Reports Reveal Events, Details In Sister Shooting

August 7, 2011

We are learning more about what happened in the shooting death of a 14-year old at the hands of her 17-year old sister as detailed in reports obtained by NorthEscambia.com.

The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrest and offense reports detail the results of their investigation into the shooting death of 14-year old Christina Marie Sneary by her sibling by adoption, 17-year old Elena Janelle Rendell. Rendell has been charged as an adult with manslaughter by a firearm and remains in the Escambia Jail with bond set at $300,000.

The Sheriff’s Office reports state the following about the events of Wednesday afternoon, August 3:

When deputies arrived in the 7600 block of Kipling Street, they found Christina Sneary (pictured left) lying on the ground by the driveway of the residence with a gunshot wound to her neck. Elena Rendell was next to her and motioned to deputies that she had shot Sneary.

Rendell was described as being extremely upset, crying and shaking. She repeated over and over that the shooting was an accident. She first told deputies that she was trying to shoot a black male in a red shirt armed with a handgun that had broken into their residence, but she had accidentally shot her sister and that the firearm was still inside the bedroom of the residence.

“I shot my sister.  A man came into the house with a gun and I picked up my mom’s gun trying to shoot the man and accidentally shot my sister,” Rendell told the deputy.

As deputies tried to get a better description of the suspect, Rendell admitted that there was no black  male involved. She said that she had been playing with a gun in her mother’s room. Rendell said she and her sister were not suppose to play with firearm and that she believed the firearm had a safety on it which would prevent if from firing. Rendell said that, while playing with the gun, it accident fired, hitting Sneary.

Rendell (pictured left) told deputies that she had learned some first aid while in ROTC in school and that she tried to help Sneary as much as possible before help arrived.

The black semi-automatic handgun was found lying on the top covers at the foot of the bed in the master bedroom. The hammer was in the firing position.

When interviewed later by investigators, Rendell’s story changed.

She told deputies that she began to argue with Sneary over a cell phone. During the argument, Rendell ran into her parent’s bedroom and retrieved her father’s 9 mm handgun from the top of a television shelf that stood about 12-feet high. Rendell then pointed the handgun at her 14-year old sister and fired a single gunshot into the right side of Sneary’s neck.

Comments

15 Responses to “Reports Reveal Events, Details In Sister Shooting”

  1. Danielle Suggs on August 9th, 2011 5:29 pm

    I went to school with Christina. We were not as close as some but close enough to know that she shouldn’t have died like this…and especially at this age..no one should. No one really knows the true story, nevertheless, it is still a sad one. My heart is in so much pain for Christina and her family. I offer my sincerest sympathy.

  2. j snob on August 9th, 2011 4:28 pm

    Don’t feel bad for elena, she will probly get her own horror movie franchise now and I’m sure someone will write a book about this so yeah lol

  3. AL on August 8th, 2011 9:15 pm

    Jonica Walston said ” But, no, you can’t blame the kids.”

    Yes I can… and I do. 17yrs old, in ROTC, lying to cover her tracks – this girl knew exactly what she was doing. Should the gun have been locked up? Absolutely. But it was on a 12ft high shelf – sure a lot of effort for an accidental shooting.

    Bullying disgusts me – I lived with it as a kid. BUT I have never killed anyone or been tempted to, so please don’t use it as an excuse. Decisions were made and now consequences (by all) must be faced.

  4. Wilma Gibson on August 8th, 2011 8:59 pm

    If there had not been a gun in the house this story would not be in the news and one person would not be dead, and the life of the other messed up for life. And you object to a doctor asking if there are guns in the house. Doctors are interested in the protection of citizens and especially the children of our community, state, and country.

  5. BGBCHSClassof49 on August 8th, 2011 7:32 pm

    Should be an inquiry of the school system and family services. Protection from bullying and lack of social service support is beyond belief.
    We can fund law enforcement with $$$$ in the name of public safety and let this type of situation go without reasonable support.

  6. Baebae on August 8th, 2011 5:45 pm

    One moment of rage…a lifetime of regret….Dear Lord…Help this family heal…life was not meant to be this way ….

  7. Jonica Walston on August 8th, 2011 12:58 pm

    You can’t judge the girl, either of them, honestly for this. An argument gets heated the more words are said. Wether it’s over the phone or in person; the pain is still pain. If the two girls were fighting, and one had ROTC training, she knew what she was doing. Yes, that is wrong for her to use it in this way. But, no, you can’t blame the kids. The parents should have had the gun locked up and the safety on. Bullying, ridacule, this sort of thing drives girls to be homicidal. It messes up their sense of who is and who isn’t a threat. Of what is and isn’t right. You say she knew right and wrong? It’s called self preservation. She lied to cover her own tail. Not knowing right and wrong. She was confused, upset and obviously in mourning. Duh. :/ It’s a shame things get this far, honestly. If kids would stop bullying based off of clothes, race, religion, size, weight, musical preferrence; we could stop things like this from happening.

  8. bwayne on August 8th, 2011 12:31 pm

    My condolences go out to the family and friends of these two girls.

  9. reach out & help on August 7th, 2011 6:23 pm

    i never would of guessed things would go down like this, i knew elana in school and n the ROTC prgram at northview, she was definitely a very troubled girl, she had her good moments but she was very troubled….i also know that she was tormented daily at school, and i tried to be good friends with elana,now im not sayiing that her being bullied gives her the excues to kill someone, but have u noticed that different stories that get put on the internet or on the news dealing with teenagers killing, theres always a story behind it saying that, that child was bullied and tormented….now people, bullying really needs to stop, if bullying would stop this community…this country would be so much better…….. i try my very best every day to help those who are bullied, cause ik how it feels to be bullied, ive been bullied since the 5th grade and trust me it isnt fun….so lets all take a stand and help those who are hurting, who knows maybe we can actually prevent something like this …

  10. Shelby Moye on August 7th, 2011 5:19 pm

    Elena and me were not good friends, She talked bad about my dead mother., So i blocked her out. Her sister i barley knew., but she was a good kid. Elena deserves whatever she has coming for her. :/ R.I.P. Christina.

  11. Century...... on August 7th, 2011 8:42 am

    This is so SAD! :( A YOUNG girl lost her life over stupidity/jealousy…. My prayer goes out to this family

  12. Her Life on August 7th, 2011 8:33 am

    is over now. If this girl needed some help, counseling, what ever,
    that time has been passed and she has a lot to answer for and
    she will. How ever sad when you hear she had problems and no
    one stepped in when there is so much available today.You can google anything today, (Counselors, Mentors, Ministers, Girls Camps).
    If anything good comes out of this it should be that everyone in
    this town stands firm about bullying when seen anywhere, the
    schools, the stores, the roads. Don’t feel guilty….act.
    We must take a stand it is our town. What kind of town do we
    want it to be?

  13. 429SCJ on August 7th, 2011 4:07 am

    why in the world would a person with special needs children, leave a weapon unsecured?

  14. stop the masness on August 7th, 2011 3:25 am

    Giving false information? She might get off like Casey Anthony. Over a cell phone? She’s got some growing up to do. Unfortunatley, she will be doing the growing up while serving hard time. Ths was very malicious.

  15. joe on August 7th, 2011 3:15 am

    This information presents some interesting points:

    1. Her story changed several times, all in an attempt to conceal the truth. This means she knows right from wrong and is not incompetent.

    2. She had to retrieve the gun from another location for the purpose of harming a person, thus establishing a case for murder 2 under Florida statute 782.04

    3. By her admission the gun was not in a secure location, nor locked up as required by FL St. 790.174, thus establishing a case against the parents

    This death could have been prevented! This is so sad.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News