MOM ALLEGEDLY SHOT MAN FOUND UNDER HER DAUGHTER’S BED
Kendra Scott, 36, was charged with first-degree murder after Memphis police said she allegedly shot and killed a 20-year-old man she told officers she found under her child’s bed. Police said the man, identified by WREG as Rodderius Morton, was unarmed.
Officers were called to a shooting in the 3000 block of Travis Road, in the Walker Homes neighborhood, at about 1:50 a.m. on July 16, 2026, the Memphis Police Department said. They found a man with a gunshot wound, and he died at the scene. Scott was arrested there.
According to an affidavit cited by Action News 5, Scott told police she found the man under her child’s bed and “did what I had to do.”
What the affidavit and the defense say
Police said the child told officers that Scott found Morton under a bed and allegedly shot him as he was leaving the home, FOX13 Memphis reported. Police also said he did not have a weapon.
Complex filled in more of the timeline. It reported that Scott’s 13-year-old daughter let Morton in through the back door around 1 a.m. without her mother knowing. Scott got home roughly 30 minutes later and found him beneath the bed, according to the outlet.
Citing the arrest affidavit, Complex reported that Morton was struck in the back of the head on the front porch. It also reported that the girl told investigators she had been afraid to say Morton was there because her mother had warned she would shoot any boy found in the house.
Self-defense expert Buddy Smith, a retired law enforcement officer, weighed in on the affidavit, PEOPLE reported.
“The affidavit does not allege that he threatened the mother or anyone else at that time, and those alleged facts will likely be important issues for the court, and ultimately a jury,” Smith said.
Scott’s attorney, Blake Ballin, has pushed back on the idea that this was a planned killing. Action News 5 reported that he argued the first-degree murder charge could be lowered because there was a lack of evidence the shooting was premeditated. International Business Times UK reported that Ballin said Scott took a handgun from her vehicle before going into the house and kept it for protection.
Charges and court dates
Police charged Scott with first-degree murder and employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony. She appeared in court on July 20, 2026, where a judge set her bond at $100,000 and scheduled her next hearing for August 3, 2026. IBTimes UK later reported that she posted bond and was released pending that court date.
On August 3, 2026, Scott waived her preliminary hearing, and her case was referred to a grand jury, NewsNation reported. The grand jury can indict her for first-degree murder, indict on a lesser offense or decline to indict. Ballin estimated that the review could take three to six months if an indictment followed.
