A 16-year-old girl is in juvenile detention and faces the possibility of being charged as an adult after allegedly admitting to the brutal murders of her mother and her mother’s much younger boyfriend earlier this month. Julia Grace Egler has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, according to the Palm Bay Police Department.

The incident unfolded on July 6 at the family’s home on Benchor Road, where Egler reportedly greeted the couple, Kelley McCollom, 42, and Matthew Szejnrok, 22, with a chilling "Welcome home" as the attack began. Multiple gunshots were fired, leaving both victims with severe injuries.

After allegedly shooting her mother with a .38 Special revolver, Egler turned the gun on Szejnrok, who fled to the bathroom pleading for his life. Egler then reportedly stabbed him multiple times with a chef’s knife before using the handgun to deliver a fatal shot.

At around 12:06 a.m. on Sunday, a phony 911 call was made, police allege. During the call, Egler was allegedly crying hysterically and saying a man had broken into the family’s residence. Officers who arrived moments later met the teenager outside the house. There, she allegedly stuck to her story about the burglar at first — telling police she hid inside her room with her pit bull when she heard “loud noises” happening elsewhere in the house.

Upon arrival, police found her outside the residence, initially sticking to her fabricated story. However, discrepancies in her account led detectives to press her further, resulting in a confession.

Key evidence against Egler included the handgun hidden outside her bedroom, bloody footprints matching her shoes, and a bloody knife left on the kitchen counter. During her police interview, she confessed to planning the ambush, driven by long-standing conflicts with her mother regarding her gender transition and disapproval of the relationship with Szejnrok.

Authorities noted that Egler’s motives stemmed from unresolved issues that had "reached a boiling point" prior to the murders. Palm Bay Police Lt. Virginia Kilmer emphasized that these ongoing conflicts played a significant role in the tragic events.

A delinquency hearing is set for later this month to determine whether Egler will be charged as an adult.
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