When Johnny and his father go to the cabin in the woods Royce (John Vernon) throws what appears to be a Remington pump .22 rim fire rifle which would be the type of rifle that would commonly be used to rabbit hunt as John Vernon had suggested. However when outside and Johnny is shooting at his father and Stone and Briggs it is more than obvious that the rifle heard is a large caliber center fire caliber and not the quieter crack of a .22 long rifle round.
Sam Stone tells Royce Taylor that the charge is elevated to that of murder one due to the fact that the girl who was injured after accidentally crashing through a glass door has died from her injuries. At that point in the investigation they don't even know what happened or who, if anyone, was involved . How can a detective possibly say that that it is now a murder one case just because the injured party died of her injuries.
Jeanice Warner dies in the hospital from injuries received from crashing through a plate glass door. When she is delivered to the emergency room and shoved into the arms of a nurse (Marion Ross) the nurse has no blood whatsoever on her white uniform and Jeanice has no blood or cuts on her face. However Johnny Taylor (David Macklin) has to launder his clothes to try to get the blood stains out and he and his dad find large amounts of blood on his car seats.