Snapped: Women Who Murder - Deborah Pieringer

Episode Date: May 5, 2024

When the bodies of two grandparents are tragically found left for dead, investigators toil to determine whether the slayings were motivated by simmering vengeance or insatiable greed.Season 24 Episode 11Originally aired: December 10, 2017Watch full episodes of Snapped for FREE on the Oxygen app: https://oxygentv.app.link/WatchSnappedPodSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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In NPR's Black Stories, Black Truths, a collection of stories as varied, nuanced, and dynamic as Black experiences, you'll hear. It means everything. Search NPR Black Stories, Black Truths, wherever you get your podcast. An elderly couple is brutally murdered in their suburban home. There was blood on the floor, blood on the wall. It was just a complete study in mayhem. Investigators are astounded to discover that the victim

is one of their own. I wasn't expecting someone that I'd work that closely with. He was very well liked and respected in the police department. Was this an act of vengeance? The note said, you be careful who you let in the police department. Was this an act of vengeance? The note said, be careful who you let in the door. It implied it was somebody who'd

just been released from prison. The neighbor saw someone out in the backyard in a juxtaposed. Was that the murderer? Or could the killer be someone closer to home? The way they were killed, nothing added up. That's a magic trick that's worthy of Harry Houdini. for employees at the Fort Worth Police Department, the one constant each day was Lloyd Courtney

arriving promptly for his two o'clock shift. So when the 75-year-old fingerprint examiner is a no-show this afternoon, everyone in the department takes notice. The waitress is here. I'm here. I'm here. I'm here.

I'm here. I'm here. I'm here. I'm here. I'm here. I'm here. shift. So when the 75-year-old fingerprint examiner is a no-show this afternoon, everyone in the department takes notice. Lloyd Courtney was very dependable and he was very punctual. For him not to show up to work, something seemed to miss. Other employees began checking with each other to see if Lloyd had called off sick or did he take a day off. Lloyd's supervisor calls the Courtney home to see if everything is OK.

No one answers. At that point, they decided to conduct a welfare check, and they sent over police officers to his house to see if there was anything wrong. The officer went to the scene. Lloyd's car was parked in front of the house, and there was no answer at the door. They peered inside, and they noticed the contents

of a purse spilled on the floor, groceries spilled on the floor. It looked like there might be some type of suspicious circumstances. At that point, a neighbor who saw the police cars came across the street to see, obviously, what was going on. They were longtime neighbors and friends of the Courtneys, and they had a key to the house.

Once inside the house, officers are greeted by a horrific scene. The furniture was out of place. There was blood spatter everywhere. As they entered the living room, they could see into the little dining area, and they could see Lloyd on the floor. As they moved down the hallway, they found Lloyd's wife, Agnes, also had been murdered.

Who would commit such a brutal crime? She was face down in a pool of blood. It was a double slaying. It involved an elderly couple. And one of the victims was a police officer. The scene that the officer came upon, it was just a complete study in mayhem. just a complete study in mayhem.

Lloyd and Agnes Courtney were children of the Great Depression, where learning the value of patience and perseverance were a necessity. Shortly after meeting, Lloyd and Agnes decided to get married in 1952. Around that same time, Lloyd landed a job with the Fort Worth Police Department. In the early 50s he had become a police officer. I would absolutely characterize Lloyd as serious about his job. Lloyd eventually became a fingerprint examiner. As a fingerprint analyst his job was to

compare fingerprints that were found at crime scenes. Lloyd Courtney was very good at what he did, and he was very passionate about what he did. In 1953, Lloyd and Agnes had a daughter named Deborah and put down roots in the South Hills neighborhood of Fort Worth. Deborah was raised in a loving home by two parents. They had a passion for children and volunteering. She and Lloyd were very involved in their church. Agnes had a great passion for music. She sang in a local female barbershop quartet group.

They were very well established and well liked by their neighbors. They were very warm, very kind. They were friendly, southern, gracious people. Growing up, daughter Deborah's childhood was typical of most suburban Texas kids in the 50s and 60s. However, as a young adult, Deborah's values started to differ from those of her parents, though she did her best to mask it.

Her parents didn't know that she smoked cigarettes. They didn't know that she drank. They were pretty straight-laced, and they wanted her to be that way, and she played the role that she needed to play when she was around them. After graduating high school, Deborah opted not to go to college. She liked the freedom of bringing home her own paycheck. She was always very responsible. She had many, many jobs.

She just did what she needed to do and got it done and went home. She was a homebody. She liked being alone. and went home. She was a homebody. She liked being alone. But in 1987, Debra met a man who would prompt her to rethink her notion of life on her own.

His name was Paul Perringer. They got to be friends, enjoyed spending time together. They just seemed to fit together. They made each other happy. After dating for a year, Debra seemed to fit together. They made each other happy. After dating for a year, Debra and Paul got married. It seemed to be a match made in heaven to both Debra's straight-laced parents and her more free-spirited friends. Paul was a plumber, and as far as I'm concerned, that's a great guy to be married to. They

always seemed just happy to be together and happy to have each other. Once she was married, Deborah's wild ways seemed to mellow even more. She and Paul bought a house not far from her parents. Deborah began taking college courses, eventually graduating with a degree in accounting. Along the way, she gave birth to a daughter. They were very, very happy to have a beautiful daughter.

As for Debra's mom and dad, Lloyd and Agnes relished their new role as grandparents. In fact, they enjoyed helping out with Debra and the baby so much that they decided to lend aid to another young soul in need of some TLC, their nephew's ex-wife, Brenda. Lloyd and Agnes met Brenda when she was about 17 years old. She was actually married to Agnes' nephew and they became close. And they became even closer after she divorced Agnes' nephew. In 1990, the Courtney's legally adopted 30-year-old Brenda. She was going to remarry.

She asked Lloyd to give her away. Lloyd said he would do it on the condition that they would adopt her as a legal daughter. Though Debra was raised as an only child, she took to Brenda immediately. They went over to each other's house for parties, exchanged birthday gifts and Christmas gifts. It was a very normal, loving relationship. Fast forward to 2001.

By all accounts, Brenda was a strong, stable young woman. Debra and her husband Paul have been raising a bright young daughter of their own, and the patriarch of the Courtney family, Lloyd, was still punching the clock every day at the Fort Worth PD. Lloyd Courtney was affectionately known as the world's oldest fingerprint specialist. He just sort of had that look, the hairstyle, the glasses.

He reflected that time. Lloyd wanted to continue to work and did his job. But on November 2, 2001, Lloyd's service to the Fort Worth PD ended in the most brutal way imaginable. You normally don't expect someone who's been involved in a law enforcement community. They were not attacked in their sleep. They were obviously struggling. They were not being able to sleep.

They were not being able to sleep. They were not being able to sleep. They were not being able to sleep. They were not being able to sleep. They were not being able to sleep. They were not being able to sleep. They were not being able to sleep. They were not being able to sleep.

They were not being able to sleep. They were not being able dynamic scene. They were not attacked in their sleep. They were obviously struggling. There was blood on the floor, blood on the wall. Lloyd Courtney's body was lying face up in the dining room. He was covered in blood. He had numerous injuries to his body, numerous taps and cuts. There were some obvious defensive wounds along the forearms,

which was very consistent with someone fighting back. Lloyd's body lies directly below the wall-mounted landline telephone. The line to the phone has been cut. It looked like he was attempting to make a call for help and someone cut the wire leading to the phone. Coming up, investigators struggle to make heads or tails of the carnage inside the Courtney home.

I've seen a lot of different weapons used to murder people, but I had not seen a cast-iron skillet used as a murder weapon. But a clue at the scene suggests the murder may be an act of revenge. The note read, hey, look what I learned in prison. Thanks for the memories. On November 2, 2001, officers in Fort Worth, Texas, found 75-year-old Lloyd Courtney and his 71-year-old wife, Agnes, dead in their suburban home.

It must have been just horrific to walk in and discover this. The crime scene looked like something out of a movie. You had blood everywhere. They'd been married 50 years. They had kind and generous hearts. I never heard anybody say anything bad about them at all. It's a very sweet couple. As investigators survey the scene, they try to make sense of the chaos.

In the kitchen is an overturned bag of groceries alongside Agnes's purse. Based on the overturned purse and the grocery items, I believe Agnes walked in and she was attacked. She ran to a back bedroom, and that's where she ultimately was killed. There was some blood on the door, more blood on the wall. It certainly appeared that she put up quite a struggle

against her killer. Both victims appear to have been stabbed and bludgeoned. We realized that there were broken pieces of cast iron skillet. I've seen a lot of different weapons used to murder people or attack people, but I had not seen a cast iron skillet used. Crime scene technicians collect pieces from four different iron skillet used. Crime scene technicians collect pieces

from four different iron skillets. They also find other makeshift weapons. There was also table legs that were found near Lloyd Courtney's body. I think the legs basically broke off the bottom of the table and then were used to beating. In the utility room, police find an empty trash can with the liner missing.

The trash had been dumped out on the floor. It looked like they were using what should be a clothes hamper as a trash can, but there was no liner in it. So the liner appeared to be missing. We assumed that that was used to remove something from the residence. And in the kitchen, they discover several blood stains they believe came from the killer.

We found smears of blood on the two cabinet doors directly underneath the kitchen sink, which is also where the trash can liners were kept. We also found a smear of blood on the drawer that contained kitchen knives. As detectives ponder both the sprawling nature of the attack as well as the bizarre assortment of weapons used, they begin to develop a theory.

It looked like it was a period of time between the two attacks. They had both obviously fought the attacker. One person could not have had the same struggle at the same time at opposite ends of the house with each of them. Clues from the scene provide a window for when the attacks likely began.

When I saw Lloyd, he hadn't shaved. And he didn't look at all like he would look when he showed up for work. It was pretty obvious this must have happened at least a couple of hours before he was supposed to be at work. Given the relatively mild state of rigor mortis, as well as the fact that Lloyd always left for work around 1.15 p.m., detectives placed the time of his murder at roughly 11.30 a.m. His glasses were in the living room and they were bent significantly. My personal opinion is that the attack began with Lloyd

being hit with a skillet. Lloyd began trying to make his way into the kitchen dining area to get to the phone, being hit along the way, and then once down, overpowered. Another clue found in the kitchen suggests the attack on Agnes occurred roughly 15 minutes later. The receipt indicated that she had bought the food items

around 11, 20 AM. And so we were thinking that she might have been home 11, 45. She walked in and dropped her bag and was attacked. It certainly appeared that she was chased down the hallway to the bedroom and was killed. While detectives now have a theory for how the murder happened, they still don't know why.

It did not look like it was a burglary gone bad or a home invasion robbery. You have no force entry. There's no door that's kicked in. There's no windows broken into. Nothing was stolen. Was Lloyd Courtney the intended victim

and Agnes simply collateral damage? A computer printed note pinned to Lloyd's leg with a paring knife certainly suggests that's the case. The note read, hey, look what I learned in prison. Thanks for the memories. You sorry. And then there was a string of expletives. Maybe you should watch who you let through the door.

Ha ha ha ha ha. The note implied that someone had come back to get revenge on Lloyd because Lloyd had sent them to prison through his police work. The note strikes a particular chord with Officer Patrick Gass. I had experienced that type of a threat before when somebody obtained a list of all of our home

addresses, and they were threatening us. Even more troubling is the fact that both Officer Gass and Lloyd Courtney had worked a case that was set to go to trial. I was a witness, and Lloyd was also a witness. I was concerned and nervous about if it had a connection to me. Worried that a killer may be on the loose

and targeting other officers, evidence technicians work double time to collect swabs of blood evidence from each location. Because it was such a violent attack, police were hopeful that the killer had injured him or herself and had left behind their DNA. While crime scene investigators continue processing the scene, patrol officers begin canvassing the neighborhood.

They immediately start talking to the neighbors to try to find out if they had seen anything out of the ordinary that day. They begin with the neighbors who had supplied police with the house key. They said they remembered seeing the Courtney's daughter, Deborah, at the house that morning. The neighbors had known them for a long time.

And so they were very familiar with their routine and how they went about their normal day. They said that it was common for Deborah to come over to Lloyd and Agnes' home most mornings after she had dropped her daughter off at school and stay for an hour or so. According to the neighbors, Deborah typically left the house around 10 a.m. each morning, more than an hour before the

first murder occurred. Detectives head over to Debra's residence, charged with the grim task of delivering the worst news imaginable. When the homicide detective and sergeant informed her that her parents had been murdered, Debra immediately became emotional. Debra tells detectives she had long feared for her father's safety. She was very concerned that one of these days, one of those people he had testified against was going to get out of jail and come back and kill him.

Coming up, a witness comes forward with new information. She saw a man in the Courtney's backyard. She felt like he did something wrong. Could this have been the resentful convict's intention to kill him? She was very concerned. She saw a man in the court news backyard. She felt like he did something wrong could this have been the resentful convict taking out his revenge on the line.

They actually did find a piece of paper at the home with a person's name Bateman. Have you listened to Smartless? Smartless is the podcast that I host with my friends who are more like brothers, the super talented and funny Will Arnett and Sean Hayes is... Jay, Jay, Jay, Jay, Jay, why are you whispering? Well, there's a pssst in the copy. People are listening, so it's like... They are listening.

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Sean, tell them where they can find it. Follow SmartList on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to SmartList ad free by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple podcasts. Bye. Bye. Murder on my mind, a new podcast available exclusively on Wondery Plus Bye! in the hip hop world for his shocking lyrics and criminal exploits. When two of his best friends were gunned down

in a drive-by shooting, investigators suspected the young rapper staged the scene. But after not one, but two trials that ended in hung juries and new evidence that may place YNW Melly at the scene of the crime, his trial has been paused indefinitely. With countless twists and turns, Law & Crime covers all angles of the case

and begs the question, is this young artist the victim of a witch hunt or a silver-tongued devil who's evil to the core? Listen to Murder on My Mind exclusively and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+, in the Wondery app or on Apple podcasts. Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple podcasts. It's been just four hours since 75 year old Lloyd Courtney and his 71 year old wife, Agnes, were found beaten to death in their home.

Investigators with the Fort Worth Police Department are hoping the couple's daughter, Debra, can shed some light on the murders. Detectives ask Deborah when she last saw her parents. She says she visited them around 10 that morning, which confirms a statement made by one of the couple's neighbors. She had gone over there to pick up a receipt for some trees that her parents had purchased

for her husband for his birthday. And she'd also been over there to pick up some concert tickets for the weekend. Deborah says she only stayed at her parents' house a few minutes before she left, well before her mother, Agnes, returned home from running errands. Investigators asked Deborah if her parents were expecting any other visitors that morning.

She told police that her parents said that they were planning on getting a quote from a contractor because they were going to do some remodeling of a bathroom. During the interview, Debra's husband, Paul Perringer, arrives home with some takeout food. She sees him and she breaks down. And she expresses concern about how they were going to tell their daughter that her grandparents were dead. And she says, well, I were going to tell their daughter that her

grandparents were dead. Once Debra composes herself, detectives ask her for the names of other family members who might assist in the investigation. Debra tells them about her adopted sister, Brenda. That's when detectives receive a call from patrol officers, asking them to return to the crime scene ASAP. One of the neighbors who lived behind the Courtney's

was a veterinarian who worked nights. And she was actually asleep that day, but was awoken by her dogs who were barking incessantly. The woman says she tried to call her dogs inside, but they remained at the back corner of her fence, barking furiously at something in Lloyd and Agnes' yard. She said it was something very unusual. The dogs reacting like they did, barking and howling,

did not come to the veterinarian when she called. So she got up to go see what was the matter, and she said that she saw someone. She saw through the fence that there was a man in the backyard of Lloyd and Agnes' home. She described the person as white, her Hispanic, medium build, with dark curly hair,

wearing blue coveralls and light colored gloves. It looked to be like perhaps some kind of a workman, like a utility workman or cable repair or something like that. The woman tells police there was something about the man that made her feel uneasy. She said she felt like he did something wrong. She said it all happened between 10 in the morning and 1 in the afternoon, and that fits his presence.

There are fits at the time of the murder. The woman says she thought about calling the police, but she also knew the Courtneys were considering some home renovations and assumed the man was probably a contractor. Was that the murderer? Was it a witness to the murderer? Who was this strange person in the backyard? The police asked that neighbor to come to the police

department and help prepare a composite of that individual. The next morning, police circulate the sketch throughout their department. In the meantime, CSIs find another possible avenue for locating the mystery man. Police wanted to find the contractor who was supposed to do the remodeling, and they actually did find a piece of paper at the home with a person's name and number. When detectives question the man,

he admits to meeting with the Courtneys about bathroom renovations, but claims that conversation took place days earlier. He had been over to the Courtneys' home a week or two before, and he had looked at the bathrooms, but he'd been busy with other clients, and he just hadn't gotten back with them. Adding to the man's innocence is the fact that he looks nothing like

the artist rendering of the mystery man seen in the Courtney's backyard. With nothing tying this man to the murders, police cross him off the list of potential suspects. Back at square one, police turned to Lloyd and Agnes' adopted daughter, Brenda. Brenda and her fiance, James, agree to come to the station for an interview. Like her older sister, Brenda is visibly shaken

by the news of her adoptive parents' murder. When police asked her about a relationship with her parents, she reported no problems. There wasn't any trouble. They got along, and they communicated frequently. Brenda says she can't think of anyone who might want to harm her parents and has no idea who the mystery man in the backyard could be.

As for her whereabouts the morning of the crime, Brenda claims both she and her fiancee were at work at the time. Brenda and her fiancee both voluntarily gave DNA samples to the police. With no evidence linking Brenda to the crime, police let her go. When detectives questioned Debra about Brenda's relationship

with their parents, Debra claims that they got along perfectly. They communicated. They went to events together. She said they had a close, loving relationship. As they are speaking to Debra, detectives noticed something peculiar. Debra's finger was wrapped up in gauze and tape. And so of course, they asked her what had happened.

She said that she had been washing dishes at home and broke a glass in the sink and cut her finger. But the cut on Debra's finger isn't the only injury detectives notice. There's also some bruises and some scrapes and cuts on her forearm as well. When asked about the scrapes on her arm, she said she had done that because she had failed.

Detectives ask Debra if they can photograph the wounds. Debra agrees and eventually allows detectives to search her home and her vehicle, but nothing is found. Debra and her husband also voluntarily gave DNA samples and fingerprints to the police. While detectives are suspicious of Debra's injuries, there's nothing that concretely indicates any involvement in her parents' murders.

Detectives shift their focus back to the mystery man spotted near the house. The fact that someone was in the backyard that day was certainly a detail that the police wanted to run down. The individual in the blue coveralls was one of the big question marks. Coming up, a lucky break helps investigators zero in on the mystery man.

A police officer had actually stopped and questioned him. But just when the case seems close to being solved, it takes a bizarre turn. Something was not right about that note. November 2001, Fort Worth detectives are investigating the double murder of Lloyd and Agnes Courtney. Their primary focus is the mystery man

who was seen in the Courtney's backyard around the time of the crime. The police needed to figure out who that individual was, and they showed that composite drawing to other neighbors and other family members to see if they had recognized him. Finally, on November 3rd, a Fort Worth patrol officer comes forward with an intriguing piece of information.

On the day of the murder, a police officer had actually stopped someone who matched the description of the individual found in the backyard of the home. The man wore blue coveralls and was driving a gray 1991 Lincoln sedan. The officer cited him for speeding and sent him on his way. Only later did he see the composite sketch

of the murder suspect hanging on the police station bulletin board. The officer thought back to it and thought, maybe this is someone that we need to talk to. A copy of the speeding ticket identifies the man as a 39-year-old named Emilio. Detectives immediately track him down and bring him in for an interview.

They questioned him about his whereabouts that day, whether he knew the Courtneys, things to that nature. Emilio claims to have no idea who the Courtneys were. He explains that the blue coveralls he was wearing that day were part of his work uniform. have no idea who the Courtneys were. He explains that the blue coveralls he was wearing that day were part of his work uniform. Police immediately check into his alibi. They determined that he wasn't a suspect in this case,

and he was released. It was a dead end. With no leads panning out in their search for the mystery man, detectives are at a loss. They never did identify who that was, if there was anyone. Investigators then turned their attention back to the evidence, specifically the note. The note that was pinned to Lloyd Courtney's leg

gave the indication that it was somebody who he had testified against who just recently got out of prison. Detectives review all of Lloyd's recent cases, looking for anyone who may have made threats against him. The more they analyze the note, the less sense it makes. Something was not right about that note. Plotting to take revenge on someone who would have had a relatively small part in the investigation,

is just testifying to the fingerprints. It wouldn't have been usually who somebody would have held the biggest grudge against. Most violent defendants would be more interested in a judge, a prosecutor, or a primary detective, not the fingerprint examiner. One passage in the computer-printed note also raises questions. The note said, you should be careful who you led in the door. Look what I learned how to do in prison or something to that effect. That led me to think, did you type the note before you came

knowing you would be led in the door, or did you type a note up on the victim's computer after you killed him? It just didn't make sense. The following afternoon, the autopsies conducted on Lloyd and Agnes Courtney are completed. The medical examiner notes that both Lloyd and Agnes suffered numerous stab and cut wounds, as well as

multiple blunt force traumas to the head and chest. Medical examiner said that they had been stabbed, legend, cut wounds, as well as multiple blunt force traumas to the head and chest. Medical examiners said that they had been stabbed, bludgeoned, or cut 75 times. It was definitely characterized as overkill. The pairing up that was fine in Lloyd Courtney's leg is what's probably used to stab and cut both Lloyd and Agnes Courtney.

The report also states that the blunt force trauma wounds were consistent with the broken skillets and table legs found in the house, which casts even more doubt on the notion that the crime was planned. It didn't make any sense that somebody would go to all that trouble to track Lloyd down, but you don't bring anything to murder them with. You use their own skillets and kitchen knives and table legs.

The crime scene at that house does indicate to us a lot of rage. It also indicates to us that it was very personal, and it was not preplanned. It also went from room to room in the house, and there were so many multiple weapons used. First, you have the skillet, and the skillet's broken. And then you have stab wounds with a knife. And then you have a table, obviously, used. And then the table legs broken off of the table,

and then the table legs used. It seemed to me like there was a lot of passion, a lot of emotion behind the attack. The extreme passion behind the attack draws investigators back to the victim's daughter, Deborah. Deborah was a victim's daughter. Deborah was a victim's daughter. The extreme passion behind the attack draws investigators back to the victim's daughter, Debra. When you have close relatives that don't seem to be taking

an interest in how the investigation is proceeding, that's suspicious. Debra Paringer has this cut on her finger, and her explanation was kind of suspect of how it occurred. On November 4th, detectives request a follow-up suspicious. Deborah Perringer has this cut on her finger, and her explanation was kind of suspect of how it occurred. On November 4th, detectives request a follow-up interview with Deborah and her husband, Paul. It's then that the couple makes a startling announcement.

They had obtained an attorney and refused to make any kind of statement or talk to the detectives anymore. That was odd that someone would not cooperate in the murder investigations of their parents unless they had something to hide. Was there perhaps more to Deborah's relationship with her parents than meets the eye? To learn more, detectives reach out to those closest to Deborah

and discover the dynamic between Debra and her parents wasn't as idyllic as they'd been led to believe. Debra had some psychiatric problems. She had been diagnosed with depression after the birth of her child and then later diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Though Lloyd and Agnes had encouraged Deborah to get help, it only drove her further away. The relationship between Lloyd and Agnes Courtney and Deborah Panger was at times estranged.

But according to several close friends, Deborah's mental health issues weren't the primary problem between her and her parents. The real issue was money. Debra had a lot of money problems over the years. Her and her husband were in a mountain of debt. They had been loaning her money for a long time, and they had conflicts about how Debra and her husband

had spent their money. They had borrowed $25,000 from her parents, and they were told by her parents that if they died before she paid it back, that it would be taken out of her share of the estate. Friends also tell detectives that earlier that year, the Courtney's cut Deborah off completely. She thought they should take better care of her.

And she highly resented the fact that they did not. Though Lloyd and Agnes had cut Deborah and her husband off, they still financially supported Deborah's daughter. Lloyd and Agnes had opened some type of savings account for the granddaughter, Debra's daughter, but had not allowed Debra to have any access or control over the account, and it caused some hard feelings.

She felt very scorned by her parents, and she felt like they owed her more than that. She said her parents had very high expectations of her, and she never felt like that she quite lived up to those expectations. I think she had a lot of pent-up rage at her parents. Is it possible Debra murdered her parents as payback for these perceived slights? That question becomes even more pressing on November 7th during the funeral services for Lloyd and Agnes. There was a lot of very generous, kind outpouring

from the community because these two individuals were loved by many. They saw some things at the funeral that caused the concern. One of the homicide detectives had seen Deborah Paringer come up to Lloyd Courtney's casket and lean over and spend quite a bit of time there. He saw Deborah standing over her father's casket,

sobbing and repeatedly saying, I'm sorry, daddy. Is Deborah's behavior indicative of guilt or grief? Detectives increasingly believe it's the former, but they still have no evidence to prove it. Whoever did this would be covered with blood, and yet she was able to get into her car and drive away and not leave any blood traces anywhere in her clothes, her car car or shoes, anywhere.

As far as I'm concerned, that's a magic trick that's worthy of Harry Houdini. Coming up, as months pass without an arrest, investigators fear the case may never be solved. Detectives tracked down every possible lead there was. Then DNA points police to the real killer. The blood evidence really told the story of what happened that day.

Detectives investigating the double homicide of Lloyd and Agnes Courtney have their eye on the couple's 48-year-old daughter, Debra Perringer. We believe that the primary motive for the murder was money. That Lloyd and Agnes Courtney were going to cut Debra Perringer off, no longer give her any more money. She did to inherit $225,000 upon their deaths, and that money would have gotten them out of their financial trouble. While money provides Debra with a clear-cut motive to murder her parents, as of yet, there's no evidence concretely tying Debra to the crime. They were just waiting for the DNA results to come in.

Finally, on April 18, 2002, more than five months after the murders, the DNA testing is complete. Deborah Perringer's blood is identified in several different places in her parents' house. Her blood was found on the drawer where the knives were kept, on a trash can with the liner missing, on a caller ID box whose wires had been cut,

on the door to the bedroom where Agnes's body was found, suggesting that she was pushing into the room while Agnes was pushing against it. Her blood is found in locations where only the killer would have touched. The test results are more than enough to secure a warrant for Debra's arrest and rule out Brenda as a suspect. They prepared a capital murder arrest warrant for Debra.

They set up surveillance on her home and they arrested her in her vehicle. Once in custody, Debra denies killing her parents and demands to see her attorney. In January 2003, Debra's trial gets underway. In their opening statement, prosecutors claim Debra killed her parents for money, plain and simple. Our theory at the time of trial was that the crime was not pre-planned. There had been some conversation between Lloyd

Courtney and his daughter Debra Peringer that he was tired of taking care of her, and he was not going to give her any money anymore. Prosecutors claim that on the morning of November 2, 2001, Debra decided to get rid of her parents once and for all. I think it was a result of years of a relationship with her parents that was maybe controlling financially, she became angry and she attacked Lloyd. The weapons that were used were weapons of convenience.

I mean, no one brings frying pans, cast iron skillets to a crime scene. These belonged to Lloyd and Agnes Courtney. And when Agnes returned, Deborah didn't really have a choice. As she saw it, she had to kill her mother as well since she had discovered Lloyd was dead. The way their lives ended was very tragic. Prosecutors tell the court that after murdering her parents, and she was very, very, very, very, very, very tragic.

Prosecutors tell the court that after murdering her parents, Deborah, as the daughter of a fingerprint expert, began covering her tracks. She was very smart about forensic evidence. I'm sure that she believed that she had done whatever she needed to do to cover her tracks. According to prosecutors, after cleaning up the crime scene as best she could, Deborah then typed a note on her parents' computer, suggesting that someone her father helped put behind bars

had committed the crime. But there was one problem with that plan. There's just no good explanation for where her blood was. The DNA told us who the killer was, and that was Deborah Perrinford. When it's their turn, the defense has their own explanation for the blood smears. Deborah cut her finger while cleaning breakfast dishes

at her house that morning. When she came over to do the dishes for her mother, the blood started flowing again from the cuts. The defense also argues that Deborah was not physically capable of killing two people in such a brutal manner. Whoever wielded these skillets and this knife had a tremendous amount of energy to do these things.

Deborah just didn't look like the kind of person who was physically capable of doing that. And if Deborah did engage in a bloody fight with her parents, why was there no blood evidence recovered from her vehicle? Everyone agrees she left the scene in her car. And there's no way you can drive that car away covered with blood and not leave the blood in the car. Prosecutors counter with a bold claim. There was also some blood that was on the trash can that came out of the car. Prosecutors counter with a bold claim.

There was also some blood that was on the trash can that came back to the repairer. Based on the fact that her blood's there in the trash can, and the trash sack was missing as well. The theory was that she had put her bloody clothes into that trash sack. The case seems to be leaning in the prosecution's favor. But that's before the defense team

makes a bold play of its own and calls Deborah Perringer to the stand to plead her case directly to the jury. Deborah dead fastly maintained her innocence. She called her father the most honorable man she'd ever known. She had no trouble that I know of with her mother at all. Though Debra is adamant that she's innocent, some in the court believe her performance doesn't ring true. She didn't come off as very likable.

The things that she said on the stand just were not very believable. On January 20, the case goes to the jury. It doesn't take long for them to come to a decision. They only deliberated about an hour before they were returned a guilty verdict. The case goes to the jury. It doesn't take long for them to come to a decision. They only deliberated about an hour before they were turned to guilty verdict. She was convicted of a capital murder,

the murder of two individuals during the same criminal transaction. Debra is sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 40 years. She'll be 89 years old before she'll first go before a parole board. She won't ever get out either. Any individual that takes the life of their parents

in the brutal fashion that Debra Paringer did deserves at a minimum a capital life sentence. Debra had a daughter who was nine years old, and her husband were devastated by the verdict. Nobody really sensed that that was a possibility. It was a very brutal crime against a sweet elderly couple who quite literally fought for their lives. And they lost.

Debra Peeringer died on August 19, 2020, at 67 years old after serving 18 years in prison. Neither Debra's adopted sister, Brenda, nor Brenda's fiance, James, were ever charged with any connection to the murders. I feel like I was blindsided. Because it's the competition show. From the producers of Jury Duty and The Bachelor. We have scoured the Earth for the 14 greatest reality

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