In a chilling case that has shaken Mississippi, 15-year-old Carly Madison Gregg has been convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole for the murder of her mother and the attempted murder of her stepfather. The verdict came after a jury was presented with disturbing surveillance footage that captured the teenager’s actions leading up to and following the fatal shooting.
Carly Gregg’s emotional response in court was evident as she learned her fate. However, Rankin County District Attorney Bubba Bramlett delivered a stark assessment of her actions, stating, “Carly Gregg is evil, and that’s not easy to say, but the truth of the matter is that sometimes evil comes in young packages.” This statement underscored the gravity of the crime and the prosecution’s perspective on Gregg’s culpability.
The trial presented jurors with five days of unsettling evidence, with the surveillance video playing a central role. The footage depicted Carly Gregg initially pacing within the family home, visibly concealing a gun behind her back. The silence of the video was then broken by the sound of gunshots, marking the moment of the deadly attack. Following the gunshots, the video showed a disturbing scene of Gregg returning to the kitchen area, where she was seen engaging in casual activities such as texting and playing with her dogs, seemingly unfazed by the violence that had just occurred.
Prosecutors detailed the horrific nature of the crime, stating that Carly Gregg shot her mother, Ashley Smylie, directly in the face. Ashley Smylie, a 40-year-old high school math teacher, was the victim of this brutal act. The violence continued when Gregg’s stepfather, Heath Smylie, arrived home. Gregg fired a bullet at him as well. Heath Smylie’s frantic 911 call, a recording filled with panic and disbelief, was also presented to the jury, offering a raw and immediate account of the aftermath of the shooting.
Heath Smylie himself testified, recounting the terrifying moment he was attacked. “Gun went off in my face before the door was open,” he stated, describing the suddenness and unexpectedness of the violence. He then described wrestling the gun away from Gregg before making the desperate call to emergency services. In the 911 call, his words, “She killed her mom,” revealed the horrifying reality of the situation to the dispatchers.
The prosecution argued that the sequence of events was triggered after a friend informed Gregg’s mother about the teenager’s marijuana use. This detail provided a potential, albeit insufficient, context for the outburst of violence. In contrast, Carly Gregg’s defense attorneys argued that she was experiencing a severe mental health crisis at the time of the incident. Defense attorney Kevin Camp pleaded with the jurors, urging them to consider a verdict of “not guilty by reason of insanity,” suggesting that Gregg was not in control of her actions due to her mental state.
State prosecutor Kathryn Newman directly refuted the insanity plea by reenacting Gregg’s alleged words after the shooting: “I put three in my mom and I got three — I got three more waiting for my stepdad.” Newman argued that such calculated and purposeful language did not align with the behavior of someone experiencing a mental health crisis, effectively challenging the defense’s central argument.
Ultimately, the jury deliberated for just two hours before reaching a verdict, finding Carly Gregg guilty on all charges. Despite the conviction, the defense team has indicated their intention to appeal the verdict, suggesting that the legal proceedings surrounding this tragic case are likely to continue.
