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Polk County Murder-Suicide After NFL Game Dispute Leaves Mother Dead, 13-Year-Old Critical

Investigators cite a domestic dispute, with evidence under review including a note about substance use.

Overview

  • Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said the 13-year-old victim remains alert and in critical but stable condition at Lakeland Regional Health.
  • Deputies say 47-year-old Jason Kenney shot his wife and stepdaughter, fled, then died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot in a shed at his late father’s Lake Wales property.
  • The confrontation began when Crystal Kenney told her 12-year-old son to call 911 during an argument over watching the end of an NFL game, and the boy ran to a neighbor and heard a gunshot.
  • A one-year-old was found unharmed in a crib, and the three children have been placed in their grandparents’ care, according to authorities.
  • Detectives reported finding a note in the home pleading for Kenney to stop using cocaine and alcohol, and said there were no prior domestic-violence records despite family reports of past abuse.