BRANDON, Miss. (Court TV) — A judge denied convicted teen murderer Carly Gregg’s motion for a new trial based on new evidence, arguing that the information could have been found had her attorneys exercised “reasonable diligence.”
Carly Gregg cried as the verdict was read in court on Sept. 20, 2024. (Court TV)
Gregg, now 15, was sentenced to life in prison without parole after a jury found her guilty of murdering her mother and trying to kill her stepfather when she was 14. At trial, Gregg’s defense conceded that she had fired the shots but argued that she suffered from mental illness and was legally insane at the time of the crime.
A motion filed shortly after her conviction asked for Judge Dewey Arthur to grant her a new trial or set the jury verdict and sentence aside entirely. The motion cited new evidence, including an interview Gregg’s biological father did with a local television station, that could have led to a different result at trial.
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Judge Arthur denied the motion, saying he did not see evidence that her father’s statements would have led to a different verdict and that the defense could have found the interviews sooner had it exercised “reasonable diligence.”
At trial, Gregg was not allowed to call her maternal grandmother and a maternal uncle due to a previous ruling, which the defense referred to as “radical sanctions” in its motion. Judge Arthur clarified his reasoning behind barring the witnesses, explaining that after repeated requests for the discovery, the defense refused to reveal the substance of the witnesses’ testimony.
“The Court found and believed that most, if not all, of the reciprocal discovery was not promptly turned over to obtain a tactical advantage,” Judge Arthur wrote. “However, letting a Defendant tell the Court that it may prejudice her case before the Jury to provide the substance of witness’ testimony is a bridge too far. Trial by ambush must remain in the grave.”
Judge Arthur noted that he did allow Gregg’s expert witness to testify at trial, even though they were not hired until after the discovery deadline had passed.
Gregg has filed a notice of appeal for her case.
