A 12-year-old girl in Tennessee has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of her 8-year-old cousin, Demeria Hollingsworth. The tragic incident reportedly occurred following a dispute over an iPhone.
On July 17, Frederick Agee, the District Attorney General for the 28th District in West Tennessee, announced that his office had obtained home security footage showing the 12-year-old girl smothering her younger cousin in the top bunk of the bunk beds they were sharing. After the suffocation took place, the girl proceeded to clean up the scene and reposition her cousin’s body.
According to a report by WREG, Hollingsworth’s mother, Rayana Smith, revealed that the girls were spending the summer at their grandmother’s residence in Humboldt. Smith indicated that the altercation leading to the tragic event was related to an iPhone.
“When they told me about that, I should have just gone to get my kid. But they were having fun for the summer and I didn’t think she would kill my baby,” she said. “She did nothing to deserve for her life to be taken. She was only eight years old. She just turned eight in April.”
Agee said he is petitioning a Juvenile Judge to transfer the child, who is reportedly turning 13 years old next week, to Circuit Court to be tried as an adult. Agee also mentioned that the child is charged with tampering with evidence.
Smith said Hollingsworth “liked to read books, go swimming, play outside, ride her bike every day, play with the kids in the neighborhood, and play with my friends’ kids.” She said the last time she saw her daughter, Hollingsworth was “smiling, giving me kisses, telling me she will see me when it’s time for her to come back home.”
“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,” Smith told wreg.
A GoFundMe account has been established to assist Smith in laying her beautiful daughter to rest. You can click HERE to offer your support.
Even though she is 12/13 she knew enough to clean up the area reposition the body and not go tell someone that the baby wasnt breathing so its going to be very hard to use the developmental and intellectual immaturity for her defense. Yes turn her over to adult court the murder was adult behavior and her actions after were adult behavior she knew exactlly what she was doing.
This whole situation is so sad all around because one family loses twice at the same time.
The obsession over these phones is sad and kind of sick. Not only do these kids sit on them all day and night but they will fight over them and now we see that they will kill.