JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Police are charging 14-year-old Mitchell Daughtry with the murder of his mother, 52-year-old Pamela Daughtry. They say he stabbed her to death and then stole his family's SUV and drove to Miami.
Mitchell Daughtry was taken into custody in Miami on Aug. 18 and was held for psychiatric evaluation because he had attempted suicide by taking pills, JSO Lt. Steve Gallaher said. After he was released from a South Florida hospital, Mitchell was arrested and charged with murder and auto theft.
The teen was transported back to Jacksonville on Wednesday. Gallaher said the State Attorney's Office will likely seek to charge Mitchell as an adult.
According to police, homicide detectives were called to a home on Monument Ridge Drive on Aug. 18 and found 52-year-old Pamela Daughtry, Mitchell's mother, dead inside.
She was found in the kitchen with multiple stab wounds, covered in a blanket, Gallaher said.
He said that Pamela Daughtry (pictured) had sent her adult daughter a text message at 1:29 p.m., asking her to come to the house because Mitchell was angry. She did not say why he was angry.
The daughter did not have her phone with her, so she did not see the message until later. When she got to the home, she found her mother dead.
It appears Mitchell broke into the family safe, where they had been hiding the kitchen knives from him, Gallaher said.
Investigators said that shortly after Pamela Daughtry was found Mitchell was reported missing with the family's Volvo SUV and was believed to be in danger of hurting himself.
Mitchell was tracked to Miami at about 7 p.m., when he began contacting friends and family by text and phone calls, and in those messages admitted to killing his mother, Gallaher said.
Mitchell was found by South Florida police about 10 p.m. and was taken into custody.
This isn't the first time police have been involved with Mitchell's family. Barry Daughtry, Mitchell's father, was jailed in February on two counts of lewd molestation. Barry Daughtry was released from jail after posting bond the day after his wife was killed.
Neighbors, who have known the family for years, said they were still in disbelief after finding out the little boy they watched grow up is now behind bars for allegedly murdering his mother, though they had seen some troubling signs coming from the family.
Family counselor Mike McClendon, with First Coast Family Counseling, said those signs could have been precursors to the tragedy.
"If you look at recent history for Mitchell, it's going to be something that sparked concern for the adults in his life," McClendon said.
Officials said that Mitchell came to have harmful thoughts against himself and became angry in February after his father's arrest. McClendon said that loss of impulse control and mood management could have been a sign.
McClendon also said that Mitchell Daughtry covering his mother's body with a blanket was a telling example of Mitchell Daughtry's emotions after the murder.
"That speaks to some degree of remorse. Remorse or some shame," McClendon said.
McClendon also said that teens do go through changes and said that parents should keep a close eye on when those changes occur.
"Two things I would encourage parents to look for, kids being responsive to the re-direction of their parents and parents to get into their kids business," McClendon said.
As for the family left behind, a GoFundMe account has been set up to help them pay for funeral costs and move forward.