Seth Settle Lake Wales, Florida teen shoots and kills mother dead after she demanded he stop smoking cigars inside the family home.
A 19 year old Florida teen has been accused of shooting dead his mother after she forbade her son from smoking inside in their Polk County home earlier this week.
Seth Settle reportedly shot and killed his 52 year old mother Thursday after she demanded he stop smoking cigars in his bedroom, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said, according to a release.
The incident occurred shortly after Settle’s father left work earlier that morning.
A short while later, just on 9.30 a.m, the father received a call notifying him that his wife had been taken to a hospital.
Authorities were first alerted to the incident by Settle’s 24-year-old brother, who found his mother collapsed in their Lake Wales home.
Puncture wound through the heart
Authorities did not immediately suspect foul play because there reportedly wasn’t any blood found in the home or obvious injuries to the victim’s body.
But by the time Settle’s father had picked up his daughter from school and returned home, he was informed that his wife had died.
After Settle’s mother had been pronounced dead, a nurse inspected the body and found what appeared to be puncture wounds.
Judd said the victim had been shot in the heart, stopping it immediately and staunching the flow of blood.
Settle fled but later confessed to investigators that he had shot his mother.
Judd said Settle claimed he was depressed and had been holding a gun to his own head before his mother entered his bedroom.
He claimed the gun accidentally discharged when he went to lower the weapon.
Florida teen kills mom after she told him to stop smoking
The 52-year-old mother noticed the smell of smoke coming from her son’s, Seth Settle, 19, bedroom
Mom told him to stop smoking & closed the door. In response, he shot her through the door, striking her in the heart pic.twitter.com/L96jJ3TcdT
— jiffy (@_justicefor) April 29, 2022
‘…truly a wonderful mother and a wonderful family’
But the sheriff said authorities believe he shot his mother out of anger.
Judd reportedly said every indication pointed to the mother as ‘the most wonderful mom in the world’ and said the family was regarded as nice and hard-working.
‘We do a criminal history (check), not one blemish on anyone’s name: mom, dad, the four kids. This is truly a wonderful family next door. And he kills his mom,’ Judd said during a Friday news conference.
‘The only people that are more shocked and stunned by this in law enforcement are the immediate family. No one could see this coming,’ Judd said.
‘He fled past her — didn’t help, didn’t call 911,’ the sheriff added. ‘I can’t begin to tell you the horror of this event.’
‘The whole case is bizarre, but it rips your heart out because this was truly a wonderful mother and a wonderful family. It’s as sad as it gets,’ Judd said.
Settle was charged with second-degree murder, tampering with evidence, five counts of providing false information to law enforcement and discharging a firearm on a residential property, wfla reported.
