The attorney representing a 14-year-old accused of raping and killing a 3-year-old girl spoke for the first time Thursday about the mental state of his client.
“There’s a lot of things that he’s not OK with right now,” attorney Justin Woodward said after a brief hearing in Hamilton County’s Juvenile Court. He declined to make further comments.
The teen’s mother, Constance Lavoie-Hammer, sat quietly beside Mr. Woodward, but the defendant remained in custody and did not appear at the proceeding. He is charged with felony murder by aggravated rape of a child and aggravated rape of a child, and he will face a hearing on June 18 to determine if he will be tried as an adult.
Authorities say the boy in late April raped and killed a little girl who was living with him and his mother at their home in Georgetown. Little is known about the circumstances leading up to the girl’s death, except her mother’s admission to the Chattanooga Times Free Press that she gave her daughter to Ms. Lavoie-Hammer because she thought she couldn’t take care of her on her own.
The defendant’s MySpace page, accessed on April 28 by the Times Free Press, indicates that he last logged into his account on April 22, a day before authorities arrested him. His profile read, “What now, just don’t know any more” and described his residence as a “crack house near u.”
More detailed aspects of the case likely will be discussed at the June 18 hearing, but Mr. Woodward indicated he will file a motion seeking to bar the media and public from the courtroom.
Information about juveniles under 18 who are charged with crimes in general must be kept confidential, according to state law. The public generally is barred from court hearings, but exceptions exist.
If a juvenile is at least 14 and is charged with certain “aggravated” crimes such as rape or murder, officials are allowed to make public certain court documents with regard to the case. A juvenile court judge then can decide whether to open the court hearings to the public.
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