Florida Man Kills Wife, Shoots Stepdaughter, Then Takes His Own Life After Argument Over Monday Night Football
A Polk County man fatally shot his wife, critically wounded his teenage stepdaughter, and later killed himself following an argument tied to a Monday Night Football game, according to authorities. The shooting occurred earlier this week in Polk County, Florida. Sheriff Grady Judd identified the shooter as 47-year-old Jason Kenney. Investigators say Kenney became enraged during a domestic dispute after his wife asked him to turn off the Monday night game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Indianapolis Colts.
According to the sheriff’s office, Kenney had been drinking when the argument escalated. During the confrontation, his wife, Crystal Kenney, told her 12-year-old son to call 911. The boy instead fled to a neighbor’s home, where he heard gunshots moments later. Deputies responding to the scene found Crystal Kenney dead from gunshot wounds. Her 13-year-old daughter had been shot in the face and shoulder and was rushed to a hospital, where she remains hospitalized. Authorities said the boy was not injured, nor was Crystal Kenney’s 1-year-old daughter, who was found asleep in her crib.
Jason Kenney fled the home after the shooting, deputies said, and drove to his father’s residence. Law enforcement later located him at the property and attempted to get him out of a shed. During that encounter, Kenney fatally shot himself. Sheriff Judd said the investigation revealed troubling warning signs prior to the violence. According to Judd, Crystal Kenney had recently written her husband a note 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,” Judd said the note read.
Authorities have not released additional details about the couple’s history or whether prior domestic incidents had been reported. The case remains under investigation, though officials say there is no threat to the public. The shooting adds to a growing number of domestic violence cases in Florida in which alcohol, substance abuse, and firearms intersect, often with devastating consequences for families and children.
