In a chilling report from Altamonte Springs, Florida, two teenage girls have been accused of a plot to murder a fellow student at Lake Brantley High School. The arrest report, attained by ClickOrlando, stated that last Thursday, an anonymous tip was submitted through the FortifyFL website, alleging a student, referred to by the nickname "Jimmy," was planning to kill another student. The police subsequently identified 14-year-old Isabelle Aurelia Valdez as "Jimmy."
Despite both Valdez and her accomplice, 15-year-old Lois Olivios Lippert, denying any knowledge of such a scheme when questioned, a note and a knife found in one of the girls’ bags told a different story. Arrested and now facing serious charges, the 14-year-old Valdez is charged with attempted murder and possession of a weapon on school property, while Lippert is facing charges of being an accessory, as detailed in a report shared by WESH.
News of these arrests was met with shock within the community, with sophomore Madeline Segarra, a student government representative from Lake Brantley, telling ClickOrlando: "I just know that there was two girls involved... One girl had the knife and the note... The other girl was called out of class because her name was mentioned, I guess by the first girl. But yeah, two girls are already counted with the charge."
Further complicating the legal outcome for these young individuals is the potential for them to be charged as adults. According to attorney Rajan Joshi in an interview with WESH, the ages of the girls could land them in adult court. "Because these individuals are under the age of sixteen and over the age of fourteen, they can be charged as an adult. But it's not mandatory," Joshi said. He added that the prosecutor's decision would weigh heavily on certain factors such as the girls' records, the severity, and the premeditation of the crime. Meanwhile, the school district has expressed its gratitude for the anonymous tip that likely averted a tragedy and praised the collaboration between the school and law enforcement.
