Carly Gregg sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering her mother

On Friday, 15-year-old Carly Gregg was found guilty of murdering her mother, Ashley Smylie, and attempted murder of her stepfather, Heath Smylie. Gregg, who was tried as an adult in Rankin County, was sentenced to life in prison.

The verdict marks the end of one of the most shocking criminal cases in recent Mississippi history. The case attracted national attention because of Gregg's age and the fact that her parents were the target of her attack. Court TV televised the highly emotional trial.

The crime occurred on March 19, 2024, when Gregg, then 14, shot her 40-year-old mother in their home in Brandon, Mississippi. According to court testimony, she used her mother's own gun and shot her twice in the face before staging an ambush for her stepfather, Heath Smylie.

When he returned home, Gregg shot him in the shoulder, but he survived the attack. Prosecutors stressed that Gregg fled the scene but was arrested shortly afterward, covered in blood, near their home.

Video footage from the kitchen of the Smylie home shows Gregg shortly before and after shooting her mother. Audio recordings of the fatal shooting of Ashley Smylie are also available.

Throughout the trial, Gregg's defense team focused on her mental health issues and attempted to build an insanity defense. Such a defense requires proof that a defendant did not understand the nature of the crime committed and could not distinguish between right and wrong.

Dr. Andrew Clark, a child psychologist who treated Gregg, testified that Gregg suffered from depression and auditory hallucinations. The defense argued that these problems, along with medications that allegedly worsened her symptoms, led to the murder of her mother and the attempted murder of her stepfather.

Dr. Clark's testimony was refuted by Assistant District Attorney Michael Smith, who asked him under cross-examination, “You agree that Carly was trying to cover up the crime, correct?” Clark replied, “Yes.” Smith added, “If you're trying to cover up a crime, doesn't that show that you know what you did?” There was silence in the courtroom.

Gregg's defense team, led by attorney Bridget Todd, pleaded with the jury to find her insanity and allow Carly to be sentenced to treatment at Whitfield.

In closing, Todd argued, “Carly did not get on the stand and lie that her stepfather sexually molested her, that her mother knew about it and ignored it, and that was the reason she killed her. She could have gotten sympathy for something like that, but she didn't. Carly just needs help.”

Gregg did not testify for her own benefit, and no evidence of the abuse Todd alleged was presented at trial.

Assistant District Attorney Katherine Newman countered that Gregg's actions were intentional. Newman pointed out that Gregg got the gun from her parents' bedroom, attacked her stepfather and had the presence of mind to flee the scene.

Newman also highlighted chilling evidence from the crime scene, including text messages Gregg sent to her friends after the murder inviting them to come over and look at her mother's body.

“This was not the result of an uncontrollable nervous breakdown. It was calculated and Carly knew exactly what she was doing,” Newman told the jury.

The jury deliberated for just over two hours before returning a guilty verdict on all counts, including first-degree murder, attempted murder and tampering with evidence.

Judge Dewey Arthur then asked the jury to resume deliberations on sentencing. The jury reconvened a few more hours later and recommended that Gregg be sentenced to life in prison without parole.

ADA Smith told the Magnolia Tribune after the verdict, “This was an extremely difficult case. There are no winners in a case like this. You have a victim whose life was taken by her own daughter and a defendant who, by all accounts, was very intelligent but who will now spend the rest of her life in prison.”

Smith continued, “I believe the evidence has established beyond a reasonable doubt that Carly Gregg committed these crimes and was able to distinguish right from wrong at the time. The jury's decisions on both guilt and sentencing confirm that belief.”