New evidence suggests 8-year-old was murdered by her cousin, who was 12
UPDATE (7/19/24): A GoFundMe has been launched to support the family’s funeral expenses. Click here for more information.
UPDATE (7/18/24): District Attorney shares details on death of 8-year-old child
JACKSON, Tenn. — We bring you continuing coverage regarding the death of an 8-year-old girl in Humboldt. We spoke with 28th Judicial District Attorney Frederick Agee about the case, here’s what we know so far.
According to the Humboldt Police Department, on Monday, July 15, officers were dispatched to Mitchell Street in response to an unresponsive juvenile female. EMS later arrived and determined the child had died.
Wednesday, we spoke with District Attorney Frederick Agee who told us new evidence points towards a murder.
“The Humboldt Police Department has filed a petition for delinquency on a 12-year-old child and the child is accused of first degree murder,” said Agee.
According to Agee, the 8-year-old victim resided in Nashville and was staying in Humboldt with her father and grandmother. Her first cousin, a 12-year-old female, was also visiting from out of state. During this visit, evidence collected by investigators points toward the 12-year-old allegedly murdering the 8-year-old.
“Our office, as well as the Humboldt Police Department, has received video evidence that corroborates the charge of first degree murder. Our office, the investigators with the Humboldt Police Department, and myself reviewed this video and it corroborates first degree murder,” said Agee.
Agee tells us, Juvenile Judge Mark Johnson ordered that the 12-year-old be held in detention. A detention hearing will be held on Friday.
“Our office will ask for three things. One we’re going to ask that the child be detained during this process. Number two we’re going to ask for a JC-20, which is a juvenile court mental health evaluation, and number three we’re going to file, or we will give notice at that time, that we intend to transfer this child as an adult,” said Agee.
Agee asks to keep the victim’s family in your thoughts and prayers and the Humboldt police officers as well.
“This is a very disturbing case and it’s not one that we see and we hope we never see again in the 28th judicial district,” said Agee.
District Attorney Agee tells us that, under Tennessee law, juveniles can only be under the authority of juvenile court until age 19.
This is one reason why he’s seeking to transfer this case to adult court.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Humboldt Police Department confirms death of 8-year-old girl
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