A 13-year-old girl's desperate pleas for her life were ignored by her stepfather, who allegedly shot her in the face after murdering her mother in a horrific domestic violence incident that unfolded on Sunday.
A Fatal Argument Over a Football Game
Jason Kenney, 47, is accused of shooting his wife, Crystal Kenney, after she asked him to turn off a televised NFL match between the San Francisco 49ers and the Indianapolis Colts. According to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, Kenney had been drinking when the request sparked a severe argument.
As the fight escalated, Crystal sent her 12-year-old son to a neighbour's house to call 999. The boy heard gunshots as he fled. Upon arrival, police discovered Crystal dead inside the family home in Florida. Her 13-year-old daughter had been shot in the face and shoulder.
'Don't Shoot Me': A Teenager's Heartbreaking Plea
The teenage victim described the terrifying moments to investigators. "I begged him, don't shoot me, don't shoot me, don't shoot me, and he shot me anyway," Sheriff Judd recounted the girl's statement.
Miraculously, she survived. The bullet that struck her face "hit her on the bridge of the nose, went straight up and out the top of her head," Judd explained, calling her survival a "Christmas miracle." She was rushed to hospital in critical condition and is now recovering.
The couple's one-year-old daughter was found unharmed and asleep in her cot. The 12-year-old son was also physically uninjured.
A Tragic End and a Plea for Help Found
After the shooting, Jason Kenney fled the scene. He called his sister, confessing he had "done something" terrible and they would never speak again. He then drove to his father's house, where police tracked him down.
Officers attempted to negotiate with Kenney, who had barricaded himself in a shed, but he tragically took his own life.
During a search of the family home, investigators found a poignant note written by Crystal to her husband. The note pleaded with him to seek help for his substance abuse. "You're drinking, you're using cocaine again. This is not the way the family should be. You need God," the note read, according to Sheriff Judd.
The sheriff described the devastating scene, noting a beautiful Christmas tree surrounded by presents, representing the nuclear family that was destroyed. The children are now in the care of their grandparents.
"The entire family was destroyed," Judd stated. "Our homicide detectives are distraught."
