Cell phone footage captured the high school attack that claimed the life of 16-year-old Amy Joyner-Francis.
Joyner-Francis died in April 2016 after the fight triggered a pre-existing heart condition. According to The News Journal, not only did dozens of girls watch but two recorded the bathroom brawl.
Video of the beating, seen above, captured Joyner-Francis trying to escape as she is kicked and punched while an assailant holds her by the hair.
All three girls charged in connection with Joyner-Francis’ death were 16 at the time. A Wilmington, Delaware, police detective testified that the altercation at Howard High School of Technology was sparked by group text messages about a boy.
Specifically, Detective Tom Curley claimed that a friend asked for advice about a certain boy, to which Joyner-Francis advised to be “careful” and that they would have the friend’s back. Issues arose when Trinity Carr, Zion Snow, and Chakeira Wright were added to the chat. Detective Curley said that Carr believed the previous messages were about her.
Police told DelawareOnline that the assailants pulled Joyner-Francis’s hair, punched her in the head a dozen times, and pulled out her fingernails in a handicapped bathroom stall.
Though Carr, 17, was directly involved in the attack, she will not spend a day in jail for the deadly assault. Instead, Judge Robert Coonin sentenced her on Monday to six months in a secure residential program. Following her release, Carr will participate in court supervision programs until age 19. After that, she will undergo two years’ probation, according to the Associated Press. She is also barred from using social media.
The Journal also reported that Snow, 17, was sentenced to 18 months of community supervision. Snow didn’t assault the slain teen but planned the attack. Wright was acquitted of conspiracy charges in April, according to KDAF.
Last year, prosecutors unsuccessfully argued for Carr to be tried in Superior Court as an adult. There, she would face eight years in prison. Judge Coonin rejected the request and determined that the teen could be rehabilitated in Family Court.
Defense attorneys maintained that the teens didn’t foresee the sophomore’s tragic death, noting that Joyner-Francis’ rare heart condition went undetected by doctors. At one point, they argued that the victim was a willing participant in the ordeal, according to CBS News.
The girl’s mother, Inita B. Joyner, wrote a statement that was read at the sentencing
“As Amy’s mother, I am very proud of the positive person she has become,” the statement read in part. “Amy never ceased to amaze me with how mature and kind she was.
“They took another human being’s life. A child’s life, my baby’s life, and this is not acceptable in any manner.”
[Featured Image: ABC 6 Screenshot]
