Debra Jeter

Case record: Debra Jeter

Background

Debra Janelle Jeter was 33 at the time she pleaded guilty in Hillsboro. She was a central Texas woman who killed one daughter and seriously wounded another in a violent knife attack. She was in a divorce and had an estranged husband, Lee Jeter, with whom she was involved in a child custody fight. Debra Jeter was behind bars after her arrest on June 5, 2009.

Debra Jeter had attempted suicide in front of the girls shortly before the fatal attack. A neighbor, Steve Raulston, said there was a fire truck and ambulance down there and that they said she had taken some pills. Court documents indicated that she was sent to a mental health hospital temporarily. Her husband asked for custody of the children, and a judge lifted a restraining order and allowed her to see her children. Authorities later said there were warning signs dating back years.

Investigators concluded in 2004 that Jeter physically abused Kiersten, but the case was closed after she got mental health help.

Debra Jeter had mental health history and had received psychiatric treatment at the DePaul Center in Waco, according to court records. The court records were filed on May 22, the day after Debra’s suicide attempt at the family’s house in Hillsboro. The documents stated that Lee Jeter filed for divorce and was granted a temporary restraining order against his wife. Lee Jeter wrote to the court revealing that his wife had attempted suicide with the children at home and was under care and observation at the DePaul Center on a mental health warrant. He also wrote that “She may be released within a few days, and I am concerned about her possible actions regarding the children,” and that he requested custody “to protect the safety and well-being of the children and any other person who has been a victim of family violence committed by (Jeter).”

Debra Jeter was a part-time employee of Hill College during the last fall semester as a tutor in anatomy and physiology. In December, she was accepted into the college's LVN, or licensed vocational nurse, program, and turned it down, saying she wanted to become a registered nurse.

Family members set up a fund at Citizens National Bank in Hillsboro to help Lee and Kiersten Leigh Jeter. It was listed under “Jeter Family Fund”.

Counselors were available for classmates, and Hillsboro ISD officials made counselors available Monday. Funeral donations were being accepted at Marshall and Marshall funeral home, and funeral and medical donations were being accepted at Citizens National Bank.

The offence

Debra Jeter pleaded guilty in Hillsboro to capital murder and attempted capital murder in an attack that left one of her daughters dead and the other seriously injured.

The attack involved a knife. Authorities said Kiersten had a stab wound in her back and evidently tried to protect her younger sister during the attack. Investigators said they believed Debra Janelle Jeter brought her 12- and 13-year-old daughters to an abandoned home with the intentions of killing them Friday night. After slitting both of their throats, Jeter called 911 and said she had “just killed her children,” authorities said.

Kelsey Leanne Jeter was found dead inside the house. Kiersten Leigh Jeter was found injured in a bedroom and was critically injured. A medical helicopter took Kiersten to Parkland Hospital in Dallas, where she immediately underwent surgery.

Authorities described Jeter’s explanation to her children as a “surprise” and investigators said she had told her children she had a night of surprises in store for them. She was said to have described an evening of singing American Idol songs and book readings to her daughters.

Before the attack, Debra Jeter picked up her two daughters for a court-ordered visit. Authorities said this was the first time under the terms of a custody order. The girls appeared to be excited about the decision, and Kelsey expressed happiness on her my-space page: “I get to see my mom tomorrow! Yay!”

Investigation

After the attack, Jeter made a 911 call. The operator was identified as “Hill County 911” and “What's your emergency?” was asked.

JETER said: “I just killed my children.” OPERATOR asked: “Excuse me?” JETER also said: “Get an ambulance out here to save the one that didn’t die,” and said: “Come on, hurry up.” Later she was heard saying: “Oh my God, she’s dead. Oh My God."

In another account of the released call, the 911 operator said: “OK. She doesn’t want to get shot, 'cause she doesn't have a gun.”

In that call recording, JETER said: “One of 'em is dead. She's dead dead. But the other one... she wants to be saved and I... she needs to be saved.” JETER also said: “One of 'em is still alive. Hurry!” JETER said: “Hold on kid; they're coming. Tell them not to shoot me. I don't have a gun.”

Investigators said Debra Jeter admitted to slashing both of her daughters' throats less than four hours after picking them up for visitation, and that she called 911 shortly after the attack. Authorities said they believed she had intentions of killing them Friday night, and that she slit both of their throats before calling.

When officers arrived, they found Jeter in the garage with both hands raised above the head. Hill County deputies, Hillsboro police and state troopers converged on an abandoned farmhouse on U.S. 77 just off Interstate 35. Officers found 12-year-old Kelsey Leanne Jeter dead inside the house and 13-year-old Kiersten Leigh Jeter critically injured in a bedroom.

A small knife was found on the roof of a nearby car, and the murder weapon was a knife.

Hill County Sheriff Jeffrey Lyon said Jeter had blood on her arms, but appeared to have tried to clean herself off. Investigators reviewed cell phone records and determined that after picking up the two girls Friday evening, Debra Jeter drove to Corsicana and back in search of an abandoned house.

Investigators responded to a 911 call from Jeter’s residence reporting an overdose on May 21. Sheriff Lyon said Debra Jeter was referred to the Waco-based Heart of Texas Region MHMR after the 911 call, and he did not know what happened after that.

Arrest

Debra Jeter was arrested on June 5, 2009. She was put on suicide watch at Hill County Law Enforcement Center and arraigned on charges of attempted capital murder and murder.

Her bond was set at $1.5 million.

Trial

Debra Jeter pleaded guilty in Hillsboro to capital murder and attempted capital murder. She accepted a plea deal that spared her the possibility of a death sentence and spared her surviving daughter from the trauma of having to testify.

Before she was transferred, she met with her estranged husband Lee and surviving daughter Kiersten. Lee Jeter said Friday that she told him she still hated him but that she was sorry for everything that happened. He said they shared a few light-hearted moments during which they talked and laughed, and said those moments would not happen again outside prison walls.

Debra Jeter told her estranged husband that she still hated him, but that she was sorry for everything that happened. Debra told him the reason she attacked Kiersten and her younger sister Kelsey was that she was heartbroken over the couple’s separation and a subsequent child custody fight. Debra Jeter’s explanation was that if she felt that way, “then we all must feel that way and she wanted to take away all of our pain,” Lee Jeter said. He said Debra told him, “Kelsey wouldn’t want us to give up.”

In a separate description of her behavior during the 911 call, she was heard providing reassurance on the 911 recording, including: “Hold on kid; they're coming. Tell them not to shoot me. I don't have a gun.”

Sentencing

Debra Jeter was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without parole.

Appeals

No appeals were described.

Outcome

Debra Jeter pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison without parole on May 27, 2010.

Aftermath

After she was sentenced, she was transferred Thursday to a Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison unit in Gatesville. Before her transfer, she met with Lee Jeter and surviving daughter Kiersten. She told Lee Jeter that she was sorry for everything that happened.

Other details

Debra Jeter was described as 6 feet tall and weighing 195 pounds when deputies arrived.

Hill County Sheriff Jeffrey T. Lyon called the scene “horrific.”

J.C. Rogers, Kelsey's first-period history teacher at Hillsboro Intermediate School, said Kelsey was smart and quiet, and that she finished her work before other students. Rogers said Kelsey had her nose in a book and often finished work early. During parent-teacher conferences a few months back, Rogers commented on her love of reading to Kelsey's mother; he said Debra laughed and told him that her youngest daughter had told the family she was going to take a bath, but she found her later reading in the bathroom while the water was running.

Rogers said: “We’ll really miss having her in class,” and said: “She really was a nice little girl.”