Jennifer Mee, who became famous her hiccuping, earning the nickname of “hiccup girl,” has been convicted of first degree murder. Mee is from Clearwater, Florida and burst onto the scene when her hiccups lasted for months in 2007. She is being charged in the 2010 murder of Shannon Griffin. A Pinellas County jury deliberated for four hours before delivering the verdict against the 22 year old girl.
The hiccups that made Mee famous decided to make a return during her trial again. It was a very difficult time for her, as the result ended in a ruling that will send her to prison for life without parole. Mee burst into tears at times during the trial and pleaded her innocence, telling the court “I didn’t kill nobody,” Mee said. “…I set everything up. It all went wrong, Mom. It [expletive] just went downhill after everything happened, Mom.”
NEWS: A woman, famous for her uncontrollable hiccuping as a teenager, has been found guilty of first-degree murder >> http://t.co/0yBnhsZ2CB
— Juice FM (@Juice_FM) September 21, 2013
The Huffington Post mentions that Mee lured Shannon Griffin, a 22-year-old Wal-Mart worker, to an abandoned home under the pretense of buying marijuana. From there, two of Mee’s friends robbed Griffin at gunpoint, but he struggled and was shot four times and killed. Her attorney, John Trevena, insisted that she did not orchestrate the incident and there was not enough evidence to convict her. However, the prosecutors said Mee did set everything up, and used police interviews and a taped jailhouse phone call between Mee and her mother as evidence.
Whether she was directly involved in the robbery and murder of Griffin may never be clear, but she has been sent to life in prison for the incident anyway. Mee had also been diagnosed with schizophrenia in addition to her syndrome that caused her uncontrollable hiccups as a teenager, and her attorney explained that to the jury as well, according to People Magazine. She has recently been experiencing hiccups again while in jail and has been treated with a drug called thorazine, in order to control the hiccups. The judge ordered her to undergo pyschological evaluations, but she was later deemed competent and able to stand trial.
Jennifer Mee (Hiccup Girl) Murder Trial. Verdict and Sentencing Guilty 1st Degree Murder.: http://t.co/lOcZfKw93v via @YouTube
— tawni dilly (@tawnidilly) September 21, 2013
ABC News says that experts testified to finding Mee’s DNA on the victim’s shirt. Despite their findings, the defense brilliantly pointed out that her DNA could have been transferred to the shirt by another person and a crime lab DNA expert agreed.
Mee looked sadly at the potential jurors when the charge against her was read by the judge. It seems that her short media-filled life is coming to a close and while she does not face the penalty, she will be forced to live out her life in prison.
Image via Youtube