A 12-year-old descendant of California’s last Mexican governor is dead after being stabbed in the chest by his friend earlier this week.

Ryan Carter had been sleeping over at a 10-year-old friend and neighbor’s house when the young friend fatally stabbed Carter in the chest with a kitchen knife in the driveway.

Carter’s mother says the boy who stabbed her son however, is not a monster. She told U-T San Diego, ‘Please don’t make it out that he was this terrible human being.’

The boy who stabbed Ryan is said to have emotional problems that cause occasional outbursts, but had reportedly calmed down and become “a new kid” since he began taking medication.

A friend and neighbor of the two boys says though the younger boy, whose name is not being released because he is a minor, had his issues, he and Carter were close friends and often played together with other kids as well.

The younger boy was adopted years ago, and is said to have had emotional issues since birth. His mother was home at the time of the incident, and was described by a neighbor as “the best mom I’ve ever met.”

Brian Richeson told U-T he’d seen the boy have verbal outbursts, but never saw him become physically violent. He added that his mother knew how to calm him down and handle his problems head-on.

The families lived in the Knoll’s mobile home park in the San Diego suburb of El Cajon. The younger boy lived with his mother and her father.

It is not clear whether charges will be filed against the boy, but after being taken into custody on Monday, authorities decided that Juvenile Hall would be the best option for the boy at the moment, stating that the close supervision at the facility is the safest option for him.

California law states that a child has to be at least 14 years old to be charged as an adult. However, state law allows children to be detained until the age of 25. For the 10-year-old, that could be he spends the next 15 years of his life in detention.

Ryan Carter was an sixth-grade honor roll student at Foothills Christian Elementary in Lakeside. His parents tried for years to conceive, and once he was born, sold their home to save money so they could send him to private school and save up for his college education.

He was the descendant of one of San Diego County’s first sheriff’s, George Lyons, and the last Mexican governor of California, Pio Pico.