Carly Madison Gregg was born in Starkville, Mississippi, on April 23, 2009. She later moved to Brandon, Mississippi. From a very young age, her life was marked by tragedies. When she was just four years old, she lost her older sister, an event that left a deep mark on her life. This trauma, combined with a difficult relationship with her biological father and family issues, greatly influenced her behavior in the subsequent stages of her childhood and adolescence.
Carly's parents divorced when she was still a child. Her mother, Ashley, remarried Heath Smiley, and although he tried to be a father figure, Carly's relationship with her stepfather was never completely harmonious. They spent some time together, playing video games and practicing karate, but these moments didn't seem to fill the void left by the death of her sister and the absence of her father.
Ashley, fearing a possible return of Kevin Gregg, Carly's father, kept a gun near her bed while she slept. Kevin, described as a drug addict and a threatening presence, was a constant source of fear for his ex-wife. This tense environment permeated the family's daily life.
At 12 years old, Carly had a serious incident at school when she brought a knife to the institution and was transferred to an alternative school. This episode was just the first of several signs that Carly was facing serious emotional problems. At 9 years old, she began showing symptoms of depression and, in February 2024, was diagnosed with depressive disorder and adjustment disorder. Even with treatment, she felt increasingly disconnected, like a "zombie," due to high doses of medication.
Carly's adolescence was marked by a growing distance from her mother and stepfather. She began to associate with friends who had a distorted view of friendship. A 16-year-old friend was responsible for introducing Carly to vaping and, later, to other substances. This friendship, which should have been a source of support, was, in fact, a path to self-destruction for Carly, reflecting a misguided perception of what real support between friends should be.
However, Carly's situation worsened when her mother didn't accept Carly's relationship with a boyfriend, demanding that she wait until she was 16 to get romantically involved. This became another point of friction that pushed Carly even further away from her mother.
On the night of the crime, March 19, 2024, Carly had an emotional breakdown. After going out to walk the dogs, she entered her room and found her mother rummaging through her belongings, suspecting that Carly was using drugs. In a moment of impulse, Carly went to the parents' room, grabbed a gun, and shot her mother three times, fatally injuring her. After committing the murder, Carly went to the kitchen, turned off the security camera, and used her mother's phone to send messages to her stepfather, asking about his arrival time.
When her friend arrived, Carly showed her the body of her mother and revealed the crime, asking her friend if she was disgusted by the body or had ever seen something similar, since Carly could not explain directly what had happened. She had tried to ask for help from six friends on FaceTime before, but couldn't explain what was happening.
During the struggle with Heath, Carly shot him in the shoulder before fleeing. She ran about 800 meters before being captured by the police a few hours after fleeing from home. When she was arrested, Carly showed no signs of remorse or emotion. There was no crying or sadness in her reaction, and she only asked about the condition of her stepfather, without mentioning or showing any concern about her mother's death. This cold and calculated behavior further shocked the police officers.
After her arrest, Carly's grandparents held fundraisers and sought help to support her, showing that, despite everything she had done, they were the only ones who remained by her side. Interestingly, even after rejecting the 40-year plea deal offered by the state—something that many would consider an opportunity to reduce her sentence—Carly did not seem to feel remorse or regret for the decision. She remained firm in her choice, unconcerned about the possible consequences, further reinforcing her cold and distant attitude.
She was 157 cm and 50 kg when she was caught by the police on the day of the case
Carly had brown hair, fair skin, and hazel (brownish-green) eyes.
carly gregg loves studying, reading books, history and math
On September 20, 2024, Carly was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. Her tragic story, marked by loss, isolation, and destructive choices, left a painful lesson about the dangers of not addressing emotional trauma and living in a troubled family environment. In the end, despite everything, the only constant in her life was her family, whom she had always claimed she didn't need, but who were the only ones by her side until the end.
Carly also used an old laptop to do things without her parents' permission, and her phone had a black case. She tried to ask for help from six friends on FaceTime after killing her mother and, in a moment of deep suffering, she cut herself on her thighs and legs.
Kevin Gregg, Carly's father, publicly stated that he did not believe his daughter was insane and considered the defense made by her lawyers to be a "ridiculous defense." He also stated that he hoped Carly would find God and seek to repent for her actions.