St. Marys Woman Accused Of Killing Grandmother, Aunt's Boyfriend

Palm Beach Authorities Connect 2 Homicides, Shootings On Interstate

ST. MARYS, Ga. – A woman accused of trying to kill her fiancée and threatening her 1-month-old baby in St. Marys late last year was arrested in south Florida on Saturday, accused of killing her grandmother and her aunt's boyfriend in separate incidents and shooting at two people at a rest stop on Interstate 95.

The investigation began about 11 a.m. when two Jupiter, Fla., police were flagged down by neighbors of 81-year-old Donna Kern, who heard commotion and glass breaking.

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Officers said they found Amy Kern, 30, pacing back and forth inside a fenced patio holding tire iron. When she ran upstairs, the officers found the enderly woman lying dead on the staircase, with blood on the floor and walls.

Officers found Amy Kern in a closet with her hands together in a praying position. She gave her name as "Jesus," but was still holding the tire iron and attempted to run when she left the closet. An officer deployed his Taser gun in order to take her into custody.

While restrained on the floor, Kern made several statements, including, ?I'm sorry ... I deserve to die," according to the police report.

While still investigating at the Jupiter crime scene, police learned of a second homicide in nearby Palm Beach Gardens.

Investigators identified the second victim as 59-year-old William Earle Chapman, the live-in boyfriend of Amy Kern's aunt. He was shot to death.

Police later learned that a Kern's green Chevrolet Camaro found behind the grandmother's home was reported to be involved in two shootings at a rest area on I-95 in Martin County on Saturday morning. No was injured in those incidents.

Jupiter police said two spent .38-caliber shells were found on the seat of the Camaro. A framed picture of Marilyn Monroe was on the back seat.

In December, Amy Kern was accused of attacking her fiancée, Andrew Charneski, with an ax.

"Next thing I know, police officers are coming down and they said she had a baby in one hand and an ax in another hand and I guess put a dent in a car," neighbor Paul Heuser said.

Kern was charged with attempted murder and child abuse. She was ordered to receive psychiatric treatment in Savannah.

Charneski told Channel 4's Jason Law that she once responded in a questionnaire that her biggest fear was of killing someone.

Early Saturday morning she left the hospital and headed south to Jupiter.

According to Kern's arrest report, she left her Georgia home because she "did not feel like her medications were right." She told detectives that she had originally planned to kill her father in his Port St. Lucie home because she believed he was Satan, but he wasn't home.

The report says Kern told detectives that her grandmother "needed to die."

Kern is being held without bond in the Palm Beach County jail on two counts of first-degree murder and one of armed burglary.

St. Marys detective John Guy, who worked the ax-attack case and has had other encounters with Kern, said he was not surprised to learn that she was suspected in two homicides.

"We've had incidents where one time she did have a rifle," Guy said. "We couldn't prove she was going to do anything with it, though."

More Online:Jupiter Police Arrest Report Of Amy Kern