A 12-year-old girl in Tennessee has been charged with murder after she suffocated her cousin as the younger girl slept.
According to reports, a security camera recorded the crime, in their bedroom on July 15 in Humboldt, Tennessee, the county prosecutor said.
The crime was reportedly triggered by an argument over an iPhone, a relative said.
The recording shows the older child using bedding to suffocate her cousin as the 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 girl was charged with first-degree murder and tampering with evidence after authorities obtained the video last 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 stated.
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.”
