Detective testifies about what led to Joyner-Francis' death
Police detective testifies teen punched in the head two dozen times during bathroom attack
- Amy Inita Joyner-Francis, 16, died in April at Howard High School in Wilmington.
- A police detective on Monday testified about what led an attack in a school bathroom.
- The four-hour hearing came at the request of state prosecutors.
A fatal attack in which Howard High School of Technology sophomore Amy Inita Joyner-Francis was punched in the head two dozen times and had her fingernails ripped out started because of a group text message, a Wilmington police detective said in court Monday.
A friend asked the group for advice about how to handle a situation involving a boy, to which Joyner-Francis responded that her friend should be “careful” and that they would have her back, Detective Tom Curley testified. After three of her classmates – Trinity Carr, Zion Snow and Chakeira Wright – were added to the group chat, Carr thought Joyner-Francis’ comments were directed at her and became upset, Curley said.
Joyner-Francis, 16, attempted to diffuse the tension, he testified, but by the next day, April 21, the girls were face to face in a handicapped-accessible stall in the school bathroom. Video of the confrontation played in court Monday showed Carr punching and kicking Joyner-Francis and dragging her by her long braided hair. Joyner-Francis' purse hung over her shoulder as she struggled during the attack.
Joyner-Francis did not die directly from injuries sustained in the brutal assault, but from a pre-existing heart condition exacerbated by the attack, prosecutors said. Her death was still ruled a homicide, and Carr was charged with criminally negligent homicide, a felony.
New details about the case that has captured national attention were revealed at a rare “amenability” hearing Monday in Family Court in Wilmington. Carr, wearing a black shirt and jean skirt, appeared with her attorney, John Deckers, and her parents.
This type of hearing is used to determine whether a child should be tried as an adult – and is crucial to Carr’s future because an adult criminal conviction could carry up to eight years in prison, whereas a juvenile adjudication would likely result in community supervision and treatment until age 19.
The four-hour hearing came at the request of state prosecutors, who want Carr tried as an adult.
Deckers tried to convince Judge Robert B. Coonin that she is unlikely to re-offend and is better suited to receiving rehabilitative services offered in Family Court.
Carr’s juvenile probation officer and a clinical psychologist both gave an optimistic picture of Carr’s chances at rehabilitation. Division of Youth Rehabilitative Services probation officer, Jennifer Skinner, said Carr comes from a supportive, two-parent home and has continued to study for a career in nursing on homebound instruction and attend therapy since she was suspended from school following the fight.
She not only follows the rules of probation, such as checking-in with Skinner every evening and never leaving the house without a parent, but also actively volunteers to feed the homeless and teach Sunday school at a church in Philadelphia where her grandfather is a pastor, Skinner said.
Likewise, Dr. Robin Belcher-Timme said a psychological evaluation and testing showed no psychopathology, but that she is suffering from anxiety and depression stemming from the incident. He found that initially she was in a state of disbelief and denial that her actions could have caused Joyner-Francis' death, but that slowly her emotions have been coming out in counseling.
"It was clear to me she was struggling to process," he said.
Coonin is expected to weigh the testimony and rule on the issue by the end of next week.
Also charged in connection with the case are Snow and Wright. They are expected to go to trial next Monday on charges of third-degree criminal conspiracy.
Neither will be tried as adults because prosecutors say only Carr struck Joyner-Francis.
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Prosecutors alleged that communication between the three girls showed that they planned the confrontation in the bathroom in the 20 hours before the attack, according to court documents.
Curley, the police detective, said soon after the incident, he interviewed one of Joyner-Francis' friends who told him about the group text messages and another bathroom meeting the day before the attack.
Carr and Joyner-Francis met in the girls bathroom on April 20 so Joyner-Francis could try to explain herself, he said. They then parted ways.
Snow later posted to Snapchat a short video of Joyner-Francis and Carr talking in the bathroom, Curley said.
The short video then shows Snow, Wright and Carr walking down the hallway saying, "She was scared. She was scared. We are going to get her," Curley said. Text over of the video also indicated that Carr was going to fight Joyner-Francis, followed by emojis of laughing so hard one is crying.
The next morning, Joyner-Francis' friend got a phone call from Wright, asking where Joyner-Francis was before school. Meanwhile, Snow posted to social media saying she was told to wear sneakers – a symbol that indicates you are ready to fight, Curley said.
The assault broke out on the morning of April 21 as Carr grabbed Joyner-Francis' hair and slammed her to the ground, another friend told Curley.
A math teacher in the C-wing of the building rushed to the bathroom brawl and found Joyner-Francis breathing heavily on the floor and saying, "They jumped me." As the teacher ran to get a nurse, he saw Carr, who said "she was getting buckey with me" and was seen laughing, Curley said.
Deckers pointed out that the comments and her demeanor after the attack was before she learned Joyner-Francis had died.
Deputy Attorney General Theresa Sedevic, however, said that even after Carr learned of her death at the Wilmington police station hours later, Carr blamed Joyner-Francis for the attack and was upset only that the incident would mess up her chances of getting a nursing degree.
Belcher-Timme said this is to be expected and that Carr has made progress in counseling to get past the initial numbness of her emotions regarding Joyner-Francis' death.
Deckers declined to comment after the hearing.
A News Journal article in May caused a stir when four cardiologists with national reputations said it is highly unlikely for the heart defect to have caused Joyner-Francis' death. Some were adamant that they had never heard of any cases of atrial septal defect causing sudden cardiac death.
The Attorney General's Office has said the state Medical Examiner's Office played a large role in deciding on the charges and that the autopsy determined Joyner-Francis died of "sudden cardiac death due to large atrial septal defect with a contributing factor of physical and emotional stress due to physical assault."
Contact Jessica Masulli Reyes at (302) 324-2777, jmreyes@delawareonline.com or Twitter @JessicaMasulli.