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Morgan McNeil
Morgan McNeil
The suspect, Morgan McNeil was denied bond on Monday. According to investigators, McNeil and her boyfriend, 15-year-old Zane Terryn, were parked in a truck outside a gas station in Cocoa when they were approached by state Highway Patrol Lt. Channing Taylor. The two teens were allegedly planning to drive to Ohio to commit suicide. McNeil, who was driving, had taken a handgun and money from a relative's house before they got on the road.
McNeil is charged with second-degree murder in connection with Terryn's death, in accordance with state law, since both were allegedly committing felonies at the time. She is also charged with attempted first-degree premeditated murder of a law enforcement officer and resisting an officer with violence following the incident on June 15.
Taylor testified on Monday that he saw Terryn pointing the gun at him as he was writing down the vehicle's license plate number.
"It scared me to death that someone would point a gun at me," he said. "My reaction was to get out of the way."
McNeil said to investigators in an interview recorded after the shooting that she told Terryn "to get the gun and point it at him." WKMG-TV reported that, according to attorneys, she wanted Terryn to try to scare Taylor off, instead of shooting him.
The bullet hit Taylor in the shoulder, he said, prompting him to seek cover before returning fire.
"I fired three shots — not all at once," Taylor said. "I fired one shot, waited a second, and fired two other shots at the vehicle in an attempt to disable the passenger."
Prosecutors said Terryn was killed after being hit three times as McNeil tried to drive away from the scene. She crashed the truck and taken to a nearby behavioral health facility.
Watch WKMG's report, as aired on Monday, here.
Comment: This young girl, with obvious emotional and mental problems, shot NO ONE and she gets charged with murder? Unbelievable! That poor child.