14-year-old charged in fatal stabbing

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A 14-year-old boy has been charged with murder in the stabbing death of 24-year-old Marco Antonio Diaz in mid-September.

A juvenile delinquency petition charging Mauricio Humberto Teran, 14, with murder, first- and second-degree manslaughter, first-, second- and third-degree assault, riot, and second-degree disorderly conduct was filed with Jackson County Circuit Court today, investigators and prosecutors said.

Jackson County District Attorney Mark Huddleston said he couldn't remember any other defendant this young being charged with murder in the county.

Teran was allegedly among six young men involved in a violent fight on Sept. 15 outside an apartment building in the 600 block of Beatty Street in Medford, investigators said. Others were present, but not involved.

Diaz was stabbed and beaten in the altercation and died several hours later at Rogue Valley Medical Center. Two other young men suffered less serious stab wounds.

Police moved quickly to arrest all those suspected of being at the riotous fight and in an altercation outside the same apartment building the next night, then carefully tracked leads and interviewed those involved to collect the evidence that led to the murder charge, a news release from the Medford police today said.

"It was a very deliberate investigation," Jackson County Deputy District Attorney David Hoppe said. "We were sure everyone was in custody."

Now that a murder charge has been filed, prosecutors can seek to move the case to adult court or continue in the juvenile justice system, he said.

— Anita Burke

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