Teen was a `Gentle Giant`

A boy accused of plotting a killing spree is so nonviolent that he refused to put a worm on a fish hook when he went fishing, his sister told a judge Friday.

The parents and sisters of the 15-year-old were the last witnesses called by a lawyer trying to convince Superior Court Judge Louis F. Hornstine not to move the 15-year-old's case to adult court.

The 15-year-old and two other teens were arrested July 6 on a street in Oaklyn, N.J., the Philadelphia suburb where the three live, and accused of planning a killing spree. The three were armed with guns, swords and thousands of bullets.

Families of the other two teens spoke about what they believe happened in the first few days after the arrest, which drew national attention. But Jackson's relatives had remained silent until this week.

On Friday, the teen's sister described her brother as like a second mother to her three young children, especially her 3-year-old daughter.

"He didn't like to change her diapers, but he did," she said. "They weren't on right all the time."

Assistant Camden County Prosecutor Diane Marano questioned the image of the 15-year-old as harmless, in light of what he is charged with doing last month.

"I guess you've never seen your brother holding a handgun and with a long gun strapped across his back?" Marano asked Jackson-Higgins.

The witness said she had not.

They boy's father said his son was known in the family as a "big teddy bear" or "The Gentle Giant" and his biggest complaint about his son was that he did not always take out the trash immediately when asked.

Like others called to testify by her brother's lawyer, family members said the teen went along with 18-year-old Matthew Lovett because he thought he could prevent Lovett from going on a killing spree.

Since his arrest, the relatives said, the 15-year-old has told them that Lovett controlled many parts of his life.

"Matt threatened to burn our church down and hurt me if I was in church," the boy's father said his son told him.

The court proceedings to decide whether to try Cody Jackson as a juvenile or adult were scheduled to resume Thursday after taking up parts of four days this week. Hornstine said he plans to issue an opinion on Sept. 11 or 12.

Lovett, 18, described by authorities as the mastermind of the plot, is in Camden County Jail on $1 million bail.

Earlier this week, 14-year-old Christopher Olson accepted a plea deal and pleaded guilty to a weapons offense as prosecutors dropped carjacking and conspiracy to commit murder charges.

Jackson faces all three charges, as does Lovett, who was also charged with aggravated assault.

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