The stepfather of a teenager accused of killing her mother testified on the witness stand Tuesday that Carly Madison Gregg looked “terrified” after she shot him and ran away.
Gregg, 15, is accused of murdering her 40-year-old mother, Ashley Smylie, and attempting to murder her 39-year-old stepfather, Heath Smylie, at the family’s Brandon home in the 200 block of Ashton Way on March 19. Gregg was 14 at the time of the alleged crime.
Heath was called as a witness by the state and described the relationship between himself and Gregg. He said the two “got along great.” He also described Ashley as a mother who was always thinking about Gregg.
“(Ashley) would do anything in the world for (Carly),” Heath said.
Heath recounted the morning of the shooting, saying Ashley woke up, made tea, and drove with Gregg to Northwest Rankin High School. Ashley was a teacher and Gregg was a student at the school.
Heath said everything was fine. Gregg seemed normal, Heath said.
On the afternoon of March 19, Heath recalls receiving a text message from Ashley’s phone at around 4:15 p.m. asking, “Are you coming home soon, honey?”
‘Please help me’: Diary and sketchbook show that Carly Gregg struggled with mental health problems
Reading excerpts from the text in the courtroom, Heath replied, “No, I’ll be there in a minute (at work).” The response was a “thumbs up,” Heath said.
According to Newman, Heath had previously told officers he believed Gregg sent the message. Newman asked what led Heath to believe Gregg had texted him.
“I don’t know, it was something in the wording,” Heath said.
When Heath arrived home, he said all he could remember was the shot near his face.
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“When I opened the kitchen door, the gun fired into my face before the door was even three or four inches open, and from there it all happened pretty quickly,” Heath said. “It was all a blur.”
Heath said he remembered a struggle to pull a .357 Magnum from Gregg’s hand after the first shot. Heath said he suffered a gunshot wound to the shoulder. Two more shots were fired during the struggle, Heath said. Heath said he eventually got the gun into his possession.
“She was screaming like crazy in fear. It was like she saw a demon or something. And my first thought was that there was an intruder somewhere and she thought she was after someone else,” Heath said.
Heath said he searched the house for Ashley and an intruder. He checked the couple’s bedroom, bathroom and closet, as well as a guest room, before turning around and entering Gregg’s room. There he found Ashley’s body. He said he never found an intruder.
Heath’s account of Ashley’s body matched the account of the first deputy to arrive on the scene. Ashley was lying upright on her back in Gregg’s room with a bloody towel draped over her face.
Bodycam footage is shown after the recording: Jury sees bodycam footage of police officer who found Gregg’s mother dead
During cross-examination, defense attorney Bridget Todd relied on the portrayal that some of Gregg’s behavior had been influenced early on by her biological father, Kevin Gregg.
While on the witness stand, Heath testified that Kevin took drugs “constantly” in Gregg’s presence. Heath testified in court that Kevin made Gregg drink an entire beer when he was 12 years old.
Heath also said that the gun Gregg used was under Ashley’s side of the bed because Ashley was afraid that Kevin might show up at home one day. Heath claims that Gregg was also afraid of her biological father.
Heath said he was never afraid of Gregg before the shooting and he still isn’t afraid of Gregg.
“She’s just a sweet little girl,” Heath said.
In the forward, Newman questioned Heath’s statement that Gregg was “always a happy little girl.”
“She was never angry…crazy?” asked Newman.
“Never,” Heath replied.
On Monday, prosecutor Kathryn White Newman told jurors that Carly, who was 14 at the time of the murder, would be exposed during the trial as a dangerous killer who led a “secret life” that included disposable cell phones and hidden marijuana-laced e-cigarettes, cheating in school and self-harming.
During Newman’s opening statement, it was revealed that Carly allegedly asked a friend to come over after she shot her mother. Newman said when the friend showed up, Carly asked, “Are you squeamish about being around dead bodies?”
That friend, BW, testified in court on Tuesday. The court required that all media identify any minors testifying in the trial by their initials only, and the Clarion Ledger respects that request.
A quick overview of what we knew before the trial: Rankin County teenager Carly Madison Gregg is scheduled to appear in court this week. Here’s what we know
BW said she has known Carly since 9th grade. When Carly called, she noticed how “nervous,” “anxious,” and “closed off” Carly sounded.
“She didn’t say what was going on,” BW said. “She said she couldn’t tell over the phone.”
BW said Carly said it was an emergency and BW needed to come over. At 4:58 p.m., BW sent a text message saying she had arrived at the property. BW told the court that when she got there, Carly asked her if she had ever seen a dead body before. When BW responded no, Carly showed BW Ashley’s body.
BW said Carly also showed the locations of other weapons on the property, including a shotgun and a pellet gun. BW testified Carly admitted to shooting her mother three times and had “three more” for Heath.
“She asked if I wanted to go out while she took care of her stepfather,” BW said.
As BW walked into the backyard, she heard three gunshots. BW said Carly met her there and told her to run before jumping over a fence.
Testimony also revealed that BW observed changes in Carly, who became more “risk-taking” due to her drug use. However, BW was not the only friend of Carly’s to testify about Carly’s drug use on Tuesday.
Witness TG testified that Carly had once taken weed, cocaine and mushrooms. TG also told of a situation in which Carly had implied that she would kill Ashley and Heath.
At some point before the shootings, TG said, he traveled from Columbus to Brandon to visit Carly. When he arrived, Heath told him Carly had never stayed overnight at the residence.
According to TG, Carly sent him a message on a disposable phone telling him that Ashley was holding Carly while Heath opened the door.
“She said she wanted to murder her parents that day,” TG said.
Heath testified in court on Tuesday that his account of the situation was different, claiming Ashley did not restrain Carly.
“Carly said she didn’t want to see him,” Heath said.
Defense attorney Bridget Todd continues to contradict the prosecutors’ constructed account of Gregg and often describes her client as an “extraordinary child with no history of violence” who also “loved his mother.” According to Todd, there were three victims on the day of the shooting: Ashley, Heath and Gregg.
See what happened on Day 1: Jury hears 911 call and sees bodycam footage in Carly Madison Gregg murder trial
“Although the events of March 19 were tragic, they were not intentional,” Todd said.
According to Todd, there will be evidence that Gregg suffered from a mental illness. The defense is pleading insanity.
If convicted, Gregg faces a life sentence. She had previously rejected a deal with prosecutors that would have given her a prison sentence of 40 years.
