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Northview Student Charged As Adult In Murder Of Sister Christina Sneary
August 4, 2011
A former Northview High student, 17-year old Elena Janelle Rendell has now been charged as an adult with the murder of her 14-year old sister Christina Sneary, an eighth grader at Ernest Ward Middle School last year.
Rendell (pictured left)) appeared in court Thursday afternoon and was charged as an adult with one count of manslaughter with a firearm. Her bond was set at $300,000. She is set to appear again in adult court on August 18. If convicted, she faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
The two girls had recently moved with their mother from Sunset View Lane in Molino to the 7600 block of Kipling Street in the Ferry Pass community. The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office responded to that home about 1:40 p.m. Wednesday, where they found the 14-year old girl had been shot in the neck. She was transported to Sacred Heart Hospital in critical condition where she died just before midnight.
The shooting reportedly stemmed from an argument over a cell phone. Both girls were described by a relative as being special needs children.
Rendell was taken into custody at the scene of the shooting by Escambia County Sheriff’s deputies.
“It appears that the two juveniles were at home and involved in some sort of argument,” said sheriff’s office spokesman Deputy Chris Welborn. “At some point, Rendell retrieved a firearm and shot the victim.”
Sneary (pictured left) would have been a freshman this fall at Northview High School.
Pictured top: Elena Janelle Rendell, 17, is charged with the shooting death of her half-sister, 14-year old Christina Sneary. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Comments
63 Responses to “Northview Student Charged As Adult In Murder Of Sister Christina Sneary”
If people had been kinder and more accepting of Elena this likely would never have happened. Anyone know how she is doing now? I hope she got the help she needed and got away from the bible belt.
I find it utterly appalling how quickly people jump to conclusions without knowing ANYTHING about the situation, the people involved or the circumstances. All that people have is a blurb from the media.
I know this family. To begin with BOTH girls were foster children to begin with. They were BOTH drug addicted born babies and the parents took them in knowing this and prepared to love them and care for them. The state promised a multitude of resources that would be made available to the family and they never received the services and assistance they were promised. Christina was adopted by both parents and Elaina was adopted by the mother.
BOTH girls were developmentally delayed. Christina in recent years mentally and emotionally caught up to her chronological age. Elaina may chronologically be 17 but mentally and emotionally she is much like a 12 year old tomboy.
The girls were very close and very loving. Their parents were also very close and very loving.
While Christina did well socially in school, Elaina was bullied repeatedly for years. The family recently moved to Pensacola in the hopes that a new school would provide a better experience fro Elaina and that Escambia county might help them with the services they so desperately needed for Elaina.
Their mother was a stay at home mom who was very involved int he lives of her children and opened her home to her children’s friends and neighborhood children seeking escape from their troubled homes.
Yes, this family had a gun. The gun was kept in a separate place from the bullets. Only days before the incident, the gun had been loaded with a single bullet when an intruder tried to enter the house they were in the process of moving into and they were in danger.
Where were the parents many of you ask? The father was at his job where he works 60+ hours a week to support his wife, daughter and special needs daughter. The mother went to run an errand. Christina was old enough to legally babysit Elaina.
People, please, get all the information before you pass judgements and make assumptions.
This is not a story about guns or bad foster parents. It’s about the broken foster ans social services systems that are tied to the for profit mental health industry. The FL legislature met last year to discuss the fact that more than 2/3 of foster kids in FL are heavily drugged with psych meds and 2/3 of prison inmates in FL came from the foster care system, in response to Gabriel Myers suicide.
All FL death row inmates were previously foster kids.
Until doctors, counselors, programs like TMAP, and pharmaceutical companies are rounded up, jailed, de-licensed and made to pay restitution to the famlies like this, you will continue to see stories just like this and worse.
According to comments by people who knew the family, the entire family was on prescription medications through mental health services. Elena and her family were victimized twice for being bullied. First by the bullies, then by pharma and mental health. Just like Phoebe Prince.
We are a nation of bullies who allows corporations and govt. to exploit those who cannot speak for themselves. No one should be surprised by this at all. If you are, you are easily fooled.
dear mcdavid residents,
i wne t to school with elana, n i have been bullied since the 5th grade i tried to help elana through the bad times i stood up for her, just like i would for any other bullied child, b/c i would want the same done for me ….i to have dissabilities, i have been in ese classes my whole life, this will be my last year at northview n i will be graduating with an ese diploma, n you know what im proud of my self cause i feel like i am that person that god has sent to help other victims that have been bullied…..i hope mrs. weaver see’s this cause maybe now whenever a student goes to her with a problem that he or she is being bullied she’ll actually do something, just like her precious little handbook says she is suppose to do !!
i knew both of these girls … i cant believe that she could do something like this
In response to “truth hurts’ ” comments, which were;
“DO NOT BE FOOLED THAT THIS GIRL WAS ALWAYS THE VICTIM
LET ME SAY SHE GAVE IT AS GOOD AS SHE GOT IT.
I KNOW THIS AS MY CHILD RECIEVED IT FROM HER!”
I was just wondering WHY Elena did this to your child? Perhaps Elena was “giving as well as she got” . (?) Rarely does anyone, mentally challenged or not, fly into someone without a cause. Hmmmm… Just thinking.
Ima Miss Yu Cherry…. I loved Yu Gurl…
R.I.P. Christina
DO NOT BE FOOLED THAT THIS GIRL WAS ALWAYS THE VICTIM
LET ME SAY SHE GAVE IT AS GOOD AS SHE GOT IT.
I KNOW THIS AS MY CHILD RECIEVED IT FROM HER!
Just like “someone who knows the family” said Elena was not supposed to be left at home alone so where was Troyce? I remember Elena coming over and asking if she could stay at my house for a couple hours while Tryoce went and did arrands because she wasnt allowed to be home alone. I dont agree on the fact that they said they knew Elena was capable of this, I dont believe she was! I know it must have taken quite a bit for Elena to go out of her way and get the gun just to shoot Nelly. I also wouldnt put it past Nelly to have been saying things to elena when it happened. Elena came over and talked to me plenty of times about things Nelly or even her parents had said to/about her! I recall her “mother” even complaining about Elena to my mother. It really saddens me that this happened! I will be praying for the family. And seriously praying for Elena!
AGAIN… I ASK WHERE WAS THE MOTHER???? SHE KNEW NOT TO LEAVE A SPECIAL NEEDS CHILD ALONE. ESPECIALLY WHEN ITS COURT ORDERED NOT TOO. AND F.Y.I. THE GUN/GUNS WERE NEVER EVER PUT AWAY….I KNOW THIS FOR A FACT!!!
It seems a lot of people used to watch Elena get picked on & taunted and I’m wondering if anyone ever stood up to the kids/people that were abusive to her or did they just laugh at her too?
This is the kind of stuff that that could of caused another Columbine situation if this girl had really had enough of the abusiveness and brought that gun to school.
She never should have had access to a weapon.
She never should have endured the daily humiliations either.
R.I.P CHERRY
God bless there souls
I have to add this last thought,
It deeply saddens me to hear this news. 14 is so young to be called home to the lord. some in the community will not be suprised, others will be torn apart. I pray for all of this family as their world is falling apart by the minute.
well the parents or parent will probably be charged next as a minor had access to a firearm. as a family member stated “they were both special needs”…..
why would you have firearms in a home with special needs children? perhaps the gun was locked up, i do not know. this is just sad.
Heartbreaking and proof of what the world is heading to. Prayers. Lots of prayers.
And guns only kill when people do not know how to properly store them and use them.
I too knew both girls, and I am very sorry for the situation at hand. Neither one are a winner. So sad. I KNOW Elana to be a very withdrawn, quite, often picked on, never saw any retaliation towards ugly comments, young lady. Her countenance was always the same every time I saw her. Always sad. While I do not agree with the response to her anger, I believe that she was driven to the breaking point. Years of anger, rejection, unkind words, etc., I feel led her to this point.
Love you Elana, and rest assured, you are in our prayers, along with the family.
I WISH EVERYONE WOULD QUIT PASSING JUDGEMENT.NO ONE REALLY KNOWS WHAT HAPPEN.I FEEL SORRY FOR EVERYONE INVOLVED.THE MOTHER SAID THEY BOTH HAD PROBLEMS AND NO ONE WOULD HELP.THAT IS THE TRUTH TO.ITS HARD TO GET HELP FOR PROBLEM CHILDREN.MY SISTER HAS A PROBLEM WITH HER DAUGHTER AND UNLESS YOU HAVE MONEY NO ONE WILL HELP.YOU CAN BAKER ACT THEM AND THEY LET THEM GO IN 3 DAYS.WHAT GOOD DOES THAT HELP.SHES ON AND OFF THE STREETS AS OF TODAY CAUSE SHE HAS A PROBLEM WITH HER BRAIN.SHES HIT MY SISTER HER FATHER SLAPPED HER AND GUESS WHO WENT TO JAIL HER FATHER. SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH THE LAW.
some of you really have no clue about this family and the situation these girls were living in. First of all they were both adopted….Christina was adopted by Mike and Tryoce..Elana adoped by only Troyce the so called mother. Elana is a special needs kid, very angry child and very defiant,, and yes she was picked on just about every day of her life. Christina was very sweet and aslo a special needs kid. I know for a fact that Elana was to NEVER be left unsupervised at any time. Thats how out of control she is. I adored Christina and Elena…..I spent time with both of them…. This shooting should have never happed…..they never should have been left alone….WHERE WAS THE MOTHER???? SHE IS THE ONE AT FAULT FOR NOT BEING THERE SUPERVISING HER CHILDREN. SHE KNEW ELENA WAS CAPABLE OF SOMETHING LIKE THIS…….AND YET SHE LEFT HER UNATTENDED, WITHIN REACH OF A GUN, THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN LOCKED UP. I am outraged that Christina lost her life at such a young age, my heart aches for this family, and my prayers are with them.
This is so sad. Two years ago my wife and I picked these two girls up and drove them to our church youth group several times. I remember them both riding in my back seat. After dropping them off 1 night I just began to weep for them because I knew they had issues. My heart is broken for both of them.
@ Get Educated ,
Did you even know the girls? Did you know if their social lives were bad?
It wasn’t a chain of actions that led up to the tragedy, it was one action that pushed her to do something. They were arguing over a cell phone, not whose life is worse.
“You are probably the part of the reason she killed someone” is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. Get Educated before you talk about getting educated, please.
As for Christina, Rest in Peace.
As for Elena, good luck in prison.
Don’t be blaming stuff on me plz I knew Herr we were good friends I never told Herr anything like that and she was crazy at sometimes but she was still my friend she was and awesome kid and we got alone just fine so plz don’t blame nothin on me I’m sorry if u took it the wrong way
- iWent to school with both of the girls and took a class with Christina. She was a really quiet qirl and she stayed to herself its just sad to hear that this happened to her. My prayers are with her family
@ The World Will Never Know-
You are probably part of the reason she killed someone. You are probably one of those students the other posters are talking about that mercilessly taunted this girl. Even if you didn’t, did you do anything to get her the “help” you thought she needed? Did you report the emotional abuse she was receiving from other students? If your only observation was “she was just Crazy no offense but I thought she needed help from the beginning,” then you were probably part of the problem. It’s people like you that make this world a hard place to live in for some people. I can also tell you’re pretty young by your statement. Do us all a favor and educate yourself on a situation before you pass judgement.
As for the situation, it’s a terrible thing no matter which way you look at it. I’m praying for the family and the 17 year old.
I was close friends with Christina and her sister and it really hurts to know that Elena would do some thin like this to Christina !!
Christina will never be for gotten by me ..
Old Marine obviously missed Rule #1 below concerning sexism.
“More women get people killed chatting it up on the cell phone”
Wow. That’s shocking.
this is just all plan bull
and elana should be in jail right now
and i cant beleve this happend
and elana is a person who wased picked on day by day
m qonna miss Christina very much i hope god watches over her and her family i went to EWMS with her an she was a very nice and quiet qirl =( she qonna be very missed
this is so sad, prayers to all involved, wonder if the parent or parents will be charged for not having the gun locked or more secure. if it had of been maybe the time it would have taken her to get it or anything other deadly weapon tempers may have cooled off or the other girl could have walked out of the house. either way its sad all the way around.
This is completely shocking for me. I knew Elena from our ROTC group at Northview and she was a very sweet girl despite her disabilities and the ridicule she went through on nearly a daily basis. This really shows that verbal abuse can really change people and affect their behavior, not saying she shouldn’t be held responsible for what she did but it does play a role in the whole thing ultimately. And by the way, The World May Never Know, it’s comments like that that affect people the most. My prayers go out to Elena and her entire family for both of these losses.
while I could not understand how a 17 year old couldn’t defend herself from a 14 year old the pictures appear to show the younger girl was larger. I guess this is up to the judge and jury and not us to decide .
where was their mother and why was she not active enough in their young lives to have intervened?
I find it odd that liberals always blame guns which are needed for Hunting and for self defence to be the problem for everything , yet they are quick to defend abortion which always kills a young child.
I am sure more children died by a cloths hangers than by guns when it was still murder.
Registered Abortions Worldwide, through April 2010 is 949,479,786 so guns and children are about even with drownings , why not ban water ?
this is a sad situation and the atmosphere that led up to this came directly from negligent adults who made Liberal decisions
iWill really Miss Her . . Wee had almost every class toqether at ernest ward . . shee was an really qood qirl . . iCant believe somethinq like this happen to her . . ily and will miss you so much . . =’( youu will always be loved .& missed .
ohh my gosh, i can’t believe this i remember this year me christina and a bunch of other girls sat together at the same lunch table and we used to always call her cherry (: she is gone but will NEVER be forgotten .
They were not foster children, they both had the same mother. Just different father, that is what the story reads. So sad to hear that she killed her own blood relative.It is always the wrong people that the guns fall into the hands of. To lose one to death and one to prison is so sad. Prayers to the family.
I grew up in a house with guns. I was taught to respect them as weapons that could kill if used in a inappropriate way. Our guns were locked up, but I knew not to mess with them for no reason and I knew how to use them IF NEEDED. (as in home defense from a burglar) Don’t blame the weapons, blame the 17 year old who picked it up. At 17 you know what will happen if you fire a gun. This all happened over a cell phone and an argument. This is a case of “I want what I want when I want it and will do what it takes to get it” IF she hadn’t had access to the gun she probably would have used a butcher knife from the kitchen. Better lock those up too! Remember a few years ago when a young girl (around age 12 I think) took a knife and killed another girl over something stupid like firecrackers? KIDS are out of control. It isn’t the weapons that are doing the killing, once you hit the age of 10 (or maybe younger) you should know the consequences for your actions. This is a sad, terrible event, I pray for the family. But at 17, she knew what she was doing. May God rest the victims soul.
Well honestly I went to northview I knew Elena Janelle Rendell and she was just Crazy no offense but I thought she needed help from the beginning
I used to live by them & I know both of the girls . Elena was made fun of quite often , and I agree a person can only take so much . It’s nowhere near right what she did , but I feel bad for her & prayers go out to the whole family because this is a horrible thing for anybody to go through .
This is devastating. I remember seeing Elena walking down the hallway in school before I graduated. She was steaming & red in the face. I was unaware of what was going on until I saw a group of females chasing her while verbally abusing her. She tried to be the bigger person and walk away be the other females wouldnt allow it. I could see her being taunted & picked on day by day becaue her physical appearance. Its a sad thing to experience. Its too much emotional distress for one person especially if she is already suffering from a disorder. My prayers goes out to this family & Elena.
It’s always so easy to pass judgement before we get all the details. I’ve done it myself before. However, in this case, I knew both girls for quite some time. Elana was a sweet child and very shy. I cannot help but believe she was bullied and “pushed over- the -edge”. It was a long time in coming. I have seen her taunted and picked on and watched her reactions. All I ever saw, was sadness.
She was one of the saddest children I have ever known. Not one to “open up” to allow anyone to see inside. She looked liked she needed emotional support, especially with all the taunting she got. Looking back, there were “cries for help” that went unheeded possibly, because she could not voice them. My guess is, she would not allow herself to be vulnerable by expressing her feelings about what was going on with her. Besides that, it’s difficult in today’s world , to be “different”. Can you just imagine her pain from her past and now to have to live with the consequences of this? It’s VERY sad about Christina’s death and I am so very sorry. It should not have happened! The main issue though, is not about guns, but about emotional abuse and the reaction to it. Elana (as well as her family) needs our prayers and support now more than ever. Will you join in praying for her?
Fighting over a CELL PHONE?
That’s just crazy.
I agree with Old Marine… “children hadn’t been liberalized back then”. Regard for others and the lives of others is not being taught nearly as much as should be this day & time. It is natural to have anger at times, but anger has to be controlled. Most adults anymore are worse than the kids with their tempers and letting them get out of control.
Agree with the “women yakking on the cell phones”, too and I’m a woman. Very rarely have access to a cell phone myself. I lived a very long time without one. They are a dangerous “weapon” while being used by a driver of a moving vehicle. I see men using them too & not paying attention, but not nearly as much as women.
People kill people…..sometimes they just use a gun…other times they use poison, a car, a knife, strangulation & so on & so on…
I say that if these are special needs girls, then the gun should have been well hidden.
A 17 year old is old enough to know better. She is an adult under most state laws. If she has any kind of mental/emotional problems she probably should not have been left unattended herself, either of them.
This is a really sad situation.
i knew Christina Sneary. we was really close my 6th and 7th grade year. ima miss her
It’s funny when everyone gets so upset when people are getting shot left & right but God forbid the gun laws in this country should be more strictly regulated….oh yeah, I forgot @ the political punch of the NRA…And when the 2nd amendment was written they were loading muskets not AK47’s…
You prefer she hit her in the head with a hammer??? How about stab her? What about running over her with a car. How about mixing diesel fuel and fertilizer and blowing her up in the house?
Violence is a deliberate act. Quit blaming the guns.
Very sad turn of this event. the girl retrieved the gun and returned to the confrontation instead of just leaving .
Yes the adults should have had the weapon secured and should be held accountable.
Ramble on Sara . true there was muskets and hand guns when the 2nd amendment was written.
those were the finest firearms of the day and the equal to the Military of the day. A child could still shoot someone with them but Children hadn’t been liberalized back then
the AK47 you speak of is just a look alike and are really only a self loading carbine and not a real AK and has nothing to do with this situation.
more women get people killed yakking a cell phone while driving
I used to hang out with friends that lived across the street from these girls.. we saw them on a daily bases.. have not seen them in a while but a friend who still did see them said the shooter was constantly made of and treated VERY badly.. Its no excuse.. but some people can only take so much.. hopefully somebody can learn something from this.. dont make fun of people because they are different.. these girls always came off very sweet and just YOUNG.. its hard to imagine someone keeping a gun where a child can get it…. much less a gun in a house with children anyways..
It’s funny when everyone gets so upset when people are getting shot left & right but God forbid the gun laws in this country should be more strictly regulated….oh yeah, I forgot @ the political punch of the NRA…And when the 2nd amendment was written they were loading muskets not AK47’s…
As a former “foster child” from the age of 7 till 18..lived in many homes. Why was this child in foster care? The foster homes I went to had no background checks, it was just left up to the judge. Some were OK..some were BAD! I’ve always said that Foster KIDS need counseling!! wonder IF this one had any??? I know that in 1 foster home they had a daughter around my age & IF i got something from a member of MY family ..the parents would go buy her the same..a lil jealous.it made me very mad. I agree something “provoked” this to happen. I dont know them but for some reason there was a gun (which was not locked up) & a very tragic inccident happened. I hope the parents get charged w/having a gun around. & I pray that this child gets a chance @ LIFE. Give her MENTAL HELP!!!! I dont know if she was known for causing trouble or not. I was a constant runaway while in the system..I should have been seeing a therapist! For the record.. the reason I was in foster care was my mom died & my dad did not want me & 3 brothers(have an older sister that was already an adult & out of the house). I wil be watching this case closely!!
From what I am reading they appear to be in a foster home. In Alabama there are very strict guidelines about firearms (I am sure there are equal guidelines in FL). Firearms must be locked in one place while ammo is locked seperately in another. As someone who has very good knowledge of the foster sysem in AL, it would be a “VERY” careless act for these kids to have access to the foster parents weapons. Also there are many other means for kids to get weapons outside this foster home and bring them into the home.
While this is very sad for those families involved with the kids, my heart also goes out for the foster parents. If they became foster parents for the right reason (for the love of the kids and not for the $$$), it will crush them. As a loving foster parent, your only hope is that you can inspire a kid that might change the rest of their life. Help them realize that there is so much more to life than the abuse or neglect that their real parents had shown them. Help them escape it.
Foster Parents sometimes get the bad rap. The only time you hear about them is when something goes wrong (hopefully this isn’t the case in this tragedy). But there are MANY more that quietly love these hardened children and place their own families at risk. BIG THUMBS UP FOR ALL YOU GUYS!!! However, as much as we would love to change the world, sometimes there are some that you can’t fully reach. My pray is that “one day” (might be next week, next year, or 20 years from now) these foster kids will remember the love and know that life can fun (without abuse and neglect).
This is a tragedy. This story hurts me. My prays go out to all involved.
I know both of these girls. This is so messed up.
I used to live by the family and I knew Elena realy well. We talked quite a bit and I can honestly say she was most likely provoked! She was really sweet and she would do anything for you! I could not believe it when I found out it was her! I feel really sorry for the family and hope that everything works itself out in this case!
Even more sad David is that she was able to even get her hands on a gun. Its just another example of careless adults contributing to a sad and devastating death of a teen.
sad when people know how to shoot but not when not to
WOW!! I’m completely shocked!! What a sad, sad story. These girls used to live in Molino…it’s a shame that this has happened for ALL involved. Pray…just pray….
Leave it to the jury and the judge.
she passed away last night so everyone please pray for this family in their time of need
We havent heard the full story yet. Praying for all involved.
Before she can be charged as an adult two factors have to come into play by the state. The girls past record and if she was provoked.
>>Didn’t another “kid” that is a 17 year old male get charged as an adult here recently, and this girl age 17 is being charged as a juvenile? what’s up with that twisted logic?
The Sheriff’s Office always charges a person under 18 as a juvenile. Then, the State Attorney’s Office can seek to have the defendant charged as an adult.
Didn’t another “kid” that is a 17 year old male get charged as an adult here recently, and this girl age 17 is being charged as a juvenile? what’s up with that twisted logic? Sounds like more of societies double standards to me.
this is so sad i didn’t know the girls well but have saw them with my neice so every one please pray for this young girl an her family i talked to my sister an she said that the young girl had a 10% chance so everyone pray hard that god will bring her through this
It is still a gun crime even if she under the age of 18 she should get the max of what the fl law does not matter where the young girl make it or not the law states 10 20 life stick to the law
why would a 17 year old girl who is a “murderer in training”, only be held on aggravated battery?
this is a firearm felony that will carry a hefty minimum sentence.
Uh oh…cant wait to hear the anti gun folks on this one.