12‑year-old charged as adult in cousin's suffocation death
Shocking crime in the USA. A 12-year-old girl from Tennessee has been charged with the murder of her 8-year-old cousin by suffocation. The victim was sleeping at the time of the crime. Media reports suggest that the girls argued over an iPhone. The prosecutor wants the perpetrator to be tried as an adult.
Media in the USA are abuzz with this unprecedented family crime. In the United States, unusual situations and shocking murders involving minors often occur. However, a situation like that in Humboldt County, Tennessee, is rarely heard of.
The murder was allegedly recorded by a camera placed in the bedroom, which was installed for the safety of minors. According to media reports, the recording shows how the older child suffocated her cousin with the bedding while the younger girl was sleeping. Both were sleeping on a bunk bed.
After the child's death, "the juvenile cleaned up the victim and repositioned her body," quotes the AP News Agency, District Attorney Frederick Agee. American investigators have no doubts about the girl's guilt, which is why they decided to charge her with first-degree murder and tampering with evidence.
The girls came to their grandmother. They argued over a phone
A family member allegedly told journalists that the girls came to their grandmother from another city. They were spending their vacation with her. He added that they argued over an iPhone. The victim is said to be 8-year-old Demeria Hollingsworth. She celebrated her eighth birthday in April. Her mother, Rayana Smith, said of her that she "was always smiling, doing well in school, and hugging her little sister."
She liked to read books, go swimming, play outside, ride her bike every day, play with the kids in the neighborhood, play with my friends’ kids. My baby was sweet," said Smith, as quoted by WREG. "She did nothing to deserve for her life to be taken."
I consider this to be one of the most disturbing violent acts committed by either an adult or juvenile that my office has prosecuted," quoted prosecutor Agee, as reported by the AP News.
The investigator added that he intends to file a motion with the judge to have the girl tried in adult court. She is set to celebrate her thirteenth birthday at the end of the month. According to journalists, this would allow for "a lengthier sentence, whether that will be through incarceration or supervision with court-ordered conditions."
