What began as an argument over an NFL game ended in tragedy: authorities say a Florida man shot and killed his wife, wounded his stepdaughter, and then fatally turned the gun on himself.
Jason Kenney, 47, died by suicide hours after killing his wife, Crystal Kenney, on Dec. 22, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said during a press conference.
Judd said the killing happened after Crystal Kenney asked her husband to turn off Monday night’s NFL game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Indianapolis Colts.
Jason Kenney had been drinking, and as the argument intensified, his wife told her 12-year-old son to call 911.
Startled by the sound of gunfire, the boy ran to a neighbor’s house.
Deputies responding to the call discovered Crystal Kenney dead, along with a 13-year-old girl wounded by gunfire in the shoulder and face.
She is recovering in the hospital and is expected to survive.
“She said, ‘I begged him, don’t shoot me, don’t shoot me, don’t shoot me, and he shot me anyway,’” Judd said.
Jason Kenney had been drinking, and as the argument intensified, his wife told her 12-year-old son to call 911. Polk County Sheriff's Office
Jason Kenney poses with Crystal Kenney and her two children at a hockey game in March 2022, before the tragedy. Jason Kenney/Facebook
Both the boy and Jason and Crystal’s 1-year-old daughter, who was home at the time, escaped the shooting unharmed.
She was found by deputies, sleeping safely in her crib despite the chaos around her.
Authorities said that after the shooting, Jason Kenney fled and reached out to his sister, who lives in upstate New York.
He admitted to his sister that he had “done something wrong” and warned it would be the last time they would talk.
When deputies arrived, they discovered Crystal Kenney dead and a 13-year-old girl who had been shot in the shoulder and face. WFLA News Channel 8/YouTube
He then made his way to his father’s home, where deputies discovered him.
As deputies tried to remove him from a shed, Jason Kenney fatally shot himself, Judd said.
While searching the family’s home, deputies found a note from Crystal Kenney, imploring her husband to seek help.
“You’re drinking, you’re using cocaine again. This is not the way the family should be. You need God,” the note states, Judd said.
Officials said the argument turned fatal after Crystal Kenney asked her husband to turn off Monday night’s NFL game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Indianapolis Colts. Jason Kenney/Facebook
While searching the family’s home, deputies found a note from Crystal Kenney imploring her husband to get help. Jason Kenney/Facebook
After the tragedy, the surviving children are being cared for by their grandparents.
“The entire family was destroyed,” Judd said. “Our homicide detectives are distraught. When you go in there, there is a beautiful Christmas tree with lots of Christmas presents under it, just like the nuclear family should be.”
