POLK CITY, Fla. (WFLA) — All four teenagers inside the van that ran over the beloved Polk City librarian in November will be charged as adults in her death, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said Tuesday.
The driver of the van, 18-year-old Elijah Stansell, had his charge upgraded from attempted murder to murder after Suzette Penton succumbed to her injuries last week.
Stansell is the only teen charged with murder. The others — 16-year-old Kimberly Stone, 14-year-old Hannah Eubank, and 16-year-old Raven Sutton — are facing adult charges of attempted felony murder and burglary with assault.
At a news conference Tuesday, Grady Judd outlined the relationship between the teenagers involved in the tragic incident on Nov. 9.
According to Judd, Suzette’s son, Hunter, had been in an ongoing dispute with former girlfriend Kimberly Stone following their breakup six months ago. The dispute got so bad, Judd said, that Stone was suspended from their high school.
On the day Stone was suspended, Judd said she gathered two friends, Eubank and Sutton, and her new boyfriend, Stansell, to go confront and beat up Hunter at his home.
Judd said that’s when Suzette confronted the teens, tried to take pictures of their getaway van, and was ran over by Stansell.
“Runs completely over her,” Judd said. “She has tire tracks on her body where he runs totally over her.”
The getaway van that Judd said Elijah used belongs to the Westwood Missionary Baptist Church, where Stansell’s father is a pastor.
