Three out of the four Louisianan teens who carjacked a grandmother pleaded guilty to attempted manslaughter Monday, and will serve at least 15 years in prison, avoiding life behind bars.
The three teenagers, Briniyah Baker, Lenyra Theophile, and Mar’qel Curtis, were involved in a carjacking episode that ended with the death of 73-year-old Linda Frickey back in 2022, 4 WWL reported. The grandmother died as a result of her arm and clothes being severed from her body after being stuck in a seatbelt when her attackers drove off with her car, the New York Post reported. (RELATED: Watch The Moment Teen Receives Life Sentence For Murdering Teacher Over Bad Grade)
The teens are scheduled to be tried as adults. John Honore, Lenyra Theophile, Mar’Qel Curtis and Briniyah Baker, face second-degree murder charges.
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As part of the plea deal, the girls apologized to the family of Frickey and asked for forgiveness, 4 WWL reported. Jinnylynn Griffin, the sister of Frickey, told the outlet that she felt “sadness” for the three girls who “probably did not want to do what they did, as to go as far as the murder, but they still were trying to steal a car.”
“I felt relief because that’s what we’ve been after this whole time for justice,” Griffin added.
No such sympathy was shown for the fourth person accused in the case. John Honore, aged 18, did not take a plea and is accused of having a more direct role in the death of the grandmother. “We want him to get the maximum [sentence]. He drove the car. He stomped on her,” Griffin told the outlet. Honore’s trial is set for Nov. 27, the New York Post reported.
All participants in the death of Frickey were originally slated to be tried as adults with second degree murder with the possibility of being handed down a life imprisonment sentence, 4 WWL reported. The three teenage girls managed to avoid this prospect with their plea deal.