Psychologist Finds 'Hiccup Girl' Competent to Stand Trial For Murder

Jennifer Mee gained notoriety in 2007 for her nonstop hiccupping.

ByABC News
September 18, 2013, 2:38 PM
Jennifer Mee, center, sits in court as jury selection begins for her murder trial at the Pinellas County Justice Center in Clearwater, Fla, Sept. 17, 2013.
Jennifer Mee, center, sits in court as jury selection begins for her murder trial at the Pinellas County Justice Center in Clearwater, Fla, Sept. 17, 2013.
Scott Keeler/The Tampa Bay Times/AP Photo

Sept. 18, 2013— -- The murder trial of Jennifer Mee, known as "Hiccup Girl," began today after a brief delay in which a psychologist evaluated the Florida woman and deemed her competent to stand trial.

The judge ordered the evaluation for Mee today after the 22-year-old's attorney said he recently discovered she was schizophrenic, according to the Associated Press.

After the evaluation was complete, the trial kicked off with prosecutors laying the groundwork for their case against Mee, who is charged with first-degree murder.

Prosecutors allege that in 2010, Mee lured a young man she met online to a home in St. Petersburg to be robbed. When the victim, Shannon Griffin, 22, resisted Mee and her two accomplices, prosecutors said he was shot multiple times.

At issue is whether Mee was a bystander or if she planned the robbery that ended in Griffin's death.

Police had previously said they did not believe Mee pulled the trigger. However, under Florida law her involvement in a robbery that led to a homicide makes her subject to a first-degree murder charge.

One alleged accomplice, LaRon Raiford, was convicted and sentenced in August to life in prison, while another co-defendant, Lamont Newton, has not yet gone to trial.

Mee made national headlines in 2007 when she hiccupped virtually non-stop for more than a month, up to 50 times a minute. The hiccups ultimately stopped, her family has said, because she was treated with drugs used to treat Tourette syndrome.

ABC News' Russell Goldman contributed to this report.