(NewsNation) — A Georgia teen who delivered a tearful eulogy for her murdered mother and stepfather earlier this year is now charged in their shooting deaths after investigators scrutinized her social media posts, according to a police spokesperson who casts doubt on the girl’s display of mourning.
Sarah Grace Patrick, 17, has been charged with two counts of murder and two counts of aggravated assault in the Feb. 20 slayings of 45-year-old James Brock and 41-year-old Kristin Brock, the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office says. Patrick called 911 after the couple’s 5-year-old daughter discovered their bullet-riddled bodies in their home.
Patrick gave an emotional eulogy at their funerals, in addition to posting about her grief on social media, but Ashley Hulsey of the sheriff’s office suggested to “Banfield” on Thursday that appearances can be deceiving.
“I can’t tell you if she had real tears. I wasn’t there to see it in person,” she said of the eulogy, which was shared online. “But it seemed odd. It was more like a speech, and at the end she said, ‘I’m sorry.’
“Was that, ‘I’m sorry because I may have done this,’ or is it, ‘I’m sorry because I was upset during this eulogy’? We may never know the answer to that, but that did stand out to me at the time.”
Husley declined to offer details about the police investigation but confirmed that Patrick’s digital footprint has been of interest to investigators, adding, “When you want to post your life online, it becomes fair game.” Hulsey also said more arrests are possible in the case.
Patrick had been cooperating with police, at least until she was arrested, said Hulsey, who noted the teen has a public defender to represent her.
Meanwhile, Patrick’s grandfather, Dennis Nolan — Kristin Brock’s father — is standing behind the girl, who, he said, “swears her innocence.” He said he has yet to see the purported mountain of evidence that authorities have compiled.
“If they had something concrete, they would have arrested her a whole lot sooner,” Nolan told NewsNation correspondent Alex Caprariello.
He said Patrick and his daughter had a “great relationship” and added that James Brock had a criminal history that may have played a part in his death.
“I reflected that to the detectives early on,” Nolan said.
