KENTUCKY: Defense Lawyers Claim Murder Attempt Was Staged Prank

Lawyers for the three Kentucky girls charged with attempting to murder a lesbian classmate are claiming that the entire incident was a staged prank with the full participation of the victim.

Cheyenne Williams, 18, and supporters have said that on April 16, three girls with whom she'd been friends for years took her against her will to picturesque Flat Lick Falls, physically abused her and tried to push her off a cliff. But James Baechtold, who represents one of the defendants, said Monday there are some "distinct falsehoods" in that account. "There's no merit to any of these allegations at all," Baechtold said. He and Sharon Allen Gay, who represents the other two teens charged in the case, would not say Monday what their clients have told them about why the performance was staged.

The mother of the victim says the attack grew out of Christian-led opposition to the school's Day Of Silence, which was the date of the alleged attack. The Kentucky Equality Federation, an LGBT rights group, has said they have received previous reports of anti-gay violence at the school. There will be a hearing on Thursday at which the judge will decide on sending the case to a grand jury for possible indictments.