A thirteen-year-old girl survived a bullet that entered through her nose and exited the top of her head during a Christmas Eve domestic violence rampage that destroyed her family over an NFL game argument.
Story Snapshot
- Drunk stepfather Jason Kenney killed wife Crystal and shot stepdaughter twice during argument over 49ers-Colts game
- Bullet traveled completely through 13-year-old’s head from nose bridge to skull top, yet she survived and is talking
- Family had documented Kenney’s drinking and cocaine use in desperate note before tragedy
- Kenney spared his biological one-year-old daughter but targeted stepchildren before killing himself
When Sports Obsession Turns Deadly
Jason Kenney’s wife Crystal made a fatal mistake on December 22nd when she suggested turning off the NFL game between the San Francisco 49ers and Indianapolis Colts. The 47-year-old stepfather, deep into his drinking, erupted into a rage that would leave one dead, a child fighting for life, and Christmas presents forever unwrapped under a blood-splattered tree. What started as a typical Sunday night football viewing became a case study in how alcohol and sports fanaticism can weaponize domestic violence.
The escalation happened with terrifying speed. Crystal told her 12-year-old son to call 911 as tensions exploded. The boy fled to neighbors as gunshots echoed through their Polk County home. Deputies arrived within five minutes to find Crystal dead from a headshot and her 13-year-old daughter wounded twice. Meanwhile, Kenney’s biological one-year-old daughter slept peacefully in her crib, untouched by her father’s rampage.
The Impossible Survival
Sheriff Grady Judd called it a “Christmas miracle” that defied medical explanation. The bullet entered the bridge of the 13-year-old’s nose and traveled straight through her head, exiting at the top of her skull. She begged Kenney “don’t shoot me” before he pulled the trigger, yet somehow survived what should have been an instantly fatal wound. The girl remains alert and talking at Lakeland Regional Health, stunning doctors with her recovery.
This survival becomes even more remarkable considering Kenney’s clear intent to kill. He had already executed his wife with a precise headshot. The fact that his stepdaughter lived through a similar trajectory suggests either divine intervention or the kind of one-in-a-million anatomical luck that medical professionals struggle to explain. Her shoulder wound from the second shot pales in comparison to the head trauma she endured.
Warning Signs Written in Desperation
The tragedy wasn’t without warning. Deputies discovered a handwritten note from Crystal to Jason that read: “You’re drinking, you’re using cocaine again. This is not the way the family should be. You need God.” Family members later confirmed Kenney “had been beating on her for a while,” painting a picture of escalating abuse that exploded during a moment of sports-fueled intoxication.
The note reveals a woman desperately trying to save her marriage and protect her children from a man spiraling into substance abuse. Crystal’s appeal to faith and family values fell on deaf ears, but it documents her awareness of the danger. The combination of alcohol, cocaine, and whatever psychological triggers sports losses provided created a perfect storm of masculine rage with no outlet except violence against the most vulnerable.
The Coward’s Exit Strategy
After destroying his family, Kenney fled toward Lake Wales and called his sister in New York, confessing he had “done something wrong.” He drove to his deceased father’s home, which was in probate, entered a shed, and shot himself in the forehead. Deputies found his body hours later, ending any chance for justice or accountability through the legal system.
The deliberate targeting of stepchildren while sparing his biological daughter reveals the calculated nature of Kenney’s violence. This wasn’t a moment of blind rage but a purposeful destruction of a blended family where he saw some lives as more disposable than others. His suicide robbed the surviving children of ever understanding why their Christmas became a nightmare.
Sources:
Florida man kills wife, shoots stepdaughter over NFL game argument before taking own life
Man kills wife, shoots stepdaughter over NFL game argument
