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(WWJ) A young Warren woman has pleaded no contest to a juvenile charge of first degree murder in the stabbing of a classmate.
Macomb County Prosecutors say there was significant evidence that Tanaya Lewis planned the murder in cold blood, but they say in order to get an adult plea she would have to be deemed "incorrigible."
The adult charge would have meant life in prison without parole for Lewis. Instead, she has reached an agreement with prosecutors for 25 to 30 years.
Lewis was 17 years old when she was charged with murdering 16-year-old Danyna Gibson at Fitzgerald High School in Warren on September 18, 2018.
Investigators said Lewis, armed with a straight-edge kitchen knife she'd brought from home, initially stabbed Gibson twice in the upper chest, one striking her heart. Witnesses testified that Lewis was smiling and laughing while chasing the victim around a classroom — stabbing her twice in the back as she tried to flee, and again after she fell to the floor.
A school resource officer immediately began life-saving procedures, but Gibson died at the hospital a short time later. Lewis was arrested and initially charged as an adult.
Making the case for first-degree murder, a charge which requires that a killing was pre-planned, Macomb County Prosecutor Bill Cataldo noted that witnesses testified Lewis screamed: "I'm going to kill her... I want to kill her." Warren Mayor Jim Fouts said Lewis even "posted on social media what she planned on doing to her good friend."
Warren Police Commissioner William Dwyer said the girls, both straight-A students, had no history of trouble. Dwyer said investigators learned Lewis became upset and disturbed when a boy broke up with her and started dating Gibson, leading to her attacking her love rival.
Lewis remains held without bond.
The family of the victim will get a chance to speak in court before her sentencing, which is set for September 16.