Brevard County Grand Jury Returns

Indictments in Three Murder Cases

            The Brevard County Grand Jury has returned indictments in three separate murder cases after meeting for a two-day session April 7 and 8, said Assistant State Attorney Michael Hunt.

            The grand jury indicted Jessica McCarty, 33, Palm Bay on three first-degree premeditated murder charges for killing her three children: Christopher Swift, five-months old; Phillip McCarty, six-years old; and Lacey McCarty, seven-years old. Jessica McCarty called Palm Bay Police on March 20 minutes before 6 p.m., reporting the children were dead at their home at 1169 Kenmore St. N.W., Palm Bay, and that she had slit her wrists.

            In that case, the grand jury heard testimony from the Brevard County Associate Medical Examiner, three Brevard County Crime Scene Investigators, and a Palm Bay Police Detective before returning the indictment.

            McCarty was arrested on March 21 on two murder counts and one attempted murder count and will be arrested today on the third murder. She is scheduled for a first appearance on the full indictment tomorrow at the Brevard County Jail where she has been held on a no-bond status.

            In the second case, the grand jury considered the death of 71-year-old Doris Johnston and issued an indictment charging Jennifer Rose Trent, 36, with first-degree premeditated murder, organized fraud, and criminal use of identification from a deceased individual. Trent was arrested on March 11 when a deputy,checking on the well-being of Ms. Johnston at the request of an out-of-state relative, discovered a body in the laundry room of the home at 736 Gladiolus Drive, Barefoot Bay. Trent and her young son had been staying at Johnston’s home for a few months.

            In Trent’s case, the grand jury heard testimony from the Brevard County Medical Examiner, and a Brevard County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigator and Agent before returning the three-count indictment. Trent is also held at the Brevard County Jail and is scheduled for a first appearance on the formal charges tomorrow,  said Assistant State Attorney Hunt who presented all of the cases to the grand jury.

            In the third and final case the grand jury considered, the jurors heard the facts and evidence surrounding the death of 24-year-old Matthew Hagerty whose body was discovered on March 11 in his car in a field near 1165 Mockingbird Lane in Titusville. Hagerty, originally from Titusville, lived out-of-state, but was visiting in the area.

            In this case, the grand jury heard testimony from two Titusville Police Department Crime Scene Investigators, a Detective and a lay witness before returning an indictment charging two Titusville men, Jeremiah Trice, 19, 402 Canaveral Ave., and Jiris Kelly, 18, 909 Gibson St, with first-degree felony murder and robbery with a firearm. Trice and Kelly were  arrested March 12. Both have been held in the Brevard County Jail and are also scheduled for a first appearance on the charges tomorrow.

Note: Please check with the Brevard County Jail for confirmation of any first appearance schedule.