Family of Kaylee Gain, teen injured in fight, says she now has trouble speaking, walking
Kaylee Gain, the 16-year-old student who suffered a severe head injury in a fight with another teenage girl near Hazelwood East High School in St. Louis, Missouri, is still in the hospital struggling with "significant cognitive impairment," according to her family.
In a statement released Monday by the family's lawyer, Byran Kaemmerer, the Gain family provided an update on the teen's medical condition along with a call for her alleged assailant to be tried as an adult.
This echoed the sentiment shared by the family in a Friday statement, in which they argued the "particularly violent nature of the assault" meant the unnamed 15-year-old should be considered an adult in the eyes of the law.
On Monday, a St. Louis County, Missouri judge ruled that a certification hearing would be held next month to determine if the unidentified teenager will indeed be tried as a juvenile or adult. County attorneys asked for 30 additional days to obtain information for a report on the defendant's background, including her familial and social life. The defense agreed to the extension.
The May 10 hearing will take this information, as well as other factors including the seriousness of the offense and violence of the crime, into account to determine if the juvenile may be tried as an adult.
“Our position is that she should not be certified," Defense Attorney Greg Smith said in a statement. "We understand that the law says that there has to be a certification hearing based on what she has been charged with. That’s non-negotiable but our position is she should not be certified. Everything is out there, about her being an honor student, she has taken AP courses, she has no history with the juvenile court. She has been the victim of bullying. There are other facts that we are going to save for court."
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Kaylee Gain's family wants teen accused of attacking her tried as an adult
In the March 29 statement, the Gain family took issue with similar points allegedly made by the defendant's family. In the letter, they argued that comments about the accused's status as being "in the choir" and " on the honor roll" were made to "downplay" her actions against Gain.
"If anything, the accused's reported level of intelligence suggests that she was fully capable of understanding that violence of this nature would lead to the devastating injuries Kaylee has sustained, and therefore provides a further reason why it is appropriate for her to be tried as an adult" the statement read.
The April 1 update similarly said that while the family was "encouraged" by a statement provided at the accused's recent hearing saying that the teen would like to apologize to Kaylee, they still want her tried as an adult.
The family also acknowledged the existence of fake social media posts made under the defendant's name following the event, saying they are aware the"distasteful” messages were proven not to be from the accused.
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Kaylee Gain struggling with 'significant cognitive impairment'
On March 29, the Gain family confirmed that Kaylee had been moved out of intensive care, begun speech therapy and "gone on a few short walks with the assistance of hospital staff." She was still unable to walk on her own or remember why she was at the hospital, however.
In the April 1 statement, the family shared that Kaylee's walking had "slightly improved" but she was still unable to do so on her own. They likewise shared that she is showing signs of "significant cognitive impairment" and is only capable of limited conversation in which she "tends to reiterate the same short sentence over and over."
She appears to know she is in the hospital but cannot understand why, the statement said.
Fight Kaylee Gain was involved in happened near Hazelwood East High School
The fight that caused Gain's injuries occurred on Friday, March 8 near Hazelwood East High School. The St. Louis County Police Department said at the time officers responded to a call for a fight in progress around 2:30 p.m. and arrived to find "a juvenile female suffering a severe head injury." She was transported to the hospital and listed as being in critical condition.
The following day, a 15-year-old female suspect was arrested and taken to St. Louis County Family Court on assault charges.
In a statement on Facebook, the Hazelwood School District said it's "a tragedy anytime children are hurt."
"Bullying and fighting in the community is an issue for which we all need to take ownership and work towards a resolution for the sake of our children. The Hazelwood School District offers our sincerest condolences to everyone involved, and will offer additional emotional support from our support and crisis team to those in need," the statement said.
Graphic video of fight with several teens went viral online
Videos of the fight went viral and were shared by thousands of people online.
The video, both violent and graphic, shows several teens engaging in a fight on the street.
Initially, two teen girls can be seen in the street. One pushes the other to the ground before another attempts to join in. The third teen is quickly engaged by another girl, however, and the two scuffle in the background as the original two girls remain in the middle of the street.
The girl on the ground is repeatedly punched by the teen on top of her. She is then pushed onto her back as the teen on top grabs her hair and shoulders and slams her head backward into the concrete multiple times.
The sound of the back of the girl's head hitting the hard surface can be heard over yelling voices. Other groups continue to fight around the scene as the injured girl lay on the ground.