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Prosecution: Lancaster County teenager 'had it all but was obsessed with homicide'

Prosecution: Lancaster County teenager 'had it all but was obsessed with homicide'
DAYS OF HEARTBREAKING AND AT TIMES BRUTAL TESTIMONY, THE DEFENSE SUMMED UP WHY CLAIRE MILLER SHOULD BE TRIED AS A JUVENILE, NOT ADULT. HOMICIDE IS TREATED AS AN ADULT CRIME. THE PROSECUTION SAID SHE WANTED TO COMMIT MURDER FOR MONTHS AND SHOULD SPEND TIME IN PRISON. SHE WAS OBSESSED WITH HOMICIDE. THEY CITED THOUSANDS OF TEXT MESSAGES SHE SENT A FRIEND, AND EVEN THOUGH SHE LOVED HER SISTER, SHE STABBED HER TO DEATH BECAUSE SHE WAS OUT EASY TARGET AND CANNOT FIGHT BACK. MILLER WAS 14 WHEN POLICE FOUND HER COVERED IN BLOOD OUTSIDE HER PARENTS HOME. SHE TOLD THEM SHE STABBED HER SISTER WHO HAS CEREBRAL PALSY. HER PARENTS TESTIFIED THAT THEY LOST HELEN AND DID NOT WANT TO LOSE CLAIRE AS WELL. HER ATTORNEY SAY DOCTORS CALL TO THIS DAY AND TESTIFIED SHE COULD BE REHABILITATED, BUT THE PROSECUTION SAID SHE WOULD BE DANGEROUS TO SOCIETY IF RELEASED FROM THE JUVENILE REHABILITATION SYSTEM IN FIVE YEARS. SHE WALKED INTO THE COURTROOM HANDCUFFED WITH THE GUARD. AT TIMES, SHE WAS STOIC, AT OTHER TIMES SHE HAD TEARS. THE JUDGE RULED SHE SHOULD REMAIN AT THE REHABILITATION CENTER UNTIL H
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Prosecution: Lancaster County teenager 'had it all but was obsessed with homicide'
The decision about whether a teenager charged with killing her sister last year should be tried as an adult or a juvenile is now in the hands of a Lancaster County judge.Prosecutors and attorneys for Claire Miller delivered closing arguments Wednesday afternoon, following two and a half days of testimony.The defense summed up why Miller, now 16, should be tried as a juvenile, while the prosecution said Miller wanted to commit murder for months and should spend time in prison.Assistant District Attorney Amy Muller told the judge Miller was "a kid who had it all but was obsessed with homicide." Muller cited thousands of text messages Miller sent a friend expressing a desire to harm someone.Muller said Miller loved her sister, Helen, "but she was an easy target. She couldn't fight back." Helen Miller had cerebral palsy.Defense attorney Bob Beyer countered that Claire Miller "suffered a psychotic first break" and didn't mean to harm the sister she loved."Even our best and brightest children have demons. We need to deal with them," Beyer said.Miller was 14 on Feb. 22, 2021, when Manheim Township police said they found her covered in blood outside her home. She allegedly told officers she had stabbed her 19-year-old sister to death.On Monday, Miller's parents testified that they had lost one daughter and don't want to lose their other daughter to prison.Doctors called to the stand testified Miller could be rehabilitated, but prosecutors argued she would be a danger to society if she's released from the juvenile rehabilitation system in five years.Judge David Workman is expected to announce his decision July 18.

The decision about whether a teenager charged with killing her sister last year should be tried as an adult or a juvenile is now in the hands of a Lancaster County judge.

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Prosecutors and attorneys for Claire Miller delivered closing arguments Wednesday afternoon, following two and a half days of testimony.

The defense summed up why Miller, now 16, should be tried as a juvenile, while the prosecution said Miller wanted to commit murder for months and should spend time in prison.

Assistant District Attorney Amy Muller told the judge Miller was "a kid who had it all but was obsessed with homicide." Muller cited thousands of text messages Miller sent a friend expressing a desire to harm someone.

Muller said Miller loved her sister, Helen, "but she was an easy target. She couldn't fight back." Helen Miller had cerebral palsy.

Defense attorney Bob Beyer countered that Claire Miller "suffered a psychotic first break" and didn't mean to harm the sister she loved.

"Even our best and brightest children have demons. We need to deal with them," Beyer said.

Miller was 14 on Feb. 22, 2021, when Manheim Township police said they found her covered in blood outside her home. She allegedly told officers she had stabbed her 19-year-old sister to death.

On Monday, Miller's parents testified that they had lost one daughter and don't want to lose their other daughter to prison.

Doctors called to the stand testified Miller could be rehabilitated, but prosecutors argued she would be a danger to society if she's released from the juvenile rehabilitation system in five years.

Judge David Workman is expected to announce his decision July 18.