According to ABC News, a security camera captured the incident inside the bedroom they shared on July 15 in Humboldt, Tennessee, as reported by the county prosecutor.
The recording shows the older child using bedding to suffocate her cousin, who was sleeping on the top bunk, stated Gibson District Attorney Frederick Agee. After the child died, “the juvenile cleaned up the victim and repositioned her body,” Agee said.
A relative told WREG-TV in Memphis that the girls had been arguing over an iPhone after arriving from out of town to stay with their grandmother.
The girl was charged with first-degree murder and tampering with evidence after authorities obtained the video last Wednesday.
“I consider this to be one of the most disturbing violent acts committed by either an adult or juvenile that my office has prosecuted,” Agee wrote in the statement.
He added that he would petition a judge to prosecute the girl, who turns 13 later this month, in adult court, which would allow for “a lengthier sentence, whether that will be through incarceration or supervision with court-ordered conditions.”
