Inset: Justine Mroz (Pasco County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The house where Mroz allegedly strangled her own 6-year-old son to death (WFLA).
A 40-year-old schoolteacher in Florida has been arrested and accused of killing her 6-year-old son, allegedly calling 911 and telling the dispatcher she had just strangled the boy to death and later saying she just “snapped.”
Justine Eve Mroz was taken into custody earlier this week and charged with one count of second-degree murder — dangerous and depraved without premeditation, court records show.
Authorities confirmed to Law&Crime that the juvenile victim’s name was Elliot Perez.
According to a news release from the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, deputies around 9:50 a.m. on Sunday responded to a home in the area of Drexel Road in Land O’Lakes, Florida, regarding the suspected homicide of a juvenile male. The release stated that the suspect, an adult female, called and “reported the incident to dispatch” herself.
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A probable cause affidavit says that Mroz, who divorced her husband in July, had picked up her son from his father and put the boy to bed at about 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 18. One day prior, Mroz said she had been suicidal and attempted to suffocate herself with a plastic bag, but removed the bag after “panicking.”
On the morning of Oct. 19, she said she went into her son’s room at about 7 a.m. and observed that he had vomited. She then cleaned up the mess and put the television on for the boy.
A short while later, Elliot, who has autism and is nonverbal, allegedly began “banging his head on the floor.” Mroz said that when she attempted to restrain the boy, he became physically combative, kicking and biting her before striking the left side of her face.
She then confessed to using her bare hands to kill Elliot as he fought to save his own life, the affidavit says. According to the document:
She snapped, got mad, grabbed him with her hands and choked him with both hands. Justine Mroz eventually pinned [Elliot] down on the ground on his back and began kneeling over [his] body. Justine Mroz straddled [the victim] as she was in a mount position and squeezed [his] neck as hard as she could. [Elliot] began fighting and Justine Mroz continued to squeeze his neck until he became lifeless. Justine Mroz then went into the dining room, cut her wrists, and called 911. Justine Mroz then sent a text message to family members saying she was sorry.
Mroz was initially transported to St. Joseph’s Hospital North for treatment of her own injuries. Authorities said she tested positive for THC.
The Pasco County School District confirmed to Tampa NBC affiliate WFLA that Mroz was employed by the district, but declined to provide details about her duties. Jessica Meek, the public information officer for the school board, released the following statement to the station:
Pasco County Schools can confirm that Justine Mroz is employed by Pasco County Schools. She has been arrested by the Pasco Sheriff’s Office and will not be on any school campus. In accordance with Pasco County Schools policy and employee privacy laws, no additional information will be provided at this time. On behalf of the entire Pasco County Schools family, we extend our deepest condolences to all who are grieving. We are deploying crisis teams to provide care and support to those affected by this heartbreaking event.
Mroz is currently being held without bond. She is scheduled to appear in court at the West Pasco County Judicial Center on Oct. 27 for a status hearing.
