In a chilling case that has shocked Mississippi, 15-year-old Carly Gregg is on trial for the murder of her mother and the attempted murder of her stepfather. prosecutorsThe crime unfolded when 14-year-old Gregg sent a desperate text to a friend in March, asking for help with an “emergency” at his family home in Brandon, Mississippi. The events that followed were horrific.
“Does being around dead bodies disgust you?” Gregg allegedly asked her friend when she opened the door, according to state prosecutor Kathryn White Newman during her opening statements at the trial, according to reports. TV Court and local outlets.
Newman said Gregg then took her friend to her bedroom, where her mother lay dead from three gunshot wounds. Prosecutors say the incident occurred after Gregg’s mother, a math teacher at Northwest Rankin High School, searched her daughter’s room for e-cigarettes. The teen is accused of using her mother’s .357 Magnum handgun to commit the murder.
Following the shooting, Gregg reportedly contacted her friend, but her violent actions didn’t end there. According to prosecutors, Gregg allegedly planned to ambush her stepfather, Heath Smylie, when he arrived home later that day. She is charged with murder and attempted murder, Local reported. WAIT.
During opening statements Monday, Newman detailed how Gregg retrieved the gun from his parents’ bedroom, hid it behind his back and fatally shot his mother. Home security footage, shown at a preliminary hearing in April, allegedly captured the teen’s calm demeanor before and after the shooting. Investigator Zachary Cotton testified that the The video shows Gregg was texting on his phone in the kitchen shortly after the murder, allegedly messaging his stepfather to ask when he would be home.
Cotton also stated that between killing her mother and attempting to shoot her stepfather, Gregg was seen “singing to her dog” before texting her friend to come over to the house.
When her stepfather arrived home, Gregg allegedly attempted to shoot him, but was unsuccessful after a struggle over the gun. She then fled through the backyard, but was arrested shortly afterward, according to police reports. WJ Television.
If convicted, Gregg faces two life sentences for murder and attempted murder. Despite being offered a plea deal of 40 years in prison, the teen rejected it and her defense team pleaded insanity. The trial continues, with the teen’s fate hanging in the balance.
