11-03-2025
Teen Accused of Killing Mom Allegedly Inspired by Menendez Brothers
Originally appeared on E! Online
A Wisconsin teen accused of killing his mother says he was inspired by the Menendez brothers.
Reed Gelinskey, 15, allegedly killed his mother—an elementary school teacher identified in court documents as SG—after watching a Netflix documentary detailing Erik Menendez and Lyle Menendez's 1989 murders of their mother and father, Mary Louise 'Kitty' and Jose Menendez, per authorities.
Gelinskey was charged with first degree intentional homicide March 6, and currently faces life in prison. Authorities detained the teenager in his Franksville home after receiving Snapchat messages Gelinskey had sent to a friend, per court documents obtained by NBC News, and the friend then alerted police.
In the social media correspondence, Gelinskey had allegedly included an image of a woman lying face-up on her back and another of blood on the floor, per the complaint. Alongside the photos, Gelinskey had written to his friend, 'I stabbed my mother to death.'
The complaint obtained by NBC News details that officers found Gelinskey exiting his home shortly after 10:30 p.m. local time with a knife in his hand. When approached, he dropped the knife and told authorities, 'She is dead. She is dead from what I did.'
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Gelinskey was taken into custody, and later his clothing was found to have blood on it, per the complaint. In an interview with law enforcement at the Caledonia Police Department, Gelinskey explained that he had come home from school in a state of 'depression,' and had 'the urge to kill his parents,' per the complaint. He also stated that he felt he was 'high' from anxiety medication he had been taking.
He told officers that he had initially planned to kill his father, but opted not to after not being able to find a large enough hammer. Instead, he had dinner and later watched the Menendez Brothers Netflix documentary while his mother sat with him on the couch, using her computer, the complaint detailed.
The plan to kill his mother, Gelinskey said in his interview with authorities, was hatched after watching the 'shotgun' scene of the documentary, or the moment detailing how the Menendez brothers killed their parents. Gelinskey said, per the complaint, that at around 9:50 p.m. he had hid his sleep medication and lured his mother downstairs to help him look for it.
On their way down the stairs together, Gelinskey, who was behind his mother, struck her twice with a dumb bell that he had concealed under his sweater. Then, he threw her to the ground and stabbed her three times in the chest and twice in the neck with a steak knife he had also hidden. Per the complaint, Gelinskey's mother at some point amid her death asked him, 'Why?'
To which he allegedly told her, 'Pain.'
Gelinskey is currently in custody, with bail set at $1 million. He will have a preliminary hearing March 12, per NBC News affiliate WTMJ-TV4 Milwaukee.
(E! News and NBC News are both a part of the NBCUniversal family.)
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