On July 7, 2024, at approximately 12:06 AM, the Palm Bay Police Department received a 911 call from Julia Egler, 17, reporting a break-in at her residence. Julia told the dispatcher that an unknown male, about 5’8″ tall, had broken into the house through the back sliding glass door using a hammer found in the backyard. Julia, hysterical throughout the 9-minute call, did not mention the presence of her mother or her mother’s boyfriend in the home.

When officers arrived on the scene, they discovered a grisly scene. In the living room, they found the body of Julia’s mother, Kelley McColom (42 years old), and in the bathroom, the body of Kelley’s boyfriend, Matthew Szejnrok (22 years old). Both had suffered gunshot wounds. Multiple shell casings were found near Matthew’s body, and it quickly became evident that this was a double homicide.

Detective Brown spoke briefly with Julia outside the residence. She recounted that she had been home alone in the living room when she heard someone trying to break in. She grabbed her dogs and locked herself in her bedroom, leaving her phone on the couch. She reported hearing the intruder make loud noises, believing he kicked in Kelley’s bedroom door. She said the barking of her pit bulls deterred the intruder from entering her room. Julia remained in her bedroom even after hearing Kelley and Matthew return home, followed by gunshots and screams. She stayed in her room for about an hour before exiting, only to discover the bodies of Kelley and Matthew.

Upon searching the residence, officers found significant evidence suggesting a different narrative. Blood droplets led to the bathroom where Matthew’s body lay. A silver .38 Special revolver was found in the backyard, underneath Julia’s bedroom window. The glass from the shattered back door was on top of the bloody footprints and on top of Matthew’s cell phone, contradicting Julia’s timeline. Surveillance footage confirmed that Kelley and Matthew arrived home at 10:34 PM, with no motion detected until officers arrived at 12:12 AM.

Julia was taken to the Palm Bay Police Department for further questioning. Initially, she stuck to her story of an unknown intruder. However, under interrogation, Julia confessed to the murders. She admitted breaking into Kelley’s bedroom to retrieve a revolver and ammunition. When Kelley and Matthew returned home, she greeted them with, “Welcome home,” before shooting her mother multiple times. She then shot Matthew, who pleaded for her to stop. After running out of ammunition, she followed Matthew into the bathroom and stabbed him repeatedly. At Matthew’s request, she reloaded the revolver and shot him in the head.

Julia then staged the scene to look like a break-in, shattering the back door and discarding the revolver. She confessed that she had reached her breaking point after numerous disagreements with her mother, who was not accepting of Julia’s transition and was dating the much younger Matthew.

Julia Egler was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree premeditated murder. She was transported to the Palm Bay Police Department’s booking facility and later turned over to the Juvenile Detention Center without incident.

Court records show that Matthew was arrested in April for false imprisonment and battery domestic violence after an altercation with Kelley in the Winn-Dixie parking lot of West Melbourne.