NEW ORLEANS (TND) — A New Orleans teenager was reportedly convicted of second-degree murder Monday for killing a 73-year-old woman in a gruesome carjacking.
John Honore, 18, faces a mandatory lifetime prison term for his role in Linda Frickey's March 2022 death, according to WVUE. Honore's accomplices –- 17-year-old Briniyah Baker and 16-year-old Lenyra Theophile and Mar’Qel Curtis -- reportedly received 20-year prison terms after pleading guilty to attempted manslaughter last week.
The foursome approached Frickey's car last year before Honore pepper-sprayed the grandmother, according to WVUE. Honore reportedly pulled Frickey partially out of the car before stomping her head and punching her. Frickey's arm then remained stuck in a seatbelt while the teenager drove more than 700 feet, dragging the woman's body.
A utility pole cable severed Frickey's arm, according to nola.com. She also sufferred a torn aorta, fractured collarbone, ribs and vertebrae and a torn aorta.
"This was one of the most violent carjackings we’ve ever seen," Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams noted. "These young people dragged Mrs. Frickey, severing her arm as they all fled the scene in her car."
Williams claimed juvenile sentencing limits would be "inadequate" for the teenagers, who were under 18 at the time of the crime. "Four of five years is just not enough," he stated, according to WVUE.
"Nothing about today is about taking responsibility," the prosecution said. "It’s too little too late. [The defense] is going to get up here and ask you to not take away his life - give him another chance at life. We’re going to ask that you hold him accountable for what he did. We’re going to ask you to follow the law and that the ‘second chance’ is a decision that the parole board makes in 25 years.”
Defense attorney William Boggs reportedly urged the jury to consider Honore's youth and immaturity. He argued the teenager's upbringing, along with socio-economic conditions and a lack of opportunities, factored into his crime.
"You condemn a sin, and not the sinner," Boggs said, according to WVUE. "There’s a permanent stay-away order with his father."
Boggs reportedly pointed to the actions of Honore's dad, stating, "There you are with your teenage son wearing a pornographic shirt, flipping off the camera with your son flashing gang signs. If you need to know where this came from, you can look at the sins of a father.”
Kathy Richard, Frickey's sister-in-law, struggled to comprehend Honore's actions.
"I never ever would want to wish that on another human being,” she stated, according to WVUE. “Just open the door. He tried to kick her out but it didn’t work. How could you kick her? It’s just beyond comprehension. It’s evil. And you don’t just go from being in school to just taking a walk, to killing somebody. It was murder. Downright murder.”
Honore reportedly wrote a letter to Frickey's family expressing regret. The teenager claimed "no person's family should have to go through that type of hurt," and he made the "biggest mistake of my life that day," according to WVUE.
by RAY LEWIS
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