Mindy Osteen killed Christopher Jones as he collected their two young sons from a child care center in Starke.
STARKE, Fla. — A Florida woman has been sentenced to 100 years in prison after accepting a plea agreement in the fatal shooting of her children’s father outside a daycare as their two sons sat in the back seat of his vehicle.
Mindy Osteen entered pleas to second-degree murder and four other felony charges in the July 25, 2025, death of 37-year-old Christopher Travis Jones. The additional charges included possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, firing a weapon within 1,000 feet of a school, shooting into an occupied vehicle and grand theft of a firearm.
The sentence was imposed July 15 in Bradford County. It ends the criminal case without a trial nearly one year after the shooting outside Auntie Lili’s Child Care Center in Starke, a small city southwest of Jacksonville. Osteen was also ordered to have no contact with members of Jones’ family.
According to an arrest report, Jones was picking up the couple’s two sons when Osteen approached him carrying a backpack. Witnesses said she initially hugged Jones and the children. After Jones secured the boys in car seats and sat in the driver’s seat, Osteen removed a handgun from the bag and began firing into the vehicle.
Jones got out of the car and ran toward the daycare for shelter, investigators said. He entered the first doorway but could not pass through a second secured door. Osteen followed him and continued firing before the weapon malfunctioned, according to the arrest report and surveillance evidence described by investigators.
Bradford County sheriff’s deputies found Jones alive when they arrived. Authorities said he identified Osteen as the person who shot him. He was taken to a hospital, where he later died from his injuries. Osteen remained at the scene and was arrested without further violence.
Osteen told deputies that she had acted in self-defense. The available public reports do not show that the claim was accepted by investigators or the court. By entering the plea agreement, she avoided prosecution on the original first-degree murder charge and other counts returned by a grand jury.
The couple’s two children were inside the vehicle during part of the shooting but were not physically injured. Six other children and two employees were inside the daycare at the time, according to authorities. None of them was reported hurt.
The children’s names and ages have not been publicly released. Authorities and relatives said the boys faced the loss of both parents from the case: Jones was killed, and Osteen will remain imprisoned for decades. Later reports said the children were placed in a new home, although officials have released few details to protect their privacy.
Jones’ relatives described him as a devoted father who had worked to build a better life for his sons. Family members said the children were deeply affected by witnessing the attack and asked that Osteen never be allowed to return to the community.
Osteen was originally jailed on charges that included first-degree murder, child cruelty and weapons offenses. A grand jury later indicted her on 10 counts. Her five-count plea agreement and 100-year sentence resolve the prosecution, with no further trial or sentencing hearing announced.
Author note: Last updated July 24, 2026.