Events only get stranger with “Hiccup Girl” Jennifer Mee: the teenager inundated news for six weeks in 2007, at nonstop hiccups of 50 times a minute. Mee’s in the “spotlight” now for murder—her mother blames previous hiccup “fame” while Mee’s attorney claims Tourette’s and some supposed “brain damage” defense. Yes, Jennifer Mee’s got hiccups again.
At age 15, Jennifer Mee couldn’t stop hiccupping, doctors never finding out what cause of the hiccup phenomenon—but the hiccups stopped as mysteriously as they began. Police in St. Petersburg, Florida, say that 2005’s “Hiccup Girl” Jennifer Mee, now age 19, lured Shannon Griffin, age 22, to a home where two accompanying males—Laron C. Raiford, age 20 and Lamont Newton, age 22 --tried to rob Griffin. When Shannon Griffin resisted, Florida police allege that the one of the two males shot him four times and killed him.
Jennifer Mee may not have physically pulled the trigger however Florida law dictates that her involvement means she’s facing the same Felony Murder charges as the two men involved—one of whom did shoot Shannon Griffin. All three—including Jennifer Mee—have been charged with felony first-degree murder for the death of Shannon Griffin, with Mee, Raiford and Newton immediately ordered to be held without bail by the courts.
Jennifer Ann Mee’s anguished over the fact that she now continues to be held without bail, after Judge Donald Horrox has denied attorney John Trevena’s motion for $50,000 bail on behalf of the girl.
“Hiccup Girl” Jennifer Mee’s mother, Rachel Robidoux, claims: “I don’t think she [Jennifer Mee] knew what was going to happen[ in the murder of Shannon Griffin], because that’s not Jennifer,” Robidoux told a Florida news station. “She’s [Jennifer’s] not out to hurt anyone.”
It seems that “fame”—regardless of type—isn’t for everyone: Jennifer Mee’s mother, Robidoux, says “her [daughter, Jennifer’s”] case wasn’t a case of the hiccups, it was a curse of the hiccups.” In what’s been dubbed the “Hiccup Girl Defense”, Mee’s mother insinuates that it was Mee’s previous ‘hiccup’ fame that’s sent her daughter to the slammer for murder. The media must’ve “pulled the trigger”:
“All of a sudden people knew her [Jennifer Mee’s] name and she would talk to them on different chat sites, and they would act like they knew her when they didn’t,” Mee’s mother, Rachel Robidoux says. “She’s [Jennifer’s] very naïve, and I just think she was getting herself into stuff when she didn’t know what she was doing.”
The cherry: while Mee’s mother argues that news “fame” led her daughter astray, the girl’s lawyer now claims that the “Hiccup Girl” seems to have a newfound (and, ironically, unfounded) Tourette’s Syndrome--the neurological disorder of Tourette’s, which causes involuntary movements and speech problems, Mee’s lawyer says may have played a role in the murder.
Yes, it’s completely unclear as to how Tourette’s could’ve possibly caused Jennifer Mee’s involvement in a murder. Yes, Mee’s lawyer says Tourette’s could be her “defense” in the murder case against Mee. And, yes, her lawyer also claims that Jennifer Mee absolutely needs to be released in bail—because she supposedly needs medical testing for possible brain damage. And, yes, the source of brain damage or its relation to the Tourette’s “defense” is also unclear.
Jennifer Mee's mother now testifies that her daughter has a learning disability, is illiterate and has the mental capacity of a 12-year-old. It's all a bit confusing--apparently all of that was unclear during the girl's numerous television and news interviews at age 15, when known as the "Hiccup Girl".
The only part that is clear: Jennifer Mee’s got hiccups again. She better hope it’s not a six-week murder trial.