3 Middle School Students Charged With Conspiracy To Commit Murder

Three DeLand Middle School students appeared before a judge Saturday to face charges they conspired to kill classmates. The students were charged Friday with conspiracy to commit murder after Volusia County investigators determined the teenagers were plotting to shoot classmates and then kill themselves. Officials said the three 13-year-olds, two boys and one girl, were removed from DeLand Middle School after the plot was uncovered.

SLIDESHOW: Photos Of The Three 13-Year-Old SuspectsRAW AUDIO:Principal Calls Parents To Alert Them To School Plot

Despite pleas from parents of the students, the judge ordered the three to remain in custody for 21 days.

The mother of Charlene Russell, one of the students charged, told Channel 9 Eyewitness News after the hearing that her her daughter couldn't possibly do anything violent.

"She gets picked on all the time at school....and she got sick of it", Ruth Russell said. "And she was just talking this stuff to try and impress this boy."

Investigators said they first learned of the alleged plot March 5. They said 13-year-old Austin Mohr sent threatening messages through his MySpace.com page, where he was pretending to be a 19-year-old. Investigators said Mohr's anger was directed at two particular students, but also made general threats to lock the cafeteria during lunch and shoot everyone.

"Everyone will pay for what they did to me," wrote Mohr, according to investigators, who claimed he was being teased and picked on at school. "They will all die along with me." Mohr sent instant messages to another teen stating, "I will kill every person I see … The massacre will happen soon."

A teen who received the messages sent them to a family member. That family member contacted the sheriff's office, who then began an investigation to uncover who was responsible for the messages.

Deputies were able to track down Mohr at his Orange City home on March 6 and questioned him about the messages. He told deputies he wrote the messages to scare people. Deputies found out that two other teens, Tyler Christian and Charlene Russell, were openly talking about helping Mohr carry out the plans. One witness also told investigators that Mohr had recently asked him if he could get a gun, but he told Mohr he wasn't able to get one.

Melissa Russell said her sister, Charlene, had been having problems with boys picking on her at school.

"They messed up," she said. "She got (in) with Austin because Austin pushed her around."

Family friend Jose Camacho said, "She's suicidal, she's got problems at home. All this stress… it's just putting her under more stress and finally she's going to snap."

All three teens were taken for mental health evaluations after the plot was uncovered and all were charged with conspiracy to commit murder.

The school has not commented, but DeLand Middle School's principal did record a phone call message that went out to parents of students at the school.