When Dawn Haas gave birth to her son, the Florida mom said she felt like she was doing something right for a change – bringing a perfect boy into the world.

But over the years, little Justyn Pennell began to display behaviors that Haas found disturbing. She’d wake up to him staring at her. Fits of rage would overcome him. Watching others being injured amused him.

There was something not right about him, Haas thought. But he was still her “sweet, baby boy,” and the thought of him doing something tragic never crossed her mind.

“I just killed someone,” Pennell admitted in a 911 call. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

On January 9, 2020, Pennell was out in Hudson, Florida, when he struck and killed 75-year-old Michael Pratt, a Vietnam veteran and grandfather who was out walking with his cane. The then-21-year-old was sentenced to life in prison after he pleaded no contest to the murder. Haas thought she understood what her son had done.

That was until she heard his 911 confession for the first time.

“That’s not the Justyn I know,” she said. “That’s not him.”

His calm demeanor and detached awareness of the situation shocks his mother, who wipes her tears and shakes her head, asking why.

“There’s so much more to him that I didn’t see, there’s so much more to him that I didn’t know,” she tells a documentary crew. “How does this happen?”

A chilling confession

Haas’s story is one of several featured in Evil Lives Here: My Child the Killer, a new Investigation Discovery spinoff that explores the devastating reality of parents who realized their children were capable of the unthinkable.

In the first episode of the series, which premieres on March 31, Haas hears, for the first time, the 911 call her son made just moments after he plowed down Pratt, killing him. Pennell, who was 21 years old at the time, could be heard on the call telling the dispatcher what he’s done – that he hit someone, and that it was intentional.

“I’ve been driving around roads looking for people I can hit while avoiding witnesses.” he admitted

“I saw the old guy with the cane and then I made a U-turn,” he continues. “I just went for him.”

In an interview with police, Pennell admitted that he just wanted to know what it felt like to kill someone. When asked about other methods he has considered, he told investigators that he always had a fondness for knives.

“I mean I’m really fond of knives,” he says in the recording. “I was thinking about slicing people up and cutting them open. Dissecting them, essentially.”

Haas mother sobs on camera as she hears her son speak so nonchalantly about murder. She also sees, for the first time, photos of items recovered from his car the day of the killing, which include multiple types of knives, gloves, and a hatchet.

“That’s a literal murder kit,” she reacts in horror. Haas stares at the images, trying to reconcile them with the boy she raised.

‘An act of pure evil’

Pennell, who had told investigators he had been thinking about killing someone for “several months.” He had never met Pratt. There was no connection between them – only opportunity.

“The suspect drives past him, intentionally makes a U-turn, goes toward the victim and starts accelerating at a high rate of speed,” Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco said at a press conference after the killing.

“The suspect tells us later on that while he’s driving, he can see the look of fright on the victim’s face. He can see that fear and he can see the emotion of, ‘Oh my gosh, this person’s about to hit me,’ and the victim tries to get out of the way. The suspect intentionally runs him over.”

Pratt died at the scene.

“It was an act of pure evil,” the sheriff said.

After slamming into the victim, Pennell didn’t flee. His busted vehicle came to a stop at the scene of the crash, where he called 911 and waited for the authorities to arrive. It was Pennell’s reaction to Pratt’s death that stunned his mother.

When asked about how he felt after hitting Pratt, he told investigators: “I just smiled and laughed. I enjoyed it, but afterwards, I calmed down. I was more ashamed that I broke the car.”

Signs of a psychopath?

Long before the crime, there were moments his mother couldn’t fully explain. Her son made comments that didn’t feel right, she explained in the docuseries.

When he was just nine years old, he became annoyed with a duck that was swimming near him so he slammed it against a log over and over. When he was a teenager, and his cousin was struck by a car, all he could do was laugh.

“It created a red flag in the back of my brain that he might be a psychopath,” Haas said. “Something is not right with him.”

Haas said she tried to get her son help, had him evaluated by doctors. But was told that he was just a typical kid – and there was nothing to be alarmed about.

“I was worried I might find him on the news,” Haas said. Within a few short years, she did.

“It’s just been a horrible dream, a nightmare,” she added. “I just want to wake up from it.”

In 2022, more than two years after his arrest, Pennell changed his plea. He pleaded no contest to first-degree premeditated murder. A no-contest plea means a defendant does not admit guilt but will not challenge the charges.

In court, Pennell said he had been diagnosed with Asperger’s, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. He acknowledged he was not taking medication at the time but said he was capable of making a clear decision. Judge Mary Handsel sentenced Pennell to life in prison.

Haas continues to keep in touch with her son, whom she lovingly calls “Bubby.”

For the Florida mother, the hardest part isn’t just what her son did. It was hearing his deepest, darkest thoughts. And trying to understand how the boy she raised became a killer – while wondering whether the signs were always there.

“The mom in me is still feeling the hurt he’s feeling,” she said between sobs. “Because I can fix him and make him better? No, I can just love him. “

Evil Lives Here: My Child the Killer premieres Tuesday, March 31 at 9/8c on ID, with episodes available to stream on HBO Max.