POLK COUNTY, FL – A Florida man shot and killed his wife and critically wounded his teenage stepdaughter during an argument over watching a football game before fleeing and taking his own life, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said.
Jason Kenney, 47, emerged from a shed on his property around 11 p.m. Monday and entered the living room to watch the conclusion of an NFL game. His wife Crystal Kenney objected to his presence and the television, sparking a heated argument.
During the confrontation, Crystal Kenney instructed her 12-year-old son to call for help. The boy fled to a neighbor’s home and reported the emergency.
When deputies arrived, they found Crystal Kenney dead in the living room from a fatal gunshot wound to the head. Her 13-year-old daughter was discovered in a bedroom with two gunshot wounds and was transported to a hospital in critical but stable condition.
A 1-year-old girl remained asleep in her crib throughout the ordeal and was unharmed.
After the shootings, Kenney fled in his truck and contacted his sister in another state, telling her he had done something “terrible” and would not face imprisonment. He drove to his deceased father’s home in Lake Wales and hid in a shed on the property.
When deputies arrived and commanded him to surrender, a single gunshot was heard. Officers found Kenney dead from a self-inflicted wound.
“Three days before Christmas, this man shot and killed his wife, shot his stepdaughter, then shot himself,” Sheriff Grady Judd said. “This is horrific, but destroying a family and the mental health of these children so close to Christmas is especially horrific.”
