Amanda Marie Janzen, inset on the left, against an image of a Walgreens where she allegedly shot and killed another woman on Christmas Day in 2023. (Alachua County Sheriff’s Office; Google Maps)
A Florida woman is behind bars after a planned child custody exchange in front of a drugstore left her baby’s father injured and another woman shot dead on Christmas Day, authorities say.
Amanda Marie Janzen, 38, stands accused of two counts of premeditated murder in the first degree and five counts of child neglect, according to Alachua County court records reviewed by Law&Crime.
The second murder charge leveled against the defendant is for attempted murder — though the associated statute listed in her jail record is the same.
Janzen and the male victim share an 11-month-old child, according to a Gainesville Police Department arrest report obtained by Law&Crime.
On Dec. 20, a Putnam County family court ordered the defendant and the child’s father to split custody right down the middle, according to the arrest report. Under the terms of the sharing agreement, Janzen was to turn the infant over in front of a Walgreens in Gainesville at 2 p.m. on Dec. 25.
On the day in question, Janzen allegedly drove to the pharmacy with all five of her children in her vehicle. Before they arrived, however, Janzen allegedly gave her oldest son her SNAP benefits card, debit card, and instructions on how to pay a cellular phone bill. The boy allegedly said he “had never done this before,” according to the arrest report.
Janzen arrived first and, while sitting in the driver’s seat of her vehicle, pulled a gun out of her bag, “cocked” it, and waited, police said.
When the couple arrived, the 11-month-old’s father got out of the front passenger seat of his girlfriend’s vehicle, police say. Then, Janzen allegedly got out of her own vehicle and, with the gun hidden behind her back, walked up to the other woman who was still in the driver’s seat. Then, the defendant allegedly fired three shots and killed the female victim.
After that, Janzen went around the back of the victim’s car, searching for the child’s father, who had since jumped back into the front passenger seat, according to the arrest report. The man was allegedly shot three times as well.
“You made this happen,” Janzen allegedly shouted as she fired at the father of the 11-month-old.
A nearby police officer heard the gunshots and rushed over to inspect what had occurred in the Walgreens parking lot and watched the defendant’s car flee the scene, according to the arrest report. The officer began tailing the vehicle and soon several other members of law enforcement were in pursuit of Janzen for some 13 miles, police say.
Meanwhile, Janzen herself called 911 and allegedly admitted to the shooting, telling a dispatcher that she was being followed by police. According to the arrest report, all five children were still in the car, shouting and pleading for their mother to stop and pull over, as she led officers on a chase at speeds above 100 mph.
“When DEF’s vehicle came to a final stop DEF discarded the loaded firearm from the vehicle,” the arrest report reads. “Officers located two additional loaded magazines on DEF’s person. The murder was captured on surveillance video. Post-Miranda Warning, DEF stated that law enforcement already knew what happened.”
Janzen has a short — but not recent — criminal history dating back nearly two decades. She is currently being detained on $2 million bond in the Alachua County Jail. She has been assigned a public defender.
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