Snapped: Women Who Murder - Debra Henderson

Episode Date: November 19, 2023

A chance for love brings an Oklahoma woman to rural Texas, but her quick disappearance has investigators following a paper trail that will expose the treachery of greed.Season 28 Episode 07Originally aired: October 18, 2020Watch 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.

Bosh Legacy returns, now streaming. Maddie's been taken. Oh God. Nothing can stop a father. Is he alive? From doing what the law can't. And you have to do this the very way. You have to.

I don't. Bosh Legacy watch the new season, now streaming exclusively on FreeVee. Hi, it's me, the OG Green Grum, the Grinch. Listen as I launch a campaign against Christmas cheer, grilly celebrity guests, like chestnuts on an open fire. Now try to get my heart to grow a few sizes, but it's not going to work, honey. Follow Tiz the Grinch Holiday Talk Show on The One Dread, or wherever you get your podcasts. As neighbors in the Texas countryside, they bonded over long walks and pots of coffee.

There were two women living out in the rural parts of our county. They gravitated toward each other. It developed into a very good friendship to where they wanted to always hang out. But on a cold December morning, one of them goes missing without a trace. Her truck being in the driveway was a big red flag.

Her purse being gone at the scene of the disappearance was a big red flag. Somebody could have grabbed her. Is it a kidnapping? Should they be looking for a body? Investigators soon learn that these rural Texas pastures pulled secrets far darker than ever imagine. They received a call advising that he

had discovered a human school on his property. There was more going on here than met the eye. She had told her if anything happened to me, look at him. She had this gambling bet, and uncovering that was a big shock. Something went wrong with it, hey. And whatever it was, he needed his illness for the peace. The the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the a concerning report. On December 3rd, the Sheriff's Office received a call

from Robert Sterling, and he reported that his girlfriend, Marion Parsons, was missing. So as normal protocols, Sheriff's Office dispatched a patrol deputy to his house. The Ellis County deputy arrives at the rural farm located in the tiny town of Palmer. The sterling house is maybe 80 or 90 acres of land. That house is several miles from any municipality.

I mean, it is a rural setting out there. Robert explains to the deputy that he's been dating a 54-year-old Marion Parsons for about a year, and it isn't like her to just take off. Marion had never disappeared without telling him before, and he was concerned. The report came out that Marion is missing on December 3, 2010, but the last time anybody actually sees her is December the first. Her boyfriend, Robert Sterling, was the one that called it in,

but he waited two days. And that makes Sheriff's investigators a little curious. He waited an inordinate amount of time from our perspective to call. But what the officer finds even more concerning is what she left behind. Marion's truck was still in the driveway, while her purse was missing, there

were things about the situation that made it clear that Marion was not in control. A person, if they're going to leave and go any distance, would most likely take their personal vehicle and drive away. And Marion Parsons was not native to this area. She'd only been out in that house about a month or so. She didn't know hardly anybody else. I was the only one in town I think that she met

something was wrong. Raised in Oklahoma alongside three siblings, Marion McCornick was known for her gentle spirit. Marion was a good person. She's always laughing. always in a good mood. Marion never had a bad thing to say about anybody. As a young woman, Marion met and married Bill Persons. Bill was kind, wealthy, and more than 20 years her senior.

Bill was a very good husband. She married him very young. Marion did not work. Bill was very well-sit, so he took care of everything for her. Bill and Marion led a comfortable life, but after several decades together, a middle-aged Marion longed for change. Marion didn't have any children of her own. It was time for her to do something else with her life. She wanted to move on and move forward so that they both agreed to the divorce.

I think maybe it was because her husband was so much older than her. Marion didn't get to experience, you know, her younger life like she should have. There was an amenable separation that they got along, Mary and didn't get to experience, you know, her younger life like she should have. There was an amenable separation that they got along, that there was no tension between the two of them that they just weren't meant to be together. When they got divorced, Mary and got a $75,000 settlement.

There was a house that they sold, and the profits gained from the house was sufficient that Marion Parsons didn't need to work that she was able to live off of that as well as other investments that she had. As her divorce was close to being finalized, Marion now in her early 50s cautiously entered the world of online dating. In 2009, she started chatting with a man out of Ellis County, Texas.

Marion Parsons had met Robert Sterling on an online dating site and they hit it off. Robert worked in a Styrofoam plant, but lived on a picturesque farm in the remote town of Palmer. Maryann said that she got along with him. They had good conversation over the farm, and she wanted to come down and give it a try. She left Oklahoma and then moved down here to Texas so she could date Robert and see if they could work out a relationship.

In 2009, 53-year-old Maryann got her own place a date robber and see if they could work out a relationship. In 2009, 53-year-old Marion got her own place in nearby Waxahatchee and continued to date Robert. Marion was attracted to Robert because he was younger than her first husband. He had more energy, he liked to do things, go out. Less than a year later, Marion and Robert were ready for the next step. She came to my house one morning, brought me a coffee pot,

and told me Becky I'm moving in with Robert today. I have to at least go and try this relationship. So I remember her giving her hug, telling her that I loved her, and if she didn't do anything to call me, and she left. Marion found that Palmer was even smaller and lonelier than Waxahatchee. There's no grocery store, there's no Lincoln lot,

there's nothing but the road straight through it. But some of that loneliness faded when Robert introduced Marion to his neighbors, Debra and Bobby Henderson. There was land between them, just probably I want to say a few acres or so. The interactions with Bobby, Debra, Robert and Marion, they were good interactions. They would carry conversations. Sometimes it was just social stuff and they enjoyed each other. We're friends.

52-year-old Debra and 54-year-old Marion became fast friends. Marion didn't know anybody except Mr. Sterling. So when she met Deborah, you could tell that they became really close friends in a short amount of time. Marion's new friend, Deborah Henderson, was a native Texan. Deborah was born in Austin, Texas, along with her other four siblings. Then, once they got older, they started to travel as migrant workers, the whole family did.

They would travel to all different states and just pick different fruits and vegetables based on the season in the area. Deborah grew into a capable young woman with a strong work ethic. She is a person who has always been grateful for how little or how much she always had. When Deborah started dating Longhall truck driver, Bobby Henderson, she was a divorced single mother to two boys.

Bobby and Deborah married and built a house together on several acres of sprawling farmland in Palmer. They seemed happy, they had their routine. They would wake up together, they would do breakfast, and then they would get started on what work needed done around the house or around the land. After almost 20 years of marriage, the kids were grown and gone. Debra often found herself alone on the farm while Bobby worked.

So in November 2010, when Marion Parsons moved in, Debra was thrilled for the companionship. It developed a very good friendship to where they wanted to always hang out and go to eat or go roam the pasture and go check on the things they did normally because then they didn't have to do them alone. With a new friend and a new relationship, things for Marion seemed to be going quite well. Marion was looking forward to this. She wanted this to be going quite well. Marion was looking forward to this. She wanted this to be her first start.

But just a month after Marion moved in, she's reported missing by her boyfriend, Robert Sterling. As an Ellis County deputy collects information from Robert, it quickly becomes apparent that something is a miss. Waiting two days to report that somebody is missing definitely raises some red flags. There didn't seem to be any urgency to notify law enforcement. The truck was in the driveway and the keys were in the house. The patrol deputy determined that there were some things

that didn't seem normal. Then he called us, and I want to say we got out there maybe around 6 o'clock or so. I went in and spoke with Robert Sterling, and one of the things you would be looking for to see if there's a discrepancy in the story that he gave the initial responding deputy and the story that he's giving us.

Mary and Parsons had been gone for over two days. We have to determine whether Mary and left on her own accord or whether something criminal is happening. The detective said, where is she? Where could she be? Coming up, detectives discover signs of a turbulent home life. The relationship between Mary and Parsons and Robert Sterling was a bit contentious.

And a paper trail reveals concerning new details. Just days after Marion Parsons was missing, there was a charge on one of her cards. As soon as the video appeared, she turned her head, and we could see her. This extended period of time is really unusual. I mean, I think it's a very, very long time. I think it's a very long time. I think it's a very long time.

I think it's a very long time. I think it's a very long time. I think it's a very long time. I think it's a very long time. I think it's a very long time. I think it's a very long time. I think it's a very long time. I think it's a very long time. This extended period of time is really unusual. I mean, it's an intimate partner.

It's somebody you share your life with. And this person now going into the third day has been gone, and there was no urgency to call the sheriff's office. to call the sheriff's office. Robert tells investigators that the last time he saw Marion was around 6 a.m. on the morning of December 1st. He said that she was going to go to breakfast with the neighbor. The neighbor is a lady named Deborah Henderson, who lived on the adjacent property.

Robert explains to detectives that he'd arrived home later that evening, expecting to find Marion, but she wasn't there. When Robert Sterling came home, he noticed that the front door was locked and the lights were on. She just seemed to be away. It was odd. Her truck being in the driveway was a big red flag. Her purse being gone at the scene of the disappearance was a big red flag for investigators.

Those kinds of things did not fit with Marion's character as it was understood. Robert said he'd tried to call Marion, but Marion didn't answer her phone. With Marion's absence stretching into the third day, investigators suspect foul play. She could have walked in the house, put her keys down, and maybe walked back outside to get something from the truck,

and somebody could have grabbed her there. During this day and age, it's hard for anybody to really go missing with phone records, with financial records, with all the things that follow us around on a daily basis. It's kind of hard for someone to just up and disappear unless there's some sort of foul play or the person doesn't want to be found and they've got help in hiding. I'll believe in

this case they were looking at both avenues. Robert agrees to let detectives take a look around. As we looked over the property, we didn't find any physical items, linked to Marion Parsons at all. Nor did we find any disturbances in the ground that would make us believe that Marion was on that property. We couldn't come up with any piece of evidence that would lead us to believe that Marion was taken against her will. It elevates our curiosity and concern

about what happened to Marion Arsons. With no signs of Marion on Robert's property, investigators track across the pasture to pay a visit to her friend and neighbor, Deborah Henderson. Robert had told us Marion left to go eat breakfast with Deborah Henderson. Deborah tells investigators that on December 1st, she and Marion had gone to the IHOP in Inness.

They had coffee and breakfast and kind of done the neighbor's chatting thing. Among the topics of conversation was Marion's relationship with Robert Sterling. Deborah had indicated that the relationship between Marion Parsons and Robert Sterling was a bit contentious. And Marion Parsons was talking about returning to Oklahoma where she had come from about a year or so earlier.

Debra tells detectives that following breakfast, she and Marion went their separate ways and she hasn't heard from Marion since, though a few days without contact wasn't out of the ordinary. They were looking at potential for foul play, but they were also looking at the possibility that she was wanting to get out of a bad relationship

and was maybe hiding out. Maybe she called a friend who picked her up and removed her from the property. So we have to look at everything. But the fact that Robert waited so long to report Marion missing is a nagging detail that detectives can't dismiss. He was definitely becoming more suspicious. You know, did Marion have another intimate partner?

We didn't know. You know, if she did, did Robert find out that she was involved in another relationship. Those are the kinds of things that we needed to start eliminating from the investigation, so we could determine whether or not Robert will still be a person of interest. Investigators reach out to Marion's family in Oklahoma

to see if they have any information on her whereabouts. Sheriff's Investigators interview all of her family that is willing to come forward, but nobody can give more specifics to deputies about where she could possibly be. Unable to uncover a lead from Marion's family, detectives take a different approach. Whether you're hiding out or going on a trip or left-hound intentionally, you you're gonna have a financial trail.

So the best way to find out where someone's getting gas or where someone is buying groceries is to look at their financial records and their bank statements. Investigators discover that if Marion had wanted to disappear, she possessed the means to do it. Investigators found out that she had about $50,000 in savings. As detectives examine her credit and debit card statements, they find some intriguing activity.

Just days after Marion Parsons was missing, there was a charge on December 3rd on one of her cards, and then another charge at a casino in Oklahoma on December 4th. While those charges went through, there is one transaction that didn't. On December 3rd, someone attempted to withdraw cash from Marion's account. The card was denied at the ATM because of not knowing the pin number.

That really sort of made investigators curious. They started looking for surveillance video, anything that they could find to try and figure out how the cards were being used. Is it Marion? Is it somebody else? Investigators travel to the location of the attempted withdrawal, a Walmart in nearby NS. We went into the store, made contact with security.

We told him we needed to have the video on the ATM machine, the date and as soon as the video appeared, a female walked up to the ATM, and you could only see the back of the person's head. And then ultimately she turned her head and we could see her. One of the investigators who's looking at the video immediately recognizes Deborah Henderson. Now we know Deborah Henderson is the last person to see Marion Parsons. Now we know several days later, Deborah is using Marion Parsons, credit card, and debit cards.

Deborah knows more than she's letting on. Something else has happened here. Mary and Portion, credit card, and debit card. Debra knows more than she's letting on. Something else has happened here. Coming up, investigators rush back to Debra. We probably didn't know each other for a week, and she told me what she wanted. And detectives find their attention torn between two potential suspects.

She told me that Robert, what do you want to do? I'm Rodney Barnes. All my life I've been collecting stories. I don't mean sharing little bedtime stories of cute anecdotes about my childhood. I'm talking about horror stories, cautionary tales, that kind of stuff that keeps you up at night. I'm talking about rumors and folklore about grizzly murders. From parts of the country you're not used to hearing about. Creatures with unfinished earthly business that stalk the woods at night.

Spirits that possessed children. Otherworldly phenomenon capable of inducing madness. These are the stories that haunt me when I'm alone. And now, this is my chance to exercise them. To get them out of my mind and into yours. Ah! Welcome to RunFull. New episodes come out every Tuesday. Follow RunFull wherever you get your podcast. In the days after the disappearance of 54-year-old Marion Parsons, detectives find one red flag

after another, pointing to two prominent figures in her life. They had garnered information that made the boyfriend suspect in this case, so they were looking not only at wrong sterling, but they were also looking at Deborah Henderson. After investigators find video of Deborah attempting to use Marion's debit card, she becomes their top priority. Why did she have the cards? Where did she get them? Under what circumstances did she get them?

Deborah agrees to talk to investigators a second time. Once they tell her we have you on camera with these cards, then her story changes. We probably didn't even know each other for a week, and she told me about Sean and Bonnie. Deborah tells detectives that she and her husband, Bobby, were in the opposite situation. What she said was, Bobby wasn't making as much money.

They cut his hours back. And so they were in need of some cash. In fact, Marion knew about their money problems and had offered to help. She borrowed money from Marion Parsons, $2,700 a week. Debra tells detectives that after breakfast with Marion on the morning of December 1st, she found herself in a tempting situation. Deborah says, OK, we pulled into the gas station, convenient store next to it.

And Marion got cash out of the console, went into the store to buy a package of cigarette. While Marion was in the store, I reached behind the driver's seat and removed her credit card from her wallet and then put her wallet back. I mean, she usually always kept halos, so I really didn't think she was missing. Deborah insists that despite her theft, she knows nothing about Marion's disappearance. For a cabaret, we got to put this whole thing there. So what we're thinking I need to do is give Bobby a call. They also have

polygraphs, but always when I just do the bottom, you do want to take polygraphs. Investigators schedule a polygraph exam for immediately after the holidays and send Debra on her way. In the days that follow, investigators reach out to Marion's friend Becky Brock for more information on Marion's relationship with Robert Sterling. Marion, Robert's relationship was not all roses. I don't believe that Robert was physically abusive to Marion.

I believe he was mentally and verbally abusive to Marion. Becky says that in their final conversation, Marion had made a now ominous statement. Becky had also given statements that Marion had told her if anything happened to me, look at Robert. That last time that I saw Mary and she told me that Robert would be the one to do it. Investigators arrange for Robert to take a polygraph

on the same day as Deborah. But just days before the polygraphs are set to take place, detectives get a surprise phone call from Deborah's husband, Bobby. He tells detectives that he's been robbed by his own wife. Bobby said the money that I put up in the safe for our property taxes is gone. The man that we're buying the property from has called me and told me that we're three months behind on our land payments. Deborah was responsible for the financial transactions

because she was at home every day, and Bobby was on the truck route. So he trusted her to pay the bills. because she was at home every day, and Bobby was on the truck route. So he trusted her to pay the bills. According to Bobby, he discovered that Deborah used the cash intended for their bills to pay off debts of her own. She had a gambling problem that that was the cause

of her financial crisis. Bobby Henderson had no clue that she had this gambling problem that that was the cause of her financial crisis. Bobby Henderson had no clue that she had this gambling bet. And uncovering that was a big shock for him. Despite Deborah's financial indiscretion, Bobby elects to work it out on their own terms. But Deborah's sequential thefts certainly add another twist to what began as a missing person's case. The case sort of starts to widen and we go, oh wow there's more to this than we had

originally thought. We seem to have a thief among us so to speak. By the time the day of the polygraphs arrives, investigators are eager to hear from both Robert and Deborah. On January 12, 2012, Deborah Henderson and Robert Sterling both went to the Ellis County Sheriff's Department where they gave them both a polygraph test. Robert Sterling passed his polygraph test, and Deborah didn't fare well. passed his polygraph test, and never getting farewell. There's no way he's not reading it right.

Because I'm telling the truth. But she never broke that she had anything to do with Marion Parsons' disappearance. Based on the results of the polygraph, investigators are now directing their suspicions away from Robert. I don't believe that the Ellis County Sheriff's Department could completely rule him out, but I believe

that they had more evidence that pointed towards Deborah Henderson. We felt like Deborah Henderson was involved. If you have a body and a murder, you have criminal evidence and forensic evidence that you can use in your initial investigation to begin. Here we had nothing. Without a body or proof of foul play, investigators can only charge Deborah with credit card fraud. They obtain a warrant for her arrest, but decided not to act on it, yet. They had a very good case regarding the fraudulent use of the credit cards.

At this point, we believe that we didn't have nearly enough evidence to proceed on Deborah Henderson with a murder charge without the body. Investigators spend the upcoming weeks combing through the slim evidence they do have. We continue to try to determine what's happened to Marion going over what we have done to make sure that we haven't missed anything. There was discussion about bringing out cadaver dogs to go over the property, so we were trying to get that set up.

But on March 19th, investigators get another call from Deborah's husband, Bobby Henderson. This time, Bobby is frantic. They received a call from Bobby Henderson, advising that he had discovered a human school on his property. I met him out there and sure enough, we went over to the pasture and there was a human school. We started walking the property and putting markers

on any piece of evidence that we found. Ultimately, it's not what they see that points them in the right direction. It's what they smell. When an investigator's pulled what was a big piece of sheet of metal that had bricks on top of it and where the smell was coming from, that's

where we found her body. Investigators immediately believed that they'd found Mary and Parsons' body. The state of the K was extremely advanced, but now they have a body to work with, and that's a huge break. Three and a half months after Mary Marion Parsons was reported missing, her presumed body is transported to the County Medical Examiner's Office for autopsy. Back at the Henderson House, all eyes are on Deborah. We found the skull. And we came back to the table.

Deborah's sitting and she said, what's he gonna do? Debra starts an extremely strong, nervous reaction. She starts shaking and crying. It looks like there's more going on here than anybody originally thought. And Debra is gonna kind of come apart at the scenes. Investigators want to question Debra in custody as soon as possible. Luckily, they have a card to play against her, the arrest warrant for her credit card fraud.

There was no reason at that point to further hold off on executing those warns. So on March 19th, Deborah Henderson was taken into custody. Deborah is charged with three counts of credit card fraud and taken to jail in book. Coming up, Deborah's story changes again. It's a blur. And the autopsy yields shocking results.

It would make a subject particularly basal, easy to control, and easy to murder. MUSIC March 19, 2011. With Deborah Henderson and custody for credit card fraud, Ellis County detectives are eager to hear her explanation for the decayed corpse uncovered on her property. They interviewed her whenever she was arrested on March 19, during the course of that interview,

she does admit to being the last person with Marion Parsons when she was alive. I don't think you're a bad person, Deborah, but you know what? Something went wrong with that date. What happened? Something happened. Not between men and her. It looks like you planned it. You've got some money. You know, when it comes out about the gambling,

and it comes out about how she had already loaned your money, it looks like you stole the credit cards at her purse until then. They knew what that makes it never. It makes it a cow or a fellow. I was kind of saying, you know, you could be looking at a death penalty case. She sat there for a minute.

And then she starts telling the story. Debra tells the detectives that after breakfast on December 1, she and Marion went for a ride around the pastor on her ATV. But Debra claims during the ride, Marion suffered a medical crisis. I don't know if she had some kind of attack or something. I don't know. I don't know what happened. She grabbed my arm and she fell out of the fight.

And I'm over and over. I can't help it. I had a dream run off of her. When she fell out, she fell out. I don't know. It was weird. She fell out. I don't know. It was weird. She fell under. I mean, I just couldn't stop it.

Or you can. I think so. I mean, you're not. You're not that so fast. It's a blur. The night that she confessed, I remember being in the hall and hearing her breakdown talking about it.

I'm not the American, I'm the American. I'm the one else to say. And I pulled her down there and I covered her up. I didn't know what else to do. I killed myself. I killed somebody. A question to Deborah, as you might expect, was when the buggy ran over Mary. Why didn't you just call 911?

And Deborah said she didn't think about calling 911. She was extremely emotional. You know, what happens in these cases, whoever's done it, has this piece of information that she's going to be able to do. One, nine, one, one. She was extremely emotional. You know, what happens in these cases, whoever's done it, has this pin-up secret and emotion inside of it, it starts breaking them down, and so when you get that release, even though it's, oh, I'm caught,

it's, I don't have to hold this inside anymore. It's, I don't have to hold this inside anymore. Is it possible that Debra is telling the truth? Was Marion's death nothing more than a tragic accident? Detectives had back to the farm to investigate Debra's claims. After hearing this story from Debra, Sheriff's Investigators get a basically identical ATV, and they recreate this scenario. Deborah said that she turned a certain way in the ATV

and the way that the investigators re-enacted that. Mary Parsons would have fallen into Deborah Anderson. She wouldn't have fallen out the way that Debra described of how she ran her over. The story that Debra gave and the evidence we found did not match up. Hoping to further strengthen the case against Debra, crime scene investigators continue to comb the farm

for evidence. There was a pond that was approximately 70 yards from where the body was found. The Ellis County Sheriff's Department had requested the dive team to come out and actually dive the pond. They had found a gun in the pond. In checking that farm, they were able to link that gun back to Deborah Henderson. That firearm was a gun that Deborah Henderson had reported stolen in what she called a home invasion approximately a year before.

As they continue building their case, investigators also check in with the medical examiner. Dental records confirmed that the school was Marion Parsons school. At first, the autopsy report appears to confirm Deborah's story. We did know that she had broken ribs that was consistent with her being run over by the ATV. But that's not all the autopsy reveals. A toxicology report reveals Marion had a large dose of ketamine, which is widely used as a horse tranquilizer in her system at the time of death. In addition to the ketamine, the report makes note of two injuries to Marion's midsection.

Medical examiners determined that there were two holes in the abdomen that would have been consistent with gunshot wounds. With the report in hand, investigators give Deborah one last chance to come clean. You know what? I got to know the truth. I got to know the truth to me. I'm telling you the truth.

I told you the truth. I told you the truth. All right, well, how did that go? You said, I don't know. Oh, I don't know. Deborah Henderson freaked out a little bit on camera, but it didn't take her long to get that back under control and then come up with the story

about having found the gun. I swear to God, I told you what happened. Okay, the gun, I found that gun after y'all left and I was not and I hit it and then I tried shooting it like, I don't know how many months ago. And it would never shoot. And I didn't know what else to do with it. Investigators are ready to hold Deborah Henderson accountable for her actions. On March 21st, Ellis County investigators

charged Deborah Henderson with murder. Coming up, Deborah pleads for mercy. If this was an accident, then Deborah Henderson would only be guilty of manslaughter. I don't think Deborah ever intended on this body resurfacing. In May 2012, 53-year-old Deborah Henderson stands trial for the murder of her friend and neighbor, Marion Parsons. Deborah Henderson does not look like a murderer.

She looks like somebody you'll pass in the grocery store in your hometown. Prosecutors lay out for the jury what they believe happened on the morning of December 1st. According to prosecutors, Debra's gambling habit was spiraling out of control. She was out of money and out of people to get it from. We put on witnesses that were family friends

that she had gone to an attempted to borrow money from. She asked a couple of friends that we heard from during the trial, and one friend just refused her, and she cussed at him. She said, uh, some friend you are. So she was pretty angry that she wasn't getting any money from friends. We believe that on the 1st December,

Derbra was in a panic mode about where to acquire additional money to cover her gambling losses. She went to Marion a second time after that first initial loan asking for more help and Marion turned her down. When Marion refused to give Deborah more money, prosecutors believe Deborah moved on to plan B. She probably put Getham in her coffee at that time.

That's the tranquilizer. It's generally used for horses. And Debra had horses, so we could put a connection on her ability to get the ketamine. According to the prosecution, after drugging Marion, Deborah drove her out into the pasture. Deborah's in a panic. Deborah now has decided she's not going

to get any money for Marion. And she shoots Marion. Prosecutors alleged after shooting Marion, Deborah ran her over. We had evidence to believe that, in fact, Marion Parsons was ran over by the ATV, as evidence by the broken ribs. After Marion Parsons was killed, she was buried underneath

a slab of metal and a bunch of other debris, rocks, bricks. And I don't think Deborah ever intended on this body resurfacing at all. Deborah's defense team sticks to the story she told police. It was evident from early on that the defense was going to try to build a case that this was an accident that had gone awry. If this was an accident, if this was a reckless act by Debra Henderson for just not seeking help for Marian Parsons, Debra Henderson would be looking at

a manslaughter conviction as opposed to a murder. On May 18th, 2012, the jury deliberated for three and a half hours and they came back out. The verdict was that Debra Henderson was convicted of murdering her friend, Mary and Parsons. Debra Henderson was sentenced to life in prison by the jury. What began as a welcome friendship between two women took a turn toward evil when Debra's

greed grabbed the reins. Maryam was kind, her laugh was worth living. And she didn't deserve to die the way she did. She didn't deserve to die at all. I remember Maryam on her laugh, and her smile. I think about her lot. It's weird how fate sometimes lines up in life. Mary and Parsons came around at a time where Deborah was really facing some severe money. Once Deborah decided to try and gain access to all of Mary and's available money,

murder was the only way to make that possible. Deborah decided to try and gain access to all of Maryens available money. Murder was the only way to make that possible. It kind of shows the cold nature of her, how cold blooded she was. [♪ Music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background,

music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, music playing in background, Henderson filed for divorce. Though her 2013 appeal was denied, Deborah Henderson maintains her innocence.