Jennifer Mee holds her head after she looked at family members, as jury selection begins her murder trial
Jury selection began Tuesday in the murder trial of Jennifer Mee, widely known as the “hiccup girl,” for the national attention she received for her extended bouts of hiccups.
Mee, 22, is accused with the 2010 first-degree murder of Shannon Griffin, who prosecutors said was lured to a St. Petersburg, Fla., home by Mee in order to buy marijuana, but was instead robbed by two other men at gunpoint. Griffin attempted to fight the men but was shot to death in the process. Police said Griffin accepted a friend request from Mee through a social network, but was likely unaware of her notoriety.
Lamont Newton, Mee’s then-boyfriend, is also accused in the crime, but has not yet gone to trial. LaRon Raiford, another co-defendant was convicted and given a life sentence in August.
In 2007, Mee made several appearances on nationally televised programs because of her affliction, which could cause her to hiccup as much as 50 times in a minute. Her attorney, John Trevana says she suffers from Tourette’s syndrome and that the hiccups were a symptom. Her hiccups are being treated with the drug Thorazine.
Mee has been jailed since her 2010 arrest. If convicted, she faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.