14-Year-Old Allegedly Invited Friend Over To See Mom’s Dead Body & Asked if She Was ‘Squeamish’
Photo: Northwest Rankin High School; Barbara Gauntt/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK
In a chilling case that has shocked Mississippi, a 15-year-old girl, Carly Gregg, is on trial for the murder of her mother and the attempted murder of her stepfather. According to prosecutors, the crime unfolded when a 14-year-old Gregg frantically messaged a friend in March, asking for help with an “emergency” at her family’s home in Brandon, Mississippi. The events that followed were horrifying.
“Are you squeamish around dead bodies?” Gregg allegedly asked her friend when she answered the door, according to state prosecutor Kathryn White Newman during her opening statements at the trial, as reported by CourtTV and local outlets.
Newman explained that Gregg then led her friend to her bedroom, where her mother lay dead from three gunshot wounds. Prosecutors claim the incident occurred after Gregg’s mother, a math teacher at Northwest Rankin High School, was searching her daughter’s room for vape pens. The teen is accused of using her mother’s own .357 Magnum pistol to commit the murder.
Following the shooting, Gregg reportedly contacted her friend, but her violent actions didn’t stop there. According to prosecutors, Gregg allegedly planned to ambush her stepfather, Heath Smylie, when he arrived home later that day. She is charged with both murder and attempted murder, told Local WAPT.
During Monday’s opening statements, Newman detailed how Gregg retrieved the gun from her parents’ bedroom, hid it behind her back, and fatally shot her 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 video shows Gregg texting on her phone in the kitchen shortly after the murder, reportedly messaging her 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 to the house.
When her stepfather arrived home, Gregg allegedly tried to shoot him but failed after a scuffle over the weapon. She then fled through the backyard but was arrested nearby shortly after, according to reports from WJTV.
If convicted, Gregg faces two life sentences for murder and attempted murder. Despite being offered a plea deal of 40 years in prison, the teenager rejected it, with her defense team entering a plea of insanity. The trial continues, with the fate of the young girl hanging in the balance.
