Dad called fatal shooting of 5-year-old an accident, Florida cops say. He's convicted
The 32-year-old father said it was an accident, but a jury has now convicted him of first-degree murder, first-degree attempted murder and aggravated child abuse in the 2022 incident, according to the Florida State Attorney's Office for the 13th Judicial Circuit.
McClatchy News is not identifying the dad to protect the identity of his surviving son.
'What happened on that day is very tragic and sad, but my client did not shoot his children,' defense attorney Jennifer Spradley told the jury during opening statements broadcast by Court TV.
Spradley said the 8-year-old boy's DNA was also on the gun, leading to 'more questions ... than answers.'
Defense attorneys declined to comment to McClatchy News.
First responders arrived at the Hillsborough County home the evening of Aug. 29, 2022, to find the father in the living room holding his 8-year-old son, who had a gunshot wound to the head, according to an affidavit.
The mom had left the home to call 911, as neighbors also called in reports of gunfire, officials said.
Deputies said the dad told them to call paramedics and that no one else was in the home, but when they went upstairs, they found his 5-year-old daughter lying in bed with multiple gunshot wounds, including one in the middle of her forehead.
'He didn't beg them to go save her,' State Attorney Suzy Lopez said in closing statements. 'He didn't beg them to help her. He said nothing happened upstairs.'
The dad told investigators he was trying to remove the magazine from his semiautomatic Glock when the gun 'went off,' deputies said.
But detectives found five bullet casings in the bedroom, which didn't align with his statement that the shooting was an accidental discharge, according to the affidavit. Both his children had gunshot wounds to the head, deputies said.
'Those are aimed, precise, deliberate bullet holes,' Lopez said. 'That is not an accident. That is not loading the firearm and it going off.'
The 8-year-old boy was awake and complaining that his head hurt when first responders arrived, and he was rushed to a hospital in critical condition, deputies said. The brother survived, but his sister did not.
The girl was a kindergarten student and cheerleader who loved butterflies and eating cinnamon rolls for breakfast, according to her obituary. Her grandmother described her as 'precious and lovable.'
The jury found the father guilty on all charges Feb. 27, and he'll go to prison for life, prosecutors said.
Hillsborough County includes the Tampa Bay area.
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