Dozens attend Long Island courthouse hearing for 3 women charged in 7-year-old Jor'Dynn Duncan's death

They held hands and prayed in memory of 7-year-old Jor'Dynn Duncan. Some cried as they spoke about what happened — the custody fights, the alleged abuse, just missing her — their grief still raw.

Many wore pink shirts bearing an image of a smiling Jor’Dynn, who prosecutors have said was tortured and killed last year while living with her legal guardian in Bayport.

Nearly 100 people who knew and loved Jor'Dynn — her family, a past caregiver and close family — convened outside the Suffolk County Courthouse in Riverhead Tuesday ahead of the court appearances for the three women charged in connection with the second grader's death.

"I just want justice for my granddaughter," said Jor'Dynn's grandmother Melinda Duncan, of Orlando, Florida. “They were monsters … what they did to her.”

Defendants Emily Kelly, 50; her mother, Barbara Renner, 75; and Kelly’s daughter Elyssa Seymore, 24, all of Bayport — three generations of women in a family who prosecutors have charged with the abuse of Jor'Dynn — appeared separately before Supreme Court Justice John B. Collins as the child's mother, Portia Duncan, and other family members and their scores of supporters looked on.

The defendants, appearing briefly before the judge at their first court appearance since their arraignments last month, wore dark green jail scrubs and their hands were handcuffed behind their backs. They each responded inaudibly when the judge greeted them good morning.

Collins said prosecutors from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office have indicated that they expect to complete the discovery process — during which prosecutors are legally mandated to share their evidence with the defense — in the next couple of weeks. Collins set early August court dates for the lawyers to reconvene for a status update.

The defendants have pleaded not guilty to the charges, including second-degree murder for Kelly.

John LoTurco, Kelly’s attorney, said in a statement afterward that he had received the “first installment” of discovery and is awaiting the remainder.

“With respect to the protesters and supporters of Jor'Dynn Duncan who attended today's proceeding, we recognize and respect their First Amendment rights to express their views and to attend this public court proceeding, particularly given that this case involves the tragic death of a seven-year-old child," LoTurco said.

LoTurco, who successfully argued along with the attorneys for Kelly's co-defendants against Newsday’s request to the court to be allowed to photograph the defendants in the courtroom, stressed that his client is presumed innocent under the law.

"While the public understandably has a strong interest in the case, our client is entitled to the fundamental protections guaranteed by our Constitution, including the right to a fair and impartial jury that is not influenced by extensive pretrial publicity or a rush to judgment," the lawyer said.

The attorneys for Renner and Seymore did not comment following Tuesday’s brief court conferences.

Portia Duncan wore a pained expression as she watched the defendants stand before the judge. Prosecutors Dena Rizopoulos and Melissa Grier, who was handling the office's emotional support dog Tillman, greeted Duncan with hugs.

Duncan later appeared overcome and abruptly left the courtroom shortly after Renner entered.

Suffolk prosecutors have said Jor’Dynn suffered a dozen sharp-force wounds to her bottom and colon, which led to a "massive infection” and caused her to suffer cardiac arrest. She had a total of about 90 recently inflicted injuries — most of them from 48 hours or less before her death, prosecutors have said.

Portia Duncan’s attorney, Heather M. Palmore, speaking to reporters after the conferences had concluded, said she and a team of attorneys are working on behalf of Duncan to explore what systems failed to protect Jor’Dynn, who prosecutors have said missed about 40 days of school just prior to her death.

“We are currently examining where there are any system flaws,” said Palmore, a former prosecutor now in private practice with offices in Melville, Uniondale and Manhattan.

Asked about Portia Duncan’s emotional state after seeing the defendants who are alleged to have tortured her daughter, Palmore said: “She’s a mother. … It’s hard. And I applaud her for her courage, for getting up.”

Newsday has reported that Jor’Dynn was removed from Duncan’s home as a baby following a failed drug test administered by probation officers. Duncan, of Coram, had prior convictions for drug possession and other offenses when a family court order took custody of Jor’Dynn away from her mother.

Kim Jackson, the ex-wife of Jor’Dynn’s father, Derrick Dixon, who is currently incarcerated in state prison, was outside the courthouse, wearing a pink T-shirt — Jor’Dynn’s favorite color — with the following words emblazoned on the back: Justice for Jor’Dynn. Her life mattered. Her voice lives through us.”

Jackson, who previously told Newsday that she had custody of Jor’Dynn for several years after Duncan lost custody but had Jor'Dynn removed from her care for apparently seeing her mother at a sleepover, said she was too overcome with emotion to enter the courtroom.

Outside, in the prayer circle, Elder Willie Chaplin of Christ Baptist Church in Coram, led the group in prayer.

"We thank you for the time she was here," said Chaplin, who implored God to "touch their hearts," in a reference to the people who "will make decisions" about the criminal case.

After court had concluded, a brief skirmish broke out, apparently involving a supporter of Jor’Dynn’s family and a woman who had been critical online. More than a dozen court officers ran to the parking lot amid the incident. No one was arrested and there was no information about the nature of the encounter, a court spokesman said.

Jackson’s sister, Nicole Wilson, said she had sought custody of Jor’Dynn after she was removed from Wilson’s home but was rebuffed by Child Protective Services.

“After they took Jor'Dynn, we went down there the next day," Wilson said. "We went down there the next day — the next day!"

Wilson, while holding a large photo board of Jor'Dynn in an Easter dress, sobbed.

"They wouldn't give me Jor'Dynn," she said. "Why wouldn't they give me Jor'Dynn?"