In Hamilton, Ohio, a distressing phone call made by 14-year-old Mariah Ponder in February 2017 remains a haunting memory for her family. According to Mariah's terror-filled plea to 911, she claimed to have injured her 71-year-old father, James Allen Ponder, at their family home.
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In the early morning hours of February 23, 2017, Mariah crossed the hallway to her father's bedroom and inflicted a fatal injury on him while he was sleeping. Overloaded with a surge of emotions, Mariah struggled to relay the horrifying events to the 911 operator.
Upon dispatching help, law enforcement arrived at the home to find her father clinging to life. Despite immediate medical attention and transport to Fort Hamilton Hospital, later Cincinnati Medical Center, the father succumbed to his injury.
In the aftermath, several items were found at the Ponder's residence on Millville Avenue: two handguns, a blood-soaked pillow, a backpack, an iPhone, four computers, and a notebook. Yet, these items presented no tangible reason behind the teenager's actions.
What complicates the narrative is the absence of Mariah's mother and five siblings when the horrific act took place. In an unexpected turn of events, the family paid Mariah's $300,000 bond for her release, a decision that left the girl's sister, Angela Phipps, uneasy. James Ponder Jr, Mariah's brother, visited Mariah in jail, stating their father was not abusive and had a normal relationship with Mariah.
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Furthermore, James Ponder did not keep firearms at home, leading the family to believe another relative coerced Mariah into the act, possibly providing her with the weapon. However, despite the shooting incident, the police have since not raised this question.
In March 2018, Mariah Ponder received her sentence regarding her father's unforgivable act. The sentence included six years in a juvenile detention center followed by a potential 15-year to life in an adult facility, depending on her conduct. To this day, the family, and investigators alike, have yet to uncover Mariah's motivations behind her father's tragedy.