Teens Ordered To Stand Trial In Brutal Stabbings, Murder
Seventeen-year-old Tia Marie Mitchell-Skinner of Yale has been ordered to stand trial for the murder of her father and the brutal stabbing of her mother.
A preliminary exam for Skinner and two other teens was held Tuesday before Port Huron District Court Judge John Monaghan, with the mother, Mara Skinner, testifying against her daughter. Mrs. Skinner showed the court her wounds and calmly testified against her daughter. WWJ's Terri Lee was in the courtroom.
"I don't remember her looking at her daughter other than the one time when the prosecutor asked her if she could identify her daughter in the courtroom. And, that was the only time I remember her looking at her daughter", Terri reported following Tuesday's court proceedings. "But other than that, there was no emotion. She was very calm, which surprised me."
Police say the daughter planned the murder because she was angry at her parents for taking away her cell phone and for forbidding her to see her boyfriend, 18-year-old Jonathan Kurtz. Kurtz's friend and 18-year-old neighbor, James Preston, is also facing trial for allegedly taking part in the attack.
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