A 16-year-old Florida girl, Julia Grace Egler, is currently in juvenile detention and may face charges as an adult following her confession to the murder of her mother and her mother’s significantly younger boyfriend, according to the Palm Bay Police Department. Egler is facing two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Kelley McCollom, 42, and Matthew Szejnrok, 22, which occurred earlier this month.
Authorities report that the teenager had a chilling final message for the couple, “Welcome home,” as she initiated the fatal attack inside their Benchor Road residence on July 6. The victims were subjected to multiple rounds of gunfire, resulting in multiple gunshot wounds, as per court records obtained by Florida Today.
The violent episode did not end swiftly. After allegedly killing her mother with her own silver .38 Special, Egler turned the weapon on Szejnrok. As he attempted to escape and sought refuge in the bathroom, the teenager reportedly stabbed him repeatedly with a chef’s knife before using the handgun to complete the act.
Shortly after midnight on Sunday, a deceptive 911 call was made, during which Egler was reportedly crying hysterically, claiming a man had broken into their home. When officers arrived, she initially stuck to her burglary story, telling them she had hidden in her room with her pit bull upon hearing “loud noises” in the house.
However, upon further questioning, inconsistencies in her story emerged, and she eventually confessed to the murders. Detectives found the handgun hidden outside her bedroom window, bloody footprints matching her shoes, and a bloody chef’s knife left on the kitchen counter. A trail of blood led to the bathroom.
During a subsequent interview at the police station, Egler admitted to stealing her mother’s gun and ammunition, loading the gun, and waiting for the couple to return home. The attack began shortly after their arrival at around 10:30 p.m. She allegedly told police she only stopped shooting Szejnrok because she ran out of bullets, then resorted to using the knife. According to records, she claimed that Szejnrok, in his dying moments, asked her to “take him out of his misery,” prompting her to shoot him in the head with a final round.
In the aftermath, Egler attempted to stage the scene to resemble a break-in, but authorities noted the sloppy execution of the cover-up, with glass found on top of the victims’ bodies and surveillance footage contradicting her burglary claim.
As for a motive, Egler was reportedly unhappy with her mother’s lack of acceptance of her transition and her relationship with the much younger Szejnrok. These issues had been brewing for some time, and by the time of the murders, the teenager had reached a breaking point.
“Egler cited long-standing conflicts with her mother, including disagreements related to her gender transition, as well as disapproval of her mother’s relationship with Szejnrok, as motives for the crime,” Palm Bay Police Lt. Virginia Kilmer said. “Based on the evidence, including Egler’s confession and forensic findings at the scene, she was placed under arrest and charged with two counts of 1st Degree Pre-Meditated Murder.”
A delinquency hearing will be held later this month, during which the 18th Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office will decide whether or not Egler will be charged as an adult.