A Florida teenager was sentenced to 50 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in the 2024 killings of her mother and her mother’s 22-year-old boyfriend.
Julia Egler, 18, accepted a plea deal after originally facing two counts of first-degree premeditated murder. Under the agreement, she will be eligible for parole after 25 years.
The killings occurred at the family’s home in Palm Bay. According to the affidavit cited in the case, Egler waited for her mother, Kelly McCollom, 38, and Matthew Szejnrok, 22, to arrive before greeting them and opening fire with her mother’s .38-caliber revolver.
Both victims died at the scene.
Investigators said Egler later attempted to make the killings appear to be a burglary. She called 911 and claimed that a man had broken into the home, but investigators found evidence that contradicted the account, including the revolver outside her bedroom window, a bloody knife and footprints matching her shoes.
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Motives cited by investigators
According to police, Egler told investigators that she had longstanding conflicts with her mother, including disagreements related to her gender transition, as well as her mother’s relationship with Szejnrok.
The affidavit also said Egler objected to the age difference between her mother and her boyfriend.
During the attack, prosecutors said Szejnrok fled to a bathroom and was shot multiple times. After the gun ran out of ammunition, Egler allegedly used a kitchen knife before retrieving another bullet and shooting him in the head.
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Egler later confessed to the killings during questioning.
At her sentencing, she expressed remorse and asked for an opportunity to eventually return to society.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m haunted by grief every day. I have shown that I can be rehabilitated.”
Szejnrok’s brother, David, told the court that he was about 75 feet from his brother when the killings occurred and initially believed the gunshots were fireworks.
“Her actions didn’t just take my brother, they ruined our home,” he said.
