PALM BAY, United States — A Florida teenager has been sentenced to 50 years in prison after pleading guilty to killing her mother and her mother’s boyfriend in their Palm Bay home when she was 16.
Julia Grace Egler, now 18, pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Kelley McCollom, 38, and Matthew Szejnrok, 22, under an agreement with prosecutors that avoided a trial on first-degree murder charges.
Circuit Judge Michelle Naberhaus imposed the sentence on Friday, September 25, 2026.
Egler must serve at least 25 years before becoming eligible for a sentence review because she was a juvenile when the killings occurred.
She must also undergo a mental health evaluation and serve 20 years of supervised probation after leaving prison.
Police Say Teen Waited for Couple to Return
The killings occurred shortly after midnight on July 7, 2024, at the family’s home on Benchor Road in Palm Bay.
According to investigators, Egler entered her mother’s locked bedroom while McCollom was away and obtained a .38-calibre revolver, ammunition, and a kitchen knife.
Police said she then waited for McCollom and Szejnrok to return.
When the couple entered the house, Egler told them, “Welcome home,” before opening fire, according to the probable cause affidavit. She shot her mother several times and then shot Szejnrok as he pleaded with her to stop.
After running out of ammunition, investigators said, Egler stabbed Szejnrok repeatedly. She later obtained more ammunition and shot him again.
McCollom was found dead in the living room, while Szejnrok was discovered in a bathroom with gunshot and stab wounds.
911 Call Reported an Intruder
Egler initially told police that an unidentified man had broken into the home.
She called 911 and said she had hidden in a bedroom with her dogs while the intruder entered through a rear sliding-glass door.
Responding officers quickly found inconsistencies in the account.
Investigators said bloody footprints matched the pattern of Egler’s shoes, while broken glass and other evidence did not support her description of how an intruder had entered the house.
A revolver was also recovered in the backyard beneath her bedroom window.
Egler eventually admitted killing the couple and staging the scene to resemble a break-in, according to police.
A Brevard County grand jury indicted her in August 2024 on two counts of first-degree premeditated murder. Prosecutors charged her as an adult.
Police Cited Family Conflicts
Investigators said Egler described escalating disagreements with her mother in the weeks before the killings.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Egler told detectives that McCollom had not been accepting of her gender transition and that the two had argued about the issue.
Police also said Egler objected to her mother’s relationship with Szejnrok, who was 22.
The affidavit described those family disputes as circumstances Egler discussed when explaining why she had reached what she called her “boiling point”.
Egler Apologises in Court
Egler completed high school while being held in pretrial detention, according to the Office of the State Attorney for Florida’s 18th Judicial Circuit.
Before she was sentenced, she apologised and asked the judge for an opportunity eventually to return to society.
“I’m sorry. 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,” Egler said.
Assistant State Attorney Kerri Fowler said surviving family members approved the negotiated plea agreement.
“This gives resolution and finality to the family that it’s done today,” Fowler said.
Dustin Szejnrok, Matthew Szejnrok’s brother, told the court that his family still lived next door to the house where the killings occurred.
“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’s 50-year sentence resolved the murder case without a trial.
Her eligibility for a sentence review after 25 years does not guarantee her release; a court would determine at that stage whether the sentence should be modified.
