A 12-year-old girl has been charged with murder and tampering with evidence after allegedly killing an 8-year-old.
The girl has not been publicly named due to her age, and has been charged after the emergence of disturbing surveillance footage.
In the video, the 12-year-old can allegedly be seen suffocating her 8-year-old cousin in a bunk bed that the pair were sharing at their grandmother's home in Tennessee, according to police.
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Eight-year-old Demeria Hollingsworth had been spending the summer with her cousin at her grandmother's house in Humbodlt, Tennessee.
Demeria's distraught mom, Rayana Smith, paid tribute to her daughter, saying she was experiencing 'unbearable' pain.
Speaking to WREG-TV, she said: "Last time I seen my baby, she was smiling, giving me kisses, telling me she will see me when it’s time for her to come back home.
“She’s never coming back home."
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Paying tribute to her daughter, Smith added: "She liked to read books, go swimming, play outside, ride her bike every day, play with the kids in the neighborhood, play with my friends kids. My baby was sweet."
The grieving mom has also made a post on GoFundMe to help cover her daughter's funeral expenses.
In the post, she wrote: "I just lost my baby, the most beautiful child of God on Monday, July 15th. The pain I’m feeling is unbearable. I have to now live life without her in this crazy world."
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She went on to describe how she is trying to remain strong for her other child, writing: "But I have another child who's depending on me, and I have to be strong for my baby because she lost her big sister also.
"I never imagined anything like this would happen and now find myself trying to fund a funeral."
Prosecutor Frederick Agee is working with the attorney general's office in West Tennessee, and has confirmed that the office is planning to petition Juvenile Judge Mark Johnson to transfer the case to the Circuit Court.
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This would mean that the defendant would be tried as an adult.
Agee argued that this was justified due to the extreme nature of the case.
In a statement which was posted to social media, Agee wrote: "I consider this to be one of the most disturbing, violent acts committed by either an adult or juvenile that my office has prosecuted."
Footage of the incident appears to show the alleged killer smothering the victim with bedclothes, before cleaning up the scene and repositioning the body.
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The case continues.
Kit Roberts