15-Year-Old Girl Faces Murder Trial

15-year-old Ke'Mani Hill's murder trial is set for next week.

Hill faces charges of first-degree murder, robbery with a firearm, shooting into a dwelling or structure, possessing a firearm while underaged, and conspiracy to commit robbery with a firearm. Charged when she was 13, Hill has been fighting her case for nearly two years. 

Hill was charged alongside 14-year-old Zion James, who in February 2025, entered an open no contest plea to charges of robbery with a firearm, evidence tampering, delivering a controlled substance, conspiracy to commit robbery with a firearm, and using a two-way communication device to commit a felony. 

James was facing life in prison, but Judge Denise Ferrero sentenced him to ten years after Criminal Defense Attorney Yvens Pierre-Antoine argued in favor of a downward departure sentence. 

In June 2024, a grand jury indicted Hill for the murder of 24-year-old Wilber Alberto Perez. It's alleged that Hill shot and killed Perez in the parking lot of Tiger Bay Apartments. Prosecutors reportedly say that Perez was attempting to purchase cannabis from Hill and James, and that Perez was in his car with his wife and baby when he was killed.

Hill is being prosecuted by Major Crimes Division Chief Prosecutor Glenn Bryan.

Attorney John Broling with the Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel has been retained to represent Hill. 

According to the Florida Department of Corrections website, James, now 16-years-old, is "out of custody by court order." The local booking log shows he is in the Alachua County Jail, indicating prosecutors intend to call him as a witness in Hill's trial.

In the downward departure motion, Pierre-Antoine wrote that his client "never took depositions because his posture from the onset of this case was to take full responsibility for his actions... The evidence shows that [James] met with [Perez] for an agreed upon marijuana drug transaction. [James] pretended to pay for the marijuana and then proceeded to steal the drugs and take off running to flee the area. The witnesses testified that Ke'Mani Hill was the one that possessed the firearm and discharged the weapon that led to the death of Wilbur Alberto Perez after Zion James left the area."

Ahead of his sentencing, James received a number of letters of support from former teachers who testified positively to his character. Lisa Marmorato, a history teacher, wrote that she believes it was "compassion and empathy that led Zion to run before the murder occurred. A young man, Zion did not know how to stop the situation once it escalated, but he took steps to distance himself and avoid being directly involved in the crime. While I fully acknowledge Zion's criminal involvement, he fled the scene before the murder took place. The weapon involved was neither his nor within his access."

Jury selection in Hill's trial is scheduled for Monday, April 13. 

Jury selection often takes all day and can stretch to multiple days, especially with cases of this nature.