Samantha Broadhead, 11, & Teenage Boyfriend, Charged with Attempted Murder, Arson for Trying to Set Mother on Fire

Samantha Broadhead, 11 and teenage boyfriend, charged with attempted murder and arson, in setting her mother's bedroom on fire.

Nancy Broadhead, ABC News

Samantha Broadhead, 11, and her boyfriend, Jack Ault, 15, have been accused of plotting to kill her mother, Nancy Broadhead, by setting her bedroom on fire while she slept Tuesday, Clearwater, Fla., police said. They have both been charged with attempted murder and arson. According to media reports, Clearwater Police Department said the two kids poured gasoline on Ms. Broadhead's bedroom floor and bed, then set the room on fire. This "dynamic" duo fled in the mother's 2007 Ford Focus. This is such a shame that an 11 year old girl could entertain such thoughts of killing her mother, much less carrying it out. Besides, which parent in their right mind allows an 11 year old girl to date? Crazy.

Nancy Broadhead, who was awakened by the smoke alarm, sustained serious burns and smoke inhalation. Police spokeswoman Elizabeth Watts said that there had been ongoing tension between the child and her mother, which escalated on Monday when the mother reportedly accused the girl of stealing some of her cigarettes. There is a serious breakdown in this family unit. It is safe to say that this isn't the first time the child has had problems with her mother, as noted from statements made by neighbors to the police. According to the St. Petersburg Times, the mother has been in trouble with the law before, multiple times -- indecent exposure, child neglect, DUI, probation, probation violation, tested positive for marijuana and was accused in 2005 of beating her daughter in a drunken rage, but those charges were dropped. That child was crying out for help and I am amazed to learn that there are no open Florida Department of Children and Families cases on both families, though they have extensive records with the agency. This was a disaster waiting to happen.

The girl's boyfriend is also no stranger to law enforcement. Apparently his first arrest came with he was eight years old -- for battery. Then he was arrested twice in one week, on two counts of domestic battery and one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, according to the St. Petersburg Times. This whole situation seems mental to me. It's a shame that some parents don't take their responsibility in raising their children seriously. Here is a case of trouble just waiting to happen. So the year will close with Nancy Broadhead's family in disarray -- lost house, daughter facing serious charges and institutionalized, mother hospitalized with serious burns and smoke inhalation, son who allegedly dreams of stealing from Walgreens, absentee father, break-down in family structure, among other things.