A brother, sister and uncle charged with murder in the shooting death of a 7-year-old girl told investigators conflicting stories over who, exactly, took an AR-15 and shot up the side of a DeKalb County home.
Sitting together in a courtroom Wednesday, the three family members listened as a judge ruled there was enough evidence to move forward with the case against them.
Mariasia Thomas was sitting on the couch inside her foster home in Ellenwood on April 12 when bullets flew into the home, one of them striking her in the head. She died 10 days later.
Siblings Antoine Allen, 21, and Keadesia Allen, 23, and their uncle, Dwayne Allen, 27, all face charges of murder and aggravated assault. DeKalb Magistrate Court Judge Claire Jason ruled at Wednesday’s preliminary hearing there was probable cause for the charges.
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Antoine and Keadesia Allen were arrested May 13, about a month after the shooting. Their uncle was taken into custody five days later. All three are co-defendants on the case and face the same charges. They all sat at the same table Wednesday, with each of their attorneys between them.
A homicide detective described the graphic details of Thomas’ injuries, and provided previously undisclosed insight into how the Allens were identified as suspects.
Days before the shooting, he said, Keadesia Allen had gone to a studio and slept at the home where Thomas lived. She woke up and claimed she had been drugged and robbed by some of the people there, DeKalb police Detective A.P. Wright said, based on interviews with witnesses.
“She did threaten to basically ‘flip the house,’ which means shoot the house up,” Wright said, citing text messages obtained from the woman’s phone.
Dwayne Allen, the uncle, told investigators he gave his AR-15 to his niece and nephew, who said they were going to shoot at the house, Wright said.
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Antoine Allen, however, said his uncle shot up the house. Keadesia Allen, meanwhile, said that her brother and uncle were upset that she had been robbed, according to a call she had with her boyfriend, who is in jail. She also allegedly sent her family members the address of the home.
“She was the catalyst that brought this whole story together,” Wright said.
A weapon was never recovered. All three remain held in the DeKalb County jail without bond.
Credit: DeKalb County Sheriff's Office
Credit: DeKalb County Sheriff's Office
After the shooting, about 20 to 30 shell casings were found at the scene, the detective said.
“The left side of the house, from the basement all the way up to the top of the living room area, was shot up,” he said.
First responders later found the 7-year-old girl with blood pouring from her head, Wright said.
Several of Thomas’ family members were in the courtroom for the hearing. They did not speak with members of the media Wednesday.
One man wore a purple shirt that said “Mariasia’s Dad” on the back.
READ MORE: Father of 7-year-old killed by stray bullet begs shooter: ‘Show your face’
“She was an innocent little girl just watching TV on the couch,” the girl’s mother, Chanrica Boyd, previously told Channel 2 Action News. “It’s still unreal that this is my child that was shot up in this house due to something that wasn’t even involving her.”
Thomas was in the custody of the Division of Family and Children Services at the time of the shooting, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported. She had been in the foster home where the shooting occurred for about two weeks.
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