Jessica Masulli Reyes

The News Journal

Three Howard High School girls to stand trial Monday for death of 16-year-old Amy Joyner-Francis.

The trial could last two weeks and could include testimony from a heart specialist and detective.

The bathroom fight appears to have stemmed from a group text message between classmates.

Three classmates of 16-year-old Amy Inita Joyner-Francis will stand trial starting this week for their roles in her fatal beating in a Howard High School of Technology bathroom almost a year ago.

The trial – slated to begin Monday morning in Family Court in Wilmington – is expected to draw national attention, as it has since Joyner-Francis died following the April 21 fight.

The fate of all three girls will be left up to Family Court Judge Robert B. Coonin. He will preside over the non-jury trial, which could last up to two weeks.

Trinity Carr, 17, is charged with the most serious offenses of criminally negligent homicide, a felony, and third-degree criminal conspiracy, a misdemeanor.

Despite the degree of the charges, a conviction for Carr would likely result only in community supervision and treatment until age 19 because Coonin found last year that she should be tried as a juvenile in Family Court, rather than as an adult in Superior Court. She could have faced up to eight years in prison if she was convicted as an adult.

The other two girls, Chakiera Wright and Zion Snow, also 17, are charged only with third-degree criminal conspiracy because neither is accused of striking Joyner-Francis. Prosecutors have accused them of planning the confrontation with Carr in the 20 hours before the attack, according to court documents.

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At the center of the prosecution's evidence will be a 30-second cellphone video of the assault.

The video shows Carr dragging Joyner-Francis by her long, braided hair through a handicap-accessible stall in the school bathroom and punching and kicking her. Joyner-Francis is seen clutching her purse, and then, in the end, tries to grab onto her attacker as Carr is pulled away from the fight.

The state Medical Examiner's Office has said Joyner-Francis died from a pre-existing heart condition exacerbated by the attack, but multiple cardiologists with national reputations have told The News Journal it is highly unlikely for the heart defect to have caused her death.

Regardless, the trial will likely include testimony from a heart specialist and the state's medical examiner. Also expected to take the stand is Wilmington Police Detective Tom Curley, who previously testified at a hearing.

Court filings show the state could rely heavily on social media postings and group messages. That is because the assault appears to have stemmed from a group text message in which a friend asked the group for advice about how to handle a situation involving a boy.

Joyner-Francis responded that her friend should be "careful" and that they would have her back, according to Curley's prior testimony.

After Joyner-Francis' classmates were added to the group chat, Carr thought Joyner-Francis’ comments were directed at her and became upset, Curley said.

Carr and Joyner-Francis met in the girls bathroom on April 20 so Joyner-Francis could try to explain herself, he said. They then parted ways.

Snow later posted to Snapchat a short video of Joyner-Francis and Carr talking in the bathroom, Curley said.

The short video then shows Snow, Wright and Carr walking down the hallway saying, "She was scared. She was scared. We are going to get her," Curley said. Text of the video also indicated that Carr was going to fight Joyner-Francis, followed by emojis of laughing so hard one is crying.

The next morning, Snow posted to social media saying she was told to wear sneakers – a symbol that indicates one is ready to fight, Curley said.

The fight broke out in the bathroom that morning. A math teacher rushed to the brawl and found Joyner-Francis breathing heavily on the floor and saying, "They jumped me." Joyner-Francis died later that day.

State prosecutors had argued Carr should be tried as an adult because of the nature of the attack and what they described as a lack of remorse. Carr's attorney pointed out that Carr did not show a lack of remorse, but instead a state of disbelief that her actions could have caused Joyner-Francis' death.

Coonin agreed.

The judge pointed out that the state's assertion that Joyner-Francis' fingernails were ripped off was inaccurate. She had artificial nails that were broken down to the nail bed during the struggle.

"While this is [Carr's] first contact with the justice system, it is a tragic one with a horrific outcome, an outcome that will have a longstanding impact on a family, a school and a community for many years," Coonin wrote. "Whether [Carr] is tried in the Family Court or in the Superior Court, that outcome will not change; the senseless loss of a young girl's life cannot be undone nor will the pain inflicted upon her family ever be extinguished."

"However, when considering all relevant factors including those mandated [by law] the Court must conclude that Trinity Carr is amenable to the rehabilitative process available to the Family Court," he wrote.

Contact Jessica Masulli Reyes at (302) 324-2777, jmreyes@delawareonline.com or Twitter @JessicaMasulli.