Carly Gregg’s case has entered another legal phase after her attorneys filed a request for rehearing with the Mississippi Supreme Court, weeks after the court upheld her convictions.

Gregg was 14 when she was charged in connection with the March 2024 d#ath of her mother, Ashley Smylie, and the attempted k#lling of her stepfather, Heath Smylie, in Rankin County, Mississippi.

A jury convicted Gregg in September 2024 of first-degree mu#der, attempted mu#der and tampering with physical evidence. She received life imprisonment on the first two counts and 10 years for evidence tampering.

Mental health was a major issue during the trial. Gregg’s defense presented an insanity defense, while prosecutors disputed that argument. The jury ultimately rejected the defense and returned guilty verdicts.

In August 2026, the Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and sentences, finding that the alleged trial errors did not warrant reversal.

However, the ruling also clarified an important point about Gregg’s punishment.

Because Gregg was a juvenile when the offenses occurred, the court stated that her “life imprisonment” sentences for first-degree mu#der and attempted mu#der do not automatically mean life without the possibility of parole under the applicable Mississippi law.

Her attorneys are now asking the state Supreme Court to reconsider aspects of that ruling. In a motion filed September 17, they challenged both issues surrounding the trial and the classification of Gregg’s sentence by corrections officials.

The case therefore remains active despite the Supreme Court’s August decision.

For Ashley Smylie’s family, however, no legal ruling can undo the loss of a mother. For Gregg’s family, the continuing court proceedings mean that questions surrounding her convictions and future sentence remain part of an ongoing legal process.

The next decision could determine how the case moves forward from here.

Source: Mississippi Supreme Court, WLBT