A 12-year-old boy was arrested Saturday for allegedly killing his sister, Leila Fowler last month.
The Valley Springs, California family was shocked when Fowler, eight, was killed in her home located southeast of Sacramento.
Her murder rocked the small town, igniting a community-wide manhunt for the killer.
The unidentified brother who was in the house at the time of Fowler's death said he saw a man run from the site.
A few days later, the boy attended a vigil for Fowler with his father and stepmother, as suspicions rose amongst residents that her brother was involved in the killing.
His biological mother appeared on local television, insisting that her son "could never hurt his sister," and that he was "protective" of the younger sibling.
The next day, police reported that they had arrested the young boy on homicide charges.
For resident and owner of Campbell's Country Kitchen Patti Campbell, the news was a complete shock.
"It's bad enough to lose a child," Campbell said, according to a Washington Post article. "I can't imagine losing a child by one of my own children."
Campbell has owned and operated her restaurant for 15 of the 33 years she's lived in Valley Springs. She claimed she'd served the Fowler family on multiple occasions.
"I did not want to believe it," another resident, Tammy Ainsworth, told Sacramento's KCRA-TV. "You kind of thought so, but it's not something you want to believe."
Officials have not specified which details in particular led to the arrest of the child.
The boy told police that while his parents were at a Little League game nearby, he found his sister's body and a male intruder, who he described as having long gray hair.
A neighbor confirmed the child's statement that he saw a man run from the household, but she later informed authorities that she wasn't sure it had actually happened.
After the attack April 27, federal and local law enforcement searched homes, storage sheds and horse stables in the area.
Divers looked for clues in two nearby reservoirs.
They did not uncover any signs of robbery, after reportedly spending more than 2,000 hours investigating, before arresting the brother at 5:10 p.m. Saturday.
"It's just shocking. I don't know what else to say," Campbell concluded.
