Domestic violence spikes during the holidays when families spend extended time together and stress levels peak.
This year's Christmas brought that grim reality into sharp focus in Florida.
And one TV request three days before Christmas left Florida children without their mother.
Sheriff Grady Judd reveals how football argument became murder
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd held a press conference Tuesday morning that left seasoned law enforcement reporters shaken.
Jason Kenney, 47, had been drinking Monday night while watching Monday Night Football at his Highlands City home.
Around 11 p.m., near the end of the San Francisco 49ers game, his wife Crystal suggested they watch something else on television.
That simple request triggered an argument that escalated into murder.
"How does an argument over a television program end up with a murder, an attempted murder and a suicide?" Sheriff Judd asked during the press conference.¹ "This should never happen."
https://twitter.com/PolkCoSheriff/status/2003922643389764068?s=20
Crystal Kenney sensed the danger as her husband's rage intensified.
She told her 12-year-old son to run to the neighbor's house and call 911.
As the boy fled, he heard a gunshot ring out from his home.
Deputies discover horrific scene with 13-year-old fighting for life
Deputies arrived at the Lemon Avenue residence within five minutes of the 911 call.
They found Crystal Kenney dead in the living room with a gunshot wound to the head.
But the horror didn't end there.
In one of the bedrooms, deputies discovered Crystal's 13-year-old daughter suffering from two gunshot wounds — one to the shoulder and one to the face.
The bullet that struck her face entered through the bridge of her nose and exited through the top of her head.
"That's a Christmas miracle," Sheriff Judd said about the girl's survival.²
The teenager later told investigators she begged her stepfather not to shoot her.
He shot her twice anyway.
Jason Kenney also had a 1-year-old biological daughter with Crystal who was asleep in her crib during the rampage.
She was found unharmed.
After murdering his wife and attempting to kill his stepdaughter, Kenney fled the scene in his truck.
While driving, he called his sister in upstate New York and told her he had done "something very, very bad" and wasn't "going to jail for the rest of my life."
https://twitter.com/TrueCrimeUpdat/status/2004208639339647453?s=20
"You'll see it on the news," he told her.
Deputies tracked Kenney to his deceased father's home in Lake Wales where he barricaded himself in a shed.
When deputies ordered him to come out, they heard a single gunshot.
Kenney had shot himself in the forehead.
"Quite frankly, I don't want to sound sinister, but the only thing he did right that night was shoot himself after those horrible deeds," Sheriff Judd stated bluntly.³
Pattern of abuse hidden behind closed doors
Neighbors told reporters they never suspected violence in the Kenney household.
"We never heard nothing out of them," neighbor William Massey said. "Never heard them argue, so it really shocked us."⁴
But that's exactly how domestic violence often operates — hidden behind the facade of a normal family.
Sheriff Judd revealed that investigators found a handwritten note from Crystal detailing Jason's substance abuse problems.
"We found a note that at some time in the past Crystal wrote, where she told Jason, 'You're drinking, you're using cocaine again, this is not the way the family should be. You need God,'" Judd explained.⁵
A family member confirmed to investigators that Crystal had been a victim of domestic violence in their relationship.
Yet Kenney had no criminal history and there had never been any calls for service to their home.
The 12-year-old boy and critically injured 13-year-old girl are from Crystal's previous relationship.
https://twitter.com/TrueCrimeUpdat/status/2004208639339647453?s=20
Their biological father lives in California and "has never had any interaction with the children," according to Sheriff Judd.
Now all three children — two from Crystal's previous relationship and the 1-year-old — are with their grandparents as the Department of Children and Families handles their case.
"Three days before Christmas, this man shot and killed his wife, shot his stepdaughter, and then shot and killed himself," Sheriff Judd said. "This is horrific, but destroying a family and the mental health of these children so close to Christmas is especially horrific."⁶
Research confirms that domestic violence incidents surge dramatically during the holiday season.
Studies show that domestic violence reports increase by 25% to 33% during Christmas and New Year's, with New Year's Eve showing the highest rates.⁷
Multiple factors contribute to this spike: families spending extended time together in close quarters, increased alcohol consumption, financial stress from holiday spending, and heightened emotional expectations.
The connection between alcohol and domestic violence is well-documented — alcohol is involved in 55% of all domestic violence cases according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.⁸
Research also shows a disturbing link between major sporting events and domestic violence.
Studies have found that NFL games are associated with increased reports of intimate partner violence, with rates spiking particularly after losses by local teams.⁹
https://twitter.com/PolkCoSheriff/status/2003922643389764068?s=20
Jason Kenney's rampage combined all three risk factors: holiday stress, heavy drinking, and an NFL game creating the powder keg that exploded over something as trivial as changing a TV channel.
Sheriff Judd used the press conference to remind the public that the Polk County Sheriff's Office provides services for those dealing with mental health issues or domestic violence situations.
But for Crystal Kenney and her children, that help came too late.
A beautiful Christmas tree sat in the living room surrounded by presents that will never be opened by a complete family.
Three children will spend Christmas and every holiday after without their mother because a grown man couldn't control his rage over a football game.
¹ Sheriff Grady Judd, press conference, Polk County Sheriff's Office, December 24, 2025.
² Ibid.
³ Ibid.
⁴ William Massey, interview with 10 Tampa Bay News, December 24, 2025.
⁵ Sheriff Grady Judd, press conference, Polk County Sheriff's Office, December 24, 2025.
⁶ Ibid.
⁷ Brigham Health, "New Study Finds Holidays Peak Times for Domestic Violence Injuries," Mass General Brigham, 2023.
⁸ National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, "Substance Abuse and Domestic Violence Statistics," 2024.
⁹ David Card and Gordon Dahl, "Family Violence and Football: The Effect of Unexpected Emotional Cues on Violent Behavior," National Bureau of Economic Research, 2011.
