SHREVEPORT, La. -- A 16-year-old girl accused of hacking her mother to death with an ax was isolated at a mental hospital today, awaiting a decision by federal authorities whether to charge her as an adult or a juvenile.
Assistant U.S. Attorney A.M. Stroud said no first-degree murder indictment could be sought against the girl without a two-step legal process being followed.
The U.S. attorney's office must receive approval from the Justice Department to try the suspect as an adult anda U.S. district judge must concur in that decision.
'We can't proceed via an indictment without those two things happening,' Stroud said.
Mary Helen Midkiff, 35, wife of Army Sgt. Anthony Midkiff, was killed in her Fort Polk home Monday with at least 25 ax blows to the face and hands. Her daughter was taken to a psychiatric hospital in Shreveport, La.
Federal authorities investigating the slaying have refused to discuss the case, citing laws prohibiting such disclosures in cases involving juveniles.
The girl apparently argued with her mother because she was not allowed to attend a prom with her boyfriend.
The ax was found on the roof of the house.
