The arrest affidavit says that the teenager was discovered lying in a pool of blood by his grandfather.
A Florida man with a lengthy criminal history is accused of murdering his teenage son using a powerful handheld tool.
Stephen Thomas Rodda, 37, allegedly killed his 16-year-old son, whose name is also Stephen, using an angle grinder, according to an arrest affidavit from the Polk County Sheriff's Office obtained by Inside Edition Digital.
The affidavit also says that the teenager's body was discovered by his grandfather, Thomas Rodda, who he had been living with them at the time.
The grandfather told deputies that after visiting his wife at a nearby rehabilitation facility on Monday morning he returned home to find his son Stephen standing in the front yard of his home.
Stephen asked his father for a cigarette, and then told Thomas that he "just killed somebody" and urged his father to "call the police," according to the affidavit.
Thomas then walked inside to find his grandson dead in a pool of blood, according to the affidavit.
"The victim suffered a deep laceration to the underside of his left arm, lacerations to his left eyebrow and left ear, superficial lacerations to his abdomen and three deep lacerations to the back of his head. The victim was missing some teeth, which were located near his body," the affidavit says of the crime scene. "Apparent human hair was found in the victim's left hand. Blood spatter was visible on the wall near his body and head. A handheld angle grinder was located next to the victim, with a broken saw blade on the ground."
Thomas called 911, but Stephen fled before deputies arrived on the scene according to the affidavit.
The Polk County Sheriff's Office located Stephen in less than an hour and made the arrest, with the affidavit noting he "had blood on his jeans and a fresh laceration on the knuckle of his right-hand index finger."
Once at the station, Stephen "showed no remorse or concern for the killing of his son," the affidavit alleges.
Court records show that Stephen has had multiple run-ins with the law over the past 15 years, and served time for felonies including grand theft, probation violation, and multiple incidents of drug possession.
"We lost a great young man today," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said after Stephen's arrest. "And we’ve got an evil, evil man in custody, and we’re going to do our best to see he spends the rest of his life in prison.”
Stephen is facing a charge of first-degree murder and has yet to enter a plea at this time. His first court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday and he remains in the custody of the Polk County Sheriff's Office, according to a booking sheet obtained by Inside Edition Digital.
