An eastern Pennsylvania prosecutor says an eighth-grader accused of having conspired with her soldier boyfriend to have her mother killed should remain in adult jail while she awaits trial.
Defense attorney John Waldron earlier filed a petition to have 14-year-old Jamie Silvonek, who authorities said texted her boyfriend "I want her gone" the day of her mom's death, returned to the juvenile facility in Berks County where she was sent the day after the body of 54-year-old Cheryl Silvonek was found last month.
The (Allentown) Morning Call reports that Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin said Friday that he will oppose the petition as well as Waldron's request to move the case to juvenile court.
The teenager, who is charged as an adult with homicide and criminal conspiracy. Her boyfriend, 20-year-old Caleb Barnes is charged with homicide. He is listed as an Army specialist out of Fort Meade, Maryland.
Investigators said they found Silvonek and her soldier boyfriend naked in bed hours after discovering her mother's poorly buried body in South Whitehall Township on March 15.
The couple met in October, when Silvonek was only 13, authorities said. The teen's mother learned of the age difference and insisted her daughter break up with Barnes, police said.
Barnes was initially charged with one count of statutory sexual assault of a juvenile, but that charge was withdrawn since "Silvonek is now a defendant in the homicide, and the Commonwealth cannot prove that charge without her testimony," according to the District Attorney's Office.
