A Tennessee mother has been charged with first-degree murder after allegedly shooting a man who had been hiding underneath her 13-year-old daughter’s bed in the middle of the night.
Memphis police officers responded to a reported shooting in the 3000 block of Travis Road at approximately 1:40 a.m. on July 16, according to an arrest affidavit.
When officers arrived, they found an unresponsive man lying in the front yard with a gunshot wound to the back of his head.
The victim, tentatively identified as Rodderius Morton, was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities have not released his age.
Police then spoke with 36-year-old resident Kendra Scott, who allegedly told officers that she had returned home and “saw a dude under my kid’s bed.”
“I did what I had to do,” Scott reportedly said, according to the affidavit.
A neighbor told investigators that he came outside after hearing a gunshot and saw a wounded man near Scott’s front porch. Scott was allegedly standing in the yard holding a gun and repeatedly saying, “I shot him, I shot him.”
Investigators also interviewed a juvenile who was reportedly inside the home when the deadly confrontation unfolded.
According to the affidavit, the juvenile told police that they had invited Morton into the house sometime around 1:20 or 1:30 a.m.
Scott reportedly arrived home soon afterward and began yelling, “Who’s at my house?”
The juvenile said they were frightened because Scott had a gun in her hand and had previously warned that if she ever “sees a boy in my house I will put a hole in his ass,” the affidavit states.
Scott then allegedly found Morton hiding beneath the juvenile’s bed.
The juvenile told investigators that Morton gathered his belongings and left the house. Moments later, the juvenile heard a gunshot outside.
Scott has since been charged with first-degree murder and employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, according to Shelby County public court records.
Her attorney, Blake Ballin, described the case as every parent’s worst nightmare and said the juvenile involved was Scott’s 13-year-old daughter.
“One of the key questions in this case will be whether anyone could act rationally in this circumstance,” Ballin said in a statement.
Scott is being held without bond. Her first arraignment hearing is scheduled for Friday, July 24.
