A teenage girl who was allegedly beaten by a student near her school has woken up from a coma.
Kaylee Gain, 16, lay helpless on the ground as she was attacked by what was believed to be a female student, 15, near Hazelwood East High School in St. Louis, Missouri on 7 March.
Footage of the incident emerged on social media and appeared to show Kaylee's head being smashed into the concrete floor.
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The 16-year-old suffered serious brain injuries and damage to her frontal lobe, which put her in a coma.
Thankfully, her family's lawyer, Bryan Kaemmerer, has revealed that Kaylee is 'now out of the intensive care unit' but has no memory of the attack.
"Kaylee has also recently begun speech therapy and has gone on a few short walks with the assistance of hospital staff, as she is still unable to ambulate on her own," Kaemmerer said.
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The family are grateful to everyone who donated to their fundraiser as Kaemmerer said that they 'would like to express their extreme gratitude for those that have contributed to the GoFundMe pages that have been organised to assist with the financial burdens associated with her long road toward recovery'.
"Given the particularly violent nature of this assault, and also taking into account the devastating injuries that Kaylee has incurred, it is difficult to imagine a more appropriate case for a juvenile to be certified as an adult," Kaemmerer wrote.
"If anything, the accused's reported level of intelligence suggests that she was fully capable of understanding that violence of this nature would lead to the devastating injuries that Kaylee has sustained, and therefore provides a further reason why it is appropriate for her to be tried as an adult."
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The lawyer has argued that the perpetrator has shown an 'utter lack of remorse for her actions' after they joked that Kaylee should 'join MMA or WWE'.
Kaemmerer added: "As such, if the accused made these posts having knowledge of the extent of the injuries that she inflicted on Kaylee, and also considering that enough time elapsed between the incident and the posts being made that the accused should have been able to more carefully evaluate and consider the implications of her actions, it demonstrates the accused's complete disregard for the well-being of a fellow human being and serves as further proof that the accused is an ongoing threat to the community."
"Given these circumstances, the family believes trying the accused as an adult is the most appropriate way to provide the justice that Kaylee deserves."
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Kaemmerer also said that the day before the fateful fight there was 'an altercation with a different female student' that 'resulted in both Kaylee and the other student being suspended'.
"It is also presently unclear whether the violent assault on Kaylee that occurred the following day was in retaliation for the earlier encounter," Kaemmerer concluded.
Anish Vij