Toms River, NJ — A 16-year-old girl who was undergoing a gender transition from Palm Bay, Florida has been arrested and charged with the first-degree pre-meditated murder of her mother and her mother’s boyfriend, following a distressing series of events that ended fatally.
Shortly after midnight on July 7, the teen dialed 911, claiming an intruder had broken into her home through a back sliding door. However, when police arrived at the scene, they found 42-year-old Kelley McCollum and her boyfriend, 22-year-old Matthew Szejnrok, deceased. Szejnrok also exhibited multiple stab wounds, according to the police affidavit.
Szejnrok was born in Toms River and raised in East Brunswick.
Initially, the teen provided detectives with a scenario where she was an innocent bystander, claiming she hid in her bedroom as the crimes occurred. This account soon unraveled as investigators discovered incriminating evidence, including a gun and a bloody knife positioned near the teen’s bedroom, and bloody footprints matching the teen’s shoes.
Upon further questioning, the teenager confessed to waiting for the couple to return home, at which point she shot them multiple times. She followed Szejnrok to the bathroom where she continued her assault with a knife, and ultimately, shot him again in the head.
The motivation behind these harrowing actions stemmed from personal grievances. The teen expressed frustrations over her mother’s lack of acceptance regarding her gender transition and was also upset about her mother’s relationship with a significantly younger man.
