Mother of girl, 17, disputes Orange County boyfriend’s claim that she shot, killed herself
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. —
The mother of a 17-year-old girl who died after being shot in the head at an Orange County apartment complex is disputing her daughter’s boyfriend’s claim that the teen pulled the trigger herself.
Deputies with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office found Skyler Bradford with a gunshot wound to the head Wednesday afternoon at an apartment complex off Old Cheney Highway, near Baldwin Park. She was taken to a hospital, where she later died.
Skyler’s boyfriend, 19-year-old Jehovah Mitchell, told investigators that Skyler “was upset with him over infidelity” and that she “went into her purse and pulled a firearm on him,” threatening “to harm him to include threats of castration,” according to an arrest warrant.
Mitchell told investigators that Skyler “and him both grabbed the firearm,” which fired at an upward trajectory. Moments later, Mitchell claims, Skyler “shot herself in the head,” the warrant states.
But Rodnesha Speed, Skyler’s mother, isn’t buying his version of events.
“I think that is bogus,” Speed told WESH 2. “She graduated high school a year early and she was so excited off that alone that there is nothing that could have brought her down from that high to make her want to kill herself.”
According to the warrant, Mitchell told investigators he took the gun from Skyler’s hand after the shooting and discarded it behind the apartment building because he wasn’t thinking clearly. Investigators searched the area with Mitchell but were unable to find the weapon.
“He did something with it. So if she shot herself, the weapon would be there, and all the evidence will be there. But there’s no weapon,” Speed said. “It’s clear that she didn’t shoot herself.”
The warrant also states that a neighbor heard a female screaming before Mitchell knocked on his door and said his girlfriend had shot herself. The neighbor said Mitchell dragged Skyler down the stairs, and while the neighbor performed CPR, Mitchell ran to the back of the apartment building and returned. The neighbor told investigators the couple had been loudly arguing for about the last two weeks.
Investigators noted the apartment’s living room had “obvious signs of a physical struggle,” including knocked-over televisions and fans, according to the warrant. Family and friends told investigators that Mitchell was possessive and abusive toward her.
“If you called 911 when she was shot, when did you have the time to go and hide the gun?” Speed said. “Did you just leave her there and not ask for help while you went and covered up whatever evidence? It doesn’t make sense.”
Mitchell was charged with tampering with evidence and has since bonded out of jail. Speed hopes that will change as the investigation continues.
“I’m going to fight for justice for Skyler,” she said. “She was too good of a girl to just be killed that way, and no one’s fighting for her.”
Speed described her daughter as “a bubbly, loving young girl” who looked forward to success. Skyler wanted to become a respiratory therapist.
WESH 2 reached out to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office about the investigation into Skyler’s death. The agency said it is still active and ongoing.
Skyler’s family is raising money so she can be laid to rest in Cleveland, Ohio, where most of her relatives live.