A psychiatrist testified in the trial of a teenage murder suspect, saying she was in a mental health crisis and had several issues in the months before her mother was shot and killed. Carly Gregg was 14 years old when the shooting took place on March 19 at the family’s home in Brandon. Gregg is accused of fatally shooting her mother, who was a teacher at Northwest Rankin High School, where Gregg was also a student.Dr. Andrew Clark, a psychiatrist who testified for the defense, said Gregg told him that on the way home from school on that day, her mother, Ashley Smylie, told her that she knew Gregg had been smoking marijuana. Clark said Gregg began smoking marijuana about six weeks before the shooting.Gregg told him that she remembers letting the dogs out, but then her memory went blank. Clark said Gregg told him the next thing she remembered was standing on the side of the road, where a deputy picked her up.Tony Shack, a K9 officer with the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office, testified earlier on Wednesday that he found Gregg walking down Farmington Boulevard after the shooting.”Is my stepdad OK?” Gregg asked him. Shack said Gregg never asked about her mother.Clark said Gregg was experiencing a mental health crisis on the day of the shooting. He said Gregg was having significant mood swings, which were made worse by medication. The voices she was hearing were getting worse and becoming problematic for her. He said she was also having dissociative problems.”And then, her mother finds out she’s smoking marijuana,” Clark said. “For Carly, in particular, she so cared about her mother’s approval, so for her, this was a crisis.”Clark said Gregg had a “close, yet complicated relationship” with her mother, and a close, affectionate relationship with her stepfather, Heath Smylie. Her relationship with her biological father, who Clark said had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, was more problematic. Clark said when Gregg was 11 or 12, she started cutting herself, not in an effort to kill herself, but to feel better by taking her mind off her depression and anxiety. Clark said her parents learned of the self-harm in December 2023.Clark said Gregg’s mother took her to a pediatrician and later to a therapist. She was prescribed medication, which Clark said didn’t seem to have much of an effect, so the dosage was increased. Gregg complained of feeling numb, or “flat,” Clark said. “She was having mood issues, eating disorder issues, cutting herself, hearing voices and sleeping difficulty all leading up to January of 2024,” Clark said.Gregg told Clark that she had been put on a new medication on March 12, which she said made her symptoms worse. He said her lows were lower and her highs were higher and the voices were getting worse. Gregg is currently on a mood stabilizer and an antidepressant, which Clark said seems to work for her. During cross examination by the prosecution, Clark said he spent about four hours interviewing Gregg and had a Zoom call with her stepfather.Clark told prosecutors that Gregg had not told anyone about the voices until the day of the shooting.The prosecution rested on Tuesday. First thing Wednesday, Rankin County Circuit Court Judge Dewey Arthur asked Gregg if she wanted to testify.”I would like to wait and see the testimony,” Gregg said. The first witness called by defense attorneys was identified as one of Gregg’s close friends. Arthur has barred the media from using video or audio from juvenile witnesses. The witness testified that Gregg told them both before and after she was arrested that she heard voices in her head. The witness also said Gregg seemed normal at school on the day of the shooting. Also Wednesday, the jury watched Shack’s body camera video from inside his vehicle and after he and Gregg arrived back at the house in Brandon. The video also showed an officer swabbing Gregg’s hands for gunshot residue. He said Gregg admitted to him that she fired a gun with her right hand. Gregg is charged as an adult. If convicted, she faces 20 years to life in prison. Carly Gregg CaseVideo from inside home shows Carly Gregg and what appears to be the sound of 3 gunshots Jury hears 911 call made by teen murder suspect’s stepfather after he was shot, girl’s mother killedProsecutors: Carly Gregg smoked marijuana the day before shootingTeen murder suspect competent to stand trialCarly Gregg rejects plea dealRankin County teen charged in mother’s shooting death to stand trial in September14-year-old girl charged as adult in shooting that killed mother, injured stepfather
A psychiatrist testified in the trial of a teenage murder suspect, saying she was in a mental health crisis and had several issues in the months before her mother was shot and killed.
Carly Gregg was 14 years old when the shooting took place on March 19 at the family’s home in Brandon. Gregg is accused of fatally shooting her mother, who was a teacher at Northwest Rankin High School, where Gregg was also a student.
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Dr. Andrew Clark, a psychiatrist who testified for the defense, said Gregg told him that on the way home from school on that day, her mother, Ashley Smylie, told her that she knew Gregg had been smoking marijuana. Clark said Gregg began smoking marijuana about six weeks before the shooting.
Gregg told him that she remembers letting the dogs out, but then her memory went blank. Clark said Gregg told him the next thing she remembered was standing on the side of the road, where a deputy picked her up.
Tony Shack, a K9 officer with the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office, testified earlier on Wednesday that he found Gregg walking down Farmington Boulevard after the shooting.
“Is my stepdad OK?” Gregg asked him. Shack said Gregg never asked about her mother.
Clark said Gregg was experiencing a mental health crisis on the day of the shooting. He said Gregg was having significant mood swings, which were made worse by medication. The voices she was hearing were getting worse and becoming problematic for her. He said she was also having dissociative problems.
“And then, her mother finds out she’s smoking marijuana,” Clark said. “For Carly, in particular, she so cared about her mother’s approval, so for her, this was a crisis.”
Clark said Gregg had a “close, yet complicated relationship” with her mother, and a close, affectionate relationship with her stepfather, Heath Smylie. Her relationship with her biological father, who Clark said had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, was more problematic.
Clark said when Gregg was 11 or 12, she started cutting herself, not in an effort to kill herself, but to feel better by taking her mind off her depression and anxiety. Clark said her parents learned of the self-harm in December 2023.
Clark said Gregg’s mother took her to a pediatrician and later to a therapist. She was prescribed medication, which Clark said didn’t seem to have much of an effect, so the dosage was increased. Gregg complained of feeling numb, or “flat,” Clark said.
“She was having mood issues, eating disorder issues, cutting herself, hearing voices and sleeping difficulty all leading up to January of 2024,” Clark said.
Gregg told Clark that she had been put on a new medication on March 12, which she said made her symptoms worse. He said her lows were lower and her highs were higher and the voices were getting worse.
Gregg is currently on a mood stabilizer and an antidepressant, which Clark said seems to work for her. During cross examination by the prosecution, Clark said he spent about four hours interviewing Gregg and had a Zoom call with her stepfather.
Clark told prosecutors that Gregg had not told anyone about the voices until the day of the shooting.
The prosecution rested on Tuesday. First thing Wednesday, Rankin County Circuit Court Judge Dewey Arthur asked Gregg if she wanted to testify.
“I would like to wait and see the testimony,” Gregg said.
The first witness called by defense attorneys was identified as one of Gregg’s close friends. Arthur has barred the media from using video or audio from juvenile witnesses.
The witness testified that Gregg told them both before and after she was arrested that she heard voices in her head. The witness also said Gregg seemed normal at school on the day of the shooting.
Also Wednesday, the jury watched Shack’s body camera video from inside his vehicle and after he and Gregg arrived back at the house in Brandon. The video also showed an officer swabbing Gregg’s hands for gunshot residue. He said Gregg admitted to him that she fired a gun with her right hand.
Gregg is charged as an adult. If convicted, she faces 20 years to life in prison.
