A Memphis mother is accused of killing a 20-year-old man after she found him under her teenage daughter’s bed.
Kendra Scott, 36, was arrested on Thursday, according to Memphis police. It came after officers found the victim shot dead outside her home just before 2 a.m. that day.
According to the arrest affidavit obtained by the New York Post, Scott told officers she came home and “saw a dude under my kids’ bed.”
“And I did what I had to do,” she told officers.
Deadly Invitation
The incident unfolded after Scott’s 13-year-old daughter told officers she had invited the victim, Rodderius Morton, over around 1 a.m.
According to officers, Scott came home around 30 minutes later and began pounding on the front door, screaming, “Who’s at my house?!”
Her daughter told officers she became terrified when she saw that her mom was holding a gun.
The affidavit said Scott told her daughter that if she “sees a boy in my house, I will put a hole in his a–.”
The teenager eventually let her mother inside, where Scott found Morton hiding under her bed, according to the court document.
“Get out of my house, b–ch,” she screamed, according to her daughter. Morton ran onto the front porch as Scott shot him in the back of the head, the affidavit said.
Officers told WREG they spoke with a neighbor who told them he heard banging, and when he came outside, he saw a man shot near the porch.
The affidavit added that the neighbor heard Scott say, “I shot him, I shot him,” while still holding the gun.
Debate Over Case
The mother was charged with first-degree murder and with employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony.
“This incident started with the worst nightmare of any parent of a 13-year-old girl,” Scott’s attorney, Blake Ballin, told The Post.
“Predictably, it ended in tragedy. One of the key questions in this case will be whether anyone could act rationally in this circumstance,” he said.
That’s the question many in Scott’s community and online are now trying to answer.
“She seemed like a real nice lady. All I can say is that it hurts that someone was in there with one of her little girls,” Gloria Milon, one of Scott’s neighbors, told Action News 5.
Some people on Facebook speculated that Morton looked young for his age, seemingly implying the difference wasn’t too much of a shock. Others disagreed.
“It’s really not about how old either of them looks. The fact of the matter is HE’S A GROWN ADULT, AND SHE’S A CHILD! He knew he was 20 before he went over there,” Honey Haize wrote on Facebook. “All of they a– wrong and now he dead, the mommy in jail and the lil girl probably somewhere sneaking talking to another grown man that don’t care about her being 13. Sick a– people.”
Another neighbor said Scott should’ve just called 911.
“If it would’ve been me in that situation…I would’ve called the police and had them sitting at my house when I got there,” he said. “Therefore, you take him out, take him on to jail.”
Scott was granted a $100,000 bond on Monday. Her next court date is August 3.
Tennessee Law
According to Tennessee law, Scott’s case would not qualify under the state’s Castle Doctrine. The legislation states that you can protect the people in your residence when someone breaks in to commit a violent felony against you or someone in your house.
It does not appear Morton threatened Scott or anyone else, according to the affidavit.
Atlanta Black Star reached out to Scott’s attorney to see if the age difference could come into play for her defense. He has not responded.
