A teen girl killed her mother after being confronted about her marijuana use, a court heard on Wednesday.
Carly Gregg, 15, is fighting murder charges with an insanity defense after she shot her mother Ashley Smylie dead and attempted to kill her stepfather in their Mississippi home back in March.
Smylie had confronted the teen about her marijuana use on the way home from school the day she was killed, psychiatrist Andrew Clark said as he testified in Greggs defense.
According to Dr Clark, the teen had begun smoking marijuana about six weeks before she shot her 40-year-old mother dead. She had reportedly also been struggling with new medications.
Dr Clark said Gregg was in the middle of a mental health crisis and does not remember shooting her mother, who worked as a math teacher in the same school the teen attended.
Carly Gregg, 15, is fighting murder charges with an insanity defense after she shot her mother Ashley Smylie dead and attempted to kill her stepfather in their Mississippi home
Smylie had confronted the teen about her marijuana use on the way home from school the day she was killed, psychiatrist Andrew Clark said
And then, her mother finds out shes smoking marijuana, Dr Clark said. For Carly, in particular, she so cared about her mothers approval, so for her, this was a crisis.
The court heard Gregg had used marijuana up until at least the day prior to the alleged incident. She had also been prescribed Lexapro and Zoloft - both medications for mood disorders.
Gregg reportedly to the psychiatrist that shed had auditory hallucinations for years prior to the killing, but the voices in her head had never commanded her to do anything.
She was having mood issues, eating disorder issues, cutting herself, hearing voices and sleeping difficulty all leading up to January of 2024, Dr Clark told the court.
Harrowing footage of Carly Gregg casually wandering around her kitchen has been played in court during her murder trial in Mississippi this week
Greggs mother, 40-year-old math teacher Ashley Smylie was fatally shot in the face
The teen had a close, yet complicated relationship with her mother and a loving bond with her stepfather, per Dr Clark. Greggs relationship with her biological father, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, was more problematic.
Gregg was filmed casually walking around her kitchen, playing on her mobile phone and texting a friend just moments after shots were fired.
Prosecutors allege that after shooting her mother dead, Gregg used the teachers cellphone to text her stepfather Heath in an effort to lure him home.
A text message sent from Smylies phone to Heath read: When will you be home honey?
When Heath returned home, police allege Gregg shot at him, hitting him once in the shoulder.
The court heard Heath wrestled the gun from Gregg before she could shoot him again, prompting her to flee the scene.
Gregg faces 20 years to life in prison if convicted.
She turned down a deal with the prosecution that would have seen her serve 40 years in prison.