STARKE, Fla. (Court TV) — A Florida woman is facing murder charges after allegedly shooting the father of her children outside of their daycare.
Mindy Osteen is charged with the murder of Christopher Jones. (Bradford County Jail)
Mindy Osteen is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and weapons offenses after the deadly shooting outside of Auntie Lili’s Daycare on July 25 that killed Christopher Jones.
In an arrest report reviewed by Court TV, detectives with the Bradford County Sheriff’s Office said surveillance video showed Osteen arrive at the daycare just three minutes after Jones arrived to pick up their two children. The children can be seen exiting the building first, then hugging Osteen, before Jones exits and straps both children into the backseat of his car. Jones walks around the vehicle and sits in the driver’s seat, where Osteen then meets him and opens fire, police said.
Osteen is accused of firing five shots before Jones got out of the car and ran towards the daycare. As he was running, police said Osteen continued to fire and chase him. Jones found himself trapped between two doors when he tried to get back inside the daycare. Police said Osteen appeared to clear a malfunction on her weapon before approaching Jones and firing three more shots. Officers who reviewed the video said Jones could be heard moaning and children’s screams were audible from Jones’ vehicle.
A cruiser is parked outside of Auntie Lili’s Daycare after a deadly shooting on July 25, 2025. (Bradford County Sheriff’s Office)
After the shooting, Osteen allegedly put the gun in Jones’ vehicle and repeated, “Please let the monster die.” She then returned to Jones and said, “You got to die, Chris. You can’t kill (redacted).” Police said Jones responded, “Help me,” to which Osteen said, “Chris, you can’t kill (redacted).” Jones said, “I’m not killing nobody.”
When police arrived, Osteen was still on the scene where she was going through the contents of Jones’ vehicle. When she saw deputies approach, Osteen put her hands in the air and said, “I’m right here, y’all. I done it in self-defense.”
There were six children and two employees inside the daycare at the time of the shooting. Osteen remains behind bars without bond.
