Florida teen charged with killing parents after 911 confession from church, deputies say
A 14-year-old boy is facing two counts of second-degree murder after confessing to fatally shooting his parents in Northeast Florida early Monday, according to authorities.
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office said that on Aug. 4, the teen suspect called 911, identifying himself and telling dispatchers he had killed his parents inside their home in Middleburg, a suburb about 26 miles southwest of Jacksonville. He told dispatchers he was waiting at a nearby church parking lot to be taken into custody.
CBS News Miami is not naming the teen because he is a minor and it is unclear if he’s being charged as an adult. Whether he’s prosecuted as an adult will be up to the State Attorney’s Office, according to Florida law.
Deputies responded immediately to both locations, making contact with the teen a short distance from the home and taking him into custody without incident, the sheriff’s office said in a press release. Inside the residence, deputies found the bodies of the suspect’s parents, 44-year-old David Lee and 45-year-old Brandi Smith, both of whom had sustained apparent gunshot wounds, investigators said.
Clay County Sheriff Michelle Cook told CBS affiliate WKMG in Orlando that investigators believe the shootings followed “some sort of domestic argument” Sunday night between the teen suspect and his parents. Deputies believe the teen used his parents’ gun in the shooting, Cook said.
The sheriff’s office said the incident appears to be an isolated, domestic-related case, and there is no threat to the community.
“We extend our deepest sympathies to the family, friends, and all those impacted by this heartbreaking event. Our thoughts remain with them as they navigate this unimaginable loss,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
The investigation remains active as deputies gather evidence and examine the suspect’s mental health, background and school history.
Friend recalls time spent with teen suspect and his family
The best friend of the 14-year-old told News4JAX he was shocked to hear someone he considered close was accused of such a violent act.
“They were probably the best, or one of the best families, I knew,” family friend Kyree Beamon told the station. “They were funny, and they treated me very well. They told me all the time that they loved me like a son, and they treated me as such.”
Beamon said he and the teen suspect played on the same football team, and just last Friday, on Aug. 1, the boy and his father gave him a ride to and from practice. The two had been friends since elementary school and spoke on the phone just after midnight Monday.
“He told me that he loved me and he told me that he was just calling to tell me good night,” Beamon said, adding he wasn’t sure if the call came before or after the 911 call to police.
