A Florida mom is being called a hero after she died “shielding” her children from her drunk husband. Jason Kenney reportedly decided to have a few drinks and watch football on December 22, 2025, at his home in Lakeland, Florida. The Monday Night Football game pitted the San Francisco 49ers, Jason Kenney’s favorite team, against the Indianapolis Colts. The 49ers took the lead, and it seemed like a forgone conclusion that they’d win. Just before 11 p.m., Jason Kenney’s wife, Crystal Kenney, apparently said she wanted to watch something else. An argument ensued, and the words turned into physical violence.
Crystal Kenney shielded her children from her intoxicated husband and begged them to get help. By the time police arrived, however, it was too late. Jason Kenney allegedly pulled a gun and shot his wife, stepdaughter, and eventually himself in a horrific murder-suicide.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd shared details of the disturbing crime during a news conference. He explained, “An argument began when Crystal Kenney suggested they watch something else on television, and the argument got really heated.” The frantic mother sent her 12-year-old son to call 911 for help.
Judd said that as the child left to run to a neighbor’s house, he reportedly heard a gunshot. Deputies arrived less than five minutes later and found Crystal Kenney dead from an apparent gunshot wound to the head.
“But it gets worse,” Judd added. “We go into the bedroom, and we see a 13-year-old child, a little girl, she’s shot twice.”
The teenager had a gunshot wound to the shoulder and a second to her face. Miraculously, she survived and is in stable condition at an area hospital. “That’s a Christmas miracle,” Judd said during the news conference. “Jason shot her twice and intended to kill her.”
Her stepfather fled the scene, like a coward, and reportedly called his sister in upstate New York to confess. Jason Kenney said his sister would never hear from him again, and he kept true to his word. A short time later, he shot and killed himself in a shed at his father’s home.
“Frankly, I don’t want to sound sinister, but the only thing he did right that night was shoot himself after those horrible deeds,” Judd said during the news conference.
Jason Kenney did not harm the couple’s 1-year-old daughter, who police found in a crib inside the family’s home.
Stephanie Roure, Crystal Kenney’s sister, created a GoFundMe account for her sister’s children. She told WFLA the brutal crime positively devastated their family. Roure has a message for her sister.
“I would tell my sister that I’m sorry that this happened to you. You didn’t deserve this. I promise I will love your babies so hard. The world deserves to know your story and the type of person you were,” she told WFLA. “Her babies will never not know the type of mother she was. The love and the strength she had for them. They will know that. That will never stop.”
According to Judd, police found an undated note in the home that Crystal Kenney reportedly wrote to her husband, addressing drug and alcohol use.
“You’re drinking, you’re using cocaine again. This is not the way a family should be. You need God,” she wrote, per Fox News.
“My sister died a hero for protecting her children and getting my nephew out of the house to make the 911 call,” Stephanie Roure told USA Today. “She did that. She saved their lives and by doing so my nephew saved his sister’s life, and thank God the baby was untouched.”
Jason Kenney took the easy way out, never facing the consequences of his crimes. As Judd said, that may have been the only thing he did right that night.
“I will never let these kids forget the love and strength and courage she had for them,” Stephanie Roure said. “They will always know that she loved them and put them first.”
