Mother Admits To Accidentally Killing Son, 16, After Trying To Scare Him With Gun: ‘I Shot My Baby’

Tesha Jenkins, a 46-year-old mother from Wichita, Kansas, is facing charges of second-degree murder and aggravated assault for allegedly accidentally shooting her 16-year-old son, according to jail records obtained by Law & Crime. 

Officials from the Wichita Police Department said they arrived at Jenkins’ apartment on Oct. 9, located on E. Harry Street, to find her “emotionally distraught” as she confessed to shooting her son, identified as Robert C. Florence, according to an affidavit released Oct. 23. Investigators found the 16-year-old lying face down in the living room with a single gunshot wound to the forehead. 

When asked about what led to Florence’s tragic death, Jenkins allegedly said, “I shot my baby” before going limp and collapsing to the ground. The mother of three claimed that the shooting was accidental. According to the report, Jenkins stated that she pointed the gun but did not intend to pull the trigger. When Officer Morris asked her if she was injured, noting the blood on her face, she replied that she had kissed her baby. Investigators discovered a Ruger Security 9mm at the crime scene, which Jenkins claimed ownership of.

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Jenkins allegedly described her son as a “bad kid.”

According to the affidavit, on the day of the shooting, Jenkins said Florence skipped school, something that he would allegedly do often. She described her son as a “bad kid” who was into drugs and who would not go to school. While at home, the teenager reportedly began nagging his mother by repeatedly calling out “Momma” and asking to use her phone—a request she initially denied. He then mentioned he was going to visit a downstairs neighbor to get some “weed,” according to Jenkins’ statements to the Wichita Police Department.

Later, he asked to use the phone again, this time, saying he wanted to call one of his brothers to ask their father for money. Jenkins agreed to let him make the call. Afterward, her son became disruptive, pulling down curtains and tearing up paper, which Jenkins believed was meant to irritate her. “Jenkins admitted she was very frustrated with Robert and described his actions as ‘pushing her buttons,’” the affidavit noted.

At one point, Jenkins laid down on the bed to text a friend, and it was then that her son allegedly took her Ruger Security 9mm from a backpack. “Robert made no threats with the gun and did not point it at Jenkins. Jenkins lunged forward and grabbed the handgun and backpack from Robert,” the affidavit stated. “Jenkins held the handgun, pointing it towards Robert and made the statement, ‘do you just want to die?’ Jenkins stated the handgun ‘went off’ and she noticed Robert fall forward and that’s when she realized she had shot him.” Florence died Oct. 11. 

In her Mirandized interview, the mother stated that she thought the gun was empty, although she remembered possibly loading two rounds about two weeks before the fatal incident, according to police. When questioned by detectives, she reportedly admitted to racking “the slide back,” indicating that she chambered a round while taking the gun from her son. 

Jenkins is currently in custody at the Sedgwick County Jail, facing charges with a bond set at $1.2 million, according to Law & Crime. During the investigation, detectives uncovered an unreported incident from March 2024 in which she allegedly threatened her ex-husband and his current girlfriend with a gun, a Facebook post from the Wichita Police Department noted on Oct 9. In addition to second degree murder, Jenkins has been booked on several charges, including aggravated battery, aggravated assault domestic violence, and aggravated assault.

Jenkins had financial issues, according to her older son, Kurtis.

In an interview with People, Kurtis Florence, the older brother of Robert, shared that their mother had been facing financial difficulties for years. He explained that she, a former certified nursing assistant who raised four sons as a single mother, struggled to make ends meet in recent years. To cope, she took an overnight factory job that paid $10 an hour. Despite these challenges, Kurtis does not believe the shooting was intentional.

“My mom wasn’t the type to go off the rail,” Kurtis, 20, said. “I’m convinced that it was an accident and that it wasn’t intentional.”

Kurtis has set up a GoFundMe to help cover funeral costs for his little brother, who he described as a “genuine” person and a “very loving, caring young man.” Kurtis added to People, “He was always able to point you to your truth. People lie a lot of times, but he could see through all that.”

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