A Florida teen has accepted a plea deal after he was arrested for stabbing his grandmother so many times, one of the knives he used to kill her broke.
Jaylin K. Christian, 19, was sentenced on Monday, January 12, to 35 years in prison for killing his grandmother, former probation officer Muriel Emerson, 57, back on September 7, 2022. In addition, once he is released in his early 50s, he will be on probation for the remainder of his life.
Should he violate the terms of his probation in any way after he is freed, Christian will be arrested and returned to prison.
Christian stabbed his grandmother with two knives, cops said. When asked how many times he stabbed her, Christian allegedly told police it was “too many to count.”
The killing unfolded inside Emerson’s residence in Rockledge.
“She was his biggest supporter and champion,” said Assistant State Attorney Mike Doyle at Christian’s sentencing hearing, according to a press release obtained by Us Weekly.
Police said the investigation started with a 911 hangup call made from a gas station in Cocoa.
Retired Nurse, 67, Stabbed and Killed by Former Roommate, 19
Deputies drove to the gas station and spoke to Christian, who allegedly admitted murdering Emerson. Prosecutors claim he even showed deputies a picture he had taken of his grandmother’s body.
Rockledge Police Department rushed to Emerson’s home and found her dead. Medical examiners later determined she had been stabbed 42 times, including in the heart and lungs, and that the attack was committed with such force, one of the knives he used broke.
Authorities said Emerson was attacked from behind by her troubled grandson. “Digital evidence collected by Rockledge Police and prosecutors showed he had searched online for how to attack someone from behind and kill them with a knife,” the prosecutor’s office said in a press release.
Emerson’s body was found in the home’s kitchen, covered in a blanket. A large pool of blood had formed around her remains, police said.
Grandson Charged With Murdering Elderly Couple Found Dead at Home
Christian was sitting on the ground close to a gas station in Cocoa when he was arrested. At the time, the since-convicted teen had cuts on one of his hands and blood all over his shirt.
Christian told detectives he started having homicidal thoughts hours before he stabbed Emerson to death. He told them he grabbed a knife and went into the kitchen. When Emerson tried to run, the first knife broke. Christian said he simply grabbed another knife and finished the job.
He left the home with a bag containing money and a briefcase he had stolen from his grandmothers. He also told cops he took a picture of her bloodied body before draping a blanket over it.
“Christian said he killed his grandmother in order to steal her credit card and run off with a male lover he met online,” prosecutors said. “Police have not connected anyone else to the murder.”
Family members continued to express shock, confusion, and pain during the sentencing hearing, the press release explains. Christian’s mother, it is stated in the release, “appeared satisfied with the resolution.”
