CLEARWATER, Fla. - A Florida woman who became famous for her uncontrollable hiccuping was found guilty of first-degree murder Friday night and will serve life in prison without parole.
A Pinellas County jury deliberated for four hours before delivering the verdict against 22-year-old Jennifer Mee.
Mee wept in the Clearwater courtroom as the verdict was read. Minutes later, Judge Nancy Moate Ley explained that the only possible sentence for the charge was life in prison without the possibility of parole.
As a 15-year-old, Mee developed a case of the hiccups that wouldn’t go away, which led to her appearing on several TV shows. She tried home remedies and consulted medical specialists, a hypnotist and an acupuncturist, until the hiccups finally stopped on their own, though not for good.
Her attorney, John Trevena, said his client was on medication to control the hiccuping, and even then, she occasionally had bouts.
In 2010, Mee lured Shannon Griffin, a 22-year-old Wal-Mart worker, to an abandoned home under the pretense of buying marijuana. Once there, two of Mee’s friends robbed Griffin at gunpoint - but he struggled and was shot four times.
Mee’s co-defendant, LaRon Raiford, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in August. Lamont Newton, the other co-defendant who was also Mee’s boyfriend at the time of the crime, has not yet gone to trial.
Front Section, Pages 5 on 09/22/2013