Inset: Kendra Scott (Memphis Police Department). Background: The Memphis, Tenn., area near where Scott is accused of fatally shooting a man (Google Maps).
A Tennessee woman has been jailed after police say she fatally shot a man she claimed to have discovered hiding beneath her daughter’s bed.
Kendra Scott, 36, is charged with first-degree murder and employment of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony in connection with the death of 20-year-old Rodderius Morton, the Memphis Police Department said.
The shooting happened Wednesday at a home on Travis Road in Memphis’ Walker Homes neighborhood.
Officers were called to the residence at about 1:45 a.m. and found a man in the front yard near the porch with a gunshot wound to the back of his head, according to an affidavit obtained by Memphis-based NBC affiliate WMC and CBS affiliate WREG.
Authorities later identified the man as Morton.
At the scene, a woman allegedly told officers, “saw a dude under my kids’ bed, and I did what I had to do,” the affidavit says. Investigators later identified her as Scott.
As police continued their investigation, they interviewed a neighbor who said he heard banging and walked outside to find the wounded man near the front porch. The neighbor also allegedly reported seeing Scott in the front yard holding a gun and saying, “I shot him, I shot him.”
Investigators also spoke with a girl at the residence who said that Morton had been invited inside and came in through the back door around 1 a.m., according to the charging document. Scott came home around 1:30 a.m., the juvenile told police. The defendant was allegedly knocking loudly at the front door and yelling, “Who’s at my house?”
The girl went on to tell investigators that she was afraid of Scott because the defendant was visibly angry and toting a gun, police said. The girl also said Scott had previously told her: “If I see a boy in the house, then I will put a hole in his a—.”
Eventually, the girl opened the door and let Scott inside the residence, according to the charging document. At this time, Morton was hiding under the bed in the girl’s room, police said.
As Morton tried to leave, Scott found him and the two began to argue, the girl told law enforcement. The argument quickly devolved to Scott yelling at the victim to “Get out of my house, b—,” according to the affidavit. Then, the man made it to the front porch.
But Scott was allegedly right there with him, according to the charging document. The girl said she then heard a single shot ring out.
The defendant is being detained in the Shelby County Jail without bond. She is slated to appear in court on Monday.
