Boater charged with murder of 10-year-old girl swimmer

The allegedly drunk boater who was found with 39 empty cans of booze on board after he ran over and killed a 10-year-old girl is now facing murder charges.

Quinten Kight and his girlfriend Annemarie Flanigan, who owns the boat, were each indicted by a grand jury on second-degree murder charges in the death of little Brooklyn Mae Carroll on Monday, according to court documents obtained by WRAL.

Police discovered 39 empty cans of alcoholic seltzers on board Flanigan’s boat after Kight, who was behind the wheel, plowed through a group of swimmers in Harris Lake outside of Raleigh, North Carolina on Aug. 2.

Another 50 containers of alcohol were found in the water, prosecutors said.

Brooklyn and 41-year-old Jennifer Stehle were struck by the boat’s propeller, killing the 5th grader and causing injuries so severe to Stehle’s leg that it had to be amputated below the knee, officials said.

Kight and Flanigan were both arrested and initially charged with felony death by impaired boating and other serious charges before the murder charges were added this week.

Brooklyn’s family declined to comment on the upgraded charges, but said through their attorney they are grateful for the investigators handling the case and the community’s support.

“We miss Brooklyn more than words can express, and we will continue to find ways to celebrate her incredible life and the light that she brought to so many,” they told WRAL.

Prosecutors said that Kight, Flanigan and at least eight others on the boat were all looking behind them at someone wakeboarding when they drove through a group of swimmers.

Kight, 41, had red, glassy eyes and slurred his words when police arrived at the scene. He was eating a sandwich when approached by an officer — which authorities believe was to hide the smell of alcohol on his breath, according to the arrest warrant.

Officers tried to perform a sobriety test on Kight but “determined that he was unable to follow the instructions,” Chatham County District Attorney Jeff Nieman said last week. Authorities are awaiting the results of a blood test.

Flanigan, 56, allegedly lied to police, telling them she was called to the scene and had not been on the boat, Chatham County prosecutors revealed at her hearing. The former combat nurse claimed she helped the victims in the aftermath, WRAL reported.

“Then, she later wrote a misleading statement saying she was called to the scene after the accident and didn’t witness,” Nieman said.

Nieman also alleged that Flanigan should have been aware of how intoxicated Kight was on her boat.

“I would contend the consumption was happening right in front of her,” Nieman said.

Kight and Flanigan are each being held on $1,000,000 bonds.