BRADFORD COUNTY, Fla. – In a tragic incident that has shaken a small community, Mindy Osteen, 34, has been charged with first-degree murder and two counts of child abuse following the shooting death of Christopher Jones, the father of her two children.
The shooting occurred during pick-up time at Auntie Lili’s Daycare across from Bradford High School on Friday.
According to the Bradford County Sheriff’s Office, parts of the shooting were captured on surveillance video at the daycare. Deputies say Jones, 37, had been the designated parent to pick up the two children from the daycare on the evening of Friday, July 25.
Deputies added that Osteen showed up to the daycare unannounced, but without any reports of conflicts or confrontations.
From there, Major George Konkel of the Bradford County Sheriff’s Office said Osteen opened fire on Jones as he sat in the driver’s seat of his car, moments after strapping the couple’s young sons in their car seats.
“Like a flip of a switch, and then she turned into this person,” Konkel said. “What’s kind of more haunting than anything else with this incident, is that it looked like you were just watching the typical child pickup from a daycare. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.”
According to the incident report, after being shot multiple times, Jones tried to get help inside the daycare. The report said he managed to get onto the porch, but a second door was locked, leaving him trapped.
Osteen allegedly fired additional shots while Jones was trapped between the daycare doors. The report goes on to say Osteen, who later claimed the shooting was done in self-defense, is heard on surveillance audio saying, “Please let the monster die.”
Jones’ sister, Melanie Russo, disputes the self-defense claim, stating that her brother was a victim of domestic abuse and had sought help.
“People want to stand up and speak for women all the time. Men can be victims, too. Men can be victims too, and I saw it with my own two eyes. I saw him live through it,” she said.
Though Jones had previous run-ins with the law, Russo said her brother had turned a corner and his life was on track.
“He regretted so much from his past, and he wanted to be somebody that his boys could look up to,” Russo shared.
Bradford County deputies say Osteen has a prior domestic battery conviction from 2020. The Bradford County Sheriff’s Office revealed that their last interaction with the couple involving violence was in April 2024, with charges against both Osteen and Jones subsequently dropped.
The tragic event has left two children without their parents.
“That’s going to impact them for the rest of their lives,” Major Konkel said. “Now, they, in essence, lost both parents in one incident.”
The children are currently in the care of relatives as the investigation continues. Osteen had her first appearance before a judge and remains at the Bradford County jail.
