Mom shooting man under daughter’s bed wasn’t premeditated: Attorney.

(NewsNation) — A Memphis woman charged with murder and shooting a man she found hiding under her 13-year-old daughter’s bed acted out of raw emotion, not premeditation, her defense attorney said.

Kendra Scott, 36, appeared in court Monday, where a judge set her bond at $100,000. She’s been charged with first-degree murder and employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony in the death of 20-year-old Rodderius Morton.

Tennessee mom found man under her 13-year-old daughter’s bed

Police say Scott came home around 1:40 a.m. Thursday and found Morton hiding under her daughter’s bed. Officers later found Morton dead in the front yard from a gunshot wound to the back of the head.

Scott’s attorney, Blake Ballin, told “Elizabeth Vargas Reports” the case hinges on what happened in the moments before the shooting, not on whether Scott had a reason to be afraid.

“The real question is, is this first-degree premeditated murder? I think the answer is obviously not,” Ballin said. Ballin said the case could ultimately come down to a lesser charge.

“Whether this is self-defense or not, that’s one angle we’ll be looking at. The other is, is this something like voluntary manslaughter, which is a lower form of homicide in Tennessee?” he said.

A juvenile witness told police Morton had been invited into the home and entered through the back door around 1 a.m. Investigators are still working to determine exactly what happened on the porch, where a neighbor told police he saw Scott holding a gun saying, “I shot him.”

Scott allegedly told police, “I saw a dude under my kid’s bed and I did what I had to do.”

Man shot by Kendra Scott had learning disabilities: Former teacher

NewsNation local affiliate WREG spoke to a former teacher of Morton, who said she wished it was handled differently because Morton had learning disabilities.

“He was special needs, and I was his special needs teacher,” Robin Perkins said.

“Unbelievable, very, very hurt. Because the young man that I knew, most people, based off this story, they don’t know the young man like I did,” Perkins said. “I do not condone his actions of going and mingling with a 13-year-old. However, when you’re not 20, what do you expect?”

Scott’s attorney also told NewsNation that reports she had previously warned she would shoot any boy she found in the house will not hurt her case.

“They understand that parents are protective of their children,” Ballin said.

Scott is due back in court next month.

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