Meigs County, Ohio – Meigs County prosecutors are requesting additional time from a judge to complete health evaluations for a 15-year-old girl accused of killing her father as they consider transferring her case to adult court.
Ninth Judicial District Attorney General Russell Johnson filed a motion in Meigs County Juvenile Court to extend the timeline in Evalett High’s case. According to records, authorities allege Evalett shot her father in June while he slept because he had taken her phone and was trying to keep her away from her boyfriend.
The state may ask Judge Casey Stokes to transfer the teen to adult court, but it first needs several more months to review her mental health tests and evaluations, Johnson wrote in the Aug. 20 motion.
Another option under consideration is a new law that allows for a “blended” sentence. This law lets prosecutors try certain young defendants as “serious youth offenders,” who can receive both juvenile and adult sentences, according to the Tennessee Bar Association.
Testing has been delayed while authorities await student records from the Meigs County school system, Johnson’s motion notes. The process also faced a setback when an initial order in the case was rejected.
Evalett remains in juvenile custody pending prosecution. Judge Stokes has already found probable cause to believe she killed her father, records show. The key question is whether she will face trial as an adult.
Her mother is incarcerated outside Tennessee, court records show.
Evalett, who will turn 16 in November, called 911 after shooting her father in the middle of the night at their Gunstocker Road home.
She also spoke with authorities about her actions.
“It was during this interview she disclosed that she went to bed angry about her father taking away her phone and trying to keep her away from her boyfriend,” juvenile court records state. “She explained that she later woke up and was still angry. She prepped her gun by loading it, checked on her younger brother, and debated in her room for about 20 minutes with the gun. It was after this she decided to walk into the living room where her father, Richard High, regularly slept, and shot him in the head.”
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