An “evil” 15-year-old Mississippi teenager will spend life in prison without the possibility of parole after fatally shooting her mother in the face and attempting to kill her stepdad.
Carly Gregg of Brandon sobbed in court on Friday as she learned her fate. She was sentenced to life in prison on counts of first-degree murder and attempted murder, and 10 years behind bars for tampering with evidence.
“Carly Gregg is evil and that’s not easy to say, but the truth of the matter is that sometimes evil comes in young packages,” Rankin County District Attorney Bubba Bramlett said Friday.
In March, Gregg shot her mom, 40-year-old high school math teacher Ashley Smylie, in the family’s home. Chilling home surveillance footage shown in court captured the teenager walking around the house with a gun behind her back, and then the sound of gunshots.
Carly Gregg of Brandon sobbed in court on Friday as she learned her fate. She was sentenced to life in prison on counts of first-degree murder and attempted murder, and 10 years behind bars for tampering with evidence.
Rankin County Sheriff’s Office
Prosecutors claimed the shootings took place hours after a friend told Ashley Smylie about Gregg’s marijuana use. Ashley Smylie had reportedly searched her daughter’s room and found vape pens moments before the shooting.
Gregg shot her mother three times in the teenager’s bedroom. Per the security footage, Gregg returned to the kitchen and used her mom’s phone to text her stepfather, Heath Smylie, 39, about when he would be home.
Shortly after the shooting, prosecutors claimed Gregg invited her friend over, asking the friend upon their arrival, “Have you ever seen a dead body?” before showing them her mother dead on the floor.
When Heath Smylie got home, Gregg also shot him in the shoulder with the .357 Magnum he gifted his wife. He was able to wrestle the gun away from her as the teenager ran out of the house but was captured a short time later near the house.
Heath Smylie testified against Gregg in court but maintained that he still cared for her, evening mouthing to her at one point, “I love you,” WLBT reports.
Gregg’s defense attorneys argued she was having a mental health crisis at the time and asked the jury to find her not guilty by reason of insanity. Psychiatrist Dr. Andrew Clark concluded that Gregg suffers from bipolar disorder.
“She was having mood issues, eating disorder issues, cutting herself, hearing voices and sleeping difficulty all leading up to January of 2024,” Clark claimed in court.
The state, however, claimed Gregg did not meet the requirements to be deemed criminally insane. Their expert witness psychiatrist Dr. Jason Pickett claimed Gregg was not insane when she shot her mother and knew what her actions would do.
Pickett also claimed Gregg had narcissistic tendencies and her actions were “diabolical.”
The jury deliberated for two hours before reaching a guilty verdict. For one hour, the jury deliberated on the sentencing for Gregg. Her defense team says they plan to appeal.
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