Carly Gregg, the teenager who fatally shot her mother and attempted to kill her stepfather, has been sentenced to life in prison, according to multiple news reports.
The sentence was handed down to the 15-year-old on Friday, Sept. 20, after jurors in Rankin County, Miss., found her guilty on all counts including first-degree murder, attempted murder and tampering with evidence, according to The Clarion-Ledger,WAPT, and WLBT. Gregg was visibly emotional when the verdict was read, WAPT reported.
Gregg was 14 at the time of the March 19 shooting, in which prosecutors argued she killed her 40-year-old mother, Ashely Smylie, with the mother’s gun inside the family’s Brandon, Miss., home, according toThe Clarion Ledger, WLBT, and WJTV. Later, the teenager lied in wait in an apparent ambush designed to shoot and kill her stepfather, 39-year-old Heath Smylie, when he arrived home, prosecutors said, per the outlets. Gregg then fled but was later arrested near the home.
While Gregg’s defense team did not deny she killed her mother, the attorneys contended that the teenager was experiencing a mental health crisis on the day of the killing and didn’t remember the shooting.
Dr. Andrew Clark, a child psychologist, testified on Tuesday, Sept. 17, that on the day of the shooting, Gregg was “grumpy and irritable” and couldn’t focus in class at Northwest Rankin High School, where her mother was a math teacher, according to The Clarion-Ledger. Clark also said the teenager claimed her memory “went blank” that day after letting her dog out in the backyard.
Clark further testified that Gregg dealt with symptoms of depression and was previously prescribed medication that made her feel numb, The Clarion-Ledger reported. Clark also testified that Gregg heard voices, which were “getting worse” prior to the shooting and that she had a history of self-harm.
After returning home with her mother, prosecutors said Gregg went straight into her parents’ bedroom to retrieve a .357 Magnum pistol from beneath their mattress, according to video from the courtroom shared by Court TV.
Carly Gregg.
Barbara Gauntt/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK
Hiding the gun behind her back, Gregg went to her own bedroom and confronted her mother, fatally shooting her three times, Mississippi state prosecutor Kathryn White Newman said, according to The Clarion Ledger, WLBT, and WJTV.
According to Newman, a short while later, Gregg invited her friend over. When Gregg answered the door, she asked the friend, “Are you squeamish around dead bodies?” before leading the friend to her bedroom, where Gregg’s mother was dead on the floor from three gunshots, CourtTV and WAPT reported.
During closing arguments earlier this week, State Attorney Michael Smith told the jury she was aware of her actions at the time of the shooting, per WAPT.
“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,” Smith said, per the outlet. “She knew exactly what she was doing, and she knew the difference between right and wrong.”
