Lawyer for 'Hiccup Girl' May Use Tourette's Syndrome Defense in Murder Case

Article here. Excerpt:

'ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The lawyer for a young Florida woman who was known for unstoppable hiccups and is now accused of murder said Tuesday he may present an unusual defense in her case: His client has Tourette's Syndrome.

Jennifer Mee, 19, was charged Sunday with first-degree murder after police said she lured a 22-year-old man to a meeting where he was robbed and shot a day earlier. St. Peterburg Maj. Mike Kovacsev said police do not believe she fired the gun.

Mee was briefly famous in 2007 because she couldn't stop hiccuping. Her attorney, John Trevena, said she was diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome, a neurological disorder that can cause involuntary movements and speech problems.

"Hiccups are a symptom of Tourette's," Trevena said, declining to be more specific about how the condition might have affected his client's behavior.

Trevena said Mee, who has never been arrested before, is distraught and is being held without bond in a protective confinement wing at the Pinellas County Jail because she is a high-profile inmate.'

Like0 Dislike0