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Florida transgender teen sentenced to 50 years after pleading guilty in killings of mother and her boyfriend

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 3 outlets, all right-leaning.

3 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

Julia Egler, 18, was sentenced to 50 years in prison on Friday after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in the 2024 shooting deaths of her mother, Kelly McCollom, 38, and McCollom’s boyfriend, Matthew Szejnrok, 22, at their Palm Bay, Florida home. Egler had originally faced first-degree murder charges before the plea deal, which reportedly makes her eligible for parole in 25 years. Authorities said Egler, who was born female and was transitioning to male, disapproved of her mother dating a much younger man, while her mother disapproved of her gender transition. The scene was allegedly staged to look like a burglary. In court, Egler apologized, saying, “I’m haunted by grief every day,” and asked for a chance to reintegrate into society.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. Julia Egler, 18, was sentenced to 50 years for the 2024 shooting deaths of her mother, Kelly McCollom, 38, and McCollom’s boyfriend, Matthew Szejnrok, 22.

    Reported byRight

  2. Egler pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in a plea deal, having originally been charged with first-degree murder.

    Reported byRight

  3. Egler, born female, was in the process of transitioning to male.

    Reported byRight

  4. Authorities said the motive involved Egler’s disapproval of her mother dating a much younger man and her mother’s disapproval of her gender transition.

    Reported byRight

  5. The crime scene was staged to look like a burglary, according to authorities.

    Reported byRight

Show 2 more pointsShow fewer points

  1. Egler apologized in court, saying she was “haunted by grief every day” and asking for a chance to reintegrate into society.

    Reported byRight

  2. Breitbart, citing an affidavit, reported that Szejnrok survived the initial shooting and was then stabbed repeatedly before asking to be shot again.

    Reported byRight

What is contested

Where accounts differ

Points the coverage does not agree on, and who says what.

  • Egler’s age at the time of the killings

    The Daily Mail reports Egler was 16 at the time of the murders; the New York Post and Breitbart do not specify her age in 2024, referring only to her current age of 18.

  • Whether Szejnrok survived the initial gunshots and was subsequently stabbed

    Breitbart, citing an affidavit reported by the New York Post, states Szejnrok survived the shooting and was then stabbed repeatedly before asking to be shot again; the Daily Mail and New York Post’s own excerpt do not mention a stabbing.

How each side tells it

Compare views

  • the left

    No coverage yet

    No left-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

  • the center

    No coverage yet

    No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

  • the right

    3 outlets

    All three right-leaning outlets lead with Egler’s transgender identity paired with dramatic verbs describing the killings, with the Daily Mail and New York Post using more sensational language (“unleashed dozens of bullets,” “gunned down”) than Breitbart, which uses a comparatively flatter headline.

    Transgender Teen Gets 50 Years in Plea Deal After Shooting Mom to Death
    Breitbart NewsFar RightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left

    Has not covered this story.

  • Center

    Has not covered this story.

  • Right6

    horror shootingunleashed dozens of bulletschilling murdersKiller teen

In the outlets’ own words

  • Sensational language

    horror shootingMore neutral: shooting

    ‘Horror’ adds dramatic framing beyond a factual description of the shooting.

    …Egler, 18, learned her fate on Friday after pleading guilty to murder in the horror shooting of Kelly McCollom, 38, and her boyfriend Matthew Szejnrok, 22.

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)

  • Sensational language

    unleashed dozens of bulletsMore neutral: fired dozens of bullets

    Dramatic phrasing emphasizes shock rather than stating the facts plainly.

    Trans teen who unleashed dozens of bullets on mom and her MUCH younger boyfriend, 22, strikes plea deal for chilling…

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)

  • Loaded modifier

    chilling murdersMore neutral: murders

    ‘Chilling’ passes emotional judgement rather than describing the act neutrally.

    …of bullets on mom and her MUCH younger boyfriend, 22, strikes plea deal for chilling murders

    Used byDaily Mail (Right)

  • Dehumanizing label

    Killer teenMore neutral: Teen

    Labels the defendant primarily as a ‘killer’ before conviction details are given context, framing her identity around the crime.

    Killer teen Julia Egler, 18, told her sentencing she was "sorry" for killing her mom and her…

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

Show 2 more phrasesShow fewer

  • Sensational language

    grisly 2024 slayingsMore neutral: 2024 killings

    ‘Grisly’ adds sensational emotional coloring beyond a neutral description of the killings.

    …was sentenced to 50 years behind bars after accepting a plea deal in the grisly 2024 slayings of her mother and her mom’s much-younger boyfriend.

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

  • Loaded verb

    gunned downMore neutral: shot

    This phrase carries more violent connotation than a neutral verb like ‘shot’ or ‘killed.’

    Trans teen who gunned down mom and her much-younger boyfriend gets hefty sentence in plea deal

    Used byNew York Post (Right)

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

0 outlets

No left-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

From the center

0 outlets

No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

From the right

3 outlets

Leads with

  • Egler’s transgender identity
  • the plea deal and sentence length
  • the family dispute over her mother’s dating and her transition
  • the staged burglary scene
See the 3 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
  • Breitbart NewsFar Right

    Transgender Teen Gets 50 Years in Plea Deal After Shooting Mom to Death

    Eighteen-year-old Julia Egler, a biological female transitioning to male, received 50 years Friday for the 2024 killings of her mother and her mother's boyfriend.

    Read at Breitbart News (opens in a new tab)
  • New York PostRight

    Trans teen who Loaded verb“gunned down”This phrase carries more violent connotation than a neutral verb like ‘shot’ or ‘killed.’More neutral: shotDisagree with this highlight? mom and her much-younger boyfriend gets hefty sentence in plea deal

    Dehumanizing label“Killer teen”Labels the defendant primarily as a ‘killer’ before conviction details are given context, framing her identity around the crime.More neutral: TeenDisagree with this highlight? Julia Egler, 18, told her sentencing she was "sorry" for killing her mom and her mom's 22-year-old boyfriend. "I'm haunted by grief every day."

    Read at New York Post (opens in a new tab)
  • Daily MailRight

    Trans teen who Sensational language“unleashed dozens of bullets”Dramatic phrasing emphasizes shock rather than stating the facts plainly.More neutral: fired dozens of bulletsDisagree with this highlight? on mom and her MUCH younger boyfriend, 22, strikes plea deal for Loaded modifier“chilling murders”‘Chilling’ passes emotional judgement rather than describing the act neutrally.More neutral: murdersDisagree with this highlight?

    Trans teen Julia Egler, 18, learned her fate on Friday after pleading guilty to murder in the Sensational language“horror shooting”‘Horror’ adds dramatic framing beyond a factual description of the shooting.More neutral: shootingDisagree with this highlight? of Kelly McCollom, 38, and her boyfriend Matthew Szejnrok, 22.

    Read at Daily Mail (opens in a new tab)

Articles you open from here build My Mix, a private picture of how your reading spreads across the spectrum, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Center

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Right

    First to report

    Daily Mail, Sep 27, 3:46 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. Daily MailRightSep 27, 3:46 PM EDT
  2. New York PostRightSep 28, 9:29 AM EDT
  3. Breitbart NewsFar RightSep 28, 12:03 PM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

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