Judge to rule on trying Pa. teen as adult in mother's murder
ALLENTOWN, Pa. -- An eastern Pennsylvania judge will rule later on whether the case of a teenage girl accused of plotting with her soldier boyfriend to kill her mother should be moved to juvenile court.
Fourteen-year-old Jamie Silvonek is accused in Lehigh County of conspiring with 21-year-old Army Spc. Caleb Barnes via text messages to kill 54-year-old Cheryl Silvonek in March in the driveway of her home near Allentown.
Prosecutors argued Monday that the teenager cannot be properly rehabilitated in the seven years she would be under the control of juvenile court, saying she has refused to take responsibility.
Defense attorney John Waldron argued that Barnes had motive since he could have been charged with statutory sex assault. A defense psychiatrist testified that the girl was under the sway of an older man.