A family in Florida has been shattered by a tragic altercation that escalated into deadly violence, all sparked by a dispute over watching a Monday Night Football game.
Just a few days before Christmas, a mother of three lost her life, her teenage daughter sustained critical injuries, and a 47-year-old man ended his own life in this heartbreaking incident.
According to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, the tragic chain of events unfolded when Jason Kenney, aged 47, fatally shot his wife, Crystal Kenney, and severely wounded his 13-year-old stepdaughter. He then fled the scene only to later commit suicide.
The night took a deadly turn following a disagreement late Monday when Crystal objected to Jason’s intention to continue watching an NFL game inside their home.
Sheriff Judd revealed that Jason had been consuming alcohol while watching the matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Indianapolis Colts in a shed behind their house. He returned indoors to catch the final moments of the game, which led to a confrontation over the television.
What began as a simple argument over the TV remote quickly spiraled out of control, leading to the tragic loss of life and leaving a family and community in mourning.
As the confrontation intensified, Crystal told her 12-year-old son to run to a neighbor’s house and call 911.
The boy fled, but as he was leaving, he heard gunfire.
Jason Kenney, 47, fatally shot his wife, Crystal Kenney, and shot her 13-year-old daughter before fleeing the scene before later turning the gun on himself
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said Jason had been drinking while watching an NFL game when an argument suddenly escalated out of control
‘So the 12-year-old flees to the neighbor’s house in order to dial 911, and as he’s leaving the house, he hears a gunshot,’ Judd said.
Deputies arrived within minutes, and once inside the home, they found Crystal Kenney dead, having been fatally shot in the head.
In a bedroom, they discovered her 13-year-old daughter had been shot twice – once in the shoulder and once in the face.
‘She said, “I begged him, don’t shoot me, don’t shoot me, don’t shoot me, and he shot me anyway,” Judd said, recounting what the girl told him when he spoke to her before a press conference.
Judd said the bullet struck the girl on the bridge of her nose, traveled upward, and exited through the top of her head.
‘That’s a Christmas miracle,’ he said.
The girl remains hospitalized in critical but stable condition, alert and able to speak, authorities said.
A one-year-old daughter shared by Jason and Crystal was also inside the home at the time of the shooting, but was unharmed. Deputies later found her asleep in her crib.
During a search of the family’s home, deputies uncovered a handwritten note Crystal had written to her husband, Jason, urging him to seek help
After the attack, Jason Kenney fled before deputies arrived. During the drive, Judd said, he called his sister in upstate New York.
‘He told her he had done something very, very bad,’ Judd said, adding that Jason told her ‘the next time you see me will be on the news.’
Jason then drove to his father’s home, where he barricaded himself inside a shed.
Deputies tracked him to the property and attempted to coax him out. Moments later, a single gunshot rang out.
Jason Kenney was found dead inside the shed, having taken his own life, Judd said.
During a search of the family’s home, deputies uncovered a handwritten note Crystal had written to her husband, urging him to seek help.
‘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 Judd.
Deputies arrived within minutes at the family home. Once inside, they found Crystal Kenney dead, having been fatally shot in the head. Her own husband, Jason, was her killer
The sheriff said the case devastated everyone involved, including seasoned investigators.
‘He just absolutely destroyed a family. Literally, not to mention the mental health of two children without their mother and a father three days before Christmas,’ Judd said. ‘Our homicide detectives are distraught.
‘Three days before Christmas, he shot and killed his wife, he shot his 13-year-old stepdaughter twice, and intended to kill her,’ Judd explained.
‘When you go in there, there is a beautiful Christmas tree with lots of Christmas presents under it, just like the nuclear family should be.
‘The only thing he did right that night was shoot himself,’ Judd added.
All three children are now in the custody of their maternal grandparents.
