BARTON COUNTY —A motion filed Monday in Barton County District Court seeks to try a 14-year-old boy as an adult in connection with the death of 14-year-old Rubi Perez.
Perez, an eighth-grade student at Great Bend Middle School, was reported missing April 8 and found dead the following day. Authorities have not released additional details about the circumstances surrounding her death.
The juvenile suspect is charged with first-degree murder. According to court filings, prosecutors are requesting the case be moved to adult court, a step that would make the suspect’s identity public if granted.
Last week, a district court judge reopened the case to public access after it had previously been sealed by another judge.
Because the suspect is a minor, his name is not being released.
Just 8:30p.m. April 8, police responded to a call of a missing 14-year-old girl, according to a media release from Great Bend Police. The girl was last reported to have been attending a class at Holy Family School located at 4200 Broadway Avenue in Great Bend.
Great Bend Police Officers fielded multiple calls regarding potential locations and areas where the missing girl could possibly be located, but she was not found.
Just after 9a.m. April 9, Great Bend Police Officers responded to the 4700 block of 17th Street Terrace in Great Bend where the body of a girl, later identified as Perez, was located behind a large dirt pile. She was determined to be deceased.
Investigators and Officers processed the crime scene, conducted numerous interviews, and executed multiple search warrants.
A 14-year-old boy was arrested and transported to the Barton County Detention Center on requested charges of 1st Degree Murder.
The Great Bend Police Department was assisted in this investigation by the Barton County Sheriff's Office, The Kansas Bureau of Investigation, and the Great Bend Fire Department.