JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A clinical psychologist took the stand Thursday during a sentencing hearing for the 17-year-old who admitted to killing his grandmother, speaking mainly about the trauma the teen faced throughout his life and how it affected his development and mental health.
Logan Mott was 15 years old when he was charged with second-degree murder in the 2017 death of his grandmother, Kristina French. He's facing between 15 and 40 years in prison.
In March 2018, four months after French's death, Dr. Marty Beyer spent about 11 hours with Mott. During that time, she identified different forms of trauma the teen had faced throughout his life, including a bitter custody fight between his parents when he was 5 years old, followed by continuing friction over the boy's upbringing.
"That experience of living in a battleground was traumatic and continued to be influencing him," Beyer said. "It affected his self-esteem, and it affected his definition of himself."
Beyer also detailed Mott's diabetes diagnosis at age 10 as a major trauma, saying Mott told her it erased his life goal of excelling in the military to make his father proud.
"He said that was the end of his life," Beyer said.
Beyer said the feeling of disapproval from his father was another constant trauma that slowed his development and affected his mental health.
In the fall of 2017, Beyer said, a breakup and public humiliation through social media affected Mott more than those close to him realized.
"What happened with his first love precipitated, with Logan, a very rapid decline in his mental health," Beyer said.
News4Jax was told Mott's mother will be in the courtroom on Friday.
On Wednesday, video was released showing Mott's arrest when he was stopped at the Canadian border driving French's car, which contained an arsenal of guns and a bloody knife.
According to the medical examiner's report, an autopsy found French died of a gunshot wound to the head. She also had a series of stab wounds on her head, shoulder and both hands.