A sobbing 14-year-old and her grinning soldier boyfriend have appeared in court on charges of murdering her mother.
Jamie Silvonek, 14, and her boyfriend Army Spc. Caleb Barnes, 21, are accused of murdering Jamie's mother Cheryl Silvonek on March 15 in South Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania.
The homicide case against the eighth-grader and her boyfriend, was sent to county court for trial Thursday after a hearing in which prosecutors showed photos of the victim.
The girl is being tried as an adult, reports the
Morning Call.
Prosecutors showed crime-scene photos and a detective spoke of finding the couple in bed inside the victim's home near Allentown shortly after the mother's body was found in a shallow grave.
Lehigh County Detective Richard Heffelfinger recalled that the two gave conflicting stories about the circumstances surrounding Cheryl Silvonek's death.
'I basically told her I don't believe her,' Heffelfinger testified.
'It basically doesn't make any sense. Her story did not match up with what I was seeing with my eyes.'
Police say Cheryl Silvonek, 54, was found dead with stab wounds to her neck on March 15, reports
Lehighvalleylive.com.
An autopsy revealed three gaping wounds to her throat.
Prosecutors have said her daughter urged Barnes to kill her because she wasn't letting them date.
One of Jamie Silvonek's friends told the judge that a week before Cheryl Silvonek was found, she had caught Barnes sleeping with the girl and kicked him out of the house.
She testified that she heard her friend plan with Barnes to kill both her parents, saying life insurance proceeds would set them up for life.
The girl, who was identified in court only as Witness 1, said she did not alert anyone because she did not think they were serious, and the next day Jamie Silvonek texted her to say it was a joke.
Authorities have said the stabbing occurred in the Silvoneks' driveway, hours after the mother took the couple to a concert in Scranton.
Det. Richard Heffelfinger told the court on Thursday that after the body was found and identified police went to Jamie's home.
He said Jamie's father David Silvonek, appeared as if he had just awoken and told the detective he didn't think anyone was home.
Heffelfinger found Barnes in a state of undress in Jamie's room with a folding knife on the floor.
Jamie Silvonek was also in the bed, hidden under the sheets, he testified.
During the search of the home and yard, police found a blood-stained folding knife on a picnic bench, reports the Morning Call.
Barnes, Jamie Silvonek and her father were taken to police headquarters for questioning.
Police say Barnes, stationed at Fort Meade in Maryland, confessed, and that Jamie Silvonek said she was there and helped get rid of her mother's body.
Heffelfinger testified that during an interview Barnes admitted Cheryl Silvonek begged for her life, saying, 'Just take my daughter. If you want her, just take her.'
Barnes is originally from El Paso, Texas.