The claim that 14-year-old Carly Madison Gregg invited a friend to see her mother’s body comes from that friend’s trial testimony as summarized in the appellate opinion. Gregg’s mother, Ashley Smylie, was killed in March 2024; a jury later convicted Gregg of murder, attempted murder and evidence tampering. On August 20, 2026, the Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and sentences.
What happened in the Carly Gregg case?
Gregg was 14 when she and her mother, Ashley Smylie, returned home from Northwest Rankin High School shortly before 4 p.m. on March 19, 2024, according to the trial evidence described by the Mississippi Supreme Court. Smylie was killed, and Gregg’s stepfather, Heath Smylie, survived a gunshot wound.
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The opinion describes evidence including kitchen-camera footage, messages sent after the shooting, forensic evidence and testimony about the later confrontation with Heath Smylie. Gregg’s principal defense at trial was insanity; the jury rejected it. The opinion recounts competing testimony and does not establish a simple clinical explanation for the crime.
What did the friend testify?
A friend identified in the opinion as B.W. testified that she went to the home after the shooting. As the appellate opinion summarizes her testimony, Gregg told her not to “freak out,” asked whether she had ever seen a dead body, and said her mother was in the bedroom if B.W. wanted to look.
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B.W. also testified that Gregg said she had shot her mother three times and had three more shots for her stepfather when he came home. These are details attributed to a witness’s testimony in the court’s account of the trial evidence, not independently verified narration.
What was the trial verdict and sentence?
After a trial held September 16–20, 2024, the jury convicted Gregg of first-degree murder, attempted murder and tampering with evidence. The jury and trial judge imposed sentences of life imprisonment for murder, life imprisonment for attempted murder and ten years for tampering with evidence, according to the appellate opinion. The Mississippi Department of Corrections record also lists those three sentences.
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The wording matters: the sentences were described as “life imprisonment,” not life without parole. The Supreme Court addressed problems in the sentencing instructions but concluded that the sentences were legal and that the asserted errors did not justify reversing them.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What happened on appeal?
On August 20, 2026, the Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed Gregg’s convictions and sentences. The ruling left the trial outcome in place; it did not convert the life sentences into life without parole.
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