14-Year-Old Allegedly Used Walker and Belt to Kill Her Grandmother, Rationalized That Victim ‘Was Already Dying’: Police

Mar. 15, 2025

Sofia Koval.Photo:Broward County Sheriff’s Office

Broward County Sheriff’s Office

Yevheniia Koval, 79, was found unresponsive with “multiple bruises” on her body in a Lauderdale Lakes, Fla., home early in the morning of May 23, the Broward County Sheriff’s Officeannouncedat the time.

Police arrested Koval’s 14-year-old granddaughter as a suspect in connection with the woman’s death, which was ruled a homicide, the sheriff’s office said.

The teenager is now being charged as an adult on a manslaughter charge, according toBroward County authorities, who identified her as Sofia Koval.

Sofia’sfather told police on May 23 that he had left the teenager with his mother in his home to go see a friend and returned home to find the elderly woman unresponsive, per the sheriff’s office. She was pronounced dead after being transported to a hospital.

According to an arrest report, investigators believe Sofia allegedly beat her grandmother with a belt and the walker the elderly woman used, theSouth Florida Sun Sentinel,WSVNandNBC Miamireported.

She allegedly told him she “struck the victim several times with a belt,” per the arrest document, NBC Miami reports. Sofia then began crying and expressing remorse for what she had allegedly done.

She allegedly told her father that she “helped” the elderly woman die because she was “already dying,” the arrest affidavit states, per theSouth Florida Sun Sentinel, WSVN and NBC Miami.

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Sofia recently moved to Florida from her native Ukraine where she witnessed the ongoing war, her father says, per the affidavit. He told police she was allegedly experiencing “behavioral issues” after witnessing the war and being separated from her mother.

If convicted, Sofia would face a maximum of 15 years in prison but there is still a possibility she may face the penalty for a juvenile, which is three years in a juvenile correction facility, per theSouth Florida Sun Sentinel. She also may face deportation after completing her sentence, if convicted, per the outlets.

source: people.com