16YO Kills Mom, Her Boyfriend for Objecting to Her Gender Transition, Then Fakes Home Invasion

[Sugar Cookie]

A teenage Florida girl is being held in juvenile detention but could be charged as an adult after admitting to killing her mother and her mother’s much younger boyfriend earlier this month, police say.

Julia Grace Egler, 16, had a chilling, final message for Kelley McCollom, 42, and Matthew Szejnrok, 22, on Saturday night, authorities claim.

“Welcome home,” the girl allegedly told the May-December couple as the fatal ambush began inside the house on Benchor Road on July 6.

Multiple rounds were fired and both victims suffered from multiple gunshot wounds, police say, according to court records obtained by Florida Today. But the violence did not end so quickly.

After allegedly killing her mother with the woman’s own silver .38 Special, Egler turned the gun on Szejnrok — who pleaded for her to stop as he fled and tried to take refuge in the bathroom, police say. There, the teen repeatedly stabbed her mother’s boyfriend with a chef’s knife. Then, she used the handgun again to finish the kill.

At around 12:06 a.m. on Sunday, a 911 call was made, police allege. During the call, Egler was allegedly crying hysterically and saying a man had broken into the family’s residence.

Officers who arrived moments later met the teenager outside the house. There, she allegedly stuck to her story about the burglar at first — telling police she hid inside her room with her pit bull when she heard “loud noises” happening elsewhere in the house.

Under repeat interrogation, however, the girl’s story fell apart and she eventually confessed to the killings, police say.

In the intervening hour or so, the girl admittedly tried to stage the scene to look like a break-in had occurred, according to police. But, authorities say, the cover-up was sloppy, with glass found on top of the victims’ bodies and multiple readily-accessible surveillance cameras containing footage that put the lie to the burglary claim.

As for a motive, police say Egler “was not happy with the fact that Kelley was not very accepting of her transition, and she also did not like that [Kelley] was dating Matthew who was 22 years old,” according to documents obtained by Orlando-based ABC affiliate WFTV.

By the time of the murders, the teen “had reached a boiling point” with McCollom over the gender issues and the age gap between her and Szejnrok, according to an affidavit obtained by Daytona Beach-based NBC affiliate WESH.

16-year-old girl allegedly kills mom and mom's younger boyfriend over age gap, gender issues

After allegedly shooting and killing her mother with the woman's silver .38 Special, the teenager turned the gun on her mother's boyfriend. When she ran out of bullets, police say, she used a knife.

lawandcrime.com

 

[thuumpr]

Wow! Scanned for the ages of the boyfriend and mother since age was part of the kid's complaints... 42 and 22. Nice span but nothing odd. Except wait! Kid's 16 and mom 22?

Had to read the name with the ages and realized, 'Mom is a cougar!'

As far as the kid? Try as adult. Not eligible for the death penalty. LWOP will do.

In Florida, murder can be punished by death if it involves one of the following aggravating factors: It was committed by a person previously convicted of a felony and under sentence of imprisonment, placed on community control, or on felony probation.