A 14-year-old girl accused of beating her grandmother to death had been exhibiting behavioral problems after witnessing the war in Ukraine and being separated from her mother, according to a police affidavit.
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The 14-year-old girl accused of beating her grandmother to death had been exhibiting behavioral issues after witnessing the war in Ukraine and being separated from her mother, according to a police affidavit.
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The girl, whom the Miami Herald isn’t naming because of her age, was arrested Friday and was booked into the Juvenile Assessment Center in Fort Lauderdale. She’s facing a second-degree murder charge, though the Broward State Attorney’s Office has yet to decide if the teen will be tried as an adult.
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“Our prosecutors will thoroughly review all of the evidence, facts and circumstances of the case and a decision will be made regarding any formal charges and whether the case would be handled in adult of juvenile court,” the state attorney’s office said in an email to the Herald.
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READ MORE: A 14-year-old girl killed her grandmother in Broward, detectives say. She’s now jailed
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Around 12:30 a.m. on May 23, Broward deputies and paramedics arrived at an apartment in the 4100 block of Northwest 41st Street in Lauderdale Lakes after receiving a call about an unresponsive woman. First responders found 79-year-old Yevheniia✓ Koval on the ground with bruises on her body, the affidavit states.
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Koval’s son, who told deputies he had left the house at 7 p.m. to visit a friend, was the one who found Koval, according to the document. Miami Herald news partner CBS News Miami reported that Koval’s son, the father of the teen, said the girl had moved to the United States from Ukraine eight months ago.
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The girl’s father also told investigators that she hadn’t been diagnosed with mental health problems, though she had been showing signs of aggression, the affidavit states. He also said the girl hadn’t been eating or sleeping.
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The teen, determined to be a possible harm to others and herself, was Baker Acted, or admitted to a psychiatric hospital by first responders, according to the affidavit. She was transported to Fort Lauderdale Behavioral Health Center, where she was reportedly aggressive with hospital staff, the document says.
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The Broward Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Koval’s death a homicide. She had bruising all over her body and abrasions to her neck, face and head, the affidavit states. An autopsy determined that Koval had bleeding inside the brain.
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The teen on Wednesday appeared before Broward Circuit Court Judge Elijah Williams, who ordered her held in juvenile secure detention for 21 days. Her next court date is on June 12.
Gretel covers Broward County courts and crime for the Miami Herald. She graduated from the University of Florida (Go Gators!), speaks Spanish and Arabic, and loves animals, traveling, basketball, and storytelling.
