A 38-year-old woman was killed in Florida after protecting her children during a violent domestic incident that occurred after an argument over an NFL game. Before dying, she managed to send her son to get help, an action that authorities and family members consider crucial in saving the children's lives.

Domestic argument ends in tragedy

Crystal Roure, 38, died after being shot by her husband, Jason Kenney, 47, on the night of December 22 at their home in Lakeland, Florida, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office. The attack occurred after an argument related to a football game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Indianapolis Colts.

According to authorities, Kenney had been drinking alcohol throughout the night while watching the game. When Roure asked him to turn off the television because he no longer wanted to watch football, the man reacted angrily, and the argument quickly escalated. A decisive act to save the children: Around 11:00 p.m., when the argument turned violent, Roure ordered his 12-year-old son to leave the house and ask a neighbor for help calling 911, Sheriff Grady Judd reported. As the boy left the house, he heard a gunshot. Shortly afterward, officers arrived at the scene and found Roure dead and his 13-year-old daughter critically wounded after being shot in the face. Relatives of the victim stated that this decision was crucial. “My sister died a hero protecting her children,” her sister Stephanie Roure told USA Today, noting that the quick reaction prevented an even greater tragedy. The daughter survived the attack. The teenager, the attacker's stepdaughter, miraculously survived. According to the report, the bullet struck her nose and ricocheted to the top of her head. She was rushed to a hospital in critical condition, where she received emergency medical care. The couple's youngest child, an infant, was unharmed.since she was asleep in her crib at the time of the attack.

Assailant's Flight and Death

After the crime, Kenney fled to his deceased father's house, located nearby. From there he called his sister, who lives in upstate New York, and told her, "I've done something very, very bad," according to Sheriff Judd.

When officers located the suspect on the property, they heard a gunshot coming from a shed, where Kenney was found dead, in what authorities ruled a suicide.

History of Violence and Substance Use

Roure, a mother of two children from a previous relationship, had married Kenney two years earlier, after meeting him at church. According to family members and authorities, the man had problems with alcohol and drugs, although he had no criminal record. A note written by Roure and found in the home warned about her husband's alcohol and cocaine use and expressed her concern for the family's well-being. "He completely destroyed a family," lamented Sheriff Judd, who described the crime scene as especially heartbreaking, as it occurred in a house decorated for Christmas. The community is shocked. Roure's family created a GoFundMe campaign to support the surviving children. "With broken hearts, we share the loss of Crystal, a loving mother whose life was taken far too soon," the message reads. Authorities reiterated the call to seek help in situations of domestic violence and reminded the public that resources are available to prevent similar tragedies.

“It completely destroyed a family,” lamented Sheriff Judd, who described the crime scene as especially heartbreaking, as it occurred in a house decorated for Christmas.

Community in shock

Roure's family created a GoFundMe campaign to support the surviving children. “With broken hearts, we share the loss of Crystal, a loving mother whose life was taken far too soon,” the message reads.

Authorities reiterated the call to seek help in situations of domestic violence and reminded the public that resources are available to prevent similar tragedies.