A Memphis mother allegedly found a 20-year-old man hiding under her 13-year-old daughter’s bed, ordered him out of the house and ended the night charged with murder.
The 36-year-old mother, Kendra Scott, is accused of killing Rodderius Morton after a pre-dawn confrontation at her family’s Travis Road home.
The New York Post, citing an arrest affidavit it obtained, reported that Scott told police she came home and “saw a dude under” the bed.
The affidavit gave police Scott’s alleged explanation in seven words. “And I did what I had to do,” she stated.
Police later placed the shooting in the 3000 block of Travis Road, where officers were called around 1:50 a.m. Thursday. Morton did not survive the gunshot wound and was declared dead at the scene.
The arrest that followed brought two charges against Scott, first-degree murder and employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony.
The teen’s own account, echoed in the court document and by Scott’s lawyer, put Morton inside the house first: she had invited him over around 1 a.m.
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Scott arrived soon after and was allegedly outside the front door, demanding to know who was in the home.
“Who’s at my house?!” Scott allegedly yelled.
The daughter later told police she was frightened because her mother had a gun. She also told investigators Scott had previously warned that if she “sees a boy in my house I will put a hole in his ass.”
The door was opened for Scott, with the Post noting the odd unanswered question of why she needed access to her own home.
The murder charge turns on what allegedly happened after Morton left the bedroom. Scott allegedly found Morton beneath the girl’s bed.
The Post reported that Scott ordered Morton out of the home. “Get out of my house, bitch,” she allegedly screamed.
The confrontation moved through the front door before the gun went off. Scott allegedly followed Morton outside, where her daughter and a neighbor later said they heard the shot.
The Post, citing the affidavit, reported that Morton was found outside and had been shot in the back of the head.
The neighbor’s account also placed Scott near the body with an alleged admission. “I shot him, I shot him,” she reportedly said.
The Post reported that investigators collected a black Smith & Wesson handgun and found one spent shell casing on the front porch.
Scott’s lawyer is leaning into the fear any parent would feel after finding an adult man in a child’s bedroom.
“This incident started with the worst nightmare of any parent of a 13-year-old girl,” Scott’s lawyer, Blake Ballin, told the Post.
Ballin said the case may come down to whether anyone could act rationally under those circumstances.
The fact that Morton was allegedly outside when he was shot may be the tougher hurdle for Scott.
Neighbors saw the case two ways. Gloria Milon, who lives in the area, told WMC that the thought of someone being inside with one of Scott’s daughters was painful.
“She seemed like a real nice lady. All I can say is, that hurts that someone was in there with one of her little girls,” Milon said.
Another neighbor, who asked not to be identified, told WMC that Scott should have called police before going inside.
“I would’ve called the police and had them sitting at my house when I got there,” the neighbor said. “Therefore, you take him out, take him on to jail.”
WMC reported in a separate story that Scott received a $100,000 bond. She remained in jail, and Aug. 3 was listed as her next court date.
A separate Florida case raised a different version of the same vigilante question.
Journee McGrew, 22, is facing an August sentencing in Jacksonville, Florida, after admitting guilt in the death of Waduta Londrell Woodley, 41. Woodley was killed with a metal hammer on July 2, 2025.
McGrew put an alleged history of abuse at the center of her testimony, claiming Woodley had groomed and sexually molested her since elementary school.
Her account in court was that she wanted evidence, not a killing. She testified that she brought Woodley to her apartment by falsely claiming she wanted sex.
“This was not supposed to happen. I really wasn’t in my right mind when this happened. I’m not violent, and I’m sorry for this situation,” McGrew testified.
Police found Woodley in a pool of blood in an apartment complex breezeway. His head and face showed blunt force trauma, and a paper placed on his chest read, “PEDO Touches Children.”
McGrew answered when officers came to her door. The bloody footprints and bloody hammer were later found by police.
Woodley’s mother told the court the killing shattered her family.
“Everything changed in a second when your only son has been murdered,” she said.
“Yes, this has affected my family, my daughter, my granddaughter. … We don’t know how to cope.”
McGrew also told the court she had been diagnosed with psychosis and post-traumatic stress disorder before the murder.
After initially pleading not guilty to two charges, McGrew changed her plea to guilty in December 2025. Prosecutors are seeking life in prison.
“McGrew decided last year to be judge, jury, and executioner,” the state said. “She decided she was going to take the law into her own hands. She decided to be a vigilante, to be retaliatory and to impose a sentence.”
WJXT-TV reported that Woodley had no criminal history related to sexual assault or the abuse of children.
