Teen Allegedly Kills Dad; Mom Says She's a Hero

14-year-old Bresha Meadows is accused of shooting and killing her father with his own gun last week in Ohio, People reports. Her mother says she's a hero. “She is my hero," Brandi Meadows tells Fox 8. "I wasn’t strong enough to get out, and she helped me." Meadows says she was abused for years by her husband but was too scared to leave him. Bresha's lawyer says Bresha was also abused. Bresha's aunt, a Cleveland police officer, says Bresha was "born into a nightmare." On July 28, Bresha shot her father, 41-year-old Jonathan Meadows, in the head. Her family says she used the same gun her father would use as a threat.

Bresha pleaded "not true" to the charge of murder, WFMJ reports. If convicted as a juvenile, she could be locked up until she turns 21. If convicted as an adult, Bresha, whose aunt says has no history of violence, faces life in prison. Police are continuing to investigate and haven't determined a motive. “I am so sorry she had to go through this,” Meadows tells Fox 8. "She helped me; she helped all of us so we could have a better life.” Meadows filed at least one police report against her husband in the past and filed—then dropped—a request for a protection order in 2011. (More murder stories.)