Teen Accused of Killing Relatives
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Teen Accused of Killing Relatives
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - A 14-year-old girl recently released from a
mental
hospital and a friend were charged with killing two of her relatives and
wounding two others in a shooting and stabbing attack.
The violence came Sunday night after Ashley Jones was grounded by her
grandfather for staying out too late, The Birmingham News reported
Tuesday.
Police said the two teens killed Miss Jones' grandfather and aunt and
seriously
wounded her grandmother and 10-year-old sister, who was stabbed more
than a
dozen times.
Miss Jones and 16-year-old Geramie Hart were charged Monday with two
counts of
capital murder and two counts of attempted murder. She was being held at
a
juvenile detention center and Hart was in the county jail without bond.
The victims were found at the single-family home of Miss Jones'
grandfather,
Deroy Nalls, 78. Officers said the suspects tried to burn the house down
after
the attacks. A fire was burning when authorities arrived.
Friends said the Nalls tried to help Miss Jones after she was released
from a
mental hospital. The Birmingham News reported that she had been accused
of
stabbing her parents when her mother was eight months pregnant.
The girl's parents recovered from their injuries, Dorothy Hale, a friend
of the
Nalls, said Tuesday. It wasn't clear if Miss Jones' hospitalization had
stemmed
from the reported attack on her parents.
District Attorney David Barber said he could not discuss the girl's past
because she is a juvenile.
Defendants under age of 16 are not eligible for the death penalty. But
Hart,
who is charged as an adult, would be eligible for the death penalty if
convicted. Barber said he had not decided whether to seek it.
The Rev. F.D. Scott, pastor to some of the girl's relatives, said she
was ``a
little problem child all her life'' and recently was released from a
psychiatric hospital.
``She obviously didn't stay long enough,'' he said.
AP-NY-08-31-99
---------------------------------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of today's Associated Press news wire:
Authorities mum on some details of killing spree; detention hearing set
today
The Associated Press
09/01/99
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- Investigators were keeping quiet some details
of a
deadly attack on three generations of a family as they prepared a
capital
murder case against a victim's granddaughter and a neighbor boy.
Authorities obtained a warrant Tuesday formally charging Geramie Hart,
16, with
two counts of capital murder and two counts of attempted murder in the
deaths
of his neighbor, Deroy Nalls, 78, and Nalls' daughter, 30-year-old
Millie
Nalls, as well as near-deadly assaults on Mary Elizabeth Jones, 10, and
Elizabeth Nalls, 73.
Hart will be tried as an adult in the Sunday night rampage, Jefferson
County
sheriff's investigators said.
Formal charges were pending against 14-year-old Ashley Jones, the Nalls'
granddaughter and Millie Nalls' niece. A detention hearing was set today
in
Family Court to determine how long she will remain in custody.
Police said they considered Ashley Jones to be facing two counts of
capital
murder and two of attempted murder.
Investigators haven't said what roles they believe Hart and Miss Jones
played
in the attack, which included a fire apparently set to cover the crimes.
They
have released no details about motive or other evidence in the case.
Miss Jones' attorney, Joe Morgan Jr., declined to comment on the case.
Police said the victims, shot as well as stabbed, were found at the
Nalls'
single-story home early Monday. Elizabeth Nalls, who remained
hospitalized in
critical condition Tuesday, had played dead to escape her attackers.
Mary Elizabeth, who suffered 13 stab wounds to her torso, was
hospitalized in
guarded condition.
Deroy Nalls, known to church friends as "Deacon Nalls," was trying to
help his
granddaughter with mental problems that had landed her in a psychiatric
hospital, friends and relatives said. The Birmingham News reported
Monday the
attack occurred after he grounded the teen-ager for staying out too late
last
weekend.
In a story published today, the News said the Nalls were awarded custody
of
Miss Jones last year, in part because she had stabbed her father and
pregnant
mother on separate occasions. Miss Jones had also recently spent time in
a
mental hospital, friends told the News.
The girl's parents recovered from their injuries, Dorothy Hale, a friend
of the
Nalls, said Tuesday. It wasn't clear if Miss Jones' hospitalization had
stemmed
from the reported attack on her parents or when it occurred.
District Attorney David Barber said Tuesday he could not discuss the
girl's
past because she is a juvenile. Prosecutors have not decided whether to
try her
as an adult, Barber said.
The Supreme Court has ruled that defendants under the age of 16 are not
eligible for the death penalty, so Miss Jones' maximum penalty, if
convicted,
would be life without parole.
Hart would be eligible for the death penalty, if convicted, but Barber
said he
had not decided whether to seek it.
--------------------------------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of the 8/31/99 online edition of The
WVTM-TV,
local Birmingham, Alabama NBC-TV affiliate station web site:
Were signs of violence overlooked in Sunday murders?
By: Bill Fitzgerald
BIRMINGHAM, August 31, 1999 – Investigators went back to the scene of a
gruesome double homicide Tuesday. Two people were killed and two others
seriously wounded when violence erupted late Sunday evening.
Grandfather Frank Nalls, 78, and Millie Nalls, 30, were killed.
Grandmother
Elizabeth Nalls is in critical condition at UAB, 10-year-old niece, Mary
Jones,
is in guarded condition at Children’s Hospital. Granddaughter Ashley
Jones, 14,
and her 16-year-old friend, Geremie Heart face charges of capital murder
and
attempted murder.
Sheriff’s deputies spent Tuesday scouring the crime scene again.
They would
not comment on exactly what they are looking for.
“Inside was an extensive scene to be processed, and we’re still
processing
it. And you don’t want to make a mistake when you’re processing a crime
scene,”
said Lt. Steve Greene with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department at
a press
conference Monday.
There is some good news. UAB doctors gave Elizabeth Nalls a hopeful
prognosis Tuesday. Children’s Hospital officials expect Mary Jones, who
was
stabbed 13 times, to fully recover.
As investigators build their case against the two teen suspects,
questions
arise over whether or not any signs were missed in the suspects’
behavior that
might possibly have prevented Sunday’s violence.
Like many people, McLemore was shocked by the news of violence. Now,
she
joins the rest of the community asking if Ashley Jones, who was
suspended last
Friday for striking a classmate, could be the killer that Jefferson
County
sheriffs say she is. Community leaders say parents should pay special
attention
to what happened.
“We need to be able to see these types of signs in our children, and
when
our children are having problems, we need to know where to go,” said
family
pastor Rev. F.D. Scott.
Neither the Department of Human Resources nor police would confirm
what
contact they may have had with Ashley Jones last year when one family
member
claims, Jones stabbed her father.
“About a year ago she stabbed him in the chest... She said she was
aiming
for his heart. She said next time she would get his heart and kill him,”
said
relative Valla Nalls Thomas.
While the questions about signs of violence continue, family
counselors say
those signs can sometimes be ignored by families trying to stay
together.
“There’s the denial factor. Parents don’t want to see that. That’s
real
normal, happens a lot particularly with substance abuse also,” said
counselor
Stacie Costanza.
Costanza says three signs all families should look for are a history
of
violence, threats, or hallucinations where voices are thought to be
giving
orders to commit violence.
Relatives of the Nalls say at least two of those signs were present
in this
case. They were ignored by a caring grandfather.
“He didn’t want Ashley to go into foster care. They wanted to put
Ashley
and Mary in foster care, and he didn’t want them to go,” said Thomas.
Costanza also suggested that potentially significant information
like that
involving psychiatric records is sometimes not passed on to schools
because of
confidentiality laws.
-----------------------------------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of the 9/1/99 online edition of The
Birmingham
News newspaper:
Young victim of massacre received 13 stab wounds
09/01/99
CAROL ROBINSON News staff writer
Birmingham News
The youngest victim in a bloody family massacre in North Smithfield
earlier
this week suffered 13 stab wounds - 10 in her back, two in her side and
one to
the sternum, hospital officials said Tuesday.
While 10-year-old Mary Elizabeth Jones continued her fight to survive,
authorities formally charged one of the two people they say unleashed
the
furious attack on the girl and three other relatives.
Geramie Hart, 16, was charged with two counts of capital murder and two
of
attempted murder in connection with the assaults on the family of his
girlfriend - 14-year-old Ashley Jones.
Hart will be tried as an adult in connection with the Sunday night
massacre
that killed Ashley's grandfather and her aunt, and seriously wounded her
grandmother and her sister, Mary Elizabeth.
Authorities have not said what role they believe Hart played in the
carnage on
Campbell Lane. Jefferson County sheriff's investigators have refused to
release
any details about the case. It's also unknown why authorities on Tuesday
obtained formal warrants against Hart, but not against Ashley. Police
said
Monday they considered her charged with two counts of capital murder and
two
counts of attempted murder.
The girl is set to go before a Family Court judge today in a routine
detention
hearing to determine whether she will remain in custody. Her attorney,
Joe
Morgan Jr., declined to comment on the case.
Slain in the attack were Deroy Frank Nalls, 78, and his daughter Millie
Nalls,
Ashley's 30-year-old aunt. Ashley's grandmother, 73-year-old Elizabeth
Nalls,
remained in critical condition Tuesday at University Hospital. Mary
Elizabeth
was still listed in guarded condition in the pediatric intensive care
unit at
Children's Hospital.
Though investigators haven't released a motive, friends and family
members have
said Ashley had a propensity for violence and was angry at her
grandparents'
efforts to discipline her.
Ashley has been through Family Court as well as the Jefferson County
Department
of Human Resources, friends and family members have said. The Nalls were
awarded custody of the troubled teen last year, in part because she had
stabbed
her father and pregnant mother on separate occasions.
-------------------------------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of the 8/31/99 online edition of The
Birmingham News newspaper:
Two teens accused of bloody rampage
By CAROL ROBINSON
News staff writer
08/31/99
Deroy and Elizabeth Nalls had seen enough of their granddaughter's
violence and
impudence, so they laid down the law Sunday. Ashley Jones was grounded
for
staying out all night at a party.
Police say the 14-year-old girl staged a bloody rebellion against her
grandparents' discipline hours later.
Ashley - who was staying with the Nalls because she stabbed her parents
when
her mother was eight months pregnant - butchered her grandparents, aunt
and
younger sister, police said. The Gardendale High School freshman and her
16-year-old neighbor, Geramie Hart, shot, stabbed and then tried to
incinerate
the victims at the family's Campbell Lane home, police said.
Deroy Frank Nalls, a 78-year-old retired steelworker, was found dead on
the
living room floor. His 30-year-old daughter Millie Nalls - Ashley's aunt
- was
slaughtered in her bed.
A badly wounded Elizabeth Nalls hid in a corner and feigned death so her
attackers would spare her, a family pastor said. Mary Elizabeth Jones,
10,
managed to escape, but collapsed nearby from her stab wounds.
Mrs. Nalls, 73, was in critical condition at University Hospital Mon day
night.
Mary Elizabeth remained in guarded condition at Children's Hospital.
Ashley and Hart are charged with two counts of capital murder and two
counts of
attempted murder, said Jefferson County Sheriff's Lt. Steve Greene.
Police, who
would not say whether they had recovered a gun, said they would try to
charge
the suspects as adults.
The girl was being held in juvenile detention. Hart was in the Jefferson
County
Jail without a bond.
"When you are confronted with it, you wonder if it's really happening
Neighbors and family friends said they were shocked by the carnage on
Campbell
Lane, but not by Ashley's violence. She had been in and out of trouble,
and
recently was released from a psychiatric hospital, Scott said.
"She was a little problem child all her life," said Scott. "She
obviously
didn't stay (at the hospital) long enough."
Ashley had been in the juvenile court system, the county child welfare
system
and at least one treatment program, authorities said.
The Nalls took on the responsibility of Ashley about a year ago when
they faced
the possibility that their granddaughter might become a ward of the
state,
friends and family said.
"They were really too old to take on the responsibility," said Jessie H.
Hale,
a close friend and fellow deacon at Hayes Chapel Baptist Church. "But
what
could they do? She was their grandchild."
Hart was thrown out of Gardendale High School last week when officials
found
out that he didn't have residency in the district, Principal Kenneth
Abbott
said Monday.
Jefferson County Board of Education spokeswoman Nez Calhoun said Hart
began
Fultondale High School last year, but withdrew Sept. 11, 1998, and then
enrolled in Huffman High School. "He has a record of enrolling and
leaving
after a couple of weeks," she said.
Family members, however, said Hart has never been in trouble.
"He came to live with me because he said he didn't want to be around a
bad
environment," said his aunt, Iris Wallace. "He appreciated me being firm
with
him."
Mrs. Wallace said her nephew asked whether he could spend the night with
a
cousin about 10:30 p.m. Sunday and she reluctantly agreed. The next
thing she
knew, authorities were at her home early Monday.
"I can't believe they were capable of this," she said. "I'm not going to
defend
him just because he's my nephew because what's wrong is wrong. Until I
saw him
in handcuffs, I couldn't believe it."
Mrs. Wallace described Ashley as "the prettiest little girl you ever
will see.
She looks like a little angel," she said. "I knew she was violent, but I
didn't
think she could be that cold and calculating."
Mrs. Wallace said that on her orders, Hart wasn't supposed to be hanging
around
Ashley and, as recently as Friday, he had assured her and Ashley's
relatives
their friendship was over.
"That's what hurts the most - he's never lied to me before," Mrs.
Wallace said.
"I gave him all the love I thought he needed."
Mrs. Wallace said Hart was crying when she visited him at sheriff
headquarters
Monday afternoon.
"I asked him why, and why he didn't talk to me if there was a problem,"
she
said. "He told me, 'I love you and I don't know why.'"
News staff writer Brannon Stewart contributed to this report.