Boy’s Chilling Confession: Mom’s Death Not Accident

A 14-year-old boy in Wyoming stands accused of executing his own mother over a stolen tablet, highlighting the catastrophic breakdown of family values and personal accountability plaguing American youth today.

Story Snapshot

Havoc Leone, 14, charged as an adult with first-degree murder after allegedly shooting his mother, Theresa McIntosh, 41, in the back of the head during an argument over a stolen tablet
The teen deliberately retrieved his mother’s 9mm handgun and shot her while she bent down to pick up a dropped notebook, contradicting his initial claim the gun “just went off”
Leone had a pattern of stealing electronics from his mother’s clients and changing his story multiple times to investigators before finally confessing
The father, gaming in the basement with noise-cancelling headphones, discovered the scene and initially hoped it was suicide rather than accept his son’s guilt

Premeditated Act Over Petty Theft

On March 7 in Cheyenne, Wyoming, Havoc Leone shot his mother Theresa McIntosh in the back of the head with her own Taurus 9mm handgun during a confrontation about a tablet he stole from one of her in-home care clients. The shooting occurred around 11:30 a.m. after McIntosh called her son a thief and asked him to finish his homework. Leone threw a notebook into the room, and when his mother bent to retrieve it, he retrieved the firearm from her bedroom and fired a single shot behind her right ear near the neck.

The deliberate nature of this act cannot be overstated. According to his father’s statements to investigators, Leone had been taught firearm safety rules and “knows not to point unless planning to kill.” The gun was normally stored in McIntosh’s vehicle with a loaded magazine but no chambered round, meaning Leone took the extra step to chamber a round before committing this heinous act. This wasn’t an accident or momentary lapse—this was a calculated decision by a teenager who chose murder over facing consequences for his theft.

Pattern of Deception and Theft

Leone’s criminal behavior didn’t begin with murder. The 14-year-old had established a pattern of stealing electronic devices, targeting vulnerable clients his mother cared for in their homes. The stolen tablet that sparked the fatal confrontation belonged to one of these clients, demonstrating a disturbing lack of respect for both his mother’s livelihood and basic property rights. When confronted by his parents that morning about the theft, Leone’s response escalated from argument to violence rather than accepting responsibility for his actions.

After the shooting, Leone attempted multiple cover stories with investigators. He first claimed his mother handed him the gun, then changed his account to say he took it from her car following an argument about math homework. Only after forensic evidence proved the wound inconsistent with suicide—no contact wound, no exit wound, location behind the ear—did Leone admit to the actual sequence of events. This pattern of lies reveals a disturbed young person more concerned with avoiding accountability than showing remorse for taking his mother’s life.

Father’s Devastating Discovery

Leone’s father was in the basement playing video games with noise-cancelling headphones when he heard a “pop” around 11:45 a.m. but dismissed it. Approximately 45 minutes later, he discovered his wife’s body and his son claiming the gun “just went off.” The father attempted first aid and called 911, but McIntosh was airlifted to UC Health in Fort Collins, Colorado, where she died the same day. His heartbreaking statement to investigators—”It’d be a lot easier to accept that she killed herself than my son tried to kill her”—captures a father’s desperate denial in the face of unthinkable evil.

This tragedy underscores critical failures in addressing youth behavioral problems before they escalate to violence. Leone now faces first-degree murder charges as an adult with bond set at $500,000. The Laramie County Sheriff’s office and Cheyenne Police reclassified the case from suicide to homicide based on medical evidence and Leone’s evolving statements. This case serves as a stark reminder that parental authority, personal responsibility, and consequences for theft matter—when families fail to instill these values, communities pay the ultimate price.