Three Teens Who Carjacked Grandma, 73, Then Dismembered Her Strike Plea Deals

Three of the four Louisiana teenagers charged in the carjacking and dragging death of an elderly woman landed a plea deal after they originally faced life in prison.

Briniyah Baker, 17, Lenyra Theophile, 16, and Mar’Qel Curtis pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of attempted manslaughter and will be sentenced to 20 years.

All four defendants had been charged as adults with second-degree murder in connection to the death of 73-year-old Linda Frickey, who was dragged for nearly a block after her arm got stuck in her seatbelt.

The teens momentarily stopped the vehicle to open the door and kick the grandmother into the street – after her arm had been severed and clothing torn off.

The three teens will serve a minimum of 15 years each. Two of them expressed remorse in court, while one girl’s attorney offered prayers.

‘When they were saying they were sorry, I’m sure they were. Unfortunately they did it and they have to serve the time,’ said Frickey’s sister, Jinnylynn Griffin, outside court.

The last defendant, 18-year-old John Honore, still faces a charge of second-degree murder and life in prison.

‘We want him to get the maximum. He drove the car. He stomped on her,’ Griffin said.

‘The girls, they were all there for the ride, but the issue we had with them is they didn’t do anything to stop it.’

The guilty plea comes more than a year after Frickey’s death.

In March 2022, the 73-year-old grandmother was dragged down North Scott Street in New Orleans after the group of teens stole her car.

‘The lady was trying to put something in her vehicle, the guy jumped in and kicked her out and she got caught in the wheel well,’ a witness told WWL-TV.

One neighbor, Leanne Mascar, grabbed a sheet to cover Frickey after she was left in the road.

‘When I looked down her body was already there, and her arm was – it’s just not something you expect to see,’ Mascar told Fox 8.

‘She was laying there naked, and I thought the indignity she just suffered, it was already too much.’

Mascar’s husband, Mark, sat next to Frickey as they waited for the ambulance to arrive.

Her official cause of death was listed as ‘blunt force injuries.’

Frickey’s gray SUV was recovered 13 blocks away from where she was left in the street.

Police released surveillance footage of the suspects, and two of the teens were turned in by their parents.

In March 2023, Theophile was deemed incompetent to stand trial and was sent to a mental health facility for 60 days.

‘We appreciate that they did admit their guilt and accept their punishment and hopefully as time goes on, everyone can heal,’ Frickey’s sister-in-law, Kathy Richard, said Monday.

Of Honore, she said: ‘We’ll give him the same mercy he gave Linda: none.’

Richard hopes the girls will ‘get involved in programs’ while incarcerated to ‘be an example that there are consequences for your actions.’

Honore’s trial is slated to begin November 27. A jury was seated Monday afternoon.