A man and woman charged in the death of a girl on Harris Lake have now been charged with her murder.

According to court documents, a grand jury indicted both Quinten Kight and Annemarie Flanigan on second-degree murder charges in the death of 10-year-old Brooklyn Mae Carroll.

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According to Daniel Meier, a defense attorney in Durham not involved with the case, second-degree murder charges require prosecutors to prove Kight and Flanigan acted "with malice," adding that similar cases would only be considered felony death and not murder.

"For it to be second-degree murder, the district attorney has seen something that he thinks rises above the typical accident, even an impaired driving accident," Meier said.

Carroll was killed on Aug. 2 as she was swimming in Harris Lake. Investigators said Flanigan allowed Kight to drive her boat, and he was looking back instead of forward when he drove through a group of swimmers.

Another woman, Jennifer Stehele, was severely injured in the crash.

Both Kight and Flanigan were facing multiple charges from the crash, including felony death by impaired boating.

According to prosecutors, investigators found 39 empty alcoholic seltzer cans in the boat. 

Investigators say when they arrived to question Kight he was eating a sandwich, which they believed was a ploy to possibly cover the smell of alcohol on his breath.

In Flanigan's first court appearance on Wednesday, Chatham County prosecutors said she lied to police, saying she was called to the scene and had not been on the boat.

A lawyer representing Carroll's parents gave WRAL News the following statement after the new charges were announced:

While we will not comment, at this time, on the senseless acts that took Brooklyn from us, we extend our sincere thanks to law enforcement officials and district attorney's office, who have been diligently working on her case.

We also wanted to, again, thank the community who continues to support our family in our deepest time of need. We miss Brooklyn more than words can express, and we will continue to find ways to celebrate her incredible life and the light that she brought to so many

Kim Cannon and Matt Carroll, Brooklyn's parents

Both Kight and Flanigan will have a disposition hearing at 9:30 a.m. on Sept. 15 at the Chatham County Justice Center in Pittsboro.

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