“This is kind of the outcome that our office was focusing on from the beginning,” said Clark County Prosecutor Dan Driscoll. “Because of the nature of the crimes, we felt it was appropriate from Day One.”
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Now that Ellis has been indicted, the next step will be her arraignment in Clark County Common Pleas Court before one of the General Division judges.
A date for her appearance had not been set as of Tuesday evening.
Ellis is accused of carrying out an attack on her then 13-year-old friend’s family members at a home on North Church Street in New Carlisle on May 23.
The friend’s mother, Lee A. Moore, 36, died in the attack. The 13-year-old’s father, Paul Greear, and a then-17-year-old boy were also hurt, but survived.
Her transition to adult court has not been quick.
Because of Ellis’ age at the time of the crime, there were several steps that needed to be taken before a judge relinquished her to adult court including hearings about facts of the case and psychological evaluations.
In what’s called an amenability hearing, a psychological expert weighed in with their opinions about whether Ellis could be rehabilitated.
“Dr. (Kara) Marciani opined in her report and testimony that not only was the youth mature enough to be transferred to the adult division, she did not believe there was sufficient time to rehabilitate the youth in the juvenile system,” a judgment entry from Clark County Juvenile Court Judge Katrine Lancaster states. “Dr. Marciani’s opinion is that the youth’s psychopathic features and the borderline personality disorders are very difficult to treat and in some instances, treatment resistant, and therefore the youth is not amenable to rehabilitation within the juvenile system.”
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The judge considers the psychological opinions presented, as well as other factors like a juvenile’s past before they entered the criminal justice system.
But in the Ellis case, the judge found that the factors in favor of a transfer to adult court outweighed those against it.
The entry also set the teen’s bond at $500,000.
Ellis will remain in custody at the Clark County Juvenile Detention Center until the conclusion of her case in adult court.
The News-Sun reached out to Ellis’ attorney John Meehling for comment but did not hear back.
However, her alleged co-conspirator’s case will stay in juvenile court.
Sheriff’s deputies have said previously that even though Ellis may have acted by herself, the planning of the attack was done in unison with the 13-year-old.
In an interrogation video shown in a July hearing, Ellis told an investigator that her friend even left weapons out in the home in certain places for her to use in the stabbing.
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At the same hearing, a deputy told the court that Ellis told her the night of the attack that the two girls were in communication up until moments before the stabbing happened.
After deputies took Ellis into custody, she told them that the 13-year-old was allegedly being abused and carrying out the attack was the only solution.
The 13-year-old has been charged as a serious youthful offender which could result in a mixture of juvenile and adult sentences down the line.
A trial date has not been set in the 13-year-old’s case.
4 — Charges on which teen was indicted
16 — Age of girl who will be tried as an adult
202 — Days in custody
The Springfield News-Sun has provided dominant coverage of the New Carlisle fatal stabbing since May, including regular updates on the suspects’ courts proceedings.
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