A 14-year-old boy in New Caledonia has been transferred to prison over breaking into an elderly woman's home near Noumea last month.
Photo: Flickr/David Zoppo
He has been charged with theft with violence leading to death after the 80-year-old burglary victim died of her injuries in hospital days later.
The Nouvelles Caledoniennes reported that the boy confessed that he caused her to fall but didn't want her to die.
He was one of three teenagers caught and charged over the break-in.
The group reportedly tried to steal lychees from her garden but then entered her home where they unsuccessfully tried to take a safe.
The report said 15 teenagers under the age of 18 are being held in the prison's youth wing.
More than half of burglaries in New Caledonia are committed by minors.