Four New Orleans teens plead not guilty to murder in elderly woman’s dragging death during carjacking
Four teenagers charged as adults for a carjacking that left a 73-year-old woman dead pleaded not guilty Wednesday.
John Honore, 17; Briniyah Baker, 15; Marquel Curtis, 15, and Lenyra Theophile, 15, have all been charged with the second-degree murder of Linda Frickey, the Orleans Parish District Attorney announced Friday.
On March 21, the teens allegedly stole Frickey’s car, but she got stuck in her seatbelt when they tried to speed off. Frickey was dragged a block until her arm was severed, according to police.
“This was one of the most violent carjackings we’ve ever seen; these young people dragged Mrs. Frickey, severing her arm as they all fled the scene in her car,” District Attorney Jason Williams said in a statement Friday. “(This) grand jury decision to indict these young people for second-degree murder is fair and ensures they are appropriately held accountable.”
He also said that trying them as adults would “ensure that these young people are appropriately held accountable for taking a life.”
If convicted, all four will face mandatory life sentences in prison with the possibility for parole after 25 years.
