Vicksburg Daily News –
RANKIN COUNTY, MS. – After a five day trial, a Brandon 15-year-old, Carly Gregg, was found guilty today for the murder of her mother, Ashley Smylie, and the attempted murder of her step-father, Heath Smylie on March 19, 2024. She was also found guilty of tampering of evidence, by hiding the camera from the kitchen in the refrigerator. The jury deliberated for roughly two hours before deciding the verdict.
The trial began on Monday, September 16, with opening statements from both the prosecution and the defense, as well as the jury hearing the 911 call made by Heath Smylie.
The prosecution opened their arguments with what they claimed was the catalyst to the tragedy.
“So now I want to take you to the real reason we’re here,” began Kathryn Newman, the assistant district attorney for Rankin County, where the alleged crime took place, “From the testimony of a friend, he was so worried about Carly’s use of smoking marijuana, so worried about her being high, and so worried about her having these burner phones, that [Carly’s] mom didn’t know about, that he felt compelled to tell Mrs. Ashley Smylie that day.”
The defense claimed Gregg is suffering from mental illness, stating Gregg was hearing voices in part due to her current medication. According to a witness brought forward by the defense, Dr. Clark, Gregg told him her memory went blank when she got home during the shooting, and the next thing she remembers is when the deputy picked her up. Dr. Clark testified that the medication made Gregg’s mood swings worse the day of the shooting and that she was hearing voices.
The teen’s medication was switched from Zoloft to Lexapro a week before the incident, but Dr. Clark says she didn’t make the switch properly.
March 19 Timeline
Over the course of the trial, the prosecution laid out a timeline that led to the death of Ashley Smylie and the attempted murder of Heath Smylie, who was shot in the shoulder.
After arriving home from school, Ashley Smylie searched Carly’s room to look for evidence of her smoking marijuana and found vape pens. As the mother searched Gregg’s room, the teenager then went into her parents room and took her mother’s .357 Magnum.
In a video from a security camera in the kitchen of the home, shared during the trial, Gregg is seen walking from her parents room with a hand behind her back, towards her bedroom. Seconds later a shot is heard, followed by screams, and then two additional shots. Gregg is then seen walking back into the kitchen, with her hand still behind her back, sit down on a bar stool in the kitchen and then texted her step-father from her mothers phone asking when he would be home.
According to a WLBT journalist inside the courtroom: When the friend got to Carly’s house, she claims Carly asked her, “Have you ever seen a dead body? My mom is in there.” When she said no, Gregg proceeded to show her Ashley’s body. Gregg allegedly told the friend to wait outside because her stepfather was about to come home.
Gregg then fired three shots at her step father as he arrived home. In a replay of body cam footage shown in the trial, Heath Smylie is heard stating: “I went in the back door and she tried to shoot me.”
The step father was able to wrestle the weapon away from Gregg, and she fled the house. She was arrested nearby approximately half a mile away.
The post Brandon Teenager, Carly Gregg, Found Guilty of Murdering Mother, Ashley Smylie, and Attempted Murder of Step-Father appeared first on Vicksburg Daily News.
