Grand jury indicates Mankato teen on 1st-degree murder charges

A Mankato teen suspected of raping and murdering a toddler has been indicted on first-degree murder charges. 

Seventeen-year-old Lee Wayne Young Jr. was initially charged as a juvenile in the death of the 2-year-old boy, who was known to him. 

Young Jr was charged as an adult with 2nd-degree murder in June. 

The grand jury indicted Young Jr on 13 counts of  1st-degree murder, according to a document filed in Blue Earth County Friday.  The murder charges include counts for pre-meditation, criminal sexual conduct against a helpless victim, using force, and kidnapping.  He also faces multiple criminal sexual conduct charges and one felony kidnapping charge.

First-degree murder charges can only be handed down from a grand jury in Minnesota, and carry a life sentence without parole.