TRIGGER WARNING: This post contains information about suicide, which may be triggering to some.
Being a parent is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. It tests my patience, my fortitude, and my sanity. And it isn’t because my child is a “bad kid;” it’s because this is the most important job I have ever had and I am deeply afraid of messing it all up. He looks to me for everything from the food on his plate to the arms that comfort him, and I can’t imagine betraying that trust intentionally. It’s incredibly hard for me to understand how every parent doesn’t have that mindset. And yet, there are hundreds of parents who betray that precious trust, and some who do so in the most heinous way possible.
A Michigan dad recently confessed to the ultimate betrayal and fessed up that he shot two of his children and killed a third.
On May 26, 2026, Jeffery Smerer, 45, pleaded guilty to multiple charges incurred during his shooting spree in September 2025. According to Law & Crime, on the morning of a court appearance where the father was facing charges over an alleged indecent exposure case from 2020, he concocted a plot to kill his children and then himself. That was a week prior to the shootings.
He reportedly blamed stress and the fear of going to jail as reasons for committing this disturbing crime.
“He woke up, woke the kids up to go to school, and ya know, it was a regular day and something just happened,” said Victoria Frazer, Jeffery Smerer’s sister, in an interview with WXYZ after the shooting.
The specific details of the case make it extra horrific.
According to records from his hearing obtained by Law & Crime, Jeffery Smerer woke up to his 6 a.m. alarm, grabbed his gun, and made his way into the bedroom of 13-year-old Bentley Smerer and 12-year-old Kinzley Smerer.
He told them good morning, went into the bathroom, and, according to a police detective, questioned himself in the mirror asking if he was really going to do this.
Jeffery Smerer slit his wrist and took multiple forms of medication, but remained alive. He then reportedly took his .380 handgun and fired at Bentley, who was under a blanket looking at his phone, per Law & Crime. Then, as Kinzley got up, he aimed the gun at her throat. He went toward the living room where his 17-year-old son, Kayleb Smerer, was resting on the couch, and fatally shot him.
When he tried to take his own life with the gun, Jeffery Smerer told authorities, his pistol jammed.
His wife and 19-year-old son, Ayden, disarmed him. When authorities asked Jeffery why he focused on those children specifically, “His reason was that he was closest to Kinzley and Kayleb. He also said that Kinzley was close to Bentley,” the detective reported.
His plan was “to take Kinzley, Bentley, and Kayleb with him and then shoot himself,” Law & Crime reported. After pleading guilty to one count of open murder, two counts of assault with intent to commit murder, two counts of first-degree child abuse, and five counts of felony firearm use, Jeffery Smerer faces five life sentences. He will be sentenced officially on June 29.
Note: If you or any of your loved ones are struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can always reach out to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling 988. They are available 24/7 by phone or online chat.
