Michael Jennings, attorney for one of the six teens accused in Phoebe Prince's case, has asked the charges against his client be dismissed. He has said that the prosecutors have not presented sufficient evidence against his client.
Jennings represents the accused, Kayla Narey. The 17-year-old has been charged with harassing Prince in the months before her death. He told reporters after their brief courtroom appearance this week that Narey had never harassed or threatened Prince. She claims that she never spoke directly to Prince and was not present for any threats of violence.
Narey is being charged with criminal harassment and civil rights violations resulting in bodily injury. She is being charged with five other teenagers. They are being accused of relentlessly bullying the 15-year-old Irish student at South Hadley High School for over two months. After a particularly bad day of bullying at school in January this year Phoebe Prince walked home from school and committed suicide.
Jennings denies Narey's involvement. He said "The evidence doesn’t exist." He also described Narey as a pleasant, normal teen who has been receiving hate mail since the beginning of the case.
New court documents have shown that prosecutors granted Narey and Mulveyhill's attorney's access to material including 252 pages of grand jury minutes from the court hearings in March, medical records and physical evidence seized by authorities.
Defense lawyers have had to agree not to circulate details of the information. They have already expressed their frustration following the leak of sensitive information about Prince's history of mental and emotional troubles.
Back in March District Attorney Elizabeth Scheibel pressed criminal charges against six students. All six of the accused have pleaded not guilty and claim that they are not responsible for her death.
Both Sean Mulveyhill and Narey appeared in court on Wednesday. Mulveyhill's attorney declined to comment after the session.
The defendants walked stony faced through the crowds outside the court including press from Ireland where the case is being carefully covered. Prince had only been living in Massachusetts for a couple of month having moved from County Clare with her family.
The teens will return to court in November. Mulveyhill's trial date is set for March while Narey's is still unscheduled. Their attorney will have to file motions for their cases before mid-January.
Three other defendants in the case — Sharon Velazquez, Flannery Mullins, and Ashley Longe — are scheduled to appear in juvenile court next week.
Comments