The South Carolina Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday, Oct. 14, from a woman who is challenging her conviction in the 2021 killing of a Lexington County teenager.
Nazareth Nicolle Sanchez-Peralta is serving a 65-year prison sentence for the murder and kidnapping of 15-year-old Sanaa Amenhotep. Her appeal focuses on the decision to try her as an adult, even though she was 16 at the time.
The 2021 case
Sanaa Amenhotep went missing from her home in 2021. After more than three weeks of searching, investigators said Sanchez-Peralta led them to the teen’s body in a wooded area in Leesville.
During a 2023 trial, prosecutors said Sanchez-Peralta, Treveon Nelson and Jaylen Wilson lured Amenhotep into a stolen car before she was killed. All three were convicted.
The appeal
Sanchez-Peralta’s attorney, Gary Johnson, argued that the family court used outdated standards when it decided to move her case to adult court. He also argued she should have had the right to question witnesses during that transfer hearing.
Her appeal raises several other issues, including whether statements she made to police should have been allowed at trial, and whether a 65-year sentence for a crime committed as a teenager is effectively a life sentence that violates protections against cruel and unusual punishment.
Melody Brown, the attorney representing the state, told the court the family court carefully considered all the required factors and that the process was fair.
Victim’s mother in court
Amenhotep’s mother, Saleemah Graham, attended the hearing. She told WIS that whenever she feels she doesn’t have the strength to keep going, she thinks about what her daughter went through. “I remember what already happened to my baby,” she said.
What’s next
The Supreme Court has taken the case under advisement and has not said when it will rule.
The other two defendants are also challenging their convictions. A judge denied Nelson’s request for post-conviction relief last week, and Wilson has filed a similar request.
Source: WIS
