ORANGEFIELD —
Staci Lisenby’s son admitted to her February 2011 murder on Wednesday at the Orange County Courthouse.
Lisenby was shot and killed on Feb. 20, 2011 and now her 15-year-old son will spend 20 years confined behind bars. He will serve the first part at a Texas Juvenile Justic Department facility until he becomes an adult at the age of 18. He will then be taken to an adult prison to serve the remaining years of the sentence. The teen was sentenced by County Court-at-Law Judge Troy Johnson who put him under court monitors since the teen had been living out of town with family.
The teen’s name is still not being made public and he was 14-years-old at the time of the shooting.
Lisenby’s son was taken into custody five days after her death. Her son called police and reported a white male had entered their home and shot his mother.
Law enforcement officers eventually found the .22 pistol used to kill Lisenby in a pond near the home and witnesses reported her son talked of killing his parents and was seen shooting the gun.
The story told by officers by Lisenby’s son was a strong point against him as he told investigators.
One of the most critical pieces of evidence spoken of by K.C. Breshears in an affidavit for a search warrant is when investigators reportedly learned Lisenby’s 14-year-old son told a juvenile friend the week prior to the shooting “he was tired of how strict his parents were and that he intended on killing them both and then running away.” The affidavit was made public on Feb. 28.
Breshears details in the affidavit some of the parents of juvenile friends of the suspect reported their children had information on the case including Lisenby’s son “had been in possession on a western style .22 caliber revolver for some time prior to the shooting.”
The affidavit reported an autopsy performed on Feb. 23 performed by Dr. Tommy Brown and witness by OCSO Chief Deputy Rodney Harrison proved Lisenby’s cause of death was a bullet wound to the head and the primary suspect weapon was a .22 caliber bullet.
Breshears said in the affidavit Lisenby’s son told investigators he was laying on the couch in the living room and his mother was sitting at a small desk at the corner of the living. The affidavit later reads “(name) stated he suddenly heard a shot and turned and saw an unknown white male opening and fleeing out the front door of the residence.
“(Name) stated he did not see the gun used to shoot his mother. The affiant (Breshears) had earlier observed several gun safes and hunting paraphernalia in the residence and asked (name) if the gunshot sounded like a rifle or a pistol. (Name) responded that he had never fired a pistol or even heard a pistol being fired. The affiant found this to be an unusual answer and asked (name) to clarify is his answer.”
