A 12-year-old girl was charged with killing her 8-year-old cousin on Monday after an argument over an iPhone, according to the Associated Press.
The suspect in the murder of a teenage girl is accused of strangling her younger cousin with bedding as she slept in the top bunk bed. AP The two were reportedly arguing over an Apple smartphone. reportBoth the victim and suspect were reportedly traveling from out of town to stay with their grandmother in Humboldt, Tennessee, and the argument is believed to have happened during a break.
12-year-old girl accused of choking her 8-year-old cousin to death with iPhone https://t.co/vCeZZZeOqk
— Associated Press (@AP) July 21, 2024
Gibson District Attorney Frederick Agee said the incident between the family members was recorded on a home security camera in the bedroom where the relatives were together the night of the July 15 asphyxiation, according to the Associated Press.
According to reports, the video shows the 12-year-old suspect attempting to suffocate the sleeping child with a sheet. After the girl appeared to be dead, “he cleaned her body and repositioned her,” Agee said. (RELATED: 'I'm going to kill your baby!': Horrifying video shows woman allegedly shooting dead 7-month-old baby in stroller)
“I believe this is one of the most disturbing acts of violence prosecuted by my office, either an adult or a juvenile,” Agie said in a statement, according to the media outlet.
Authorities charged the suspect with first-degree murder and witness tampering on Wednesday after reviewing the video footage, according to the Associated Press.
According to the Associated Press, prosecutors Agie petitioned the judge to charge the girl as an adult and said she would seek “a longer sentence, whether that be prison or court-ordered conditional supervision.”
“She didn't do anything to deserve to have her life taken,” the victim's mother, Rayna Smith, told WREG. “She was only 8 years old. She just turned 8 in April.” (Related article: Mother arrested after 1-year-old baby survives for 2 days in ditch near brother's body)
A 12-year-old girl has been charged with murder after allegedly using an iPhone to choke her 8-year-old cousin, Demelia Hollingsworth, to death. https://t.co/csIcMP68WM pic.twitter.com/116vDnhx52
— Lipstick Alley (@lipstickalley) July 19, 2024
“She loved to read, she loved to swim, she loved to play outside, she rode her bike every day, she played with the kids in the neighborhood, she played with my friends' kids. My baby was adorable,” Smith was quoted as saying by the outlet.
