Florida Crime Files: Teen indicted after killing her mom and her mom's boyfriend: Officials
A Palm Bay teen has been indicted after being accused of killing her mother and her mother's boyfriend, a Florida woman is accused of drowning her roommate's pet spider in ginger ale, and a Florida man is accused of assaulting his mother with spaghetti sauce. Here's FOX 35's Florida Crime Files.
Florida teen indicted on murder charges in deaths of mom, mom's boyfriend inside Palm Bay home
A Brevard County grand jury has indicted a Palm Bay teenager accused of plotting the deaths of her mother and her mother's boyfriend.
The 16-year-old girl faces two counts of first-degree premeditated murder for the deaths of Kelley McCollom, 38, and Matthew Szejnrok, 22.
Shortly after midnight on July 7, the teen called 911, alleging that a man had broken into her home on Benchor Road through a back sliding door, investigators said.
When Palm Bay police officers arrived, they found McCollom and Szejnrok deceased inside the house.
Detectives said Egler initially claimed an intruder had shot the victims but later admitted to shooting them herself when they returned home.
While at the scene, detectives said they found a gun underneath the teen's bedroom window, a bloody knife on the bathroom window, and bloody footprints that matched the pattern at the bottom of the teen's shoes. Detectives also discovered that the glass from the backdoor was on top of McCollum's leg – which they say would have been impossible according to the teen's account of what happened.
After being brought in for questioning, the teen eventually told detectives what really happened.
She allegedly broke into her mother's bedroom to take her gun and ammunition while she waited in the kitchen area for the couple to come home. When they walked through the front door, she shot her mother and Szejnrok multiple times, police said.
The teen said she followed Szejnrok, who ran into the bathroom and stabbed him several times before fatally shooting him, police said. She said she had reached her "boiling point" with her mother following several disagreements about the teen's mother not being accepting of her "transition." The two also argued because she did not like that her mother was dating a 22-year-old man.
Though arrested as a juvenile, prosecutors plan to try the teen as an adult; however, she is not eligible for the death penalty under U.S. Supreme Court rulings and Florida law.
The grand jury heard testimony from Palm Bay Police Department investigators and the associate medical examiner before returning the indictments.
The teen is being held without bond. She will be transferred from the Juvenile Detention Center to the Brevard County Jail.
No trial date has been set.
Florida woman accused of drowning roommate's pet spider in ginger ale
Ilena Rasmussen (Credit: Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office)
A Florida woman was arrested after deputies said she intentionally drowned her roommate's pet spider.
Illena Rasmussen, 43, of Crestview, was booked into the Okaloosa County jail in late July on charges of animal cruelty and petit theft, according to an arrest report.
On July 15, Rasmussen's roommate filed a complaint saying Rasmussen took her pet jumping spider while she was not home.
Rasmussen allegedly texted her roommate admitting to drowning the spider in "Ginger Ale," the report stated.
While Rasmussen refused to speak with law enforcement in person, she confessed to a deputy over the phone that she drowned the spider.
The spider, valued at $70, could not be found within the home.
Rasmussen was arrested on July 29 and was released later that day, jail records show.
Florida man assaults mom with spaghetti sauce, hides in bushes from police: affidavit
Anthony Fiacco (Photo via Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office)
A Florida man was taken to jail after he threw spaghetti sauce at his mother during an argument at their home over the weekend, according to an arrest affidavit.
Anthony Fiacco, 41, was arrested by St. Petersburg Police on charges of battery and resisting an officer without violence.
On Sunday, shortly before 8 p.m., officers were called to a St. Petersburg home on Wahoo Drive after an argument turned physical. Fiacco doused his mother with spaghetti sauce, which was found in her hair, police said.
Fiacco initially ran from the scene but later returned to the home and was found hiding in the backyard bushes.
An officer yelled to him, "Police, show me your hands," and Fiacco tried to run off again but was caught and taken into custody, officials said.
He was booked into the Pinellas County jail and released the next day.