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Ukraine teen, 14, who beat grandmother to death with walker and belt to be tried as adult

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Sofia Koval Ukraine teen, 14, to be tried as an adult in the beating death of her 80 year old grandmother.
Sofia Koval Ukraine teen, 14, to be tried as an adult in the beating death of her 80 year old grandmother
Sofia Koval Ukraine teen, 14, to be tried as an adult and charged with manslaughter in the beating death of her grandma, Yevheniia Koval.

Sofia Koval Ukraine 14 year old teen girl to be tried as an adult charged with manslaughter in the beating death of her grandmother, Yevheniia Koval at a Lauderdale Lakes, Florida apartment. 

A 14 year old girl in Florida accused of fatally beating her 80 year old grandmother to death with a walker and belt earlier this year is to be tried as an adult the Broward State Attorney’s Office announced in a press release on Wednesday. 

Sofia Koval who originally hails from Ukraine is alleged to have fatally beaten her grandmother Yevheniia Koval at her Lauderdale Lakes residence in May after recently reuniting with her father in the United States following the outbreak of war in that nation. 

During a Wednesday morning court appearance, a judge found probable cause to charge the teen with manslaughter, and for the 14 year old teen girl to be tried as an adult. The teen had previously faced a second-degree murder charge. 

‘the victim was already dying and that she had helped her die.’

Sofia Koval was ordered held without bond at the Broward County Jail, with both the defense and prosecution in agreement.

On the day of the grandmother’s beating death on May 23, Sophia Koval’s father said he left his teen daughter with his mother while he visited a friend circa 7p.m. Upon his return later that evening, the elderly woman was found battered and bruised. 

During the attack, Yevheniia Koval suffered 15 abrasions to her neck and face, bruising to her hands, arms, and leg, hemorrhaging to the right side of her neck and arms, scalp contusions and hemorrhaging, and a brain bleed. She died from her injuries.

An autopsy determined the 80 year old woman’s death the result of a homicide.

According to an arrest report, the teen told her dad that her grandmother had scratched her, and she ‘struck the victim several times with a belt’ to defend herself. She then started crying, saying ‘she was sorry for what she had done.’

In a redacted arrest report, the teenager allegedly told someone in Ukrainian that ‘the victim was already dying and that she had helped her die.’ That person advised that the Ukrainian word the teen used did not have a good translation to English, but that was what she was saying.

Sofia Koval Ukraine teen, 14, to be tried as an adult in the beating death of her 80 year old grandmother
Sofia Koval Ukraine teen, 14, to be tried as an adult in the beating death of her 80 year old grandmother.

Behavioral issues stemming from Ukraine war

During police questioning the father said that he took his daughter’s cellphone shortly before the incident to discipline her, leaving his daughter and the victim alone in the apartment.

At the time of the fatal beating, the father was taking care of his ill and elderly mother who had come to reside at his condo along the 4100 block of Northwest 41st Street. At some point, the girl who had remained in Ukraine following the outbreak of war joined her father in the United States while her mother remained in the U.K.

The father said he believed his daughter’s behavioral issues stemmed from what she witnessed in the war and from being away from her mother, Law & Crime reported.

At the time of her grandmother’s beating death, the arrest report noted the teen was ‘very agitated and appeared aggressive at times. She was also constantly moving around. At this time it appeared that Sofia Koval was suffering from a possible psychotic episode.’

A family friend, who identified herself as Ms. Johnson, told Local 10 News back in May that the incident was ‘something out of character’ for the teen.

‘She’s been going through a lot because she wants her mom, who is in the UK. She can’t get over here,’ said Johnson.

Sofia Koval’s father said his mother was a sweet woman who never hesitated to help others.

Though the maximum sentence for manslaughter is 15 years in prison, if convicted, the teen could be sentenced to juvenile sanctions.

‘In the juvenile system, anyone found guilty and sentenced would have to be released after a maximum of three years and could only be kept under supervision in the community until age 21,’ the state attorney’s office said. ‘Because she is not a U.S. citizen, she could be subject to deportation.’

The Broward Sheriff’s Office has been in contact with the Ukranian consulate on this case.

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