A 17-year-old boy who was previously arrested and released in connection with the fatal shooting of his father in Oklahoma now faces charges in Florida for the alleged murder of his mother, authorities said Wednesday.
The teenager was arrested Sunday on suspicion of fatally stabbing his mother at his grandmother’s home in Auburndale, northeast of Tampa. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd explained during a press conference that the teenager faces charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping and violating a no-contact order.
However, Sheriff Judd has indicated that he is attempting to have the teen tried as an adult. It is unclear if the teen has legal representation at this time. The tragic incident allegedly stemmed from an argument between the teen and his mother two days before the alleged stabbing. The disagreement, which occurred at their home in Charlotte County, was related to household chores, leading the boy to run away to his grandmother’s home in Auburndale.
On Sunday, the teen called 911 around 6 p.m., claiming his mother had “fallen on a knife” during a prolonged argument and was bleeding from the neck. However, Sheriff Judd expressed skepticism about the boy’s account. He told NBC affiliate WFLA in Tampa.
“The blade of the 12-inch kitchen knife reached the back of the mother’s neck.” Judd explainedstressing that the local coroner found the teenager’s version of events to be “neither reasonable nor plausible.”
Further investigation revealed that neighbors had reported seeing the teen and his mother arguing outside the grandmother’s home about an hour and a half before the 911 call. Witnesses saw the boy grab his mother by the hair and push her into the house. At the time of the incident, the grandmother was not home, Judd confirmed.
This last event occurs after the teenager’s participation in the Deadly shooting on Valentine’s Day 2022 by his father in Lincoln County, Oklahoma. At the time, the boy claimed he had acted in self-defense, claiming his father had pulled a knife on him. The father was shot once in the head and once in the chest. Although the teen was initially arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder, the charges were dropped a month later.
The district attorney’s office handling the case said it could not refute the teen’s claim that he acted in self-defense, so no charges were filed. Following his father’s death, the teen moved to Florida to live with his mother. In November, he was arrested again, accused of assaulting her during a dispute over video game privileges.
Judd said the teen “pushed her to the ground and stomped on her” in front of his grandmother. Although the boy again claimed self-defense, the grandmother’s testimony contradicted his story, leading to his arrest for domestic violence assault. Now, following his mother’s death, the teen faces severe charges that could lead to him being tried as an adult for a second time.
