A teenager has been taken into custody in Texas related to the tragic passing of a young girl last year.
Tara Zieman from the Mobile County District Attorney’s Office has confirmed to PEOPLE that a 17-year-old, whose identity remains undisclosed due to their age, has been extradited from Texas to Mobile, Alabama, facing a capital murder charge.
A teenager is one of five individuals facing charges related to the tragic death of 9-year-old Cailee Knight, who was resting on the couch when gunfire struck her home in Mobile, Alabama, on December 5, 2023.
A firearm was involved in the incident, according to Zieman.
On the day of the incident, the city’s chief of staff, James Barber, stated that a family member of Cailee was the intended target, according to WKRG.
Nonetheless, while acknowledging that a city official had asserted this, Zieman states that the district attorney’s office has not “determined who the target was, as that’s evidence that must be revealed during the trial.”
Following the tragic incident, Ariel Curry and Tyrone Williams were taken into custody by the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office just two days later.
In September, both Curry and Williams faced indictments on two counts of capital murder and an additional count of attempted murder for shooting into an occupied dwelling, as reported by the Mobile County District Attorney’s Office.
Charges of dual capital murder have been filed, stemming from the shooting of a child under 14 and the act of firing into an occupied residence, according to the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Criminal Court clerk’s office.
Darius Lucky, Jr. was taken into custody on December 9, 2023, according to his booking records, and faces two counts of capital murder, as stated by prosecutors.
Authorities report that all three individuals are currently detained without bond in accordance with Aniah’s Law, allowing judges to refuse bail due to the violent offenses attributed to the defendants.
On January 25, 2024, booking records indicate that Ricki Thier was taken into custody. They are facing murder charges in two distinct court cases, according to the clerk’s office and prosecutors.
Charges have been filed against an individual for two counts of capital murder and one count of attempted murder related to a shooting into an occupied dwelling, linked to Cailee’s death, according to prosecutors. A grand jury has determined that Thier will not be granted bond in light of the capital murder charge against him.
Nearly a year following the tragic shooting, the four adults involved in the case are set to be arraigned on the capital murder charges on November 26, according to the clerk’s office. A 17-year-old, facing charges as an adult and currently held without bond, is set to be arraigned simultaneously, as stated by Zieman.
Authorities have yet to reveal whether they will pursue the death penalty in the case of capital murder. In Alabama, those found guilty of capital murder face the possibility of the death penalty or a life sentence without the chance of parole.