Law&Crime Sidebar - 12-Year-Old Caught on Camera Smothering Younger Cousin in Fight Over iPhone: Cops

Episode Date: July 27, 2024

A young female suspect, who turns 13 this week, is facing murder charges after police in Humboldt, Tennessee say she used bedding to choke the life out of her cousin, 8-year-old Demeria Hollingsworth, allegedly in a fight over a cell phone. Law&Crime’s Jesse Weber gains insight on what happens next in a case like this from Steve Mulroy, district attorney of nearby Shelby County.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW:Blueland has a special offer for Sidebar’s audience! Right now, get 15% off your first order by going to https://www.Blueland.com/SIDEBARHOST:Jesse Weber: https://twitter.com/jessecordweberLAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokeVideo Editing - Michael Deininger and Christina FalconeScript Writing & Producing - Savannah WilliamsonGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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will keep you on the edge of your seat. Don't let your fears take hold of you as you dive into this addictive series. Love thrillers with a paranormal twist? The entire Oracle trilogy is available on Audible. Listen now on Audible. A 12-year-old girl is facing murder charges in Tennessee, accused of killing her own cousin. And police say, they think it all started over an iPhone. We're digging. into this disturbing case and what's ahead for the teen suspect with Stephen Mulroy, District Attorney of Shelby County, Tennessee. Welcome to Sidebar, presented by Law and Crime. I'm Jesse Weber.

Prosecutors in Humboldt, Tennessee say a security camera inside of a bedroom shows a 12-year-old girl murdering her eight-year-old cousin. Can't even believe I'm saying it, but that is the situation that we're talking. about. The young victim has been identified by her mother as Demaria Hollingsworth. Demaria and her older cousin were staying with their grandmother for the summer. Relative says the two girls were arguing over an iPhone when the unidentified 12-year-old suffocated Demaria. The suspect was charged with first-degree murder and tampering with evidence. Gibson District Attorney Frederick Adjee released a statement after Humboldt police revealed the existence

of video in connection with Demaria's death. He said the video, quote, showed the 12-year-old female juvenile, who apparently will be 13 next week, used betting to suffocate her eight-year-old cousin while the victim was sleeping in the top bunk of bunk beds they shared. After the suffocation, the juvenile cleaned up the victim and repositioned her body. Aggie wrote, I consider this to be one of the most disturbing violent acts

committed by either an adult or juvenile that my office is prosecuted. Due to the horrendous nature of this crime and under Tennessee law, the juvenile court loses jurisdiction after a juvenile turns 19 and therefore the juvenile would be free from any further detention, supervision, or court-ordered mental health treatment. Our office is petitioning juvenile judge Mark Johnson to transfer the delinquent child to circuit court to be tried as an adult, which allows for a lengthier sentence, whether that will be through incarceration or supervision with court-ordered conditions. Now, we reached out to the victim's grandmother who confirmed that there is now a gag order

in place surrounding this case. But let me tell you who we can talk to. Stephen Mulroy, elected district attorney of Shelby County, Tennessee, a former law professor from the University of Memphis and former federal prosecutor. Stephen, thanks so much for coming on. So you're in a different jurisdiction, but same state. And we want to talk more generally about the law. First, let me just start. Have you ever seen a crime like this? Have you ever seen a case like this?

No, I have not. I was shocked when I heard about it myself for all the reasons that you just described. I've never seen anything like this. The suspect, 12 years old, it's just again kind of shocking to be saying this, but the suspect who we believe turns 13 next week, what are the chances that this is transferred to adult court? Well, transfer to adult court for a defendant as young as this, 12, soon to be 13, is pretty rare. It's not the norm at all. But when you have a crime as serious as this with these kinds of facts, I wouldn't rule it out. How does it work, though, in the sense that what are the arguments both sides make, whom is

it the circuit court judge that makes the decision? I mean, what are the factors that are presented by both sides here? The court looks to see whether there is, in fact, probable cause that the defendant did, in fact, commit the crime charged. Whether there's any special indications that there's some sort of mental health or similar type of problem that, you know, requires treatment and would argue against transfer to adult court. anything else that would suggest whether, you know, or other rehabilitation things that might work have yet to be tried, that kind of thing. But, you know, I think it's important to note that even if there is a transfer to adult court,

that doesn't mean that the only option would then be some sort of, you know, long sentence in the penitentiary and that's it. It could be a combination of some period of confinement along with intensively supervised probation, counseling, you know, those kinds of things as well. So the mere fact that is transferred to adult court doesn't necessarily mean that, you know, 30 years in the penitentiary is the only option. Hey, I want to call out one of our great sponsors who helps make this show happen, Blue Land. So we as a society are finally recognizing how important it is to eat clean, to use clean products

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If this stays in juvenile court, is the idea that prosecuted, convicted a first-degree murder, this juvenile when they turn 19 can be released? Yeah, the juvenile court loses jurisdiction when the defendant turns 19. So someone theoretically could be convicted of murder. another individual and be let out within a few years? That's correct. Yeah. As a matter of... There's no supervision, no conditions put on that release? Under the current law, if they're in juvenile court, no. But interestingly, I have been a

proponent for a while of something called blended sentencing, which the legislature just passed this year and it becomes effective in January. And under blended sentencing in these kinds of situations, you might have the option of keeping the defendant in juvenile court. but having the court keep jurisdiction past the age of 19, up to as high as 24. And in those extra five years, you could either have an additional period of confinement or you could have intensive supervision, counseling, services, those kinds of things. That's so interesting. Is that because other states are doing this?

Are you just seeing, unfortunately, a lot of juvenile cases in your state? No, a number of other states, I think over 15 states have for a number of years now had different versions of blended sentencing. And I always thought it was appropriate in a situation like, let's say that the defendant is 16 or 17, and they commit a mid-level serious crime. Ordinarily, if you transfer the youth to adult court, the data shows they're actually more likely to reoffend when they get out. In many cases, we're sending them off to crime college.

But on the other hand, if you keep them in juvenile court, then you lose jurisdiction after a year or two, and that's not enough time to either rehabilitate or punish, depending on what you want to do. So the blended sentencing is this middle ground option that other states have been using, and I think Tennessee will use after the beginning of the year. Now, besides the punishment, prosecuting a case in juvenile court versus adult court, what are the differences? How do the trials look different in terms of a juvenile or adult court? Well, I mean, you know, you still have direct examination. cross-examination, the rules of evidence, you know, you still have a lot of the same

types of procedures in terms of a trial and fact-finding. The main difference is that juvenile court, by its very nature, is supposed to be focused on rehabilitation. So you don't really talk about convicting the child of a crime. You say that the youth has been found to be delinquent. And rather than the emphasis on punishment, the emphasis on rehabilitation. Is it in front of a jury? in juvenile court or in front of a judge judge so there's no jury in a juvenile court system right that's that's that's the that's the difference in it of itself right i mean i guess the question is if this is tried in front of a jury in adult court i imagine there are challenges

of prosecuting someone that young assuming by the way when that trial would happen because let's say it hasn't happened for a few years but assuming this trial happens when the suspect is 13 or 14 years old, talking about what they did when they were 12. Is that a challenge for to have a jury convict somebody like that? You might think so because of the young age of the defendant. On the other hand, you know, with a crime as serious as this, and if the facts as alleged are proven, they are, you know, pretty shocking. You know, that might also have a big impact on the jury as well.

What's the timing in terms of if it's a juvenile court, when does that go to trial? If it's an adult court, when does it go to trial? We've talked about cases that take years before our murder trial happens. Is it different when you have somebody that young, whether it's in the juvenile court system and the adult court system? Are those cases streamline the happen quicker? No, you can have delays in either type of court. And it's, you know, it would not be unusual for a case as serious as this, you know, to, take, you know, a couple of years before it got to trial.

Do you have cases where somebody committed a crime or allegedly committed a crime when they're a juvenile and they're being tried now after 18, after 19 years old? Sure, that could happen, yeah, if the defendant is just under 18 at the time of the offense. But then does it have to go to the juvenile, does it have to go into adult court? I know I'm getting specific with that. I just find it interesting in the sense that if you have a 12 year old, was about to be 13. Can this trial happen in juvenile court when they turned 19? And is that moot at that point? No, it's not moot. I mean, it's up to the judge in juvenile court as to

whether to transfer the case over to adult court. Right, right. Okay. So now talk to me about a defense, particularly in this situation, and we don't have all the details, but if this was captured on video that they're fighting over an iPhone, when you talk about a sense, I don't know if it gets more senseless than that. That's what the accusations are right now. But what would be a defense? Because I'm struggling to come up with one. So I just don't know enough about the facts of the case to talk about this specific case.

So I'm reluctant to kind of speculate about that. Sure. You know, in any situation like this, you have to wonder where there might be psychological evaluations that are requested. But I really don't know enough about the facts. That's fair. What about generally speaking, in a juvenile court case is a mental health defense on the table? Sure, sure. And how does that work?

Well, it doesn't work all that much differently than it would work in the adult court. You know, the defendant would seek a psychiatric evaluation and, you know, depending on the results of it, then they might or might not put in that as a part of the defense. and then the prosecution could then get their own expert and, you know, get a court order to evaluate the defendant. And, you know, you might have a battle of the experts, you know, like you would and not any kind of trial. But it's the goal that they're not guilty by reason of a mental illness. We talk about the insanity defense. The goal is to get not guilty by reason of insanity and the person would be transferred to a mental health institution as opposed to prison.

What would be the result? What is the goal for a defense attorney in a juvenile? court to put forward a mental health defense? It wouldn't be that different. I mean, you know, depending on the facts, you could argue for not guilty by reason of insanity. And then the question becomes, you know, do they need to be committed to a mental health facility? Or, you know, you could just use it as mitigation evidence, you know, a diminished capacity defense that, you know, you would use at sentencing. You know, it could be used for a number of different things. What are the chances that someone who, again, it's a horrific crime, it's unthinkable what I'm talking about, a 12-year-old accused of killing an 8-year-old, what are the chances that this goes to adult court, she's convicted a first-degree murder, and it's sentenced to life in prison?

that doesn't seem likely to me um given that the the the young age of the child um that i don't think that is a likely outcome um a reason i ask is because demuria's mother rayana smith uh have reportedly told w r g tv that she is hoping for the maximum sentence and she came out and said last time i seen my baby. She was smiling, giving me kisses, telling me she will see me when it's time for her to come back home. She never coming back home. She never coming back home. DeMaria 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. There's been a GoFundMe that has been set up. We're going to include the link right there if anybody wants to provide some support to the family at what is

a incredibly difficult time, an unthinkable crime, an unthinkable moment. And it's hard to make sense of it. But Stephen Mulroy, thank you so much for coming on and breaking down the law with us. It's a really tragic case. And we'll see how it goes through the legal system one way or another, but appreciate you taking the time. Yeah, thank you. Take care. All right, everybody. That's all we have for you right now here on Sidebar. Thank you so much for joining us as we cover this really, really tragic case. Please subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll speak to you next time.