Trinity Carr resentenced after negligent homicide conviction overturned
Trinity Carr, a teen involved in the fatal beating of a classmate at a Wilmington high school in 2016, was resentenced this week after the Delaware Supreme Court overturned her negligent homicide conviction.
Carr, 18, was sentenced to time and community service already served and was released, according to court documents. Nearly a year ago, Carr was sentenced on the homicide and a conspiracy charge to six months at Grace Cottage – a secure residential program for girls near Wilmington.
The resentencing closes the criminal court chapter in the death of AmyInita Joyner-Francis, who was 16 when she died on April 21, 2016, following a violent encounter with Carr and another classmate in a restroom at Howard High School of Technology.
A cellphone video shows Carr dragging Joyner-Francis by her long, braided hair through a handicap-accessible stall in the bathroom. Carr swings her arms and lands punches to the head and torso of Joyner-Francis, who was on the floor clutching her purse.
The fight exacerbated a pre-existing heart condition in Joyner-Francis, leading to her death.
Trinity Carr was 17 when a Family Court judge found her guilty of criminally negligent homicide and third-degree criminal conspiracy last year. Zion Snow, a classmate, was also found guilty of conspiracy in the fight.
In March, the Delaware Supreme Court overturned Carr's homicide conviction, stating Carr could not have foreseen that the attack would cause Joyner-Francis to die from cardiac arrest. By that time, she would have already served her time in Grace Cottage.
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While the resentencing was a largely symbolic end to the criminal case, the Joyner-Francis family is seeking punitive and compensatory damages in a civil court lawsuit against New Castle County Vo-Tech School District, which oversees Howard, as well as Carr and Snow.
The lawsuit was filed last month and argues school officials' failure to monitor students' bathroom activities amounts to negligence in its duty to protect Joyner-Francis. The filing also claims that her attackers acted recklessly.
Contact Xerxes Wilson at (302) 324-2787 or xwilson@delawareonline.com. Follow @Ber_Xerxes on Twitter.
PRIOR COVERAGE
Joyner-Francis family suesschool district, classmates for negligence
Delaware Supreme Court overturns conviction in fatal Howard High School bathroom attack