Parents Speak Out After Fifth-Graders Plotted to Kill Ten-Year-Old Autistic Son [WATCH]

The parents of a 10-year-old Arizona boy who was the target of a detailed murder plot by four fifth-grade classmates are speaking publicly for the first time, clarifying misinformation and raising concerns about the long-term impact on their son, as reported by The Blaze.

Brittany Mudd and Nick Bernardi, the boy’s mother and stepfather, sat down with KTVK-TV to discuss the October 2023 incident at the West Surprise campus of Legacy Traditional Schools.

NEW: Group of 5th-grade girls arrested for plotting to murder a boy in the bathroom and make it look like he took his own life.

The Arizona elementary schoolers plotted to stab a fellow fifth-grade boy after a girl accused him of “cheating” on her.

A report claims the girl “was… pic.twitter.com/8PvnBgoL51

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) June 28, 2025

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The couple said their son, who is autistic, was unaware that the children he considered close friends had allegedly plotted to stab him to death and stage the crime scene to appear as a suicide.

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“It was literally his friends at school tried to murder him,” Bernardi said. The couple confirmed their son was just 10 years old when the alleged plot was uncovered. Police previously stated that four fifth-grade students were arrested in connection with the scheme.

The police report initially suggested that the motive stemmed from a romantic dispute, but the parents say that explanation is inaccurate. “It wasn’t a love triangle,” Bernardi said. “It was just a bunch of kids that would hang out in the playground.”

“But it doesn’t really matter why,” Mudd added. “There’s literally no reason or anything that a little kid could do for that to be what you choose to do.”

Authorities said the plan involved multiple roles. One child was assigned to carry out the stabbing, another was to provide the knife, a third was to forge a suicide note, and the fourth would act as a lookout. The parents said they were disturbed by the level of planning.

“Maybe it’s different now, but when I was 10 years old, we did not know about covering our tracks, fingerprints and police investigations. That is not something that you’re supposed to know at 10.”

Mudd added, “What movie did you just watch? What shows are you watching?”

The couple said one of the suspects reportedly laughed and showed no remorse after being caught. “That’s psychotic behavior,” Mudd said.

“There was a mastermind to this,” Bernardi added. “What is going to happen to stop this child from potentially being a real offender, doing it again? Being kicked out of school doesn’t fix your behavior.”

Court documents show the four students were placed into a juvenile diversion program and ordered to write apology letters to the victim. As of the time of the interview, the parents said those letters had not been received.

“It’s closure, right? I mean, the courts are done, but the lives that were impacted are just left out to float away and just deal with it,” Bernardi said.

The boy has since been transferred to another campus within the Legacy Traditional Schools system. Mudd said her son continues to struggle with the emotional aftermath. “He was vulnerable with these kids and thought they were his friends, and look what happened,” she said.

A spokesperson for Legacy Traditional Schools stated that the administration followed district protocols but could not provide further details due to student privacy laws.

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