TOO SOON

Teen Enraged by Dad’s Engagement Pleads Guilty to Murdering His Fiancée

Authorities said the 16-year-old was upset that his father, a prominent physician, became engaged only 11 months after his mother died.

An Alabama teen pleaded guilty Thursday to shooting and killing a 66-year-old woman who was engaged to his father, court records show. According to authorities, Ross Jonathan McFarland, 16, was upset that his father, local Auburn physician Dr. John McFarland, became engaged only 11 months after his mother died. He therefore “harbored animosity” toward the new fiancée, Martha White. In October 2019, police say they found White dead at a home with a gunshot wound to her face. AL.com reports that she was a mother, grandmother, and retired school teacher. Dr. McFarland later told investigators that his .40-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun had disappeared from the home, and a witness told police that the disgruntled teen pulled the trigger. The teen was arrested the following day and has now been sentenced to 50 years behind bars.