Boy Scout, 15, held without bail in deaths of his family

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Nicholas Browning walked into the small cinderblock room, sat on a plastic chair and folded his hands in front of him, an ordinary suburban teenager - except for the orange prison jumpsuit. When District Judge Barbara Jung asked, through a closed-circuit video link between the Baltimore County courthouse and the detention center, whether the 15-year-old Boy Scout understood the charges he was facing for the deaths of his father, mother and two brothers, Browning answered "Yes, I do," and "Yes, ma'am" in a strong, clear voice. Not much else is understood about the killings of four members of what seemed to be a normal, well-to-do family. Browning had good grades, played golf and lacrosse, was close to becoming an Eagle Scout, and "I don't even think he's even been suspended from school," attorney Steven Silverman said after bail was denied Monday. "Quite frankly, it's really quite shocking."