Carly Gregg was found guilty of killing her mother and then invited a friend to see her body; she was sentenced to life in prison.
At the age of 14, Carly Gregg shot and killed her mother inside the family’s Brandon, Mississippi, home.
According to numerous news sources, Carly Gregg, the teenager who shot her mother to death and tried to kill her stepfather, has been sentenced to life in prison.
The Clarion-Ledger, WAPT, and WLBT reported that on Friday, Sept. 20, the 15-year-old was given her sentence after Rankin County, Miss., jurors found her guilty of all counts, including first-degree murder, attempted murder, and tampering with evidence. According to WAPT, Gregg was upset when the verdict was announced.
The Clarion-Ledger, WLBT, and WJTV all reported that Gregg, who was 14 at the time of the killing on March 19, killed her 40-year-old mother, Ashely Smylie, inside the family’s Brandon, Mississippi, home with the mother’s gun, according to the prosecution. Prosecutors claimed that the adolescent later lay in wait in what appeared to be an ambush intended to shoot and murder her stepfather, 39-year-old Heath Smylie, when he got home. After that, Gregg ran away but was apprehended close to the house.
Gregg’s defense team said that the youngster was having a mental health crisis on the day of the death and didn’t recall the shooting, even though they did not deny that Gregg killed her mother.
Child psychologist Dr. Andrew Clark stated in court on Tuesday, September 17, that Gregg was “grumpy and irritable” and found it difficult to concentrate in class at Northwest Rankin High School, where her mother taught math. This information was reported by The Clarion-Ledger. Clark added that after letting her dog out in the backyard that day, the adolescent said her memory “went blank.”
According to The Clarion-Ledger, Clark also stated in her testimony that Gregg experienced depressive symptoms and had previously been administered medicine that left her feeling numb. Clark further stated in her testimony that Gregg had a history of self-harm and that she had heard voices that were “getting worse” prior to the shooting.
According to Court TV’s video from the courtroom, Gregg walked straight into her parents’ bedroom after arriving home with her mother and took a.357 Magnum pistol out from under their mattress.
Gregg walked to her own bedroom, concealed the pistol behind her back, and approached her mother, shooting her three times before killing her, as stated by Mississippi state prosecutor Kathryn White Newman, as reported by WLBT, WJTV, and The Clarion Ledger.
A short while later, Gregg invited her buddy over, according to Newman. “Are you squeamish around dead bodies?” Gregg asked her companion as she answered the door. She then led the friend to her bedroom, where Gregg’s mother lay lifeless on the floor following three gunshots, according to CourtTV and WAPT.
According to WAPT, State Attorney Michael Smith informed the jury during closing arguments earlier this week that she was conscious of her actions at the moment of the shooting.
According to the publication, Smith stated, “We would ask that you go back there and find her guilty of all three because she was not insane at the time that this happened.” “She understood the difference between right and wrong and knew exactly what she was doing.”