Benjamin Hilburn Got Mad At Dad, Shot Him In Head With Shotgun
November 6, 2009 by Morbid
Belen, New Mexico – The story of any son getting so angry at their father that he would shoot them in the back of the head is tragic enough but this story is compounded by the fact that Benjamin Hilburn was only 10 when he pulled the trigger. Benjamin would state in the 911 call that he was angry at his father, 42-year-old Bryon Hilburn. He would expand on that later, telling investigators he felt his father was too harsh with him and punished him too much. In August police say Benjamin shot his dad in the back of the head with a shotgun while his 6-year-old sister was in the room. Benjamin, now 11 years old, is in the custody of his mother and has been charged with first-degree murder. It is quite possible he is the youngest person to be charged with murder in New Mexico, a state that does not charge anyone under 14 as adults. Continue reading to hear the full 911 call as Benjamin desperately tries to get someone to the house to save his dad.
The reason why he is with his mother, and not in jail or a juvenile facility is because in New Mexico, you cannot detain anyone under the age of 12. Valencia County DA Lemuel Martinez has concerns that the boy may act out again on someone else, but CYFD spokesperson Romaine Serna says the boy is being closely monitored. “There are several people in the home on a weekly basis. A CYFD clinical social worker is providing services to the family as well as contract providers. So there are several visits during a week,” he said.
The boy’s attorney, Jeff Buckels, says it is preposterous that the boy would be capable of committing deliberate murder. “Murder in this state and everywhere else requires premeditation and requires some appreciation for what is going on,” said Buckels. “I think it is basically obvious to almost anyone that is asking too much of a 10-year-old.”
Back in September, his mother, Monica Albear, defended her son saying that he was being abused. “They’re basically trying to say he’s crazy and he’s not, he’s a very intelligent, he is very loving, he’s very caring. He worries about his mom a lot. I would like for people to quit voicing, putting mean things on the Internet, because it’s just not fair,” Albear said. “They don’t know who he is, they don’t know what he’s been through, they don’t know what my family has been through. And I think it’s wrong and I think my son deserves justice.”
Why would she leave Benjamin and his siblings in the custody of Bryon if she knew that there was abuse in the home. Some reports state that she has been absent from the children most of their life – but her claims of abuse are not unfounded. Children, Youth and Families Department reported its investigators checked out the the home at least seven times in the last several years but said they never found evidence of abuse. Of course the calls could be vindictive in nature, but still – this fact along with Benjamin’s statements give a bit of validity to the claim.
While we do not have the full details of the events leading up to the shooting, you heard the 911 call. What do you think? Based on his demeanor and comments in the 911 call, did Benjamin commit first-degree murder? Was it a form of self-defense? Here is a news video report after the shooting incident. Oh, and Maria Medina? Call me.



11:55 am on November 6th, 2009
Kookie Lahair? Sounds like a porn star name.
12:02 pm on November 6th, 2009
I am so changing my name to Kookie. My last name will be Crumbles.
1:33 pm on November 6th, 2009
I didn’t listen to the 911 call, I cant bring myself to do it. But I think this child needs counseling, not jail time. This is why you don’t leave guns in the hands of children, they are not old enough to process the consequences of what they are doing. Add that to the fact this child may have been abused, and I think it’s preposterous to charge this child with murder. For god’s sake, he is only a year older than my son. My son is still a baby, he plays with his little Bakugan toys, watches Spongebob, I can’t imagine him in jail or juvi. All cases are different, but this is one where I really hope they just get this kid in a good environment and help him out as much as possible
1:49 pm on November 6th, 2009
Maybe parents with children shouldn’t have guns?? Wonder why the mother didn’t have custody of him? I feel for the boy because no matter what….he isn’t going to rot in a prison cell because he is too young and he is going to have to live with this for the rest of his life. That is a long time. As for the 911 call, I can’t really decide. His demeanor is pretty cool and it is almost as if he didn’t really think that pulling the trigger would kill his father.
2:01 pm on November 6th, 2009
It does sound as if the boy didn’t mean to kill his father. Maybe he thought the gun wasn’t loaded and was just trying to scare his father or something…hard to tell.
3:43 pm on November 6th, 2009
that call broke my heart. I can barely breathe. He was begging for help, you can hear that he was panicked. In no way did he commit first degree murder. Damn it, besides the kid that was set on fire I’ve never heard something so sad….
3:49 pm on November 6th, 2009
I just watched the second video.. Children’s services was contacted SEVEN times…. They didn’t find anything but it is easy to get past children’s services, I have called on my neighbor they come ask a few questions, the kids dare not say anything there are no VISABLE MARKS so off they go until someone else calls.
4:21 pm on November 6th, 2009
No kidding about children services. I swear all they do is ask a few questions, without separating the family to see if they all tell the same story. My friends niece was raped repeatedly by her step dad and his friends from age 11 until she was 19. Children Services were called 4 different times that we know of and the assholes only made 1 visit to their house and that was after the 3rd call. A kid isn’t likely to say “yes my piece of shit step dad is raping me on a regular basis” while the bastard is standing right there.
11:30 pm on November 6th, 2009
The paternal uncle fought for custody if the children and lost.
http://www.newmexicodivorceblog.com/Staff/frommatt.shtml
11:37 pm on November 6th, 2009
Absolutely Heartbreaking
2:38 pm on November 7th, 2009
If parents who owned guns were more responsible and kept them locked away or hidden from children then they wouldn’t be a problem. The right to bear arms isn’t just for those without children.
If feel kind of sorry for the father though. There are so many unanswered questions that you can’t say for sure that the father was abusing the son, maybe he did nothing wrong and was just diciplining the boy and the kid went crazy. Maybe the mom is just a sick as the son and that’s why she didn’t have custody… mental illness is genetic afterall… just a theory.
7:39 am on November 8th, 2009
Thank god that in this case, the kids ended up with a loving parent after all. Sounds like Monica has garnered a lot of wisdom in her time, and was smart enough not to carry any resentments with her into the courtroom.
Not everybody would be able to come up with such an insight under similar circumstances. God speed this family to a stable recovery.
12:46 pm on November 8th, 2009
No justice , the brother-in-law took advantage of her. He tried to gain from her wounds. He is as much of a predator and criminal as most that are featured here. Bastard!
9:51 am on November 11th, 2009
Maybe this child was being abused, but he grabbed a gun, aimed it at his father and shot. If he was abused I don’t think they should just forget about him, but I do think something needs to be done, somehow he needs to be taught about different strategies to deal with anger. What I’m just not sure yet.
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