A Florida schoolgirl accused of beating her grandmother to death was filmed desperately praying in court.
Sofia Koval, 14, is charged with the murder of her grandmother, Yevheniia Koval, 79, in Lauderdale Lakes, about 30 miles north of Miami.
She was seen praying as she waited to be charged with second-degree murder in Broward County Court shortly after her arrest.
Yevheniia was found unconscious and covered in bruises by her son Vladimir Koval on May 23, and was taken to hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
A medical examiner later determined the grandmother’s death was a homicide.
Sofia Koval, 14, accused of the murder of her grandmother, Yevheniia Koval, 79.
Yevheniia’s son then told police he had left her with his teenage daughter Sofia while he went to visit a friend.
Vladimir added that hours before finding his mother unconscious on the floor, he had taken Sofia’s cell phone away because of her ‘behavioral problems.’
The father said Sofia had recently moved to the United States from Ukraine and was displaying behavioral problems, which he “believed were due to the war she witnessed in Ukraine and the separation from her mother.”
Police said they determined Sofia was a suspect through “investigative methods” but have not provided additional details.
‘It was determined that the teenager physically hit the victim several times. Because the minor hit the grandmother, she died,” reads Sofía’s arrest report.
Yevheniia was found unconscious and covered in bruises by her son Vladimir Koval on May 23, and was taken to hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Neighbors of the family told local media they were shocked by the allegations against the teenager. The family’s apartment building is shown above.
‘It was determined that the teenager physically hit the victim several times. Because the minor hit the grandmother, she died,” reads Sofía’s arrest report.
Neighbors of the family said WSVN They were shocked by the accusations against the teenager.
An anonymous neighbor said: “She’s a good girl.” It’s something I don’t see Sofia doing.
Meanwhile, a family friend said Sofia had been struggling because her mother was in the UK.
‘She can’t get here, so she was distorted. “I don’t see her doing anything drastic,” the family friend told the local media outlet.
Sofia’s father was present in court with a Ukrainian translator.
She has not yet entered a plea and it is unclear whether she will be charged as a juvenile or an adult.
His next court hearing is scheduled for June 12.