Lawyer: People Stunned Falls Boy May Have Killed

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (AP) - The lawyer for a Niagara Falls teenager says people who know the boy are perplexed at the thought that he could have strangled a 5-year-old girl and dumped her body in the trash.

Sixteen-year-old John Freeman and 18-year-old Tyler Best, of Buffalo, were in court Friday morning. They waived their right to a preliminary hearing and the case was sent to a grand jury.

Freeman has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Isabella Tennant at the girl's great-grandmother's home last week.

Police say Best helped Freeman hide Bella's body in a garbage can a few blocks away. He took police there the next morning. He has pleaded not guilty to tampering with evidence.

Freeman's lawyer, Robert Viola, says the behavior the teen is accused of is not typical.