17-year-old charged with murdering mother after killing father in 2023, authorities say

POLK COUNTY, Fla. (WWSB) – A 17-year-old was arrested Sunday in the murder of his mother, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.

According to police, the teen called 911 for help, claiming he and his mother had been fighting. He said that during the argument, his mother lunged at him with a knife and fell on him, causing a deep wound to his neck.

Polk County Fire Department responded to the Auburndale home along with EMS and Polk County Sheriff’s Office deputies also responded. When they arrived on scene, she was pronounced dead.

Officers asked the teen what happened and he immediately became uncooperative and asked to speak to an attorney. As the investigation progressed, detectives began to notice inconsistencies between what he said happened in his 911 call and what was discovered at the scene.

Investigators spoke to witnesses who said they saw the teen and his mother verbally arguing outside the residence. They saw him grab his mother by the hair and drag her inside the home.

According to these witnesses, his mother repeatedly begged him to “let me go.”

Although she was not present during Sunday’s stabbing incident, the teen’s grandmother told detectives of multiple instances where he had been physically or verbally confrontational with his mother in the past.

His grandmother also revealed that he was arrested in connection with the shooting death of his father in Oklahoma in February 2023. The teenager was arrested and charged in connection with the 2023 incident, but the charges were later dropped due to self-defense.

He was also charged with domestic violence against his mother in November 2023 by the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office.

An autopsy by the medical examiner’s office revealed that the mother died from a deep stab wound to the neck. Doctors determined that the stab wound was not consistent with an accidental injury.

The 17-year-old is charged with first-degree murder (capital felony), kidnapping (F1) and violating a restraining order (M2).