Jennifer Mee

Case overview

Jennifer Mee became known as the “Hiccup Girl” after she experienced a case of hiccups that lasted weeks. She was charged with first-degree murder in the 2010 killing of Shannon Griffin and was found guilty by a Pinellas County jury. She was later sentenced to life in prison without parole on September 20, 2013.

Timeline

• October 2010 — Jennifer Mee was arrested in connection with the murder of Shannon Griffin in St. Petersburg.
• October 26, 2010 — Her lawyer said she had Tourette’s syndrome; she was charged with first-degree murder and was held without bond and in protective isolation at the Pinellas County Jail.
• September 18, 2013 — A psychologist evaluated Mee and deemed her competent to stand trial; the trial began after a brief delay.
• September 20, 2013 — A jury found Jennifer Mee guilty of first-degree murder; she received the only possible legal sentence of life in prison with no possibility of parole.
• September 20, 2013 — Prosecutors played a jailhouse call in which Mee told her mother she “didn’t kill nobody” but that she “set everything up.”
• August 2013 — Co-defendant Laron Raiford was convicted and sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of first-degree murder.
• August 2013 — Prosecutors said Lamont Newton was awaiting trial for first-degree murder.

Background

Jennifer Mee was 22 at the time of her conviction and sentencing. She had gained notoriety beginning at age 15 when she had a case of hiccups that lasted for weeks, and she became known as the “Hiccup Girl.” She gained international publicity for the hiccups, which had reportedly reached up to 50 times a minute. Her family said the hiccups stopped after she was treated with drugs used to treat Tourette syndrome.

Rachel Robidoux attended virtually the whole trial. She was Mee’s mother.

The offence

The case involved the 2010 death of Shannon Griffin, 22.

Prosecutors alleged that in 2010 Jennifer Mee lured Griffin to a home in St. Petersburg to be robbed. Authorities said Mee lured Griffin to a spot in the 500 block of Seventh Street N ostensibly to sell him marijuana but really as part of a plan with Laron Raiford and Lamont Newton to rob him. Prosecutors said Griffin was robbed at gunpoint and that he struggled during the robbery before being shot and killed.

Prosecutors said the loaded firearm used in the killing was “a loaded .38-special handgun with six shots in it,” and that Griffin was shot four times in the chest. Defense arguments contested elements of Mee’s involvement, including whether she was at the scene when Griffin was fatally shot.

Robbery-related evidence described in the proceedings included the discovery of Griffin’s wallet, work ID, and other items in an apartment where Mee and the others had gone to stay after the killing. A fingerprint of Mee was found on Griffin’s driver’s license.

Prosecutors stated that Griffin’s pants were pulled down, and that Griffin had told a relative he was going out on a date and put on cologne before he left.

Authorities said Mee used a social networking site through a cell phone to contact Griffin and offer to sell him marijuana.

Investigation and police allegations

Police said they did not believe Mee pulled the trigger. Under Florida law, Mee was still subject to a first-degree murder charge due to participation in a robbery that led to a homicide.

In Mee’s first interview with police, she claimed her roommate Laron Raiford killed Griffin because he thought there was a love triangle involving his girlfriend and Griffin.

Defense attorney John Trevena argued that prosecutors were misinterpreting the words of “a frightened young girl” and said there was no plan or any intent to murder Shannon Griffin. Trevena said the account Mee gave in her first interview was backed up by evidence that included “a condom wrapper with Raiford’s DNA” found at the scene. Trevena also argued that Mee was not the type who could orchestrate such a plan and described the prosecution’s position against her as not involving “a mastermind.”

Prosecutors stated that the condom wrapper could have been present because Raiford had a previous encounter there.

Police later found Mee’s fingerprint on Griffin’s driver’s license, and experts testified that Mee’s DNA was found on the victim’s shirt; the defense argued it could have been transferred by another person, and a crime lab DNA expert agreed.

Authorities also stated that after Griffin was killed and the three roommates were arrested, police found Griffin’s wallet, work ID, and other items in an apartment where Mee and the others had gone to stay.

Arrest and detention

Mee was arrested in October 2010 along with two roommates in connection with the murder of Shannon Griffin.

Mee was held without bond and in protective isolation at the Pinellas County Jail because she was a high-profile inmate. Trevena said Mee had been in jail pending trial since her October 2010 arrest, much of that time in isolation.

Trevena said Mee experienced periodic bouts of hiccups while in jail and was being treated with a drug called thorazine, which he said controlled the hiccups.

Trial

Court proceedings and jury

The trial was held in a Pinellas County courtroom. Judge Nancy Moate Ley presided. The jury deliberated about four hours before delivering the guilty verdict.

Potential jurors were selected from a pool of about 70, and some were excused for reasons that included inability to be impartial and prior court involvement in personal matters. Two prospective jurors were also dismissed: one because Judge Nancy Moate Ley had presided over her husband’s divorce case, and another because she had to take care of her ailing mother.

Defence and mental health

On Wednesday, Mee’s attorney told the court she was schizophrenic. The judge ordered Mee to undergo psychological evaluation, and it was later determined she was competent to stand trial.

Trevena said his client suffered from Tourette’s syndrome, a neurological disorder that can cause involuntary movements and speech problems. Trevena said that the hiccups were one symptom of Tourette’s and that it might help explain Mee’s errors in judgment and her often thoughtless response to law enforcement, while stating it would not be used as a direct cause for what occurred.

Trevena also told the jurors: “What is it that she set up?”

Prosecution arguments

Prosecutors argued that Mee set everything up and that she participated in a fashion that involved luring Griffin. During closing arguments, prosecutors returned to the phrase “She set it all up.” Prosecutor Christopher LaBruzzo played the jailhouse recording again for the jury.

Prosecutor Doug Bolden was identified as a cousin of the victim; he said it felt “surreal” to hear the verdict.

During closing argument, prosecutor LaBruzzo said: “I'm sure she didn't intend for there to be murder in this case.”

Prosecutor Jan Olney argued that Mee participated by luring Griffin. Olney said:

“Jennifer Mee participated and she participated in this fashion. . . . She was the bait that lured Shannon Griffin to a back alley that was dark where two of her cohorts waited.” and added: “And that is why Shannon Griffin is not with us any longer.”

Prosecutors asserted that Mee did not intend the murder but was guilty under Florida law if she participated in a robbery that led to death.

During closing, LaBruzzo described the firearm and the shooting sequence, stating:

“There was, in fact, no marijuana to be sold. In fact, instead of marijuana they had a loaded .38-special handgun with six shots in it,” and also said: “shot him... four times in the chest and they left him for death in a dark alleyway.”

Trevena used opening statements to argue that Mee was not at the home when Griffin was fatally shot, telling jurors:

“She is not at that scene but they want you to convict her of murder in the first-degree based on their theory that Ms Mee was setting up a marijuana deal that somehow went bad,”

Trevena also suggested Mee could not have planned the drug deal because he said she didn’t even own a cell phone, and he said: “We're not dealing with . . . a mastermind here.”

Jailhouse call quotations

In a recorded phone call from the Pinellas County Jail played at trial, Mee explained why she had been charged with murder even though she did not fire the shots that killed Griffin. Mee said:

“Because I set everything up,” and: “It all went wrong, Mom. It just went downhill.”

In another jailhouse recording played for the jury, Mee said:

“I didn't kill nobody,” and: “...I set everything up. It [expletive] just went downhill after everything happened, Mom.”

Prosecutor Olney referred to Mee as:

“Our star witness is Jennifer Mee.”

Defence witness

The jury heard from defense witness Jennifer Charron. Charron had lived with Mee and two other men: Raiford and Lamont Antonio Newton. Charron was described as the only one of the four roommates not charged with murdering Griffin.

Charron said she had been working during the day and returned home to find the four of them planning to see the movie “Paranormal Activity.” Charron said that before going out, the others said they were going out to get some money and that they eventually left.

Charron testified that Mee was the first to come back, out of breath and panicked, saying she had heard gunshots. Charron said Raiford later came back distraught and looking like he had been in a fight, saying Newton had been shot. Charron said that later Newton came back and said someone else had been shot—the victim, Griffin.

Co-defendants

Laron Raiford was convicted of murder in the case and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Lamont Newton was awaiting trial at the time described in the proceedings.

Prosecutors alleged that Mee plotted with Lamont Newton and Raiford to rob Shannon Griffin. Newton was described as awaiting trial for first degree murder.

Sentencing and outcome

The jury found Jennifer Mee guilty of first-degree murder. Jurors cried when the verdict was read, and Mee burst into anguished tears herself.

Judge Nancy Moate Ley gave Mee the only possible legal sentence: life in prison with no possibility of parole.

STATUS: Sentenced to life in prison without parole on September 20, 2013

Doug Bolden, Mee’s cousin, described the experience as “surreal” after waiting nearly three years. Rachel Robidoux had no comment afterward.

Aftermath and related matters

Mee’s co-defendant Laron Raiford was described as having been sentenced to life in prison in August after conviction of first-degree murder.

Lamont Newton was described as awaiting trial.

Trevena said Mee pleaded not guilty and discussed that she had been in jail pending trial since her October 2010 arrest, much of that time in isolation.

Mee told NBC’s Amy Robach in 2011 that she could not bear the possibility of spending the rest of her life behind bars, saying:

“I’m scared. I want to go home; I can tell you that. My sisters are growing up, my mom is missing me”

She said she thought about Griffin’s death every day.

Mee’s lawyer also said:

“If you really believe her story, she’s really not guilty of anything except poor judgement of who she associated with.”

Other details

Mee was described as “female version of a hustla” on her MySpace profile.

St. Petersburg Police Department Major Mike Kovacsev said Mee became a transient and bounced between different apartments and different hotels, and that she had been a victim and a subject in several times while also being a witness to several crimes. Kovacsev said “Over the last year, since she turned 18, we've had probably over a dozen contacts with her” and that she had never previously been arrested.

Officer Kurt Bradshaw showed the jury a photograph of the crime scene that showed a handgun and a pair of shoes on a sidewalk near a white fence.

Police spokesman Michael Puetz said:

“Griffin struggled with the suspects during the robbery,” and: “After which, Griffin was shot and killed.”

Trevorena told the court:

“I don't think there was ever any plan or any intent to murder Shannon Griffin.”

When discussing Mee’s choice of defence evidence about her mental health, Trevena said:

“It controls the hiccups,” regarding thorazine.