Jennifer Ann Mee (born July 28, 1991) is a convicted American murderer known as the "Hiccup Girl" for her long-lasting case of the hiccups. Mee appeared on national American television shows such as NBC's Today Show many times. Mee was arrested for first-degree murder in 2010. After a trial she was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole in 2013.[2] M. William Phelps wrote a book about her that was published in 2016.[3] Her transmutation from "media darling" to convicted murderer attracted renewed national attention.[4][5][6]
"Hiccup girl" case
In 2007, when Mee was 15 years old, she gained international fame when she developed a case of uncontrollable hiccups. She appeared on television shows all over the United States hoping to find a cure. Mee claimed to be hiccupping 50 times a minute.[7][8] National media competed to book her for morning shows.[4][5] Her "world record" bout of hiccups has been compared to the world record for sneezing.[5] The causes and treatment of her condition were disputed, but her popularity as an internet search item was long lasting.[9] Her search for a hiccup cure included "[ingesting] sugar, peanut butter, breathing in a bag, [and] having people scare her".[2]
Mee continued to get media attention after her hiccups stopped. In June 2007, she ran away from home and it was reported in the newspapers.[2] She later dated a man named Lamont Newton. As she had a plan to find robbery victims online and set them up, Mee recruited Newton and another friend, Laron Raiford, to help her rob victims.[4]
Crime
In 2010, Mee met up with a 22-year-old man she encountered online. She invited the man to a vacant home where two of Mee's friends robbed him of less than $50 and shot the man, killing him. As an accomplice to the crime, Mee was charged with murder.[8]
After meeting the victim (Shannon Griffin), Mee led him around to the back of a vacant home where her two friends (Laron Raiford and Lamont Newton) were waiting with a .38 caliber handgun.[2] The victim was shot four times, but police did not know which suspect did the shooting.[10]
Mee, Raiford, and Newton all lived together and were arrested within hours of the crime.[2][11] According to Sergeant Skinner of the St. Petersburg Police Department, Mee and her accomplices admitted to their involvement in the crime.[12]
Trial
Prior to the trial, Mee's lawyer, John Trevena,[13] offered to have Mee plead guilty in exchange for a 15-year sentence.[14] Laron Raiford had been offered a sentence of 40 years in exchange for a guilty plea, but he rejected the deal.[15]
During the trial, the prosecution played a recording of a jailhouse phone call between Mee and her mother. During the call, Mee told her mother, "I didn't kill nobody...I set everything up. It all went wrong, Mom. It [expletive] just went downhill after everything happened, Mom." Also, experts testified that Mee's DNA was found on the victim's shirt. Mee's lawyer claimed his client had schizophrenia. The judge ordered a psychological evaluation; however, it was determined that Mee was competent to stand trial.[16] Another defense used by her lawyer was that Mee's hiccups were a symptom of Tourette's syndrome.[17][18]
In 2013, Mee was found guilty of felony murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole.[19] Her co-defendants – Laron Raiford and Lamont Newton – were both convicted of first-degree murder and also sentenced to life in prison.[8]
Mee's attorney moved for a new trial, which was subsequently denied.[20] Her sentence was criticized in an article in the Hastings Women's Law Journal as purportedly disparate from that which would be imposed upon a similarly situated male.[21]
References
Citations
- ^ a b "Pinellas County Sheriff's Office Subject Charge Report". pcsoweb.com. Pinellas County Jail. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e Botelho, Greg (September 21, 2013). "Florida 'Hiccup Girl' found guilty of murder". CNN. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
- ^ Phelps 2016, pp. 298, 311, 275, 382, 401.
- ^ a b c Getlen, Larry (February 28, 2016). "Hiccup Girl — from social media darling to convicted murderer". New York Post. NYP Holdings, Inc. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
- ^ a b c Torres & Healey 2016, p. 97.
- ^ Ryann 2018.
- ^ Park, Mary Jane (February 26, 2007). "Much more than an (hic) annoyance". Chicago Tribune. St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
- ^ a b c Nelson, Sara C. (June 7, 2017). "How Notorious 'Hiccup Girl' Jennifer Mee Ended Up Jailed For A Murder 'She Didn't Commit'". Huffington Post. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
- ^ Provine 2012, p. 101.
- ^ Schwartz, Alison. "Jennifer Mee, 'Hiccup Girl,' Baited Murder Victim, Say Police". people.com. People Magazine. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
- ^ "'Hiccup girl' charged with murder in Florida". The Telegraph. October 26, 2010. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
- ^ "'Hiccup girl' charged with murder of Florida man". BBC. October 25, 2010. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
- ^ Phelps 2016, pp. 275, 298, 311, 382, 401.
- ^ "'Hiccup Girl' Jennifer Mee offers guilty plea in exchange for 15 years in prison". Tampa Bay Times. May 3, 2013. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
- ^ ""Hiccup Girl" co-defendant rejects plea deal in murder case, report says". CBS News. March 27, 2013. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
- ^ Davis, Linsey (September 20, 2013). "Jurors Hear 'Hiccup Girl' Jennifer Mee's Jailhouse Confession in Murder Trial". ABC News. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
- ^ Goldman, Russell (October 25, 2010). "Hiccup Girl's Murder Defense: She Has Tourette's, Says Lawyer". ABC News. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
- ^ Associated Press (September 17, 2013). "Jennifer Mee – Hiccup Girl – Goes on Trial for Murder". People.
- ^ Neil, Martha (September 23, 2013). "'Hiccup Girl' convicted in felony murder case, gets life term". ABA Journal. American Bar Association. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
- ^ "Hiccup Girl Jennifer Mee Denied New Trial". Tampa Bay Times. October 17, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
- ^ Twist, Jennifer; Starr Blake, Marienne (November 15, 2016). "The Principal Theory". Hastings Women's Law Journal. 28. University of California, Hastings College of the Law: 73 – via HeinOnline.
Bibliography
- Phelps, M. William (March 1, 2016). One Breath Away: The Hiccup Girl - From Media Darling to Convicted Killer (1st ed.). New York, New York: Pinnacle Books. pp. 298, 311, 275, 382, 401. ISBN 978-0786035014.
- Provine, Robert R. (August 31, 2012). Curious Behavior. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 101. ISBN 9780674071568. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
- Ryann, Samantha (2018). Hiccup Girl: The True Story of Jennifer Mee. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 978-1983846915.
- Torres, John A.; Healey, Tim (December 15, 2016). The World's Weirdest News Stories. Berkeley Heights, New Jersey: Enslow Publishing, LLC. p. 97. ISBN 9780766083790.
