Misleading: The Images And Videos In The Viral Video Are Not Linked To The Murder Of An 8-Year-Old Girl, Demeria Hollingsworth, In Humboldt.
Claim
A video circulating on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook alleges that a 12-year-old girl killed her 8-year-old cousin over an iPhone, showed no remorse in court, mocked the victim’s family and included a smiling child’s photo as the accused.
@user1044602563161 This little girl is full of evil!#greenscreen #crime #court #courtroom #breakingnews #news #tiktok #fyp #foryou ♬ original sound – user1044602563161
Analysis and facts
While it is true that there is news of a 12-year-old girl in Humboldt, Tennessee, identified as La’quavanah Parson, who has been charged with the murder of her 8-year-old cousin, Demeria Hollingsworth, by suffocation while she was asleep on July 15, 2024, over an iPhone, there is no evidence that Parsons’ identity was revealed and that she mocked the victim’s family, as claimed in the circulating video.
The smiling child shown on the thumbnail in the viral video is not connected to the incident. According to the District Attorney General Frederick Agee of Tennessee’s 28th Judicial District, the case involves home security footage that is in the custody of the Humboldt Police Department. None of this evidence has been released to the public.
Contrary to what the video portrays, only the pictures of Demeria Hollingsworth, the murdered victim, were released.
The girl’s name has been publicly identified as La’quavanah Parson, who is accused of murdering her cousin. While her name is known, no photos of her have been released. According to the District Attorney’s office, the reason her images have not been made public is to protect the identity of a minor involved in an ongoing investigation, as is standard practice in cases involving juvenile suspects.
The video also features a woman identified as Rita Isbell in a courtroom, visibly emotional, having an outburst while others try to hold her back. She is, however, not connected to the Parson case in any way. The scene in the video is actually a clip from the 1992 trial of Jeffrey Dahmer, showing Rita Isbell’s victim impact statement. The woman in the video is not connected to the Parsons case in any way.
Similarly, the lady seen crying in the video is not connected to La’Quavannah Parsons’ case. According to other sources, she is identified as Miss Rowan, a relative of the family involved in a separate court case on November 2023, in which 32-year-old Tiffanie Lucas was charged with the murder of her two sons, 6-year-old Maurice Baker Jr. and 9-year-old Jayden Howard.
This segment in the video is therefore completely unrelated to the Parson case.
The narrator also claims Parson mocked the grieving relatives of Hollingsworth. In reality, the victim’s relatives have not revealed their faces publicly, and credible outlets have not disclosed their identities beyond names.
Other unrelated footage includes several judges who have no involvement in the case. The Parson case is being handled by District Attorney Frederick Agee, whose face does not appear in the video.
The forensic crime scene images shown are also from elsewhere, specifically the Annerley shooting in Brisbane, Australia, on January 10, 2025, where a Queensland police officer and a man were shot during an altercation.
Legal Proceedings:
The use of unrelated images and misleading captions spreads false information and risks harming innocent families. In a case involving minors, accurate reporting is especially important to maintain trust and protect those not involved from harassment.
The Process.
We conducted reverse image searches to trace the origins of the visuals in the circulating video. This process confirmed that several clips were taken from unrelated cases, including Rita Isbell’s 1992 courtroom statement during the Jeffrey Dahmer trial, footage from the November 2023 Tiffanie Lucas case, and forensic footage from the Annerley shooting in Brisbane on January 10, 2025.
The image of the smiling child, however, could not be verified through available open-source tools.
The District Attorney’s office confirms that there is video footage of the incident, but it has not been released to the public. This means the smiling child’s photo in the viral video cannot be verified and does not match any officially released evidence in the Parson case.
Verdict: Misleading: A 12-year-old girl has been charged in Humboldt, Tennessee, with killing her cousin after an argument over a phone. However, the viral video misrepresents the case by including an unrelated photo, courtroom footage from other trials, and crime scene clips from different incidents. These misattributions distort the facts and risk causing harm to uninvolved families.