Claire Miller
The 14-year-old girl charged with murdering her older sister will seek an insanity defense. The attorney for Claire E. Miller revealed the move in a filing issued earlier in May, and recently reported by local outlets. Lawyer Robert Beyer also asked that the judge scheduled a hearing to argue that the case be moved to juvenile court, according to LancasterOnline.
Miller is the Pennsylvania girl charged with criminal homicide after she allegedly called 911 to say she killed her sister Helen M. Miller, 19.
“I stabbed my sister,” Miller said, according to police. The defendant was described as being in a “hysterical” state during the call.
Helen, who had lived with cerebral palsy, was discovered in a bedroom with a pillow over her face, according to a search warrant application obtained by the outlet. A knife was in her neck, and she had been stabbed repeatedly. A person told cops that the defendant had had suicidal and homicidal thoughts.
The murder happened while the sisters’ parents were asleep, officers have said. Cops were dispatched to the residence that early morning of February 22.
Beyer argued in his filing that it would serve the public interest to get his client to juvenile court, which would offer rehabilitation, and supervision until age 21.
Law&Crime is naming the defendant because she is being charged as an adult. Homicide is automatically an adult crime in Pennsylvania.
Matt Naham contributed to this report.
[Image via Manheim Township Police Department]