In a first in USA, 14-year-old accused of rape and murder of senior citizen to be tried as an adult

A 14-year-old suspected of having raped and killed a woman in her eighties in the US city of Baltimore was charged as an adult with murder, authorities said Friday.

The accused, who turned 14 last month, is accused of attacking the 83-year-old at her home and leaving her for dead. She died in hospital on August 30.

"We can tell you without even checking our records this is the youngest person we've charged in Baltimore this year and probably the last couple of years with murder," police spokesman TJ Smith said.

"It's sad all the way around. There's some systematic failure in the 14-year-old's life to allow us to be here talking about him being accused of murder and rape. It's just a very tragic situation all the way around." The teen is charged with premeditated murder, aggravated rape, sexual assault and violence.

Home to some 600,000 people, the port city of Baltimore has the highest murder rate per capita in the country.