In a tragic turn of events on a quiet night in Lakeland, Florida, a family’s Sunday evening turned into a deadly scene when a heated argument over Monday Night Football spiraled out of control.
The Incident
The 47-year-old Jason Kenney was watching his favorite team, the San Francisco 49ers, as they beat the Indianapolis Colts when his 38-year-old wife, Crystal Kenney, “told him that she did not want to watch football”.
According to a Polk County Sheriff’s statement, Jason had been drinking during the evening in Lakeland and at about 11 p.m., with the game well in hand for San Francisco, “an argument began when Crystal Kenney suggested they watch something else on television and the argument got really heated”.
Crystal told her 12-year-old son to go to a neighbor to call 911 and, as the boy was leaving the house, he heard a gunshot.
Responding deputies found Crystal’s body and her critically wounded 13-year-old daughter, while the couple’s baby girl slept in her crib, unharmed.
Deputies also discovered the 13-year-old girl had been shot twice in the face but is expected to survive and was able to speak to investigators.
“That’s a Christmas miracle,” the 13-year-old girl wasn’t killed, Judd said. “Jason shot her twice and intended to kill her.”
She told investigators, “I begged him, don’t shoot me, don’t shoot me, don’t shoot me and he shot me anyway.”
After the shooting, Jason fled the scene, called his sister in upstate New York, and told her, “I’ve done something very, very bad, very bad” and “this is the last time you’ll ever talk to me,” according to Judd.
He also said, “You’ll see me on the news, but I am not going to jail. I’m not going to jail for the rest of my life,” he told his sister, according to Judd.
Deputies later tracked the shooter to his late father’s home, where they heard a single gunshot from a shed.
Back at the Kenney residence, deputies found an undated note from Crystal addressed to Jason that read: “You know you’re drinking, you’re using cocaine again,” “This is not the way the family should be,” and “You need God.”
The note’s timing could not be determined, the sheriff said.
The family had said Crystal was a regular victim of domestic violence by her husband, though no reports had been made to local authorities, Judd said.
Sheriff Grady Judd added, “Frankly, I don’t want to sound sinister, but the only thing he did right that night was shoot himself after those horrible deeds.”
Stephanie Rourie, Crystal’s sister, said: “I would tell my sister that I’m sorry that this happened to you. You didn’t deserve this. I promise I will love your babies so hard,” Rourie told NBC affiliate WFLA. “The world deserves to know your story and the type of person you were. Her babies will never not know the type of mother she was. The love and the strength she had for them. They will know that. That will never stop.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or text START to 8788.
Key Takeaways
- A heated argument over Monday Night Football led to a fatal shooting.
- A wife was killed, a daughter was critically wounded but survived, and the husband took his own life.
- The incident involved domestic violence allegations and a note from the victim.
