HE "appeared to be a very nice, handsome young man."

-- a neighbor describing Joshua Earl Patrick Phillips, the 14-year-old from Jacksonville, Fla., charged this week with the murder of an 8-year-old girl, whose battered, stabbed and decomposing body was found stuffed beneath his water bed.

"The thing that stood out the most was his conduct. He was one you never had to call down, say 'Get quiet, let's don't do that.' He was always so polite, so well-mannered."

-- a pastor's wife describing Mitchell Johnson, the 13-year-old who was convicted with friend Andrew Golden, 12, of killing four schoolmates and a teacher in Jonesboro, Ark., last March.

H

A "very intelligent young man" who had "minor problems."

-- a school principal in West Paducah, Ky., describing Michael Adam Carneal, the 15-year-old who pled guilty but mentally ill last month and will spend at least 25 years in prison for killing three fellow students last December.

It's 10 a.m. Do you know who your children are?

Pub Date: 11/13/98