A judge on Wednesday found the boy delinquent of involuntary manslaughter and arson, the equivalent in juvenile court of a criminal conviction.
He ordered the teen held in home confinement until the completion of a behavioral examination. The boy could be ordered held until his 21st birthday, said Tom Stanton, a spokesman for the Cook County state's attorney's office.
The firecrackers ignited curtains in 76-year-old Eleanore Moll's home and spread smoke throughout the residence, but Moll was able to call 911 before falling to the kitchen floor, police said.
When firefighters found her, she was not breathing and had no pulse. She died eight days later at an Indiana hospital.
The boy admitted the prank was ``a stupid thing to do,'' and that he had picked the woman's house at random, Calumet City Fire Chief William Galgan said at the time of the incident.
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