Convicted for murder at the age of 12, Curtis Fairchild Jones was released from prison Tuesday morning, according to Florida Today. Officials confirmed he was released from South Bay Correctional Facility a little after 7 a.m.
In 1999, both Jones and his sister Catherine, who was 13 at the time, were convicted of murder after shooting their father's girlfriend, Sonya Nicole Speights. They planned on killing their father and another male relative, according to USA Today.
The pair later claimed they were sexually abused, and investigators, who would later make up the Department of Children and Families, found evidence of the abuse, but it was never brought to the court's attention, according to USA Today.
The pair shot Speights four times before covering up the murder and fleeing the crime scene. They were found by Brevard County Sheriff investigators on Jan. 7, 1999.
The siblings were initially charged with first-degree murder, making them the youngest ever charged as adults. However, they later plead guilty to second-degree murder, and were sentenced to 18 years in prison, as well as probation for life, according to USA Today.
Catherine Jones is scheduled to be released from Hernando Correctional Institution Saturday, according to NBC News.
In an interview with Florida Today in 2009, Catherine said she regretted taking a life, but found peace of mind in prison, according to NBC News.
