SHREVEPORT, La. -- Federal authorities said Friday they had not decided whether to bring juvenile or adult charges against a 16-year-old girl accused of hacking her mother to death with an ax.
The girl, whose mother's head and hands were virtually severed from her body, was held in isolation at a mental hospital awaiting a decision on what charges would be filed.
Assistant U.S. Attorney A.M. Stroud said no first-degree murder indictment could be sought against the girl without approval of the U.S. Justice Department and a federal judge.
Mary Helen Midkiff, 35, wife of Army Sgt. Anthony Midkiff, was killed in her Fort Polk home Monday by at least 25 ax blows to the face and hands.
Federal authorities investigating the slaying have refused to discuss the case, citing federal laws prohibiting such disclosures in cases involving juveniles.
Stroud declined to speculate on when or even whether the U.S. attorney's office would start proceedings to try the girl as an adult.
The Midkiff girl apparently argued with her mother because she was not allowed to attend a prom with her boyfriend. Authorities said the girl cleaned up the blood and then called a taxi to take her mother's body to a hospital.
The ax was found on the roof of the house.
The slaying was originally investigated by the Army because it occurred on a military base, but it was turned over the federal investigators because the victim and her daughter were civilians.
