Boy, 4, cried 'Mama!' as he watched his father execute his mother, 30, after breaking into their California home, cops say

A young boy cried out for his mother as he watched his father execute her in their California home, police say.

Jeffery Kendall, 39, was found guilty of murder and child endangerment after he killed his ex-girlfriend, 30-year-old Brittany Ligdis, in front of their then-four-year-old son in February 2024. 

Ligdis called 911 and told dispatchers that Kendall had broken into her home and she was hiding in the laundry room with her son, according to the Contra Costa District Attorney's Office.

About 90 seconds into the call, Kendall entered the room and Ligdis can be heard pleading, 'Let go of me' and 'You're scaring him,' before screaming, 'Stop it.'

Kendall then shot Ligdis in the head, and the young boy cried out 'Momma' as his father fled.

The mother was found dead at the scene with a gunshot wound to the head in what prosecutors described as an 'execution' killing.

Kendall was seen on a neighbor's doorbell camera running down the street after the shooting, and he was arrested by California Highway Patrol officers later that night, KTVU reported.

The couple had broken up just 10 days before the shooting, the Contra Costa District Attorney's Office said.

Ligdis's family members told the local news station Kendall was struggling with mental illness and had a history of drug use before the killing, but had never been violent. 

Her aunt, Nancy O'Neil, said that the young boy was traumatized by witnessing the murder.

'He keeps saying "mommy's dead, mommy's dead,"' O'Neil said. 'We replay it in our heads over and over every day.'

However, Deputy District Attorney Tylyn Wells described the killing as 'an execution in front of a 4-year-old child.'

She argued it was not the product of 'a mental break' but a familiar pattern in domestic violence cases.

Kendall was found guilty of murder and child endangerment on May 7. He was sentenced to 50 years to life behind bars on Friday.

Judge Glenn Kim called the case 'one of the most difficult' he has experienced, according to the district attorney's office. 

Kendall was also banned from contacting his son, with limited exceptions subject to court approval, until November 2035, when the boy turns 16. 

At a separate trial,  Kendall was found guilty of possessing an assault weapon, a 3D-printed pistol capable of semi-automatic fire.

The judge also ruled that six aggravating sentencing factors tied to that charge were true. 

Kendall is awaiting transfer to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to begin serving his sentence.