Debra Jeter calmly informed the dispatcher on one of the most notorious 911 calls: “I just killed my children. Just now, I slaughtered my kids.
When the dispatcher asked Jeter for her name, she momentarily lost her composure. One of Debra’s children was still alive, and the other was “begging to be saved,” according to Debra. Jeter went on:
“I’m strolling around the home and, um, one of them is actually still alive. She is pleading for rescue, and I couldn’t deal with it.
Debra, a certified nurse, pressed the dispatcher for an ambulance rather than attending to her daughter. Debra warned Kiersten, her oldest daughter, that “they’re coming.”
A few weeks prior to Kelsey’s homicide, Debra attempted suicide in front of the kids
Lester Lee Jeter, the husband and mother of their two girls, Kelsey and Kiersten, filed for divorce from Debra Janelle Jeter in May 2009.
The unkempt Jeter residence was frequently boisterous, according to Steve Raulston, a lumberjack who lived down the street from the Jeters.
This prompted neighbors to call the police. The neighbors had also called the police because the residence was so noisy, Steve claimed.
Unknown reasons exist for Lester’s separation request. Nevertheless, Debra wasn’t content, which led her to make a suicide attempt in front of the kids.
She was treated for her mental illness at the DePaul Center in Waco, Texas.
Lester testified in court that he was concerned about leaving the girls in Debra’s care because of her suicide attempt.
Lee was given a temporary restraining order against Debra by the court. Lester remarked, “She might be released in a few days, and I’m worried about what she might do to the kids.”
Lester allegedly asked for custody “to safeguard the safety and well-being of the children and any other person who has been a victim of family violence committed by (Jeter),” according to court records.
Following another hearing, the judge lifted the restraining order on Debra, enabling her to see her kids after she had left the DePaul center.
Lee concurred with the judge, claiming that Jeter had never mistreated the kids and had no grudge against them.
When picking up the kids in early June 2009, Jeter promised a surprise
After going two weeks without seeing their mother, Kelsey and Kiersten were eager to see her. Tomorrow, I get to see my mom! Yay!” Kiersten contributed to Myspace.
At six o’clock in the evening, Debra picked up Kiersten, 13, and Kelsey, 12, and told them she had a surprise for them.
The girls waved their father off before jumping eagerly into their mother’s car. According to reports, Jeter promised the youngsters a night filled with singing and book reading.
Sadly, the surprise Jeter had promised involved killing. She took Kelsey and Kiersten to an abandoned home in a remote area of Hill County, where she viciously stabbed them with a knife.
First, Debra attacked Kiersten. The adolescent instructed Kelsey to flee before the crazy Jeter could kill her.
Before going after Kelsey, Jeter stabbed Kiersten in the back. When she caught up to Kelsey, she attacked her neck till she passed away.
Jeter then went back to the hurt Kelsey and cut her throat. Four hours after picking up the kids, she killed herself and made an attempt at killing someone else.
Kiersten somehow survived the assault, but she was running out of time. Kiersten instructed her mother to call for assistance despite having a cut neck.
Debra instructed the dispatcher, “She wants you to hurry.” “She wants you to get moving,”
Jeter informed the dispatcher that she lacked a gun and didn’t want to be shot.
Debra, a 6-foot woman, was standing with her hands up when deputies arrived, and the murder weapon was on the roof of a nearby car.
She was detained by authorities, who then put her under suicide watch at the Hill County Law Enforcement Center. Sheriff of Hill County Jeffrey T. Lyon described the situation as “horrific.”
While Kiersten clung to life in the bedroom, Kelsey lay dead in the bathroom. According to Lee Jeter, “She [Kiersten] was slashed from one side of her neck all the way to the other.” “And one of her major arteries was also severed, as was her airway.”
Despite having lost a lot of blood, Kiersten was still alive when assistance arrived. She was transported to Parkland Hospital by medical helicopter, where she received surgery that saved her life.
Debra accepted a plea agreement that granted her life without the possibility of parole
The neighborhood found it difficult to comprehend Debra’s brutality toward her children. She had not previously demonstrated such levels of violence.
Debra was accused of murder and a capital murder attempt by the prosecution. Her bond was set by the court at $1.5 million.
The surgery went well for Kiersten, and four days later she was discharged from the intensive care unit.
The most important query is “Why?” said Sheriff Lyon. Debra refused to provide the police an explanation of her motivation, though.
Debra admitted guilt to both attempted and actual capital murder in May 2010.
She pleaded guilty and was given life in prison without the possibility of release; this likely spared her the death penalty and prevented Kiersten from testifying about the incident.
According to KWTX, Jeter apologized to Lee and Kiersten. Lee claimed that Debra admitted to still hating him but also expressed regret for the murder and violent assault.
Before being moved to a Gatesville prison facility run by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Kiersten reportedly joked around with Debra.
Debra allegedly admitted to Lester that she had attacked the kids to save them from feeling the pain of the couple’s divorce and custody struggle.
According to Lee, “She reasoned that if she felt that bad, then we must all feel that way, and she wanted to take away all of our sorrow.”
Lester claimed that Kiersten motivated him to continue the battle. Kiersten informed Lester that Kelly would not want them to give up.
