Tennessee Preteen Charged with First-Degree Murder for Suffocating 8-Year-Old Cousin

A tragic incident unfolded in Humboldt, Tennessee, where a 12-year-old girl has been charged with first-degree murder after allegedly suffocating her eight-year-old cousin, Demeria, to death. According to District Attorney General Frederick Agee, the heartbreaking event occurred on Monday, July 15, 2024.

Home security footage obtained by the Humboldt Police Department reportedly shows the preteen using bedding to suffocate her sleeping cousin on the top bunk bed they shared. The video allegedly captures the older girl applying her full body weight to the bedding, covering the younger child’s face, and showing the eight-year-old struggling.

Following the attack, the suspect is seen “cleaning up” and repositioning Demeria’s body, seemingly to make it appear as though she was simply sleeping.

“No words can describe it,” said DA Agee. “It’s unimaginable.”

The tragic discovery was made when Demeria was found unresponsive in her bed at a house on East Mitchell Street. Two days later, a tip led investigators to the surveillance footage that revealed the horrifying details.

A memorial for Demeria has been set up outside her grandmother’s house, featuring balloons in her favorite colors—pink, purple, and pale blue—along with her cherished stuffed animals and bottles of nail polish. Demeria was visiting from Nashville, while her cousin was visiting from South Carolina. Their grandmother told Action News 5 that the two were inseparable.

DA Agee confirmed that the evidence points to first-degree murder and tampering with evidence. “There is video where the 12-year-old goes and gets tissues and papers and tries to clean the eight-year-old’s body and face, and also moves the child to make it appear that she was under the covers,” he explained.

The young suspect is currently being held in Rutherford County, the closest juvenile detention facility to Humboldt. DA Agee plans to ask the judge to transfer her to adult court, considering the severe nature of the crime.

“I consider this to be one of the most disturbing violent acts committed by either an adult or juvenile that my office has prosecuted,” DA Agee stated. He emphasized that under Tennessee law, the juvenile court loses jurisdiction after a juvenile turns 19, meaning the suspect would be free from any further detention, supervision, or court-ordered mental health treatment after that age.

The family and community are grappling with the devastating loss and searching for answers. “We’d ask your viewers to pray for the family and pray for our officers,” DA Agee said. “This is intense. It’s just not something that happens here.”

The suspect is scheduled to appear in court in Trenton on Friday afternoon, where DA Agee will petition for her to be tried as an adult, aiming for a lengthier sentence that includes incarceration or supervision with court-ordered conditions.

This is so sad. An 8-year-old girl was suffocated to death in Humboldt, TN, allegedly by her 12-year-old cousin after an argument over an iPhone.
The victim’s mother identified her as Demeria Hollingsworth. This literally happened in a town 20 minutes away from me. pic.twitter.com/BSbpuFrS4o

— sara lee (@sexualbutte) July 19, 2024