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Thursday, November 05, 2009
Boy to 911: 'My Dad Is Dying'
By Juan Carlos Rodriguez
Journal Staff Writer
Moments after he allegedly shot his father, 10-year-old Benjamin Hilburn called 911.
"I need a doctor, my dad is dying," Hilburn urgently told an operator. "He's bleeding very badly."
The six-minute call on Aug. 27 reveals a chaotic scene: a dying man bleeding from a head wound suffered when his son allegedly fired a gunshot in anger, a 911 operator trying to make sense of the boy's story and, through it all, a crying 6-year-old girl, the boy's little sister.
The 911 tapes were obtained by KOAT-TV.
Benjamin, now 11, faces first-degree murder charges in Valencia County in the death of his father, 42-year-old Bryon Hilburn.
"Oh, I hope he'll live," he can be heard saying during the call. Frustrated by the operator's questions, the boy began to shout: "Just get a doctor here!"
About two minutes into the call, after sending police and an ambulance, the operator asked Benjamin what happened.
"I was so over my head, I shot him in the back of the head. I got so angry at him," he said. "Oh, please hurry."
The boy was alternately calm in trying to talk to the operator and frustrated at how long it was taking for paramedics to arrive. He frequently urged the operator to hurry.
Apparently trying to calm his younger sister, he is heard telling her that their father is "sleeping." Then he told the operator, "My sister's crying her head off."
Since the shooting, Benjamin has been living with his mother, Bryon Hilburn's ex-wife, in Rio Rancho. His sister and another sibling have been staying with other relatives. The state Children, Youth and Families Department has been reluctant to allow all the siblings to move back in together, citing safety concerns.
His mother, Monica Albear, has said Bryon Hilburn abused both her and their three children. CYFD investigated nine complaints of abuse at the home but substantiated only one, against the mother.
On Tuesday, Valencia County prosecutors filed charges against the boy. Because of his age, he cannot be charged as an adult. He faces a penalty of anywhere from one year of probation to incarceration until he's 21.
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