Palm Bay Teen Sentenced to 50 Years for 2024 Murder of Mother and Boyfriend
By Space Coast Daily // September 28, 2026
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Julia G. Egler, 18, was convicted and sentenced to 50 years in state prison for murdering her mother and mother’s boyfriend inside their Palm Bay home in 2024.
At a Sept. 25 hearing in Viera, Egler pled guilty to two counts of second-degree murder for the violent deaths of Kelley McCollom, 38, and Matthew Szejnrok, 22. The plea and sentence were part of a negotiated agreement with the State Attorney’s Office that was approved by survivors.
“This gives resolution and finality to the family that it’s done today,” Assistant State Attorney Kerri Fowler said.
In a victim impact statement, Szenrok’s brother Dustin told the court that his family still lives next door to the home where Egler killed the couple (Matthew had lived with them). Seeing it reminds him every day of their lost lives.
“Her actions didn’t just take my brother, they ruined our home,” he said. “There isn’t a sentence that will bring my brother back.”
On July 7, 2024, Palm Bay Police officers responded to a frantic 911 call from Egler, then 16. She claimed an unknown intruder had broken into the family home on Benchor Road SE and that she was hiding in a bedroom. Upon arrival, officers discovered McCollom dead from gunshot wounds in the living room. They found Szejnrok in a bathroom, where he had been shot and stabbed repeatedly while struggling for his life. Evidence in the case included five spent .38 caliber shell casings found near his body and a kitchen knife found on the bathroom counter.
“I heard the shots – I thought they were fireworks,” Dustin Szenrok said. “I was 75 feet away from my brother and had no idea he was fighting for his life.”
Detectives noted that the physical evidence inside the home, including the lack of forced entry and the positioning of the evidence, contradicted Egler’s account of an intruder. During subsequent police interviews, Egler broke down and confessed to staging the break-in.
