The 13-year-old Florida girl who survived being shot in the face by her stepfather is now speaking publicly for the first time, revealing chilling new details about the moments that changed her life forever.
The shooting happened on December 22, just days before Christmas, inside the family home. What began as a minor argument over what to watch on television spiraled into deadly violence, leaving the teen critically injured and her mother dead.
Despite being shot twice, the girl survived and has since been able to speak with investigators and the media.
Now recovering from her injuries, the teen has described the terrifying moments she faced after watching her stepfather kill her mother, and how she begged for her life as he turned the gun on her.
Argument over TV sparks deadly confrontation
The teen told Inside Edition that the fight began when her mother, Crystal Kenney, and her stepfather, Jason Kenney, argued over the television.
"She wouldn't change the channel to football because she wanted to watch another episode of Percy Jackson," the girl said.
Jason had been watching the San Francisco 49ers play the Indianapolis Colts in a shed behind the house, according to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd.
When he came inside to watch the final minutes of Monday Night Football on the main television, Crystal objected, and the disagreement quickly escalated.
As tensions rose, Crystal instructed her 12-year-old son to run to a neighbor’s house and call for help. Sheriff Judd explained what happened next: "So the 12-year-old flees to the neighbor's house in order to dial 911, and as he's leaving the house, he hears a gunshot."
Moments later, the girl watched as Jason shot and killed her mother.
Teen begged for her life after mother was killed
After shooting Crystal, Jason turned toward his stepdaughter and pointed the gun at her head. The teen described her desperate attempt to survive.
“I begged him, 'Don't shoot me, don't shoot me,'” she told Inside Edition.
He fired anyway. She was shot once in the shoulder and then in the face. Speaking to investigators later, the girl described the moment with heartbreaking simplicity.
"And he shot me anyway," she said.
Sheriff Judd later revealed how close she came to dying, explaining the bullet’s path through her face.
"We later learned the bullet in the face hit her on the bridge of the nose, went straight up, and out the top of her head," Judd said. He then added: "That's a Christmas miracle."
Despite her injuries, the teen survived and is now making what authorities have described as a miraculous recovery.
Killer fled scene before taking his own life
After the shooting, Jason Kenney fled the home in his vehicle, leaving behind the wounded teen and the couple’s one-year-old daughter, who was found unharmed and asleep in her crib.
While driving to his late father’s home, Jason called his sister in New York and delivered a chilling warning. According to Sheriff Judd, he told her he had done "something very, very bad," and said "the next time you see me will be on the news."
Jason later barricaded himself inside a shed at the property. As deputies approached, a single gunshot was heard. Jason Kenney was found dead from a self-inflicted wound.
Inside the family home, detectives also discovered a handwritten note from Crystal urging her husband to seek help.
The message read: "You’re drinking, you’re using cocaine again. This is not the way the family should be. You need God."
Sheriff Judd described the emotional toll of the scene for responding deputies.
"The entire family was destroyed. Our homicide detectives are distraught. When you go in there, there is a beautiful Christmas tree with lots of Christmas presents under it, just like the nuclear family should be."
All three children are now in the care of their maternal grandmother. A GoFundMe has been created to help support them as they recover from the tragedy.