Palm Bay, Florida — A teenage girl’s anger over her mother’s relationship and disagreements at home ended in a deadly double shooting, and she will now spend decades behind bars after admitting that she deliberately killed her mother and her mother’s boyfriend.

Julia Egler, now 18, was sentenced to 50 years in prison Friday after pleading guilty to two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of her mother, 38-year-old Kelley McCollom, and 22-year-old Matthew Szejnrok, according to Brevard County prosecutors.

Egler was 16 when the killings happened in July 2024. Authorities said she was upset about her mother’s relationship with Szejnrok, who was significantly younger than McCollom, as well as disagreements surrounding Egler’s gender transition.

Teen Initially Claimed Someone Broke Into the Home

The killings happened shortly after midnight on July 7, 2024, at the family’s Palm Bay home.

Egler called 911 and claimed that an intruder had broken through a sliding glass door. When officers arrived, they found McCollom and Szejnrok dead inside the residence.

Egler initially told investigators that she had been in the living room when she heard someone breaking into the house. She said she locked herself in a bedroom with her dogs and left her cellphone behind.

According to her account, the alleged intruder kicked down her mother’s bedroom door but did not enter the room where Egler was hiding. She told investigators that she heard five or six gunshots and screaming before waiting for roughly an hour to leave the bedroom.

Egler said she eventually retrieved her phone and called 911 after discovering the bodies.

Investigators, however, quickly found evidence that contradicted her story.

Bloody Footprints Exposed the Staged Scene

Police discovered bloody footprints beneath the broken glass near the sliding door.

The footprints did not fit the story of an unknown intruder entering the home before the shooting. Investigators also determined that the footprints matched Egler’s shoes.

The murder weapon was later found in the backyard. Confronted with the evidence, Egler eventually admitted that she had fabricated the home-invasion story.

She told investigators that she had broken into her mother’s bedroom to retrieve a gun and ammunition. She then waited for McCollom and Szejnrok to return home.

When the couple walked through the front door, Egler said she greeted them:

“welcome home”

She then opened fire.

Mother Was Shot Before Boyfriend Was Attacked

According to the account provided to investigators, Egler first shot her mother. McCollom fell in the living room and died.

Szejnrok was also shot and managed to reach the bathroom before collapsing. While he was still alive, Egler went back to her mother’s bedroom to obtain additional ammunition and reload the firearm.

She then returned to the bathroom and repeatedly stabbed Szejnrok with a kitchen knife. Egler told investigators that Szejnrok “essentially asked her to take him out of his misery.”

She then shot him in the head, killing him. Authorities said Egler subsequently staged the residence to make the killings appear to be a home invasion.

Family Describes the Lasting Impact

Szejnrok’s brother, David Szejnrok, and his family still live next door to the home where the killings occurred. David was home when the shooting happened but initially believed the sounds were fireworks.

During the sentencing hearing, he described the painful realization that his brother had been fighting for his life only a short distance away.

“I was 75 feet away from my brother and had no idea he was fighting for his life,” David Szejnrok told the court, according to prosecutors.

He said returning to the property serves as a constant reminder of what happened.

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“Her actions didn’t just take my brother, they ruined our home,” he said. “There isn’t a sentence that will bring my brother back.”

Egler Could Eventually Leave Prison

Egler was initially charged with first-degree murder but later pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of second-degree murder. While incarcerated, she completed high school. At her sentencing, Egler expressed remorse and asked the court for an opportunity to eventually return to society.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m haunted by grief every day. I have shown that I can be rehabilitated. Please give me a chance to reintegrate back into society.”

The 50-year sentence means Egler will spend much of her adult life in prison. However, she will become eligible for release after serving 25 years, meaning she could potentially seek to return to society after that point.

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