MEMPHIS, Tennessee — A 36-year-old Memphis mother has been charged with first-degree murder after authorities say she fatally shot a 20-year-old man she discovered hiding under her 13-year-old daughter’s bed during the early morning hours of July 16.

According to the Memphis Police Department and court documents, officers responded to a shooting at a residence on Travis Road around 1:45 a.m. They found 20-year-old Rodderius Morton lying in the front yard with a fatal gunshot wound to the back of his head. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators identified the shooter as Kendra Scott, who remained at the scene. According to the arrest affidavit, Scott told officers she had returned home, found a man hiding beneath her daughter’s bed, and said she “did what I had to do.”

Police say the investigation revealed that Scott’s 13-year-old daughter had invited Morton into the home through the back door without her mother’s knowledge earlier that night. When Scott arrived home, she reportedly confronted the pair. Morton fled the house, but prosecutors allege Scott followed him outside and shot him as he was leaving the property. A witness told investigators they heard a gunshot and saw Scott standing outside with a firearm immediately afterward.

Scott has been charged with first-degree murder and an additional firearm-related felony. She is currently being held in custody while the case proceeds through the Shelby County court system.

The case has generated widespread public debate, with many expressing sympathy for a parent who unexpectedly found an adult man hiding in a child’s bedroom. However, legal experts note that the central issue will likely be whether the use of deadly force was legally justified after the man had exited the home and was no longer posing an immediate threat. Tennessee’s self-defense and Castle Doctrine laws generally require that the use of deadly force be reasonable under the circumstances, and prosecutors argue those conditions were not met in this case.

Scott’s attorney described the incident as “the worst nightmare of any parent of a 13-year-old girl” and indicated the defense will argue that the circumstances surrounding the confrontation should be carefully considered as the case moves forward.

Source: People, New York Post, Law&Crime, WMC/Gray News