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Murder — Convicted, Appeal Pending

The Murder of Ashley Smylie

● Convicted — Appeal Pending Mathematics Teacher — Northwest Rankin High School Brandon, Mississippi March 19, 2024
Victim
Ashley Nicole Smylie
Age
40
Date of Death
March 19, 2024
Location
Brandon, Rankin County, Mississippi
Convicted
Carly Madison Gregg — Daughter
Verdict
Guilty — First-Degree Murder
Sentence
Life Without Parole
Case Status
Appeal Pending — MS Supreme Court
Ashley Nicole Smylie
Full NameAshley Nicole Smylie
Date of BirthApril 11, 1983
Age40
OccupationMathematics teacher, Northwest Rankin High School
HusbandHeath Smylie
FromBrandon, Mississippi
Date of DeathMarch 19, 2024
About the Victim

Ashley Nicole Smylie

Ashley Nicole Smylie was 40 years old, a mathematics teacher at Northwest Rankin High School in Rankin County, Mississippi, where her daughter Carly was also a ninth-grade student. She was described by her community as a devoted teacher and a dedicated mother. She and her husband Heath Smylie shared their home with two golden retrievers, Wyatt and Finn, and a family life that those who knew them described as warm and full.

Ashley had navigated significant loss in her life. Her first daughter, Natalie, was born in 2012 with Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 1, a severe condition, and passed away at 14 months old in September 2013. She raised Carly with care, though the years preceding the murder had been marked by growing concern about Carly's mental health, including depression, auditory hallucinations, self-harm, and behavioral changes that were still being addressed at the time of Ashley's death.

On the afternoon of March 19, 2024, Ashley drove home from school with Carly after being told by a student that Carly had cannabis in her room. She was searching her daughter's bedroom when she was shot. She had done nothing wrong. She was a mother trying to protect her child. She deserved to come home that afternoon and every afternoon after it.

01
Background

What We Know

On the morning of March 19, 2024, Ashley Smylie drove to work at Northwest Rankin High School with her daughter Carly, a ninth-grade student at the same school. During the school day, a friend of Carly's contacted Ashley to tell her that Carly had a significant amount of cannabis in her bedroom, along with vape pens and burner phones. Ashley and Carly returned home together that afternoon at approximately 3:54 PM. Heath Smylie had already left for work.

Home surveillance footage captured what followed. While Ashley searched Carly's bedroom, Carly walked to her mother and stepfather's room, took a .357 Magnum handgun, and returned to the hallway with the gun hidden behind her back. Moments later, three gunshots and Ashley's screams were heard. Ashley was shot three times in her daughter's bedroom. She was 40 years old.

After the shooting, Carly returned to the kitchen, picked up her mother's phone, and sent text messages to Heath asking when he would be home. A friend of Carly's arrived at the house and Carly asked her, "Have you ever seen a dead body?" before showing her Ashley's body. When Heath arrived home, Carly shot him in the shoulder. He was able to wrestle the gun away from her. Carly fled, scaled the backyard fence, and was apprehended by police approximately half a mile from the house.

02
Case Timeline

How It Unfolded

March 19, 2024 — Afternoon
Ashley Informed of Drugs — Returns Home With Carly
During the school day, a friend of Carly's told Ashley that Carly had cannabis, vape pens, and burner phones in her bedroom. Ashley and Carly drove home together at approximately 3:54 PM. Ashley began searching Carly's room. Heath had already left for work at his physical therapy practice.
March 19, 2024 — Shortly After 3:54 PM
Ashley Shot Three Times in Her Daughter's Bedroom
Surveillance footage captured Carly retrieving her mother's .357 Magnum from the master bedroom and returning with it hidden behind her back. Three gunshots and Ashley's screams were recorded. Ashley was shot three times. She died in her daughter's bedroom.
March 19, 2024 — Waiting Period
Carly Texts Heath, Shows Friend Her Mother's Body
After the shooting Carly used Ashley's phone to send messages to Heath asking when he would be home. A friend arrived at the house. Carly asked her, "Have you ever seen a dead body?" and showed her Ashley's body. Carly then asked the friend to wait outside before Heath arrived.
March 19, 2024 — Heath Arrives Home
Heath Shot in Shoulder — Carly Flees
When Heath arrived, Carly shot him in the shoulder. Despite the injury, he was able to wrestle the gun away from her. Carly fled the scene, scaled the backyard fence, and was apprehended by Rankin County police approximately half a mile from the house. Heath called 911.
September 16–20, 2024
Trial — Carly Found Guilty on All Counts
The five-day trial began September 16 in Rankin County Circuit Court before Judge Dewey Arthur. The jury deliberated approximately two hours before returning a guilty verdict on all three counts: first-degree murder, attempted murder, and tampering with evidence. The sentencing deliberation lasted one hour. Carly was sentenced to two life sentences without parole for the murder and attempted murder charges, and 10 years for tampering with evidence.
October 2024
Motion for New Trial Denied
In September 2024, the defense petitioned for a new trial citing newly discovered evidence and claiming Carly did not receive a fair trial. A judge denied the motion in October 2024, noting that Carly's defense had withheld discovery for a tactical advantage.
September 9, 2025
75-Page Appeal Brief Filed With Mississippi Supreme Court
Carly's new attorney, James Murphy, filed a 75-page brief with the Mississippi Supreme Court arguing the life without parole sentence is unconstitutional, that the jury received improper sentencing instructions not authorized under state statute, and that the prosecution made prejudicial comments during closing arguments. The defense is seeking a new trial or resentencing.
January 28, 2026 — Ongoing
Additional Filing — Mississippi Supreme Court Hearing Expected 2026
A further 30-page filing was submitted on January 28, 2026, arguing the trial court failed to follow rules governing mental health evaluations. The case remains before the Mississippi Supreme Court. A hearing is expected in 2026. Carly remains at the Youthful Offender Unit of the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility in Rankin County.
03
Investigation

The Investigation

The investigation was led by the Rankin County Sheriff's Office. The case was largely self-contained from an evidentiary standpoint: home surveillance cameras in the garage and dining areas captured the sequence of events in significant detail, including Carly retrieving the gun, approaching Ashley's room, and returning to the kitchen afterward. The footage was central to the prosecution at trial and was shown to the jury. Heath Smylie was both a witness and a survivor, and his testimony provided additional firsthand account of the events.

The defense at trial focused heavily on Carly's mental health, presenting psychiatric evidence that she had been experiencing auditory hallucinations, dissociation, and depression, and arguing she was in a psychotic state at the time of the shooting. A psychiatrist testified that Carly told him her memory went blank when she went to let the dogs out and only returned as she crawled out of the house afterward. Heath Smylie himself testified that Carly appeared frightened and completely detached from reality, describing her as looking like "she had seen a demon."

The prosecution argued that the surveillance footage demonstrated premeditation: the deliberate retrieval of the gun, the concealment of it behind her back, the calculated use of Ashley's phone to lure Heath home, and the composed interaction with her friend. The jury found these actions consistent with awareness of right and wrong.

Home Surveillance Footage — Key Evidence at Trial
Still from home surveillance footage — entered into evidence at trial
04
Conviction

Arrest, Trial and Sentencing

Carly Madison Gregg
Carly Madison Gregg
Age 14 at Time of Crime — Ashley's Daughter
Arrested: March 19, 2024 — apprehended approximately half a mile from the family home
Tried as: Adult — Rankin County Circuit Court, Judge Dewey Arthur
Verdict: Guilty — first-degree murder, attempted murder, tampering with evidence (September 20, 2024)
Sentence: Two life sentences without parole (murder and attempted murder) plus 10 years (tampering with evidence)
Currently held: Youthful Offender Unit, Central Mississippi Correctional Facility, Rankin County
Appeal status: Before the Mississippi Supreme Court — 75-page brief filed September 9, 2025, additional filing January 28, 2026. Hearing expected 2026.
Appeal grounds: Life without parole sentence unconstitutional, improper jury sentencing instructions, prosecutorial misconduct in closing arguments, failures in mental health evaluation process
Court documents: New Trial Appeal  |  Appeal Denied
Note on the Appeal
Heath Smylie, Carly's stepfather and the surviving victim, along with Carly's maternal grandparents Robert and Vicki Breland, are officers of a nonprofit organization advocating for Carly's appeal and a reduced sentence. The group has submitted letters to the Mississippi Supreme Court on Carly's behalf. T
05
In Her Memory

She Is Not Forgotten

Ashley Nicole Smylie was 40 years old. She was a mathematics teacher. She drove to school with her daughter every day. On March 19, 2024, she found out her daughter had been hiding things from her, and she went home to address it. That act of parenting cost her her life.

She had already buried one daughter. She had built a home and a life with Heath, the golden retrievers, a classroom full of students who needed her. She had done everything a mother is supposed to do and then some. The surveillance footage that played at trial captured the last ordinary moments of her life: coming home, walking through the garage, going to her daughter's room to check on things. Just a mother doing what mothers do.

The people who loved Ashley, including Heath and her parents, have said publicly that Ashley would not have wanted Carly thrown away. That may be true. It does not make Ashley's loss any smaller or her life any less worth remembering. Ashley Nicole Smylie deserved to live. She is not forgotten.

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