14-Year-Old Charged With First-Degree Murder After Mother Found Shot Following Dispute Over Stolen Tablet

A 14-year-old boy has been charged with first-degree murder after his mother, 41-year-old Theresa McIntosh, was found with a gunshot wound to the back of her head in Cheyenne, Wyoming, authorities say.

According to a news release from the Laramie County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded around 12:50 p.m. local time on Saturday, March 7, to a report of a woman with a gunshot wound to the head. Responding officers located McIntosh unconscious but breathing and with a visible gunshot wound. She was transported to a local hospital and later airlifted to a Colorado medical center, where she died of her injuries.

Police say a juvenile was taken into custody at the scene. Court affidavits filed with the Laramie County Circuit Court and reported by local outlets identify the suspect as the victim’s teenage son. The teen initially told investigators that his mother had shot herself but later admitted he shot her after an argument over an electronic tablet he allegedly stole from a client of his mother’s cleaning business.

In statements recorded in the affidavit, the boy said he became angry after his mother called him names during the confrontation and that he had, at times, thought about killing her when she pressured him. He told investigators the shooting occurred in his bedroom and that he used a firearm his mother normally kept in her vehicle. He reportedly took the gun from her car about a week earlier after a heated argument about his grades and kept it in his closet until the day of the shooting.

“I don’t want to think what I think happened,” McIntosh’s common‑law husband — the boy’s biological father — told investigators, according to reporting. “I don’t even want to put it into words. I don’t want to think that because it’s a really f--cked up thing for a parent to think.”

The father told police he was downstairs playing video games with noise‑cancelling headphones on and initially mistook the sound of the gunshot for a pop. When he went upstairs he found McIntosh on the floor and his son standing outside the bedroom. He called 911 and tried to tend to her wounds until emergency personnel arrived.

Local reporting notes the teenager had been receiving counseling and was taking medication for mental health concerns at the time of the incident. The 14-year-old has been charged with first-degree murder and will be prosecuted as an adult. If convicted, he faces a potential sentence of life in prison. It was not clear from available reports whether he has retained legal representation.

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health challenges or emotional distress, resources are available. In the U.S., call or text 988 or visit 988lifeline.org for 24/7 support.