12-Year-Old Girl Strangles 8-Year-Old Cousin To Death Over iPhone In Tennessee

A 12-year-old girl is facing charges including first-degree murder
after police in Tennessee said video captured her smothering her
8-year-old cousin to death, reportedly after an argument over an iPhone.The
county’s top prosecutor reported the killing took place in a bedroom
the cousins were sharing at a home in Humboldt, about 90 miles northwest
of Memphis.Frederick H. Agee, the District Attorney General for
the state’s 28th Judicial District, which includes Haywood, Crockett
and Gibson counties, released in a statement Thursday.Footage
of the crime obtained by the Humboldt Police Department shows the
12-year-old girl used bedding to suffocate her 8-year-old cousin, “while the victim was sleeping in the top bunk of bunk beds they shared.”“After the suffocation, the juvenile cleaned up the victim and repositioned her body,” the statement continues.The slain girl’s school in Nashville identified the victim as 8-year-old Demeria Hollingsworth.According to the prosecutor, the 12-year-old girl turns 13 this week.Agee
said Humboldt police filed a petition of delinquency charging the
juvenile with first-degree murder and tampering with evidence.”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 his statement.”Due to the horrendous nature of this
crime and under Tennessee Law the Juvenile Court loses jurisdiction
after a juvenile turns 19, and therefore, the juvenile would be free
from any further detention, supervision, or court-ordered mental health
treatment, our office is petitioning Juvenile Judge Mark Johnson to
transfer the delinquent child to Circuit Court to be tried as an adult.”Under the law, the move would allow for a lengthier sentence, whether through incarceration or supervised release.Police have not released a motive in the killing.Neither
the victim nor the accused juvenile live in Humboldt, according to the
release which said both children were visiting family.On Monday,
Metro Nashville Public Schools confirmed to USA TODAY the victim
attended school in Music City and would “be greatly missed.”“The
Cockrill community is mourning the unexpected loss of Demeria
Hollingsworth, a beloved student who had been part of Cockrill since
PreK,” Cockrill Elementary Principal Casey Campbell confirmed. “Demeria
was known for her hard work, intelligence, and sweet demeanor. She was
cherished by everyone who knew her. Her passing has left all of us at
Cockrill devastated.”The victim’s mother, Rayana Smith told
WREG-TV her daughter Demeria and her cousin “had been arguing over an
iPhone after coming from out of town to stay with their grandmother.” “She
was very energetic, always happy, outgoing, smart, she made straight
A’s she always made the principles list she was my girl, it’s a
senseless incident, accident, what we people want to call it, to me a
tragedy. She well be truly missed,” Tamara Pullum, Demeria’s grandmother
told WSMV-TV.USA TODAY has reached out to the victim’s family.”Please keep the victim’s family and the Humboldt Police Department in your thoughts and prayers,” Agee said.The case remained under investigation by police Monday.Pictures of the dead child: