The 13-year-old girl who may have helped instigate the brutal school attack on a Deerfield Beach teen girl by her 15-year-old male classmate will be spending the next three weeks in juvenile detention.
The 13-year-old, whose name isn't being used because of her age, made her first court appearance this morning where she was officially charged as an accessory in the beating of Josie Ratley, 15.
Family members sat in the audience as the girl, who wore glasses and an orange jail jumpsuit, had her next court date set for March 26, according to the Sun-Sentinel.
"The family wanted to wish Josie a very speedy recovery," the girl's lawyer, Jonathon Marne, told the Sun-Sentinel after the hearing.
The beating suspect, Wayne Treacy, was in court Thursday and was ordered to juvenile detention for the next 21 days as well. His next court date is also March 26 and he will likely face attempted murder charges if Ratley pulls through.
The whole incident began Wednesday, after Ratley reportedly sent some mean text messages about Treacy's recently deceased brother, who committed suicide in October, just after Treacy's birthday.
The comments sent Treacy into a rage, police said, and that's when the 13-year-old pointed Ratley out to him.
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He then attacked Ratley at a bus stop just outside the Deerfield Beach Middle School building, savagely beating the girl and kicking her in the head with his steel-toed boots until she was unconscious. The 15-year-old didn't stop until a teacher pulled him off Ratley, who was out cold.
Ratley was taken by helicopter in critical condition to Broward General hospital. She is in extremely critical condition.
Ratley's family will be holding a news conference outside the hospital this afternoon to talk about her condition.
