NEW ORLEANS (TCD) — Three teens pleaded guilty this week to carjacking a 73-year-old woman and dragging her more than a block with her arm was still stuck in the vehicle, while a fourth still faces a trial.
Nola.com reports 17-year-old Briniyah Baker, 16-year-old Lenyra Theophile, and 16-year-old Mar’Qel Curtis entered the plea for attempted manslaughter in connection with Linda Frickey’s death. They were initially charged with second-degree murder. They were all sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Frickey’s sister said regarding the plea, “For them to plead guilty and say they want to do the 20 years is a relief to us.”
The fourth suspect, 18-year-old John Honore, pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder. His trial will begin Monday, Nov. 27. Nola.com reports the trial will most likely only last about three days.
On March 21, 2022, at 1:35 p.m., New Orleans Police Department officers were called to the 300 block of North Scott Street regarding a carjacking and found Frickey on the ground unresponsive. New Orleans Police said Frickey’s arm was detached from her body. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police determined the four teens carjacked Frickey, which caused her to be “thrown from her vehicle during the commission of the offense.” Then, the suspects fled the scene in a Nissan.
Then-New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Shaun Ferguson said during a press conference he believes Frickey “was tangled in her seatbelt, which caused her arm to be severed from her body and dragged” during the incident.
All four of the suspects were charged as adults. Nola.com reports Honore allegedly played a bigger role than the other three in the carjacking, including reportedly beating Frickey as he pushed her out of the car.
If he gets convicted, Honore will be sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years.
According to Nola.com, Curtis said in court, “I wish I could go back and change the outcome,” and that Frickey “seemed like such a nice lady.”
Curtis said her involvement in the carjacking was “the worst decision of my life.”
Baker reportedly said following the plea, “That’s not what we set out to do, and I hope that you can all forgive me.”
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