Teenager Accused Of Killing Father, Family Says Girl Is ‘Hero Who Saved Them All’

A 14-year-old girl has been charged with aggravated murder after killing her allegedly abusive father.

On July 28, Bresha Meadows shot her father, 41-year-old Jonathan Meadows, in the head, according to a report from WKBN. Brandi Meadows, Bresha's mother, called police around 3:46 a.m. EST on Thursday, and told them that Bresha had shot Jonathan. He died as a result of his injuries.

In the days that have followed since the shooting, family members of the teenager have come forward to describe her father as a physically and verbally abusive man who terrorized his family and controlled his wife's every move. "Possessive and abusive," Sheri Latessa, Bresha's aunt, said about the latter's father in another report done by WKBN. "He controlled her, and it was like she was in jail — 18 years worth of jail."

In 2011, Brandi filed a civil domestic violence protection order against Jonathan, writing that she was in fear of her life.

"In the 17 years of our marriage, he has cut me, broke my ribs, fingers, the blood vessels in my hand, my mouth, blackened my eyes. I believe my nose was broken," she wrote. "If he finds us, I am 100 percent sure he will kill me and the children… my life is like living in a box he created for me, and if I stepped out of that box, he's [right] there to put me back in that box."

The protection order was later dismissed at her request and the couple reconciled, a common occurrence in abusive relationships.

In an interview with Fox 8 Cleveland, Brandi called Bresha "my hero," adding "I wasn't strong enough to get out and she helped us all."

Currently Bresha's attorney, Ian Friedman, is preparing a packet of information for the persecution, including records from hospitals and government agencies, that will provide a clearer picture of the abuse that occurred in the home.

"[Bresha] watched her father punch, kick and stomp her mother," Friedman said. "That, in and of itself, is traumatic. The kids witnessed their father's drinking and drug use lead to escalated beatings that would, at times, end with their mother being unconscious. She lived a life that no child should. She took the only step that she could, in her mind, to save her mother's life and that of her siblings."

Bresha is currently in a juvenile detention center in Warren, Ohio. A relative has created a GoFundMe page to help her family relocate.

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