13-year-old accused of suffocating 8-year-old cousin indicted, will be tried in adult court

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A 13-year-old accused of suffocating her 8-year-old cousin in a bunk bed at their grandmother’s house in Humboldt, Tennessee was indicted Monday by a Gibson County grand jury and will be tried in adult court.

La’Quvanah Parson of Columbia, South Carolina is charged with First-Degree Murder and Tampering with Evidence. The victim was 8-year-old Demeria Hollingsworth of Nashville, Tennessee.

Parson’s case was transferred to adult court after a transfer hearing Sept. 24.

On July 15, just before 2:10 p.m., Humboldt Police Department officers say they responded to a home on Mitchell Street where they found Hollingsworth in an upstairs bedroom. She was pronounced dead at the scene, police say.

According to the District Attorney, video evidence shows Parson, who was 12 at the time, suffocating the 8-year-old with bedding, then cleaning up the blood from the victim’s face and repositioning the body.

“Demeria Hollingsworth was asleep in bed when she was violently attacked by her cousin Parson. We will continue to work to seek justice for Demeria and hold Parson accountable for taking her life. This is a very difficult case for everyone involved, and we ask that you especially keep the family of Demeria in your thoughts and prayers,” said Frederick H. Agee, District Attorney General.

The victim’s mother said the girls were staying with their grandmother in Humboldt for the summer. She says the issue stemmed over an argument over an iPhone.

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