14-year-old Florida girl arrested for allegedly killing her grandmother
05/29/2024 1:39 pm PDT
LAUDERDALE LAKES, Fla. (TCD) -- A 14-year-old girl was taken into custody this week after her 79-year-old grandmother died in an apparent homicide.
According to the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, on May 23, at 12:26 a.m., deputies and the Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue responded to a home on Northwest 41st Street in Lauderdale Lakes after a man called and said his mother was unresponsive. The man told first responders that he was hanging out with a friend that night and left his 14-year-old daughter at home with the victim, Yevheniia Koval, but when he returned, Koval was on the ground "with multiple bruises on her body."
Medics transported Koval to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced deceased. The medical examiner conducted an autopsy and determined her manner of death was homicide. The 14-year-old was also taken to the hospital for medical clearance.
Broward County detectives identified the teen as the suspect and arrested her Friday, May 24, on a charge of second-degree murder. She taken to the Juvenile Assessment Center for processing.
WPLG-TV reports Koval and her family were from Ukraine. A family friend told the news station that the teen has been "been going through a lot because she wants her mom, who is in the U.K.," and she "can’t get over here."
According to WTVJ-TV, prosecutors want to charge the teen as an adult for Koval’s killing. The judge reportedly said at her hearing, "The court notes the child suffers possibly from severe post-traumatic stress."
A neighbor told WPLG, "She’s a very good girl, as far as I know."
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