PALM BAY, FL – A 16-year-old from Palm Bay has been taken into custody under the suspicion of using a firearm and a knife to kill her mother and her mother’s boyfriend, then making a false emergency call. Julia Grace Egler is facing two counts of first-degree murder as detailed by the local police.
According to the police report, the incident stemmed from an ongoing disagreement between Egler and her mother, Kelley McCollom, 38, particularly concerning the mother’s relationship with 22-year-old Matthew Szejnrok and issues related to Egler’s gender transition. Authorities disclosed that the conflict reached a breaking point late Saturday on Benchor Road when Egler allegedly used a .38-caliber revolver and a chef’s knife taken from her mother’s bedroom to commit the murders.
The sequence of events unraveled after Egler, employing an elaborate set-up to deflect suspicion, dialed 911 post-midnight Sunday, claiming a break-in and expressing panic. However, upon arrival, officers found McCollom and Szejnrok deceased and began to question the inconsistencies in Egler’s account thanks to physical evidence at the scene, such as bloody footprints that matched Egler’s shoes.
After being advised of her rights, Egler confessed to the deliberate killings, the police noted. The report elaborates on a chilling scenario where Egler awaited the couple in the kitchen, attacked them upon their entry, and exhausted her rounds before using a knife. After hearing Szejnrok’s desperate pleas, she allegedly reloaded the gun to shoot him once more fatally.
Egler remains in juvenile detention as the case progresses, with a forthcoming delinquency hearing that could potentially escalate to her being charged as an adult, reflecting the gravity of the crimes committed.