A 47-year-old Lakeland man shot and killed his wife late Monday, wounded his 13-year-old stepdaughter, and later died by suicide at a second location after fleeing the scene, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said. The confrontation began with an argument over a Monday Night Football broadcast inside the family’s home in a west Lakeland neighborhood.
Authorities identified the gunman as Jason Kenney and the slain woman as his wife, Crystal Kenney. Investigators said the dispute escalated shortly before 11 p.m. on Dec. 22 as three children were present. A 12-year-old boy fled to a neighbor’s house to call 911 at his mother’s direction; a 13-year-old girl was shot in the face and shoulder and survived; a one-year-old girl in a crib was not physically harmed. The case has drawn wide attention during the holiday week, both for the brutality described by detectives and for the teen’s survival, which Sheriff Grady Judd called remarkable.
Deputies said the argument started when Crystal asked her husband to turn off the San Francisco 49ers game, which had continued late into the night. A shouting match followed inside the home on Lemon Avenue in the Highland City area. As the quarrel intensified, Crystal told her 12-year-old son to get help. He ran to a neighbor’s door and pounded for assistance. Moments later, gunfire erupted. Responding deputies and fire rescue arrived to find Crystal dead inside the residence and the teen wounded but conscious. “It is a heartbreaking scene any time of year, and even more so with Christmas presents still under the tree,” Sheriff Judd said in a briefing.
Investigators said Jason Kenney left the house after the shooting and drove to property once owned by his late father a short distance away. Deputies tracked him to a shed and began attempts to negotiate. As they worked to make contact, they heard a single gunshot from inside. They forced entry and found Kenney dead from an apparent self-inflicted wound. No deputies fired their weapons, officials said. At the family home, technicians collected a handgun, shell casings and a handwritten letter from Crystal urging her husband to stop drinking and using drugs, items that detectives say help establish the hours leading up to the violence.
The sheriff’s office said the surviving teen told investigators she pleaded with her stepfather before he shot her and that one bullet passed through her head without causing fatal damage. Doctors described her condition as serious but stable, and officials said she was awake and able to talk with detectives. The 12-year-old boy, who ran for help, provided a timeline of the dispute and initial gunshot he heard while fleeing. The one-year-old was found asleep in a crib and later placed with relatives. Detectives have not released the caliber of the firearm, the number of rounds fired or the exact path Kenney took between the two scenes, citing the ongoing compilation of evidence.
Deputies said there were no recent 911 calls for domestic violence at the address, but relatives told investigators the couple had struggled with Kenney’s alcohol use and what they described as episodic drug use. The letter recovered at the scene referenced drinking and cocaine, according to the sheriff. Detectives are reviewing body-camera footage, 911 audio, doorbell-camera video and interviews with neighbors to tighten the minute-by-minute sequence from the first argument to the final gunshot at the shed. Officials said the teen’s account would be a key piece of corroboration alongside physical evidence gathered inside the home and from the vehicle Kenney used to leave.
Neighbors told deputies they heard raised voices, then sirens, as patrol units converged on the block. By dawn, crime-scene tape ringed the yard while technicians placed numbered markers across the living room and driveway. A small memorial of candles and flowers appeared by afternoon near the curb. Residents described the family as generally quiet, exchanging waves but keeping to themselves. “A little boy banging on the door in the middle of the night was the first sign something was wrong,” one neighbor told investigators, according to a summary provided by the sheriff’s office.
The scenes reflected an interrupted holiday week, detectives said—a decorated tree in the living room, unopened packages, a playpen and toys visible near the couch. At the second location, deputies secured the outbuilding and shed for a separate search warrant. A mobile command unit coordinated interviews as forensics staff photographed entry points and logged evidence. The medical examiner will issue the official causes and manners of death, and toxicology testing for the gunman is pending, a process that can take several weeks. Officials did not release the hospital’s name treating the teen and did not identify the children, following typical practice in cases involving minors.
The investigation is proceeding as a murder-suicide with no suspects outstanding. Because the gunman is deceased, no criminal charges will be filed, but the sheriff’s office will compile a full investigative packet for the State Attorney’s Office, a routine step that includes transcripts of interviews, scene diagrams, photographs, firearm analysis and autopsy findings. Detectives also plan an internal case review of response times, communications and the negotiation effort at the shed, as is common after critical incidents that end in suicide while officers are nearby.
Local officials said the episode fits a familiar pattern in which household arguments, alcohol and firearms intersect, though they emphasized that most domestic disputes do not end in violence. Records show Polk County deputies routinely handle domestic-related calls during holidays when families spend extended time together. In this case, investigators said the televised game was the spark, but relatives’ statements and the recovered letter point to broader tensions in the home. Sheriff Judd said the department would share a redacted case summary once evidence processing is complete.
By Friday, the surviving teen remained hospitalized and was described as improving. The younger children were placed with grandparents after interviews at a child-advocacy center. Funeral arrangements for Crystal were being organized by relatives. Deputies expect to release a brief update once laboratory testing on the weapon and final autopsy reports are returned. The sheriff’s office said the homicide case is effectively closed pending those documents and the completion of standard after-action reviews.
Author note: Last updated December 26, 2025.