A teenage girl, Carly Madison Gregg, 14, of Brandon, Mississippi, has been charged as an adult for allegedly killing her mother and injuring her stepfather, as per local law enforcement.
Police responded to an emergency call on Tuesday, March 19, shortly after 5 p.m., where they found a man suffering from a gunshot wound. The victim, recognized as Gregg’s stepfather, reported that he came home to discover his wife, 40-year-old Ashley Smylie, dead. He stated that his stepdaughter had shot him in the shoulder but he had managed to disarm her. Gregg subsequently fled the scene by escaping into the backyard and jumping over the fence.
Sheriff Bryan Bailey stated that a combined effort from ground officers and a Mississippi Highway Patrol helicopter led to the apprehension of Gregg in the vicinity without any further incidents. Following her arrest, she was initially held at the Rankin County Juvenile Detention Center on charges of murder and attempted murder.
After a juvenile court decided to try Gregg as an adult, she was transferred to the Rankin County Adult Detention Center. During her court appearance, Gregg pleaded not guilty and the judge set her bond at $1,000,000.
Ashley Smylie, the deceased victim, was a respected math teacher at Northwest Rankin High School, where Gregg was a student. Smylie had previously served at Warren Central High School.
Lauren Martinez, a local resident, expressed her disbelief: “You just wouldn’t think a child could do something like this. It feels as though there’s a piece of the puzzle missing, something is wrong. It’s an unexpected level of caution.”
The investigation into the motive behind the shooting is still ongoing.
