Jury Selection Starts in Killing of 8-Year-Old

Jury selection in the trial for the murder of Paris Whitehead-Hamilton will start today.

The 8-year-old girl was shot and killed in the crossfire of gang violence in 2009. The girl was killed inside her St. Petersburg home as gunmen opened fire on the home.

More than 50 bullets flew into the home, hitting Whitehead-Hamilton as she slept in her bed in her Preston Avenue home on April 5, 2009 in a retaliation attack against a man the shooters believed was living inside. Paris was shot five times in the back.

One of the four men accused in the shooting has already pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against the other three men.

Mario Walls, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Whitehead-Hamilton, painted a grim and detailed picture of retribution, according to documents released to Bay News 9 partner, the Times.

Walls said a man they knew as “Monster” fired shots at his group outside a party a night earlier. Walls said his group developed a plan to find Monster, initially shooting at another group.

Unable to find him, Walls said he drove the group to the house they thought Monster lived. They wanted to kill him, Walls said.

As part of his plea deal, Walls has agreed to testify against Dondre Davis, 21, Duong Nguyen, 21, and Stephen Harper, 20, all charged with being principals to first-degree murder.

The street Whitehead-Hamilton lived on was renamed in her honor.

St. Petersburg Times