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Elena Rendell, 17, Now Held At Escambia Jail Charged As Adult
August 5, 2011
Elena Janelle Rendell, 17, is now being held in the Escambia County Jail as she awaits trial for killing her sister, 14-year old Christina Marie Sneary. She is charged as an adult with one count of manslaughter with a firearm with bond set at $300,000.
Rendell is accused of shooting Sneary in the neck Wednesday afternoon at a home in Ferry Pass after the two got into an argument over a cellphone. Rendell allegedly retrieved a 9 mm hangun from a high shelf before firing a single gunshot at Sneary. She then reportedly ran from the home, calling out to neighbors and telling them that her sister had been shot.
She was taken into custody at the scene by Escambia County Sheriff’s deputies and claimed that the shooting was accidental. She was first charged as a juvenile with aggravated battery and held overnight Wednesday in the Juvenile Detention Center. She was in custody as her sister died just before midnight Wednesday at Sacred Heart Hospital.
Rendell sat in her first juvenile court appearance unaware that Sneary had died. She was escorted out of the courtroom and informed that her sister was dead and that charges against her were upgraded.
At Rendell’s court hearing, her brother, Army Sgt. Jason Rendell, asked Circuit Judge Ross Goodman to release her into his custody. The request was denied by Goodman.
Rendell is due to appear in Escambia County Circuit Court on August 18.
Comments
27 Responses to “Elena Rendell, 17, Now Held At Escambia Jail Charged As Adult”
Can we say “mental health reform”….
I have known this family for many years, I used to watch and play with the girls when they were little. They were both very loving children who loved each other very much, but they did both have a lot of underlying issues. Nellie will be missed by many and I hope the best for Elena, I know her late sister would not want her to spend the rest of her life in prison.
When I see these comments defending this girl for what she did, blaming it on the fact she was “picked on” and “bullied” I feel disgusted. First, she was known to stir up trouble herself. She HAD friends but they left her for a reason. She was was a mean, crule girl. She talked badly about a girl who’s mother is dead! What kind of heartless monster can be so careless with their words. Words DO cut deep and she deserved what everyone threw at her. I am sure she is scared out of her mind right now and she deserves to be. She knows right from wrong, she lied. She wouldn’t have lied of she did not know the diffrence. You can not blame a parent for their childs mistakes either. Elana is the one who pulled the trigger! She would have harmed her sister weather she had a gun or not. Would you be blaming the parents if she got a knife from the kitchen and stabber her? I think not.
The only thing I will say is my prayers are with the family and with Elena. This is a very sad event.
“she was bullied in school and it was because she was diffrent and no one would stand up for her”
I have read this several times. I also read she bullied others as well.
I know for a fact that when she was at EWMS she had other students defend her and stick up for her. these students did this all year until they realized Elena was just as guilty of bullying other students. they quit defending her when she became the bully!
there is no easy answer why she did what she did, but she knew it was wrong!
I knew this girl and sense everyone else has an opinion on this I do to. Look people she was bullied in school and it was because she was diffrent and no one would stand up for her. She also had a few problems at home, but she wanted a better life for herself she idolize her brother because she wanted to be like him. She also had a few other pyschological problems and was tend to do things very compulsively. I dont know if she did this on purpose or not but chances are it was a reaction. I see an insanity plea coming on this one. Oh and by the way people judge not lest ye be judged. Its up to a jury to decide not us. May God forgive her because that is all that matters.
As I sit back and read all of your comments, I ask myself many questions.
1) Why those of you that knew they were in this situation didn’t do anything about it? Call the police….Call HRS
2) If you knew, doesn’t that make you just as guilty? You just set back and watched
3) If it was your child that was bullying her, does that make you even MORE guilty? Since you didn’t do anything about it!!!!
This is not the time to point fingers. According to your comments, fingers should of been pointed along time ago.
I have known this family since these girls were little and it all goes back to the state that never provided the mental health services they promised but never delivered. They were adopted and given the love they wouldn’t have had other wise had being drug babies. If you don’t know the family then you don’t need to comment on things you don’t know.
Omg. I knew this christina. She was so sweet and quiet. Never gave trouble and had the cutest smile. Whatever happens to Elena she deserves it. Over a cell phone? Really?… Thats not worth taking a life…
Well said “someone who knows the family well”. You are so right, she would nit get up to get the kids off to school, the had their own alarm clock. I am still wondering why their brother and sister did try to get these girls until it was too late. They both knew how bad it was according to the girls.
If you point a loaded gun at someone and they die it’s not an accident. If you drop your gun and it goes off that’s an accident. Just saying…. I also agree the gun owner should catch a charge as well. By leaving a gun(loaded no less) where anyone else, especially children, has easy access to it should be the same as giving someone your gun, who then goes and commits murder with it. Which is more or less what happened here. I have guns, locked away in a safe only me and my wife know the combination to. My mother, who lives with us, is a 20 year veteran to the postal service and also claims to hear voices at night. If my mother were to use my guns to harm herself or anyone else I would feel responsible for that.
BOTH GIRLS WERE SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN. Elena knew the dangers of being around firearms and were taught to never touch one. She was in ROTC….she wanted to be just like her brother…she knew what she was doing. As far as the mother trying to get help….well that may have been possible if she ever got out of bed and stayed off pills. I know, I tried to help her and explain to her how much help is out there for her girls…but she NEVER did anything to even inquire about getting help, the only thing she got was checks every month because they were on SSI. Lazy moms never get the help there children deserve. Its a lot of work, and takes patience to apply for the neccessary assistance both girls needed. Elena was tomented not only at school, but neglected at home as well. I’ve never seen an angry child with so much built up aggression until her. She needed HELP….and now she’ll spend the rest of her life getting it. The sad thing is, she has no feelings, no remorse, and doesn’t care about anything… Not even the death of her sister. The mother should have done more to make sure the firearm was under lock and key, as should any parent with a firearm. We are parents because GOD gave us a gift, and we need to protect our gift with any any means neccessary. My prayers are with the family.
Anyone offering more than prayer for this family is still picking on this child. This world needs prayer. May God bless us all.
Ok I have two special needs children I own a gun and they have been taught gun saftey since they could walk they are both delayed one more ways then the other one can be very heartless but a killer he is not. I have read this case in the news and I do understand what its like to go through the feelings of not being able to fix my child. At the same time if my child picks up my gun that has been put in a safe place and kills us I can say he knows what he is doing when he picks up a gun and points at someone.I am not a Dr but I have been around awhile. and know that if a child is taught about a gun then they know it KILLS. The only sad part is if this young girl is delayed she does not need to be charged as an adult since she is 17. but her mind maybe so much younger and to be locked up with adults NO that is wrong she should be treated like the child she is.
The parents should be charged, it was noted that they are special needs (or at least one of them is/was) Why was a gun in easy reach of a special needs child?
If they can’t think as a clear adult , then that only leaves the adults at fault for not having the gun locked up and out of reach.
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!
can”t belive it u used to no her in milno park
I believe when our justice system gets rid of gangs and stops home invasions along with the new phenomenon called flash mobs and beat downs , then we can discuss not having a weapon in a home that is readily available.
it is being unrealistic to think homeowners should have guns locked up and unloaded when criminals go with a slap on the wrist and a revolving door.
this young girl could have just as easily killed her sister with a kitchen knife.
as for me , my guns are loaded and readily available however my family members are constantly trained , knowledgeable and evaluated.
what if gun safety was not taboo to teach and this young girl would have been shown what that very hand gun would do to a gallon milk jug filled with water at short range , that is an eye opener.
filled with red jello will really leave a realistic look at the power of a handgun and teach a child to respect the weapon. instead they only see a small bullet and haven’t a clue how much damage it can really do , hence little respect for the weapon and i doubt she fully understood.
It is sad the girl was allowed to be tormented , I can assure you I would have put a stop to it if it was my child , but a fillet knife ,ginsu or an old hickory would have given the same result
Mandatory minimum of 25 years means they have to serve the entire sentence, not just 10 years, Blessed.
@JimD,
If this child had not been tormented ruthlessly by her classmates and others, her mind might have been in a better place and NONE OF THIS would have ever happened! A dose of reality? Dude, this girl’s had nothing BUT reality for too long! She finally snapped and now she’s sitting in jail and her sister is dead. How sad is that? Maybe one of YOUR kids was one of the bullies. Would you think your child bore any of the responsibility for this if he/she had been? I certainly do.
A young, vulnerable and impressionable mind can only take so much. It’s a shame that she was pushed so far by so many and now we are sitting here discussing her sister’s death and her incarceration. My prayers are with the family and with this young girl. She’s suffered so much already and now she’s going to suffer even more. Our society killed them both. Are we proud of ourselves?
i totally agree with jimd….u know at 17 yrs old consequences of a gun…and now this child is going to have to pay for them….it’s not like we have a “actually”good civil system here in florida anyway…heck she will be out in 10 yrs anyway for good behavior
@JimD, if you would have kept up with this story and actually know of those involved, you would know this girl was suffering from some serious psychological issues, and anger issues, and most likely mentally challenged. She could have gotten some help, but the mother could not get help for her, how/why no clue. If she was not in her right mind when everyone knew she had some issues, things this serious happens. I’m sure she will live with that guilt the rest of her life if she really understands the depth of her actions. One day when you’re off your nut you would understand… or would you? It is easy to say what others would do, how they would do it, what someone deserves, when you’re not the one involved.
I really wish the Judge would have let Jason get custody of Elena. She called me a couple weeks ago and the first thing she told me was that her brother(Jason) was going to try and get custody of her but it would take about two months and that meant so much to her. I know she was upset about having to come back home after she was gone to stay with him for a couple weeks. She loves her brother very much and I hope everything works itself out in this case!
JimD, I agree that the mom should be charged with allowing access to her firearm, which is crime under Florida law. However, what purpose would our government get out of this by adding more salt to the wound?
They should have let Army Sgt. Jason Rendell have her for a few hours, I’m quite sure she would have suffered some serious verbal abuse from her more disciplined sibling.
Molino-Anon…What help does this person need, besides respect for others, and a dose of reality…which has been given to her courtisy of the Escambia County Sheriff’s
Department.
At 17, she knew what she was doing…and to go and get a loaded weapon from a high shelf, then point it at your sister and fire it on a 14 year old….over a cell phone. Throw the key away. People have to remember in real life there is no reset button, and if you pull the trigger, something REAL will happen.
The owner of this handgun should also be charged with manslaughter for not locking the gun away. You would think with kids in the house, having friends over, something like this would have been thought of.
Now everyone left in the family has to deal with the consequences!!
Very sad for all involved, it is to bad when someone can’t get the help they need.