Woman Shot Her Ex-Boyfriend 17 Times Because She Was Tired of Helping Him ‘Battle His Spiritual Demons’

Rebecca Jane Mryglod was sentenced to 20 years after pleading guilty to first-degree domestic battery. The victim survived more than 17 gunshot wounds and extensive surgeries.

Cleburne County Sheriff's Office

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Rebecca Jane Mryglod was sentenced to 20 years after pleading guilty to first-degree domestic battery for shooting her ex-boyfriend

The man survived more than 17 gunshot wounds and underwent extensive surgeries after one round struck his colon and caused an infection

Mryglod called 911, admitted to shooting the victim and said she would rather he be dead than continue helping him battle his “spiritual demons”

A woman who left her ex-boyfriend with more than 17 gunshot wounds after saying she had moved back in with him to help battle his “spiritual demons” has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The man survived the Nov. 8, 2024, shooting but required extensive surgeries after one bullet struck his colon and caused an infection, according to court records obtained by PEOPLE.

Rebecca Jane Mryglod, 38, pleaded guilty to first-degree domestic battery in Cleburne County, Ark. She was sentenced to 240 months in state prison, and the court database lists 648 days as served.

The shooting occurred at the home in Drasco where Mryglod and the victim were living, according to a Cleburne County Sheriff’s Office incident report obtained by PEOPLE.

Dispatchers initially received a 911 call from a woman who was crying uncontrollably and requesting an ambulance, the report states. The caller then said she had shot someone.

When deputies arrived, they found the victim, then 43, leaning against a kitchen counter with multiple gunshot wounds. Blood was found on the front steps, the door and inside the home, according to the report.

Mryglod was standing outside, crying and breathing rapidly, with blood on her hands, the report states. She identified the victim as her boyfriend and said she had shot him.

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She repeatedly asked a deputy whether the victim was going to die, according to the report. The deputy told her that he could hear the man yelling, and that it was a good sign.

Mryglod said she had walked down the driveway, called 911 and thrown the gun into nearby weeds, the report states. Deputies recovered a black KelTec .22-caliber handgun with an empty magazine and its slide locked back.

Six shell casings and what investigators described as a large amount of marijuana packaged in several containers were found inside the home, according to an affidavit obtained by PEOPLE.

During an interview, Mryglod told investigators that she and the victim had broken up but that she moved back in to help him “battle his spiritual demons,” the affidavit states. She said she had purchased the pistol three days earlier and had been practicing with it.

Mryglod said she woke around 5 a.m. on the morning of the shooting, retrieved the gun and ammunition from her vehicle and continued with her morning routine, including helping her daughter board the school bus, according to the affidavit.

When she returned inside, the victim was sitting on the couch. Mryglod asked whether he planned to go to work, and as he stood, she turned her head, pointed the gun and began firing, she told investigators.

“Mryglod stated she would rather [the victim] be dead and her in prison,” Detective Justin Oliver wrote in the affidavit. She said she did not want to continue helping him with what she described as his spiritual struggles.

At the time the affidavit was written, the victim remained in critical care. One bullet struck his colon, causing an infection that required an additional operation.

In a Dec. 10, 2024, interview included in the incident report, the victim told Oliver that Mryglod fired as he stood from the couch. He said she then began walking toward the door before putting the gun against his right side and firing again, causing its slide to lock back.

The victim also said he had accompanied Mryglod when she purchased the gun days before the shooting and had done target practice with her.

Prosecutors initially charged Mryglod with attempted first-degree murder, first-degree domestic battery and simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms, according to court records obtained by PEOPLE. She ultimately pleaded guilty to the domestic-battery charge.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

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