BRANDON, Miss. (Court TV) — The 14-year-old girl who allegedly fatally shot her mother and tried to kill her stepfather was back in court today where a judge ruled that cameras will be permitted in the courtroom at her upcoming trial.
Prosecutors say Carly Gregg shot Ashley Smylie twice in the face and once below the chin on March 19 before inviting a friend over to look at the body. Smylie taught high school math at the school her daughter attended.
Teen murder defendant Carly Gregg attends a motions hearing on July 23, 2024. (Court TV)
Smylie’s husband, Heath Smylie, told police that when he got home, he found Ashley on the bedroom floor. Gregg was in the kitchen, he said, and aimed the gun at him, striking him in the shoulder.
Charges against Gregg, now 15, include murder and attempted murder.
At today’s motions hearing, Gregg’s attorneys argued that the defendant’s age, and the fact that minors are expected to testify, should preclude media and the public from being present at trial.
Rankin County Circuit Court Judge Dewey K. Arthur denied the request, making his stance clear:
“This is the public’s courtroom. The people of Rankin County own this courtroom. Not this judge, nobody else. This court’s not going to exclude the public.”
When Gregg’s attorneys argued that “the family’s tragedy is not fodder for public entertainment,” Judge Arthur stated that interest in cases is simply a “fact of humanity,” noting that from as far back as the days of Oedipus and, later, Shakespeare, “people have been interested in jury trials. In this country, we have a media, we have the press so things can’t happen behind closed doors.”
The judge swiftly quashed concerns that publicity would somehow bring unwanted attention to the people who will eventually sit on the jury. He emphasized that members of the jury will remain anonymous and will not be photographed or recorded. Their names will remain sealed, and their identities will remain anonymous unless they decide on their own to step forward.
Judge Arthur made it clear that he will do everything in his power to ensure an open, public, and fair trial. He addressed several other motions as well, including the defense’s ongoing petition for Gregg to be moved to a juvenile facility. The teen is currently being housed at the Rankin Detention Center, which is an adult detention facility.
That request was also denied, and Gregg will remain held at the adult facility on a $1M bond. The judge also reminded the court that he’s waiting on a doctor’s mental evaluation of Gregg, which is due next week.
Additionally, Judge Arthur ruled that Gregg’s defense will be permitted to provide her with clothing that is not jail issued, and that she will not have visible restraints.
Gregg’s trial is still on track to go forward in September.
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