by Kevin Seraaj, Orlando Advocate
In 1999, siblings Curtis and Catherine Jones, then 12 and 13 years old, respectively, were convicted of second-degree murder in the death of their father’s girlfriend Nicole Speights. Both are scheduled to be released by August 1. The two were the youngest children in U.S. history to be tried as adults for first-degree murder, according to Florida Today. They later pled guilty to second-degree murder.
The siblings, now 29 and 30 years old, were given 18-year prison sentences in exchange for their pleas. They had accused a male relative of sexually abusing them, according to ABC’s Orlando affiliate WFTV, and when they asked their father and his girlfriend for help, their pleas for help fell on deaf ears. It was then, according to the WFTV report, that they decided to kill Speight, their father and the male relative, but after shooting Speights, they got spooked and abandoned their plans.
Although Florida Today reported that child services found signs of abuse, the charges were never proven, and prosecutors said it was the children’s jealousy of Speights that was the main motive for the killing.
Catherine is set to be released from Lowell Correctional Institution on Aug. 1 and Curtis is scheduled to be released from South Bay Correctional Facility on July 28.
Both will be on parole for the rest of their lives.
