Carla Hughes was born on June 12, 1981, and was adopted by her uncle Carl and aunt Lynda Hughes when she was six weeks old. She was raised in Greenville, Mississippi. As a child, she excelled in horseback riding, beauty pageants and was an honors student.
Hughes was later interrogated by police, where she initially denied her sexual relationship with Pittman and later denied having access to a gun. However, Hughes's cousin indicated to police, via an attorney, that he had loaned a loaded .38 caliber 5-shot revolver to Hughes shortly before the murder, and that she had returned the gun empty. Hughes was originally charged with accessory to murder after the fact, but on December 8, 2006, the charges were upgraded to two counts of capital murder.
After eight hours of deliberation, Hughes's jury announced they had reached a verdict on October 13, 2009. Hughes was found guilty on both counts of capital murder. Although Hughes could have faced the death penalty, she was instead sentenced to serve two consecutive life sentences without parole.
On August 30, 2010, a Madison County judge denied Carla Hughes' request for a new trial.
On June 21, 2012, the Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the Madison County Circuit Court. Six issues were raised on appeal, all of which were found to be without error.
