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Sisters, 15 and 11, charged in brother's death; parents arrested

By Deanna Bettineschi
By Deanna Bettineschi

COLUMBIA COUNTY, Fla. — The Columbia County Sheriff's Office said a teenage girl shot and killed her brother overnight.

The 15-year-old girl got a gun from the parents' bedroom and shot her 16-year-old brother, police said. Officers responded to a home in the 1200 block of Sophia Drive in White Springs around 10 p.m. Monday. Police arrived to find the boy dead in the living room.

The teenage girl has been identified by CCSO as Misty "Ariel" Renee Kornegay. She is booked on a count of premeditated murder and is held on no bond.

Deputies have now determined that the 11-year-old sister, Nicole Kornegay, assisted Ariel in the crime, and has been arrested and charged with premeditated murder as well. Deputies say Ariel pulled the trigger and Nicole assisted, but deputies haven't said how she assisted.

Their parents, Keith Kornegay, 37, and Misty Sheree Kornegay, 36, were out of town during the shooting, said CCSO. They have been arrested and charged with neglect. Keith Kornegay is a truck driver, and was on the job three hours away and Misty Sheree Kornegay was with him. They were three hours away from home when they learned of the shooting and returned on their own immediately, deputies say.

One other sibling, age 3, was home at the time of the incident and was not harmed. The 3-year-old was not a witness to the shooting, but was left home alone by her older sisters after it happened. That child is now in the custody of the Florida Department of Children and Families.

"We want to see if there are any safety concerns regarding the children in that home and we want to find out more about the living situation with the children in the home as well," said DCF spokesperson John Harrell.

Ariel and Nicole were found walking near a store in White Springs and had left their 3-year-old sister at the home alone. The White Springs police contacted the CCSO after the two juvenile girls talked with police officers around 11 p.m. in the city about a shooting at the home.

Police are investigating it as a homicide and don't believe at this time it was an accident. This is an ongoing investigation and there is no motive at this time.

Nicole and Ariel are being housed separately in the juvenile facility as interviews continue by the CCSO and the state attorney's office.

No information was available on if the 16-year-old brother who was killed had been the subject of any investigations. Officers were called to the home in the past for one vandalism call and one civil matter. Neither the parents nor kids had a past criminal record, according to CCSO.

CCSO Sheriff Mark Hunter told Action News there were no homicides in the area last year and this is uncommon.

"We have a very safe county and last year we had no homicides, so this is unusual," Hunter said.

All four members of the family who have been arrested are in the Columbia County Jail and will make their first court appearances Wednesday at 7:30 a.m. at the county courthouse.

WJAX

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