Florida teenager Julia Grace Egler, 18, has been sentenced to 50 years in state prison after pleading guilty to killing her mother and her mother’s boyfriend in Palm Bay in July 2024. Egler was 16 when Kelley McCollom and Matthew Szejnrok were killed. Prosecutors said she had planned the attack, staged a fake home invasion and waited for the couple to return before shooting them. According to investigators, Egler greeted the couple by saying “Welcome home” before opening fire. She later pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder under a negotiated agreement that reduced the original first-degree murder charges. At her September 25, 2026, sentencing, a judge imposed a 50-year prison term, with a mandatory minimum of 25 years before she can seek sentence review, followed by 20 years of supervised probation.
How the Florida teen planned the ambush on her mother and boyfriend
The killings occurred shortly after midnight on July 7, 2024, at McCollom’s home in Palm Bay, Florida. According to the Palm Bay Police investigation, Egler initially contacted 911 and reported that an unknown person had broken into the house.Officers responding to the call found McCollom dead in the living room from gunshot wounds. Szejnrok was found dead in a bathroom with gunshot and stab wounds.Investigators subsequently determined that the evidence did not support Egler’s account of an outside intruder. Police said there was no convincing evidence of forced entry and that other evidence at the scene pointed to someone inside the home.According to the investigation, Egler later admitted that she had staged the burglary. Police said she had taken a .38-calibre revolver and ammunition from her mother’s bedroom and waited for McCollom and Szejnrok to return.
Kelley McCollom and Matthew Szejnrok
What happened when the couple came home
Investigators said Egler was waiting inside the home when McCollom and Szejnrok arrived. According to the arrest affidavit, she greeted them by saying “Welcome home” before opening fire.Police said Egler shot both victims with the revolver. After she ran out of ammunition, investigators alleged that she picked up a kitchen knife and stabbed Szejnrok.The account formed part of the evidence used by prosecutors in the case. Egler was subsequently arrested and prosecuted as an adult.The investigation also found that the alleged attack had been preceded by conflict within the household, although prosecutors ultimately resolved the case through a negotiated guilty plea rather than a trial on the original charges.
What investigators said about the motive
According to Palm Bay police and prosecutors, tensions within the family were among the circumstances examined during the investigation. Authorities said Egler was unhappy about her mother’s relationship with Szejnrok.Investigators also said there had been conflict surrounding Egler’s gender transition and her mother’s response to it. These issues were cited by authorities as part of the background to the case.Szejnrok was 22 when he was killed. Prosecutors alleged that the disagreements contributed to the circumstances surrounding the attack, but the case was ultimately resolved through a plea agreement rather than a jury determination of the precise motive.
Why the charges were reduced
Egler was initially charged with two counts of first-degree premeditated murder following the killings. Because she was 16 when the offences occurred, her case involved Florida’s rules governing juveniles who are prosecuted as adults.In September 2026, Egler pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder as part of a negotiated agreement with prosecutors.The State Attorney’s Office said the agreement was approved by surviving family members. It brought the case to a conclusion without requiring the victims’ relatives to go through a jury trial and the presentation of evidence in open court.The plea also meant that Egler was sentenced on the amended second-degree murder charges rather than facing trial on the original first-degree charges.
How long will Julia Egler remain in prison
Circuit Judge Michelle Naberhaus sentenced Egler to 50 years in Florida state prison on September 25, 2026.Because Egler was 16 when the murders occurred, the sentence includes provisions concerning when she can seek a review of her sentence. According to the State Attorney’s Office, she must serve a mandatory minimum of 25 years before becoming eligible for sentence review.After completing her prison term, Egler is required to undergo a mental-health evaluation and serve 20 years of supervised probation.The sentence therefore extends well beyond her teenage years and into adulthood, while the sentence-review provision reflects her age at the time of the crimes.
What Egler said at sentencing
During the sentencing hearing, Egler apologised and asked the court for an opportunity to eventually return to society.Her guilty plea brought the criminal proceedings to an end without a trial. The victims’ relatives were also given an opportunity to address the court through victim-impact statements.The State Attorney’s Office said the plea agreement provided a resolution for the families while avoiding the additional emotional strain of a murder trial.
What the victims’ families said
Szejnrok’s brother, Dustin, delivered a victim-impact statement during the sentencing hearing. He described the continuing impact of his brother’s death on the family.The State Attorney’s Office said relatives were still dealing with the consequences of the killings, including the fact that family members continued to live next to the property where the murders occurred.The plea agreement allowed the families to receive a sentence without having to testify through a full trial on the original first-degree murder charges.
What the case means for Egler’s future
Egler was 16 when the killings occurred and 18 when she received her sentence. Her case illustrates how a serious offence committed by a juvenile can proceed through Florida’s adult criminal justice system while still taking the defendant’s age at the time of the crime into account at sentencing.Her 50-year sentence, the 25-year mandatory minimum and the subsequent 20 years of supervised probation were imposed after she admitted responsibility for the two killings through her guilty plea.With the September 25 sentencing, the prosecution arising from the 2024 deaths of Kelley McCollom and Matthew Szejnrok has now concluded.
