‘He broke into the house’: 911 call depicts teen’s alleged plan to cover up Palm Bay double murder
WESH, PALM BAY POLICE DEPARTMENT, CNN
By Averi Kremposky
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PALM BAY, Florida (WESH) — The Palm Bay Police Department released a 911 call Wednesday from a 16-year-old accused of killing their mom and mom’s boyfriend.
During the call, the teen — who reported being home alone — tells a dispatcher that an unknown intruder broke into the house. According to an affidavit from police, this was just a cover-up.
“He broke into the house. I grabbed the phone,” the teen says while hyperventilating.
“Do you know who the man is?” the operator responds.
“No. I don’t know,” the teen says.
While the 16-year-old makes no mention of injuries during the call, police would find 42-year-old Kelley McCollom and 22-year-old Matthew Szejnrok dead when they made it to the house on July 7.
“Do you still have your dogs with you,” the operator asks.
The teen responds: “They’re still in my room. I didn’t let them out because I didn’t want them getting blood all over their paws.”
“Okay. Right, right. Did you say blood all over their paws?” the operator says.
According to an affidavit, the teen — who was reportedly in hiding when the couple returned home — told police the intruder may have done the killing. The 16-year-old recalled hearing screaming and gunshots while locked in a room with two dogs.
However, the affidavit notes that shattered glass was found on top of one of the victims, which did not match the teen’s story that the break-in happened before the couple got home. Cameras also show no motion in the front or backyard until police arrived at the scene, the affidavit says.
Later, the 16-year-old admitted to waiting in the kitchen, armed with a knife and gun, for the couple to return home, the affidavit says.
The teen, who we are not naming because of their age, is accused of fatally shooting their mother and then stabbing the mother’s boyfriend before also shooting him to death.
Afterward, police say the teen tried to make it look like someone had broken into the house.
The affidavit says the teen had reached a boiling point with their mother, partially over disagreements about the teen’s gender transition and because of the age difference between the mother and her boyfriend.
The 16-year-old is in secure detention on two counts of murder.
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