Judge Drops Charges Against Grandmother in Snow Day Shooting

DETROIT, MI — A judge on Monday dismissed involuntary manslaughter charges against a Detroit grandmother whose 13-year-old grandson is charged with fatally shooting another teen with her handgun. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a statement that her office is still weighing whether to appeal the decision by 36th District Judge Kenneth King.

Lisa Cox, 58, had been charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree child abuse and felony firearm in connection with the Dec. 12 shooting of Emarjae Watkins, 13. Cox’s grandchildren were home alone on a snow day when they found their grandmother’s handgun.

Emarjae was fatally shot in the back around 1 p.m. while Cox’s 13-year-old grandson was playing with her handgun. Cox kept the loaded handgun on the floor beneath a dresser in her bedroom and “was aware that both of her grandsons knew the location of the weapon and the ammunition,” Worthy said at the time the grandmother was charged.

The teen involved in the shooting has not been named. He was charged as a juvenile with manslaughter – death by weapon aimed with intent, but not malice; felony firearm; and careless discharge causing injury or death.

His next court appearance is before Judge Frank Szymanski on Jan. 30 at the Lincoln Hall of Justice.

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