A California man who fatally shot his ex in the head in front of their 4-year-old son as he cried, “Mama!” has landed 50 years in prison.
Jeffery Kendall, 39, killed Brittany Elizabeth Ligdis, 30, after he broke into her basement apartment in Pinole on Feb. 16, 2024, according to the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office.
Ligdis’ final moments were heard in a haunting 911 call she made to police as she hid from Kendall in her laundry room with their young son, prosecutors said.
The mother could be heard begging for Kendall to let her go, telling him that he was “scaring” their son and screaming for him “stop it” before he fatally shot her, prosecutors said..
The couple’s little boy cried, “Mama!” after witnessing the “execution”-style killing of his mother, prosecutors said.
Police said Kendall fled the scene but was taken into custody soon after the killing by the California Highway Patrol.
Ligdis and Kendall had broken up shortly before the savage slaying took place, relatives told KTVU at the time.
Family members had told the outlet that Kendall had also struggled with mental illness and had a history of drug use.
Deputy District Attorney Tylyn Wells described the killing as “an execution in front of a 4-year-old” and a textbook case of an escalating threat in domestic violence cases after one partner decides to leave.
Wells pushed for the court to consider a harsher sentence for Kendall’s brutal crimes, citing aggravating factors in the killing.
Jurors found Kendall guilty for the murder of Ligdis on July 31. He was also found guilty of child endangerment for threatening his son’s safety, according to the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office.
The judge also found Kendall guilty on an assault-weapons charge for possessing a 3D-printed semiautomatic pistol, according to prosecutors.
Kendall was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison by the judge, who called the case “one of the most difficult” he’s worked on.
Kendall is barred from contacting his son, with limited exceptions, until the boy turns 16 in 2035, prosecutors said.
