September 24, 2024
The trial of Carly Gregg, 15, of Rankin County, Mississippi, began last week, wherein the teenager has been accused of first-degree murder, attempted murder and tampering with evidence.
In August, Gregg rejected a plea deal for 40 years in prison in exchange for a guilty plea, and as a result, is currently on trial.
An earlier motion to move the teenager's trial to Youth court was denied
The shootings occurred on the evening of Tuesday, March 19, 2024, at the family home on the 200 block of Ashton Way.
It was outside of the residence, after 5pm, that police found Gregg's stepfather, Heath Smylie, staggering around with a gun wound to the shoulder, telling responding officers that his wife, Ashley Smylie, 40, had been shot dead.
Heath Smylie had called 911 for assistance after being shot, telling them his neck was grazed, his wife had been shot dead, and his stepdaughter was the culprit. His voice was so high-pitched and distressed that the dispatcher could not initially tell whether he was a man or woman.
While on the call he discovered his dead wife and screamed: “Oh my God, she killed her mom!”
He told the dispatcher that Gregg was on medication and had been struggling. He would later say in court that Gregg’s biological father was a drug user, who blew smoke in her face, and made her drink a beer when she was just 12 years old. He told the court that the suspects biological father had been meddling in their lives for some time.
Ashley Smylie was a math teacher at the nearby Northwest Rankin High School, where her daughter, Carly, was enrolled.
He told police that his stepdaughter was responsible for her murder, adding that he managed to wrestle a pistol out of her grip, before she fled the scene, exiting through the back yard and jumping over the fence to escape.
Mr. Smylie knew as soon as he saw his stepdaughter that something was wrong, he said she was screaming and her eyes were large, as if she was really frightened.
By 5:30pm Gregg was located and arrested without incident. She was wearing jeans and a Nirvana T-shirt, and while having her hands swabbed asked if her stepfather was okay.
When asked if she was okay, she responded: “Yes, I’m fine.”
Reports state that Gregg was driven home after school by her mother on March 19. When they got home, media outlets report that Gregg went into her parents bedroom and reached under the mattress of their bed, pulling out Smylie’s .357 Magnum pistol. She has been accused of then concealing the pistol behind her back, before walking to her own bedroom and shooting her mother three times.
Reports state Smylie had been searching her daughter’s room for vape pens, when she was ambushed by her daughter, who was brandishing a gun.
At trial, the prosecution said that testimony would reveal that after killing Smyles, Greg took her mother’s phone, entered the passcode, and sent a text message to her stepfather asking what time he’d be coming back.
After shooting her mother dead, and while waiting for her stepfather to return, Gregg allegedly messaged several friends, asking for help with an "emergency."
She did not reveal why, but asked if they would come over to her home.
When a friend showed up, they were greeted at the door with the question: "Are you squeamish around dead bodies?"
The friend was then led to Gregg’s bedroom, where her mother was lying dead on the floor with three gunshotwounds.
Prosecutors accuse Gregg of then waiting for her stepfather to return home, so she could kill him too.
A sixteen-year-old juvenile witness, who has known Carly Gregg for around two years and whose mother also teaches at their school, said he had never seen a negative interaction between Ashley Smylie and her daughter.
He said Gregg was a "genius kid" who almost never got into trouble, nor did anything wrong. He admitted that the one and only time he did see her get into trouble for cheating on a math test, was a shock to him.
On the day of the murder, the juvenile witness said he saw Gregg at lunch time that day, sitting alone in the cafeteria. He said she had spilled her drink and got angry at him when he joked about it. This was not typical of her.
He also told the court that he was aware Gregg had been using drugs, as she admitted it to him and could tell that she “was high.” He said he knew she smoked marijuana, but only saw her smoking it once, and didn’t know who or where she got it from.
That same day, worrying about his friend, the witness told Ashley Smylie that her daughter had been using drugs, smoking vapes, and had a burner phone to replace the one she had confiscated. He then sent an email to Smylie, asking her if she would wait a while before confronting Gregg.
The next time the witness heard from Gregg was around 4:20pm, when she messaged him asking for help.
when she called him later that evening on facetime. He noticed that she looked upset, and reminded her not to harm herself or anyone else, to which, she said it was “too late.” He said she looked as though she was fighting tears.
He said that whenever Gregg would get into trouble she would self-harm, but said she had never been violent before.
The defense had argued that Gregg suffered from mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, and PTSD.
Child and adolescent psychiatrist, Dr. Andrew Clark, also took the stand, and when asked by the defense: "do you believe that Carly was able to understand the nature of her conduct and appreciate the difference between right and wrong at the time this incident occurred on March 19?" He answered that he didn't think so.
Clark added that Gregg's sister died at the age of 4, that she began hearing voices in her head when she was 6 or 7 years old, and began superficially self-harming around age 11.
Clark was prescribed Lexapro, which she complained made her feel numb and flat, and said she had issues concentrating at school. She became more irritable.
The prosecution argued that Gregg knew what she was doing, that she snuck into her parents bedroom to retrieve the gun, waited for her stepfather to return, and hid the camera’s in the home to conceal evidence.
Carly Gregg was sentenced by a Rankin County jury this week to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of Ashley Smylie, and the attempted murder of Heath Smylie.
Gregg broke down in tears as her sentence was read.
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