Lilyana Rose Wagner, Tifton, Georgia teen fascinated with mass shootings gets life in prison for killing her mother after backing out of planned school mass shooting of her former school. How then 14-year-old sought out dark web community celebrating gun culture, violence and idolizing mass school shooters.
A Tifton, Georgia teen girl has been sentenced to life in prison for shooting and killing her mother as she slept after backing out of a planned school shooting ‘inspired’ by mass shooters.
The jail term comes after Lilyana Rose Wagner, 16, pled guilty to felony murder and aggravated assault in the 2024 shooting death of her mother, Rachel Suzanne Wagner, 51, according to District Attorney Patrick Warren.
Lilyana Wagner, 16, must serve at least 30 years before becoming eligible for parole, WALB reports.
Teen shoots mom after backing out of mass school shooting
The case began on Nov. 19, 2024, when Tifton Police Department (TPD) officers were asked to conduct a welfare check at the famly home. Law enforcement in Crawford County notified TPD that Wagner, then 14, was involved in a vehicle crash and was the only person inside the vehicle.
At the time of the crash, the 14-year-old was found with the center of her hair shaved off, WSB-TV reported.
Wagner told officers she lived with her mother, Rachel Wagner, 51, who had not shown up for work and was not answering her phone.
Officers went to the mom’s residence and found her dead in bed. Investigators determined the parent had died from a single gunshot wound to the back of her head.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, investigators with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) and TPD spent months reviewing information recovered from Wagner’s phone. Investigators found evidence that Wagner had communicated with anonymous individuals online who encouraged her to plan and commit acts of violence.
Teen develops fascination for mass shooters
Investigators also determined that Wagner had developed an interest in school shootings and mass casualty events. According to the District Attorney’s Office, Wagner continued communicating with people online after her mother’s death.
The investigation found that the firearm used in the killing had been purchased by Rachel Wagner at a Valdosta pawn shop about a month before her death. Prosecutors said Rachel allowed her daughter to keep the firearm and ammunition in her bedroom.
In a handwritten confession, Wagner admitted to killing her mother and said she had previously considered carrying out a school shooting at her former middle school.
‘This whole thing was a last-minute choice,’ she wrote of murdering her mom, who is originally from New Zealand.
‘I was going to commit a school shooting at my old middle school but chose this instead. Although I didn’t commit a school shooting, the whole event was inspired by these people,’ she wrote, according to the report that did not reveal which school shooters she name-checked.
It remained unclear how long Wagner had been speaking with the dark web figures before she killed her mother and how the teen came to find them.
Teen turns to the dark web for answers and support only to kill mom
District Attorney Patrick Warren used the case to warn parents about the potential influence of online communities on children.
‘Parents, I urge you to never underestimate the influence that exists behind your child’s screen,’ Warren stated according to a Facebook release.
Warren said parents should know who is influencing their children online and what those individuals are teaching them to believe is acceptable.
‘In this case, there were no winners,’ Warren said. ‘Rachel is dead, and Lilyana will spend the rest of her natural life in prison.’
Warren also reflected on the circumstances that led to the tragedy, including the online influences, access to the firearm and the support the family may have needed.
He urged the community to learn from the case by helping when someone is struggling, speaking up when something appears wrong and supporting those in need.
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