The Missouri teenager who was captured on video slamming another girl’s head into the concrete during a fight will be tried as a juvenile despite previous calls for her to face charges in adult court.
Maurnice DeClue, 15, has been in a juvenile detention facility since March 9 following the altercation that left Kaylee Gain, 16, hospitalized and suffering brain damage due to a fractured skull.
Video of the incident shows Gain on the ground near Hazelwood East High School in St. Louis, Missouri, being pummeled by Maurnice as the older girl struggled to fight back. Maurnice continues to land blow after blow before sitting atop Gain and slamming her head on the ground repeatedly.
Gain had to be hospitalized and spent time in a coma and the intensive care unit due to injuries. She is expected to undergo surgery to fix damage to her skull and has to wear a helmet to protect her head.
After the fight, Gain’s family consistently pushed for Maurnice to be tried as an adult because of the extent of Gain’s injuries, arguing that the 15-year-old “went way overboard and nearly killed her,” according to the New York Post.
However, a judge ruled Wednesday that Maurnice’s assault case will remain in juvenile court, which could lead to community supervision, placement in a resident facility for troubled youth, or an extended stay in the detention facility for the teenager.
The juvenile court judge’s decision comes 12 days after a juvenile officer, whose role is equivalent to a prosecutor in adult court, argued that Maurnice should be tried as a juvenile because of her lack of a juvenile record and her exceptional behavior while in the detention facility.
“We look for repetitive types of offenses and this is not part of a repetitive pattern,” the officer told the court, according to KSDK. “If she remained in the juvenile system, she would respond well and engage and communicate well with the court.”
Maurnice’s family had argued that she reacted violently to Gain out of self-defense, and it was out of character for her to behave in such a manner.
An online petition was also created for the teen to remain in the juvenile system and has garnered nearly 2,000 signatures.
The DeClue family attorney also revealed that Gain had been suspended from the school a day before the March 8 fight that landed her in the hospital. Later, Gain’s family members also confirmed that teenagers exchanged text messages agreeing to meet up to fight the day of the viral brawl.
Gain’s father revealed in a New York Post interview that she was dealing with trouble both at home and at school and would constantly be involved in fights while adding that he wasn’t sure who was responsible for initiating the altercations.
Video of the fight sparked outrage over violence at schools and prompted political division and racial tension. In addition to Gain’s family, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey had previously called for Maurnice to be charged as an adult.
“This evil and complete disregard for human life has no place in Missouri, or anywhere,” Bailey said in March, according to WJAR.
Data show that Black girls tend to be punished more severely than their white counterparts when they commit crimes.
According to the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Black youth made up over 67 percent of mandatory and discretionary direct file transfers to adult court in 2016, even though they were only 21 percent of the youth population.
“The perception of Black girls as less innocent and more adult-like may contribute to more punitive exercise of discretion by those in positions of authority, greater use of force, and harsher penalties,” says a 2017 study by the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality.
Maurnice will remain in the detention center while she awaits the outcome of her felony assault case. Nearly two weeks ago, St. Louis County Circuit Court Judge Jason Dodson denied her parents’ request to allow her to return home during this period.
Dodson ruled that it would be best for Maurnice to stay in the facility for her safety, citing numerous death threats she has received. Additionally, the juvenile officer was unable to provide proof that Maurnice no longer poses a threat.
