A 38-year-old woman was murdered in Florida after protecting his children during a violent domestic episode that occurred after an argument over an NFL game. Before dying, he managed to send his son to ask for help, an action that authorities and relatives consider decisive to save the lives of the minors.
Domestic argument ended in tragedy
Crystal Roure, 38, died after being shot by her husband, Jason Kenney, 47, on the night of December 22 at their home in Lakeland, Florida, according to the police. Polk County Sheriff’s Office. The attack occurred after an argument related to a football game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Indianapolis Colts.
According to authorities, Kenney had been consuming alcohol throughout the night while watching the encounter. When Roure asked him to turn off the television because he no longer wanted to watch football, the man reacted angrily and the argument quickly escalated.
A decisive act to save the children
Around 11 p.m., when the argument turned violent, Roure ordered his 12-year-old son to leave the house and ask a neighbor for help in calling 911, Sheriff Grady Judd said.
As the boy left the house, he heard a gunshot. Shortly after, heThe officers arrived at the scene and found Roure dead and his 13-year-old daughter seriously injured after being shot in the face.
Relatives of the victim affirmed that this decision was crucial. “My sister died a hero protecting her children,” her sister Stephanie Roure told USA Today, noting that the quick reaction prevented an even greater tragedy.
The daughter survived the attack
The teenager, the stepdaughter of the attacker, miraculously survived. According to the report, the bullet hit his nose and deflected toward the top of his head. She was taken in critical condition to a hospital, where she received emergency medical care.
The couple’s youngest daughter, a baby, was not injured, since she was asleep in her crib at the time of the attack.
Escape and death of the aggressor
After the crime, Kenney fled to his deceased father’s home, located nearby. From there he called his sister, who lived in upstate New York, and told her: “I have done something very, very bad,” according to Sheriff Judd.
When officers located the suspect on the property, they heard a gunshot coming from a shed, where Kenney was found dead, in what authorities ruled a suicide.
History of violence and consumption
Roure, a mother of two children from a previous relationship, had married Kenney two years earlier after meeting him at church. According to family and authorities, the man had problems with alcohol and drugs, although he had no criminal record.
A note written by Roure and found in the home warned about her husband’s alcohol and cocaine use and expressed concern for the family’s well-being.
“It completely destroyed a family,” lamented Sheriff Judd, who described the crime scene as especially painful, occurring in a house decorated for Christmas.
Shocked community
Roure’s family created a GoFundMe campaign to support his surviving children. “With broken hearts we share the loss of Crystal, a loving mother whose life was taken too soon,” the message states.
The authorities reiterated the call to seek help in situations of domestic violence and recalled that there are resources available to prevent similar tragedies.
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