n"My youngest daughter wants to know why (her sister is gone)," she said. "I don't know why because I wasn't there."\nThe 16-year-old apologized as he cried during Tuesday's hearing.\n"I'm sorry to Aaliyah and her mom and family," he said. "I didn't mean for this to happen"