MARYVILLE, Tenn. — A juvenile court judge ruled Thursday there is enough evidence to charge two teenage boys in connection to the death of a 19-year-old woman in Blount County.
Blount County Juvenile Court Judge Kenlyn Foster ruled there is probable cause to charge two 16-year-old boys with felony murder, leaving the scene of an accident causing death, and theft of property in the death of 19-year-old Madison Hoese.
Hoese was killed just before 6 a.m. on March 22 at East Lincoln Road and Southbound Hall Road in Alcoa. Hoese was on her way to work a shift at a Maryville Dunkin Donuts.
"(The juveniles) violated numerous laws in their crime spree," Foster said in court on Thursday morning.
The hearing was the second part of a probable cause hearing in the case. Blount County District Attorney General Ryan Desmond is requesting the teens be tried in adult court. More hearings related to the possible transfer are scheduled for February.
According to testimony heard Thursday morning, the teens were in Tennessee Department of Children's Services custody when they escaped from a facility in Louisville on the night March 21.
They're accused of stealing a car overnight, becoming intoxicated, crashing into Hoese's car at around 5:44 a.m. and then fleeing the scene after the wreck.
Attorneys for the teens argued their cases don't reach the level of felony murder, because the charge requires a connection between the felony, the stealing of the vehicle, and the wreck that killed Hoese.
They argued the time that was unaccounted for passed between when the truck was stolen and when Hoese was hit.
Attorneys for the state argued the car theft is what connected the teens to the wreck that killed Hoese and that the teens had been fleeing authorities since they left DCS custody the night prior.
Judge Foster also said she found probable cause to charge the teen operating the truck at the time of the crash of underage driving while intoxicated and reckless killing by operation of a vehicle.
Hoese's family, friends and co-workers at the Ulta salon in Maryville, and Dunkin Donuts in Maryville, told 10News they love and miss her.
Her father, Gary Hoese, told 10News after the hearing he wants the teens to be tried as adults.
"Tomorrow will be eight months since she's been gone," Hoese said. "It's terrible, but today we actually got the first leg of justice done. Hopefully the rest goes good. First degree murder for both of them...they acted like adults, they should be treated as adults."