Adorable boy, 5, was murdered by brother aged ELEVEN as he took a nap, cops say, as shellshocked family speak out

By JOE HUTCHISON, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 15:25, 6 April 2026 | Updated: 15:25, 6 April 2026 An adorable five-year-old boy was murdered in his sleep by his older brother, in what their family has described as 'the most horrendous act'. Elias Reliford was killed while taking a nap inside his family's home in Centennial, Colorado, on March 10, his family said.  Reliford's brother, who is 11, has since been arrested is facing a charge of first-degree murder over the death.  A family member has since revealed that Reliford had returned home from kindergarten that day and took a nap, while his brother was asked to do chores.  'Then that's when everything happened, during the time that he was asleep', the youngster's great-aunt Dawn Myles said. It is unclear how Reliford was killed.  Speaking on behalf of the boys devastated parents, she told WTSP: '[Elias] was very outgoing. Just loved being outside. Outside was his thing.' According to Myles the two siblings were inseparable, adding: 'If you saw one brother, you saw the other one.' Not wanting to discuss any further details, she described his death as: 'The most horrendous act that a human could commit on another human, especially a child.' Elias Reliford was killed while taking a nap inside his family's home in Centennial, Colorado Reliford's brother, who is 11, has since been arrested is facing a charge of first-degree murder over the death Myles continued: 'We would have never imagined the big brother that he would hurt Elias.' Unable to cope with what happened, the family packed up their house and moved out for the foreseeable into a hotel until they can find a new home. She added: 'The family is not well. There’s anger, there’s questions, there’s two losses here, you know, two brothers.'  The 11-year-old is facing the murder charge and another of aggravated juvenile offender sentence enhancer, the 18th Judicial District Attorney's Office said.  He is being held inside the Marvin W. Foote Youth Services Center, the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office said.  The sheriff's office has declined to offer any further details relating to the death of the youngster. They have said that the death is a 'very complex investigation'.  Reliford was a kindergartener at Timberline Elementary, Principal Mary Bowens confirmed in an email to parents.  She said: 'It is with great sadness that I want to share with you that one of our kindergarten students has died unexpectedly.' Police crews are seen here at the address in Centennial after the incident in March  Reliford was a kindergartener at Timberline Elementary, Principal Mary Bowens confirmed in an email to parents 'There is currently an active police investigation and law enforcement asked the district not to release the student’s name. We ask the community to honor the family’s privacy at this time.' Under state law in Colorado, children as young as 10 can be criminally prosecuted, with those under 12 unable to be charged as adults.  Sheriff Taylor Brown said: 'Cases involving the homicide of children are among the most difficult our deputies and investigators face.  'Our team is fully committed to a thorough investigation, and we will continue working tirelessly to determine exactly what happened.  'We know tragedies like this impact not only the family, but also classmates, teachers, and neighbors throughout the community.  'We appreciate the support and patience of the public as our investigators work to gather the facts and pursue justice in this case.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.