Murder of Ashley Smylie

Personal life and family of Ashley Smylie Ashley Nicole Smylie (April 11, 1983 – March 19, 2024) Background on Carly Madison Gregg During the mid-afternoon of March 19, 2024, Ashley Smylie was informed by a student of the high school and friend of Gregg's that Gregg had a large amount of cannabis concealed in her bedroom. Along with cannabis, e-cigarettes and burner phones were also discovered. It was upon seeing this that Gregg's friend decided to inform Smylie. Gregg was said to be on medication during this time, which apparently contributed to symptoms of dissociation, auditory hallucinations and mood swings. Attempts had been made to ease Gregg's symptoms through equine-assisted therapy. Gregg had previously brought a Swiss army knife to school, causing her to be transferred. Her history of drugs, according to Heath Smylie, may have been influenced by her biological father Kevin Gregg's drug use. Previous tension between Gregg and Ashley Smylie involved confiscation of her cell phone as punishment. == Murder ==

Murder of Ashley Smylie During the morning of March 19, Ashley Smylie went to work at the school with her daughter, Carly Gregg, who was a ninth-grade student there. Heath Smylie then left for work. At 3:54pm, Ashley Smylie and Gregg returned home, text messages sent by Ashley to Heath mentioned plans to go grocery shopping. Subsequent events involving Gregg were captured on CCTV cameras in the garage and dining areas. At about 4:00 p.m., Gregg entered her parents' bedroom and retrieved a .357 Magnum gun, which was owned by Ashley, from underneath their mattress. Gregg then returned to the kitchen with the gun still concealed behind her back. During the following minutes, Ashley died as a result of the injuries sustained from the gunshots. Attempted murder of Heath Smylie Gregg's stepfather, Heath Smylie, arrived home at 5:03pm, 49 minutes after receiving the message from Ashley's phone. Heath then disarmed Gregg whilst the remaining bullets were fired. Heath described Gregg as screaming, believed she was terrified, and that he may not have been her intended target. Immediately following the removal of the firearm from her possession, Gregg escaped through the back door of the house. The CCTV camera, which was recording in the garage, filmed Gregg running towards the street with an unidentified person in accompaniment. This person was later identified as the friend Gregg invited to the house. Gregg's arrest and immediate aftermath Heath searched the home and found his wife dead, with fatal injuries to her head. The police were immediately contacted, and officers were sent to the Smylies' home. A short time later, Gregg was located near the home and arrested without incident. Investigators began to search the home for evidence. Heath was reportedly unaware that the friend had been present at the house. He retrieved the CCTV cameras from the garage on March 20–21, offering them to the police as evidence; however, he was warned that he could be charged with tampering with evidence. After this, Heath hired a lawyer and ceased contact with the investigators. Heath's license was temporarily confiscated. Another CCTV camera that had been recording on the day of the murder was discovered to be missing during the investigation. It was later located inside their refrigerator. The investigators were contacted again, and Heath consented to review the available footage from the camera. The status of the evidence on this camera was unknown due to the low temperature in the refrigerator, which could have affected the camera's memory. == Trial ==

Proceedings State of Mississippi Vs. Carly Madison Gregg began on September 16, 2024 with opening statements and a recording of Heath Smylie on the telephone to police dispatch. A Rankin County jury was in attendance. On day two of the trial, Heath Smylie told the court his version of the events of March 19, 2024. The courtroom was reportedly busy due to the publicity of the case. Judge Dewey Arthur responded by saying he would make sure that the trial was open, public and fair. This was based on a specific Mississippi precedent that supported the media in court with the Mississippi Supreme Court ruling in favor of this in 2005, after a circuit court attempted to stop television coverage of a conspicuous case. State experts gave rebuttals the following day, including psychiatric nurse practitioner Olivia Leber, mental health counselor Rebecca Kirk, and forensic psychiatry specialists Dr. Jason Pickett and Dr. Amanda Gugliano. The rebuttals provided by the state experts conflicted with the testimony given by Dr. Andrew Clark on the previous day. Insanity plea The long-established M'Naghten rules were used in conjunction with Mississippi's legal standards for testing insanity to determine whether Carly Gregg met the criteria for such a defense. Dr. Jason Pickett and Dr. Amanda Gugliano performed a mental status examination on Gregg using the M'Naghten rules, with insanity being evaluated by two specific criteria. The first criterion concerns whether the individual has previously been diagnosed with a mental disorder. The second criterion is dependent on whether the individual understood "the nature and the quality" of the actions they took whilst committing the offense. Clark testified that Gregg had undergone a mental health crisis during the events of March 19, which he believed was caused by a newly prescribed medication. It was noted by Olivia Leber that Gregg had been diagnosed with clinical depression and adjustment disorder and that she denied experiencing auditory hallucinations; however, it was unknown whether they were chronic, and symptoms of these conditions were not observed during a second appointment. After a further hour of jury deliberation, Gregg was sentenced to life in prison for murder and attempted murder, with a concurrent ten-year sentence for tampering with evidence. Judge Arthur delivered these sentences. Gregg had been offered a plea deal whereby she would serve only one 40-year sentence for the murder of her mother, whilst the two remaining charges would be dropped. This deal was declined by Gregg despite Judge Arthur's efforts to ensure the consequences of this decision were understood. Imprisonment As of September 24, 2024, Gregg is imprisoned in the Youthful Offender Unit of the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility, located in Rankin County, Mississippi. == Appeal for new trial ==

Gregg's new legal counsel labelled the trial as unjust. Immediately following this, her defense team, consisting of attorneys Bridgett Todd and Kevin Camp, filed an appeal on September 26, 2024. Kathryn W. Newman, Assistant District Attorney with the State of Mississippi, responded to the appeal on October 7, 2024. After this, Gregg received new legal counsel. It was unknown when the Mississippi Supreme Court would hear the case, with estimates that it could take another 18 months to finalize a decision. Gregg's newly appointed attorney, James Murphy, stated that his research will involve leveraging any "mistakes" made during the phases of both the investigation and the trial in order to secure a new trial. Murphy also explained they would "research this case to death". On July 30, 2025, Murphy requested a 30-day extension for preparation of the appeal brief, his reasoning relating to misconduct from Gregg's previous attorney, Bridgett Todd. This extension was approved the following day, setting a new deadline of August 19, 2025. In early April 2026, the Mississippi Supreme Court issued a statement announcing that it grants the presentation, on May 27, 2026, of oral arguments by Gregg's defense in support of her appeal. Carly's Warriors group A group called "Carly's Warriors", set up and run by Greggs's maternal grandparents, as well as by other members of her mother's family, was registered with the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office in February 2026, and is run with Heath Smylie. The group claims that Gregg's sentence was "disproportionate" to the crime and unfair, given Gregg's age and the influence of her change in medication. == Notes ==