California mom begged for help before ex gunned her down in front of their 4-year-old son: DA

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Cite

Price, S. (2026, August 4). California mom begged for help before ex gunned her down in front of their 4-year-old son: DA. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/us/california-mom-begged-help-ex-gunned-down-front-4-year-old-son-da

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Fox News · collected 2026-08-04 · by Stepheny Price

Quick Summary

A district attorney described the killing of 30-year-old Brittany Elizabeth Ligdis by her ex-boyfriend Jeffery Kendall as "an execution in front of a 4-year-old child". Kendall, 39, was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison for murdering Ligdis just 10 days after she ended their relationship. A jury found Kendall guilty of first-degree murder and child endangerment in May. Prosecutors said Kendall entered the room where Ligdis was hiding with their son on February 16, 2024, shot her in the head, and then fled the scene.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-08-21, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

Jeffery Kendall, 39, was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison for murdering his ex-girlfriend Brittany Elizabeth Ligdis, 30, in front of their 4-year-old son. The crime occurred on February 16, 2024, when Kendall broke into Ligdis' home in Pinole, California, while she was hiding with their child in a laundry room. During a 911 call that Ligdis made to beg for help, Kendall entered the room and shot her in the head after she pleaded with him to stop scaring their son. The child's screams can be heard on the 911 recording, which ultimately led to Kendall's conviction for first-degree murder and child endangerment. A jury found Kendall guilty in May of these charges, and he was sentenced by the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office.

Written for “California Murder Investigation” on 2026-10-16, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 California Murder Investigation
Crime & Law · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 17% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
BBC News
⚖️ Leans strongly left further left than this 🔴 9% hedged 2 of 23 📰 publisher trust 69
“Different locations, victims, perpetrators, and outcomes indicate two separate incidents”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
23
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
17%
4 of 23 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
67/100
Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-08-04 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Fox News · 4368 article(s) · 9 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 9 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Stepheny Price
52 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by Stepheny Price
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 52 articles by Stepheny Price →

Topics

911 California Contra Costa County Pinole the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office

Subjects

Kendall PERSON · 10× Ligdis PERSON · 3× Kim PERSON · 2× Wells PERSON · 2× Brittany Elizabeth Ligdis PERSON · 1× California GPE · 1× Jeffery Kendall PERSON · 1× Pinole GPE · 1× Tylyn Wells PERSON · 1× the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office ORG · 1×

Narrative

More than two years after a California mother's desperate 911 call ended with her 4-year-old son witnessing her killing, the father prosecutors said carried out the execution will spend decades behind bars.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-08-04
🔮 More than two years after a California mother's desperate 911 call ended with her 4-year-old son witnessing her killing, the father prosecutors said carried out the execution will spend decades behind bars.

Claims (23 extracted, 4 hedged)

More than two years after a California mother's desperate 911 call ended with her 4-year-old son witnessing her killing, the father prosecutors said carried out the execution will spend decades behind bars. asserted
prosecutors → end → bars
Jeffery Kendall, 39, was sentenced Monday to 50 years to life in prison for murdering 30-year-old Brittany Elizabeth Ligdis just 10 days after she ended their relationship, according to the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office. uncertain
she → sentence → Office
A jury found Kendall guilty in May of first-degree murder and child endangerment for placing the couple’s young son in a situation that threatened his safety. uncertain
that → find → safety
Prosecutors said Ligdis called 911 on the morning of Feb. 16, 2024, after Kendall broke into her Pinole home while she hid in a laundry room with their 4-year-old son. asserted
she → say → son
About 90 seconds into the call, Kendall entered the room. asserted
Kendall → enter → room
," Ligdis pleaded, according to the district attorney’s office. uncertain
Ligdis → plead → office
"You're scaring him." asserted
You → scar → him
Moments later, she screamed, "Stop it," before Kendall shot her in the head, prosecutors said. asserted
prosecutors → scream → head
The couple’s son cried out, "Momma," and fled the room while Kendall ran from the home. asserted
Kendall → cry → home
Responding officers found Ligdis dead from a gunshot wound to the head. asserted
officers → respond → head
Deputy District Attorney Tylyn Wells described the killing as "an execution in front of a 4-year-old child" and argued it was not the result of "a mental break," according to the district attorney’s office. uncertain
it → describe → office
Instead, Wells said the murder reflected a pattern often seen in domestic violence cases, where the danger escalates after a victim decides to leave. asserted
victim → say → cases
Wells asked the court to impose a sentencing enhancement that increased Kendall’s punishment to 50 years to life. asserted
that → ask → life
Contra Costa County Superior Court Judge Glenn Kim called the case "one of the most difficult" he had experienced before imposing two consecutive terms of 25 years to life. asserted
he → call → life
Kim also barred Kendall from contacting his son, with limited exceptions subject to court approval, until November 2035, when the boy turns 16. asserted
boy → bar → November
Separately, Judge Kim convicted Kendall of illegally possessing a 3D-printed semi-automatic pistol and determined that multiple factors supported a harsher sentence. asserted
factors → convict → sentence
One year after Brittany Ligdis' death, her mother shared an emotional video urging family and friends to remember her daughter's life rather than the violence that ended it. asserted
that → share → it
"I want this to be a day to remember Brittany, to memorialize her, the amazing person she was," she said. asserted
she → want → her
"Think of her — all the things we miss about her, her kiss, her hug. asserted
we → think → her
I'll miss everything myself. asserted
I → miss → everything
I will love her forever." Kendall remains in county jail awaiting transfer to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. asserted
Kendall → love → Corrections
The Pinole Police Department told Fox News Digital it had no comment on Kendall's sentencing. asserted
it → tell → sentencing
The Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for additional comment. asserted
Office → respond → comment
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