In a devastating case, 15-year-old Carly Gregg was sentenced to life in prison after fatally shooting her mother, Ashley Smylie, a beloved high school teacher. The incident unfolded on March 19, 2024, when Gregg, shot her mother and attempted to kill her stepfather.
Uncovering a Dangerous Secret
According to WLBT, prosecutors revealed that Gregg’s mother had discovered her daughter’s hidden life with drugs shortly prior to the shooting. A friend of Carly’s, concerned about her increasing drug use, informed Ashley Smylie that Carly was smoking marijuana, using burner phones, and hiding her behavior.
When her mother confronted her and found vape pens, the tension escalated, leading to the shooting.
The Fatal Day
Based on the CCTV footage, the shooting took place on March 19, 2024, shortly after Carly returned home from school, at Northwest Rankin High School where her mother was a math teacher.
In a chilling sequence captured by home surveillance footage, Carly is first seen entering her home and disappearing from the camera’s view. She soon reappears, scanning for any signs of intruders while concealing a 357 Magnum behind her back.
She then makes her way toward the bedroom and three gunshots echoed through the air, accompanied by her mother’s screams.
Carly reemerged in view of the camera after the shooting, sitting on the stool as she texted her stepfather, pretending to be her mother to lure him home. When he arrived, she shot him in the shoulder, but he overpowered her, ultimately leading to her arrest.
Mental Health Debate
Throughout the trial, Carly’s defense centered on her fragile mental state. Her lawyers argued that Carly was not in her right mind during the attack, suffering from psychosis caused by her medications. A psychiatrist testified that Carly was hearing voices and experiencing severe dissociative episodes, and had no memory of the shooting.
However, prosecutors countered that Carly understood the consequences of her actions. According to Law & Crime, they pointed out that Carly hid evidence and made deliberate attempts to deceive her stepfather by texting from her mother’s phone.
Sentenced to Life
After a week-long trial, the jury deliberated for just two hours before delivering a guilty verdict. Carly was convicted on all three charges: the murder of her mother, the attempted murder of her stepfather, and tampering with evidence.
Despite arguments that she was mentally unwell, the court found Carly competent to stand trial and ruled that she knew right from wrong at the time of the incident. Now 15 years old, Carly Gregg will spend the rest of her life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Before the trial, she was offered a plea deal that could have resulted in a 40-year sentence, but her defense team opted to pursue an insanity defense. The jury, however, was not convinced, and the sentence was handed down with devastating finality.
Reflecting On a Broken Family
Carly’s stepfather, Heath Smylie, who survived her attack, gave heart-wrenching testimony during the trial. He described the moment he found his wife dead and the traumatic encounter with Carly, who he said looked like she “had seen a demon”.
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