HUMBOLDT, Tenn. — A 12-year-old girl in Tennessee has been charged with murder, accused of smothering her 8-year-old cousin as the younger girl slept. A relative said they had been arguing over an iPhone.
A security camera recorded the killing, inside the bedroom they shared on July 15 in Humboldt, Tennessee, the county prosecutor said.
The recording shows the older child using bedding to suffocate her cousin as the younger girl slept in the top bunk, Gibson District Attorney Frederick Agee's statement said. After the child died, "the juvenile cleaned up the victim and repositioned her body," Agee said.
The victim's mother, Rayana Smith, told CBS affiliate WREG-TV in Memphis that the girls had been arguing over an iPhone after coming from out of town to stay with their grandmother. She identified her daughter as 8-year-old Demeria Hollingsworth.
The 12-year-old girl was charged with first-degree murder and tampering with evidence after authorities obtained the video on Wednesday.
"I consider this to be one of the most disturbing violent acts committed by either an adult or juvenile that my office has prosecuted," Agee wrote in the statement.
He said he would petition a judge to prosecute the girl, who turns 13 later this month, in adult court, which would allow for "a lengthier sentence, whether that will be through incarceration or supervision with court-ordered conditions."
Smith told WREG-TV the she is hoping for the maximum sentence.
"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 the station.
A GoFundMe organized by Smith had raised over $14,000 as of Monday morning.
"I never imagined anything like this would happen and now find myself trying to fund a funeral," the GoFundMe says.
