A 15-year-old boy was charged with murder Wednesday after shooting and killing his mother’s boyfriend, officials said.
For several nights, the teen’s mother, Jessica Whidden, 36, hadn’t been to their Gibson Street home near Mulberry because of fights with her boyfriend, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
She and her boyfriend, Paul Gregg Jr., 37, had been dating for five years.
The fights came to a climax early Wednesday.
The teen, who the Orlando Sentinel isn’t identifying, told Gregg Jr. to not upset his mother when she came back home Tuesday to get ready to go to dinner with some of her friends, an arrest report said.
But the pair started arguing and Gregg Jr. accused her of lying, records show
Deputies say she left for dinner but when she got back home early Wednesday the fights continued.
Gregg Jr. got a steak knife and approached the bathroom where Whidden was, an arrest report said.
He started screaming “he wished he could kill her and that he would torment her until she committed suicide,” the arrest affidavit said.
That’s when the teen blocked him off. The teen told deputies Gregg Jr. was waving the knife and pointing it toward Whidden at times, records show.
When Gregg Jr walked away, the teen went into his room and grabbed his 12 gauge shotgun. He told deputies “he had enough” and was afraid if he didn’t do something Gregg Jr. would hurt his mother, the arrest affidavit said.
The teen walked out of his room with the shotgun and pointed it at Gregg Jr. who was sitting on the couch in the living room, deputies said.
Gregg Jr. then got up and started walking toward the master bedroom where the teen said multiple other guns were located, records show.
As Gregg Jr. walked to a dresser near a closet, the teen opened fire and hit him in the middle of the back, the arrest affidavit said.
The teen and his mother walked to a nearby church and called authorities.
Whidden told deputies she had been arguing with Gregg Jr. a lot lately and he had a history of being violent to her but she hadn’t reported any of the incidents to law enforcement.
She also said her son had stepped in to defend her before during fights with Gregg Jr., an arrest affidavit said.
Gregg Jr. was pronounced dead at the scene. The teen was charged with first degree murder
It’s unclear if a knife was found at the scene or whether the teen will be charged as an adult.
“Either way, it’s a tragedy all the way around when it gets down to it,” said Scott Wilder, a spokesman for the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
chayes@orlandosentinel.com, 407-420-5493 or Twitter: @journo_christal
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