Editor's note: This story contains material about domestic violence and suicide. Those facing domestic abuse can call theNational Domestic Violence Hotlineat 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or visit its website for a virtual chat.If you or someone you know needs mental health resources and support, please call, textor chat withthe 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or visit988lifeline.orgfor 24/7 access to free and confidential services.
A Florida man killed his wife and shot his stepdaughter in the face following an argument over watching a football game, authorities say.
Jason Kenney, 47, had been drinking and watching Monday Night Football in his shed in Highland City, just east of Tampa, until about 11 p.m. on Dec. 22, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a news conference the following day. Kenney then went inside his home and wanted to continue watching the game in the living room, where his wife Crystal was, Judd said.
Crystal Kenney didn't want to watch football and an argument ensued. As the fight escalated, Crystal told her 12-year-old son to run to a neighbor's house and call 911, Judd said.
As the boy ran out of the home, he heard the first gunshot. Responding deputies found Crystal dead inside, her 13-year-old daughter shot in the face and shoulder, and Jason Kenney gone. The infant daughter the couple shared was unharmed, and the 13-year-old survived the gunshot wound after the bullet hit the bridge of her nose and deflected through the top of her head, Judd said.
"The 13-year-old girl begged not to be shot – 'Please don't shoot me. Please don't shoot me,'" Judd said. "And he shot her twice."
After shooting his wife and step-daughter, Kenney drove in his truck toward the home of his late father in Lake Wales, and called his sister to tell her he had "done something very, very bad," that he would be in the news and that it was the last time they would talk to each other, Judd said.
Kenney ended up in a shed on his father's old property. Deputies tracked him down and when they called for him to come out, they heard a single gunshot. They found Kenney dead inside.
Judd said that a relative told deputies that Kenney had been beating on Crystal "for a while," though the sheriff's office has no records of any domestic violence calls or charges. Jason Kenney had no criminal history, Judd said.
Deputies found a letter written by Crystal and addressed to her husband in the room where her body was found. In it, she wrote: "You're drinking, you're using cocaine again. This is not the way the family should be. You need God."
Judd said the tragedy hit close to home with deputies, particularly coming three days before Christmas.
"He absolutely destroyed a family," Judd said. "Our homicide detectives are distraught. When you go in there, there is a beautiful Christmas tree with lots of Christmas presents under the tree, just like the nuclear family should be ... and it ends up this way."
The sheriff encouraged anyone in crisis to call 911 and ask for help. The national crisis hotline number is 988.
"How does an argument over a television program end up with a murder, an attempted murder and a suicide?" he said. "It should never happen. Call for help ... Don't hurt yourself, don't hurt a loved one."
Crystal Kenney's 12-year-old son and the baby daughter she shared with Jason Kenney are now in the care of grandparents as Florida's Department of Children and Families determines their long-term placement, Judd said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Florida man kills wife, shoots stepdaughter over NFL game argument
