14-year-old girl accused of murdering mother showed dead body to friend, investigator says

BRANDON. Miss. (TND) — A 14-year-old girl from Mississippi who was accused of killing her mother invited a friend over her house to see her mother's dead body, an investigator testified in court.

Carly Madison Gregg appeared in court for a preliminary hearing, which was recorded and released on YouTube by the blog Jackson Jambalaya, on April 16.

Carly was arrested in March after she allegedly murdered her mother, Ashley Smylie, as well as seriously hurt her step-father, Heath Smylie, during two separate shootings at their Brandon, Miss., home.

Rankin County Investigator Zachary Cotton testified at the hearing, saying dispatchers received a call from a man, later identified as Health Smiley, who said his child had shot him and his wife on March 19.

The person on the phone was frantic," Cotton said.

Cotton said deputies responded to the scene, where they found an injured man at the door and a dead woman inside a bedroom. He said the man had been shot in the shoulder, with the man telling deputies his step-daughter shot him and killed his wife.

The investigator said Carly was later found about a half mile away from the house and taken into custody.

Cotton detailed scenes from two security cameras found at the family's home, noting that Carly is seen walking into her mother's bedroom before a gunshot is heard, followed by a scream and two more gunshots. He said Ashley Smylie was shot twice in the face and once in the chin.

The footage also shows Carly hiding something behind her back -- which Cotton believes is a gun. He said Carley then texts her step-father, who was not home yet, asking when he would be at the house.

Cotton said it was about 45 minutes to 50 minutes before Heath arrived at the scene.

In the meantime, he said Carly texted a friend, asking her to come over and saying it was an emergency.

Carly asked her if she had ever seen a dead body before," Cotton said. "She said no. She proceeded to show her deceased mother, who was in the bedroom, (and) showed the gun that she used to shoot her mom. (She) told (the friend) she had three shots for her mom and that she’s got three more for her step-dad -- two to the head, one to the chest."

Heath told investigators he was shot as soon as he walked into the house, said Cotton, noting that Health said Carly's "eyes were really big" and "it looked like she had seen a demon." Health told investigators Carly was screaming and then ran off.

The friend was outside in the backyard when the second shooting took place, Cotton said.

Cotton said investigators learned Carly had been on prescription medications, including Lexapro, leading up to the murder. He added Carley allegedly changed the medication she was taking about a week before the shootings.

Carly, who was charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder, was held on $1 million bond. Her attorney asked for her bond to be reduced, saying Carly was "an exceptional student" who was well-behaved and has no prior arrests.

Carly was a student at Northwest Rankin High School, where her mother was a teacher, according to the Rankin School District's website.

"She skipped the third grade, so while she is now a sophomore at Northwest Rankin High School, she should be, according to her age, in the ninth grade," her attorney said. "Carly also was student of the month and student of the year prior to this incident."

Carly's attorney also said Carly is set to undergo a mental health evaluation.

Judge David Morrow said he found probable cause in the case and ruled that Carly's bond would stay at $1 million.

"I do believe that Miss Gregg does pose a special danger to others," Morrow said. "The heinous nature of the crime, the premeditation that seems to have been involved here is pronounced -- it's severe and it does concern me that there is a danger to the community. Whether there's a mental component to this or not, I think anybody could argue that to kill another human being there is going to be a mental component involved."

Morrow added that he believes "the probability of conviction is high."