Ukrainian teen pleads no contest to manslaughter charge in grandmother's death
FORT LAUDERDALE - A 14-year-old Ukrainian girl charged in the death of her grandmother has pleaded no contest to a manslaughter charge in adult court.
The teen was charged in the May 23 beating death of her 79-year-old grandmother Yevheniia Koval at their Lauderdale Lakes home. She came to this country from Ukraine about a year ago.
After the court accepted her plea, she was sentenced to the maximum penalty of up to three years in a juvenile justice maximum-risk commitment program, the highest level of juvenile commitment in the state. After she had served her term, the court ordered her under community supervision until age 21. However, because she is not a U.S. citizen, it is expected she will be deported to her native Ukraine after her in-custody sentence.
A no-contest plea means the individual does not dispute the charge filed against them. According to the Broward State Attorney's Office, adult court Judge Thomas Coleman will retain jurisdiction of the case.
Koval's son was the one who found her body in the home at 4191 NW 41 Street. He told police at the time that he had left his mother at home with his teen daughter to visit a friend. When he returned home, he said he found Koval "unresponsive on the floor with multiple bruises on her body."
At Wednesday's change of plea hearing, Koval's son told the judge it was a "very, very difficult situation" as he has lost his mother to his daughter. He said he fully supported the outcome and thanked the attorneys and judge for how the case was handled.
