Teen suspects still locked up for Ki-Be murder plot

Two Benton City teens who allegedly plotted to kill a classmate are on track for April 23 trials.

Jeremiah D. Cunningham and Fe H. Hadley are charged as adults with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.

Both 16, their cases automatically were bumped up to Benton County Superior Court because of their age and the seriousness of the allegations.

Prosecutors say Cunningham and Hadley took steps to kill Ryan Vaughn on Nov. 15 behind the Ki-Be Red Apple Market.

Cunningham admitted to detectives that he planned to sneak up behind Vaughn and stab him with a knife during lunch hour from Kiona-Benton City High School.

The only reason he didn’t follow through is because some other students foiled his plans when they saw a suspicious masked man behind the store, according to court documents.

Cunningham claimed he threw the knife in a dumpster behind the school.

Hadley’s alleged role was to lure Vaughn, 18, to the lot behind the market.

In an interview with investigators, Hadley said she told Cunningham “that if he came up with a plan to kill (Vaughn), she would get him to the location.”

Authorities reportedly found numerous text messages on Vaughn’s cellphone in which Hadley gave a specific time, date and location for a meet-up.

She and Vaughn had dated for one week, but he ended it because Cunningham “was getting too protective over her,” documents said.

A third teen has not been charged. Detectives said he helped Cunningham scope out the store’s security cameras and was supposed to keep Vaughn behind the market during the attack.

Deputy Prosecutor Terry Bloor told the Herald he cannot comment on that teen, including whether his office received a recommendation from law enforcement to file a charge against the boy.

Nearly three months later, Cunningham and Hadley remain in the Benton-Franklin Juvenile Detention Center in Kennewick.

Cunningham has $500,000 bail, while Hadley’s was reduced in late December to $50,000.

This story was originally published February 24, 2018 at 3:03 PM with the headline "Teen suspects still locked up for Ki-Be murder plot."