A 16-year-old Palm Bay teen has been arrested for fatally shooting her mother and her mother's boyfriend on Saturday, July 6, before staging a home invasion.
Julia Egler, 16, faces two counts of first-degree murder. According to investigators, Egler shot and killed her mother, Kelley McCollom, 38, before shooting the mother's boyfriend, Matthew Szejnrok, 22, stabbing him repeatedly and shooting him once more before he died at the scene along Benchor Road.
Egler's Had Conflicts with Her Mother Over her Gender Transition, Mother's Relationship with a 22-Year-Old
Egler's motive centered on longstanding conflicts with her mother, including Egler's disapproval that her mom was dating a 22-year-old man and alleged disagreements related to the teen's gender transition, police said. The report states Egler used a chef's knife and a .38-caliber revolver that she stole from her mother's bedroom.
Police said that the teen called 911 just after midnight Sunday while acting hysterical and claiming that a man had broken into her home; officers quickly responded and arrived to find McCollom and Szejnrok's bodies, the report states.
Egler's Home Invasion Claim was Dismissed After Investigators Found Her Shoes Matched Bloody Footprints
However, detectives soon discovered bloody footprints matching the girl's shoes, among other evidence contrary to Egler's initial statements — the teen reportedly told investigators that she hid in her room with her dog while an unidentified burglar ransacked the residence.
After having been read her Miranda rights, Egler confessed to killing McCollom and Szejnrok, according to the arrest report. Investigators said Egler eventually admitted to breaking into McCollom's bedroom while she was gone, soon greeting the victims in the home's kitchen with a gun in her hand and a knife in her pocket.
'Welcome Home,' Egler Told the Victims Before Killing Them
Moments after Egler told the two "Welcome home," she shot McCollom and Szejnrok several times and began stabbing Szejnrok once she ran out of ammunition, the report states.
The girl told police that Szejnrok then "essentially asked (Egler) to take him out of his misery," prompting the teen to return to her mother's bedroom, load one more round into the handgun and shoot him in the head, the report states.
First reported by Florida Today, Egler will remain in juvenile custody until a delinquency hearing later this month as the 18th Judicial Circuit State Attorney's Office otherwise decides whether to charge her as an adult.
