LAKE CITY, Florida (USA TODAY) -- Two girls accused of killing their 16-year-old brother have been released from custody and charges will not be filed against the youngest, prosecutors said.
The older girl could be charged at a later time, Jeff Siegmeister, 3rd Circuit state attorney, said Thursday. But the case is complicated because of abuse allegations; USA TODAY is not identifying the girls because they are juveniles and potential abuse victims.
"Today is a day we saw justice was actually served," said Clifton Wilson Jr., a public defender who represents the younger girl.
On Jan. 5, police say the 15-year-old shot her brother, Damien Kornegay, in their White Springs, Fla., home while the teens' parents were away. The teens' 11-year-old sister also was held because she was accused of keeping watch while her older sister broke through a bedroom window to get the 9mm handgun used in the homicide.
Both girls were released from juvenile detention and have been placed in new homes under state supervision. Parents Keith Kornegay, 37, and Misty Kornegay, 33 — who face felony child neglect charges — are out of jail as on $20,000 bond each.
"The judge won't let their parents anywhere near them," said Blair Payne, the public defender representing the older girl.
The children's father is a trucker. And the children's mother occasionally would accompany her husband on his hauls, leaving the youngsters under Damien's supervision.
The girls' maternal grandparents, who have not spoken to the girls since the shooting, said they will fight for custody of the children, including a 3-year-old sister.
Court documents show that the elder girl suffered years of abuse, including being locked in her bedroom for days with only a blanket and a bucket for use as a bathroom. The documents also indicate she was sexually abused by her uncle, who was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for it.
"The documented abuse that she's gone through for a long period of time should excuse her from prosecution now," said Paul Cochran, a neighbor of the girls' grandparents. "And at 15, in reality she still a child. She may be big in size, but she's still a child. She needs a chance to develop as a teenager, and it needs to start right now."
Cochran, who has lived in the area for more than 20 years, said the children lived with their grandparents in the past for about a year and seemed well adjusted while they were there.
"If they were problem children, something would have shown up," he said.
On Jan. 5, Damien locked the 15-year-old girl in a bedroom at their parents' home, investigators say. The girl persuaded her younger sister to unlock the door so she could shower.
Then the elder sister asked the younger one to keep watch while she cut away foam from around an air conditioner so she could get through the window of her parents' locked bedroom, where she retrieved a pistol, police said.
With gun in hand, the girl asked her younger sister to take their 3-year-old sibling and hide in a closet before she shot her brother in the neck as he slept, police said.
The two older girls fled the house, leaving the toddler behind. Police later found them outside a Dollar General store after the younger girl called a friend saying she needed a ride.
Officials found the 3-year-old with the dead boy's body, according to police documents.
Payne said his office has received money, gift cards, clothes and food from the community and people elsewhere who want to help the girls. Another hearing is scheduled March 12.
"When they were arrested, they had nothing but the clothes on their back," Payne said. "There were a lot of wet eyes in this office when those girls left."
Contributing: Mike Lyons, WTLV- and WJXX-TV, Jacksonville, Fla.; The Associated Press
