"Inhumane": Neglect claimed by teen charged with killing brother

What led a 15-year-old to allegedly shoot and kill her 16-year-old brother is still unclear, but we’re now learning new information about the circumstances around the crime.

Columbia County Sheriff Mark Hunter says 15-year-old Misty “Ariel” Renee Kornegay, 11-year-old Nicole Kornegay, their 16-year-old brother, and 3-year-old sister were all home alone Tuesday night. Police reports show Ariel claimed her brother beat her, but Hunter wouldn’t speak directly to that.

“There’s gunna be a hundred thousand ‘whys’, and we may not ever know exactly why this child acted out like this,” he says.

We’re told Ariel broke in to her parents’ locked bedroom through an exterior window, loaded their gun, pointed at her brother while he was sleeping, turned her head and fired- hitting him in the neck. Arrest reports we’ve obtained show Ariel confessed to pulling the trigger. Nicole apparently let Ariel out of her room and then took their youngest sister in to another room during the shooting.

The girls are being held for 30 days in separate juvenile facilities. During this time, the State Attorney will decide whether to charge them as adults. State Attorney Jeff Seigmeister says all charges are being considered, but it is not likely Nicole will be tried as an adult.

Part of the reason Seigmeister is taking his time making this determination is the home life uncovered for these children.

Over the course of the investigation, deputies learned about potential neglect through both their examination of the home environment and through speaking with the suspects.

The arrest report we’ve obtained shows Ariel’s parents- Keith and Misty Kornegay- admitted to keeping her locked in her room with only a blanket and a bucket to use as a bathroom as punishment for talking back, stealing, and other issues. She would be locked in there an average of four days per week, according to the reports.  Investigators noted that both parents “appeared to be in an aggressive manner towards their daughter” when speaking to them about Ariel. In fact, on the night of the shooting, Ariel told deputies she overheard her brother complaining to her parents that they were leaving again, and they told him to just keep her locked up.

“This was kind of their way of dealing with the child. Everybody has different ways of dealing with their children and how they bring them up- some don’t sit real well with us. We wouldn’t do our children that way,” Hunter says.

When talking to deputies, Misty reportedly admitted the punishment was “excessive” and living conditions were “inhumane”.

Nicole told deputies her mother had been “grouchy” since losing her job, and would often go to work with their father, who is a truck driver. She further said the children don’t get much food, only “whatever is left over when her parents are finished eating”, the report says.

Investigators further learned that Ariel had tried to take her life in the past, but her parents hadn’t called police or EMS because they didn’t think it would help. The report says mistreatment by her brother and parents contributed to the fatal shooting.

Both parents have been charged with child neglect and the State Attorney’s Office is examining whether further charges should be filed. A judge granted the parents $20,000 bond during their first appearance this morning.

Hunter confirms the Sheriff’s Office had been called to the Kornegay home three times before- a property damage complaint, a civil matter, and a juvenile issue which the Florida Department of Children and Families determined to be unfounded. He further says Ariel had been removed from school by her parents because of her behavior.

Hunter says this crime is “the stuff nightmares are made of”, and is having a severe impact on the community. The three-year-old is in the custody of DCF.