Broken glass, footprints and other evidence contradicted Julia Egler’s 911 account before the Palm Bay teenager admitted killing two people.
PALM BAY, Fla. — Julia G. Egler’s first account to police described a stranger breaking into a Florida home and leaving two people dead. The evidence inside and around the house soon told investigators that the story could not have happened the way Egler said it did.
That failed home-invasion account became the starting point of a murder case that ended Sept. 25, 2026, when Egler, now 18, pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder and received 50 years in state prison. The victims were Egler’s mother, Kelley McCollom, 38, and McCollom’s boyfriend, Matthew Szejnrok, 22. Egler was 16 when they were killed July 7, 2024. Prosecutors initially pursued two first-degree premeditated murder counts, but the negotiated plea resolved those charges without a trial. The State Attorney’s Office said surviving family members approved the agreement, which also makes Egler eligible for a youth-based sentence review after at least 25 years have been served.
The investigation began at approximately 12:06 a.m., according to the probable cause affidavit, when Egler called Palm Bay police and reported that an unknown man had entered through the rear of the residence. Egler described hiding in a bedroom with dogs and said a man had broken the sliding glass door. The call lasted several minutes and presented officers with what appeared to be an active and frightening burglary aftermath. When police reached the Benchor Road SE home, however, they found McCollom dead in the living room and Szejnrok dead in the bathroom. Both appeared to have suffered gunshot wounds, and investigators also found evidence that Szejnrok had been stabbed.
Detectives then began comparing Egler’s description with what the scene showed. One of the most important discrepancies involved the broken sliding door. Investigators documented bloody footprints beneath pieces of shattered glass, meaning the blood-marked impressions had been made before the glass came down on top of them. Authorities said the prints matched Egler’s shoes. That sequence was difficult to reconcile with the claim that an intruder had first smashed his way into the home and then committed the killings. Police also noted the absence of evidence supporting the kind of forced entry Egler described and found other items in positions they said were inconsistent with an outside attacker.
The alleged murder weapon also did not fit comfortably within the burglary account. Police found a silver .38-caliber revolver in the backyard near a bedroom window. Inside the home, investigators recovered spent .38-caliber cartridge cases near Szejnrok and a kitchen knife on a bathroom counter. The physical evidence gave detectives a chronology to test against Egler’s statements: violence occurred inside the house, blood was deposited, and aspects of the supposed break-in appeared to have been created afterward. Prosecutors later summarized the scene as one in which both the lack of genuine forced entry and the arrangement of evidence undermined the initial 911 narrative.
During later interviews, authorities said Egler admitted the intruder had never existed and confessed to staging the break-in. According to the affidavit, Egler had entered McCollom’s locked bedroom while McCollom was away, obtained a revolver and ammunition and waited for McCollom and Szejnrok to return. When they came inside, investigators said, Egler greeted them with “Welcome home” and fired. McCollom was killed in the living room. Szejnrok, though wounded, reached a bathroom, police said. Investigators described further violence there before Szejnrok died. Egler then altered the scene in an effort to make it appear that a stranger had entered the home, according to police.
The confession changed the focus of the case from identifying an unknown killer to deciding how a 16-year-old would be prosecuted. In August 2024, a Brevard County grand jury indicted Egler on two counts of first-degree premeditated murder. The State Attorney’s Office proceeded in adult court. Defense lawyers later challenged the interrogation process and raised questions about whether the teenager had properly waived constitutional rights during questioning. Those issues could have influenced what jurors were allowed to hear at trial, particularly because Egler’s statements were central to the state’s reconstruction of events. The Sept. 25 plea agreement prevented those evidentiary disputes from being litigated before a jury.
The question of why the killings occurred was drawn largely from what investigators said Egler told them. Police wrote that Egler had reached a “boiling point” after repeated disagreements with McCollom. Authorities cited conflict about McCollom dating Szejnrok, who was much younger, as well as tension over McCollom’s acceptance of Egler’s gender transition. Those claims were reported as investigators’ description of possible motive, not as an exhaustive explanation of the relationship between Egler and McCollom. The guilty plea established Egler’s legal responsibility for two second-degree murders but did not turn every allegation in the arrest paperwork into a separately adjudicated factual finding.
The final legal resolution also differed from the theory under which Egler was first indicted. A first-degree premeditated murder prosecution would have required the state to establish the elements of that offense beyond a reasonable doubt at trial. Instead, Egler admitted two second-degree murder counts under the negotiated deal. At sentencing, Egler maintained that the killings had not been planned, according to local court reporting. Egler said the conduct had been an impulsive and catastrophic decision. That position differed from the state’s original allegation that obtaining the gun and waiting for the victims showed premeditation. Because of the plea, jurors were never asked to resolve that dispute.
The hearing also gave both Egler and surviving relatives an opportunity to address the consequences of the deaths. Egler apologized to Circuit Judge Michelle Naberhaus and asked the court to recognize signs of rehabilitation. “I’m sorry. I’m haunted by grief every day,” Egler said in remarks released by prosecutors. Egler had completed high school while held in pretrial detention, the State Attorney’s Office said. Prosecutors nevertheless sought the lengthy term set by the negotiated agreement. Naberhaus imposed 50 years in state prison, including the requirement that Egler serve at least 25 years before the statutory review associated with youth at the time of the offense can occur.
Members of Szejnrok’s family described a different legacy of the case. His brother Dustin said relatives still live next door to the house where the killings happened. He had been nearby when the shots rang out but believed they were fireworks. Only later did he learn his brother had been fighting for his life a short distance away. “There isn’t a sentence that will bring my brother back,” he told the court. Assistant State Attorney Kerri Fowler said the guilty pleas and agreed punishment at least ended the question of how the prosecution itself would conclude.
The staged break-in that opened the investigation is no longer an unresolved police theory. Egler has admitted guilt to two murders, and the first-degree charges that once could have gone to trial have been replaced by final second-degree murder convictions. Egler must serve the mandatory portion of the 50-year sentence before any future review can occur and, after incarceration, faces 20 years of supervised probation and a required mental health evaluation.
Author note: Last updated November 9, 2026.