Naman Shrestha
The sudden and tragic homicide of Kay Parsons in her Grovetown, Georgia, home in the spring of 2009 sent shockwaves across the entire community. The home invasion, which seemed to be the case of a botched robbery, turned out to be something more sinister as the detectives uncovered a murder plot motivated by an extramarital affair. As they dug deeper, they were led to two perpetrators responsible for the horrific crime. NBC’s ‘Dateline: Secrets on Hot Springs Drive’ and ABC’s ’20/20: Murder Next Door’ chronicle the case and the investigation that followed, featuring exclusive interviews with Kay’s loved ones and the officials who worked to solve it.
Kay Parsons Was Found Beaten and Bruised in Her Home’s Garage
Born on February 11, 1968, in Connellsville, Pennsylvania, Laverne Katherine “Kay” Sanner Parsons was the beloved daughter of Arthur R. Sanner and Mabel Catherine Giles Sanner. She also has a close-knit bond with her brothers, Kenny Sanner, Chuck Sanner, and Arthur Sanner Jr., and her sisters, Elma Pavelek, Mary Jeffers, and Olive Bigley. The 1987 Laurel Highlands High School graduate was also a member of The Church of Christ. Later, she married David R. Parsons, who worked in the army at Fort Gordon. The two shared a son named Derek Parsons, who had a passion for baseball.
In 2005, Kay and her family moved into an apartment on Hot Springs Drive in Grovetown, Georgia, where she made many friends. On the professional front, she was employed at the Healing Hands Physical Therapy Center. Kay appeared to be leading a picture-perfect life alongside her husband and son until fate intervened and shattered her dreams of the future. On the morning of March 25, 2009, a contractor named Mitch Cozart showed up at the Parsons home for some work, but found the glass door busted out. After calling Kay and not receiving a response, he called 911 and reported the situation to the authorities. Soon, the police arrived at the scene and discovered a trail of blood, a food bag, an empty coffee cup, and a purse on the floor inside the house.
As they went deeper inside, they found 41-year-old Kay lying on the floor of the garage in critical condition. She had been beaten severely on the head with a claw hammer and baseball bat found near her injured body. She had defensive wounds on her arm and hands, and the detectives also found human hair under her fingernails. The upstairs room had been looted, with many pieces of jewelry and valuable items missing. She was then rushed to the hospital immediately. Her husband, David, who was in Los Angeles for work, was informed about the incident and called back to Grovetown. After the doctors told the family that her injuries were too severe for her survival, they decided to take her off life support on March 26, 2009. Meanwhile, a homicide investigation was launched.
Kay Parsons’ Perpetrators Tried to Derail the Investigation
In an unexpected turn of events, the police learned that the house next door to Kay Parsons was also ransacked and out of place. It belonged to her best friend and coworker, Rebecca “Becky” Sears, who was married to a trucker named Tony. They shared three sons together, while Becky also had two older sons, Christopher and Michael Bowers, from her previous relationship. Upon hearing about the incident, Becky rushed to her home with Christopher from the physical therapy center. The investigators initially looked into Kay’s husband, David, despite him being away in California at the time. As standard procedure, they also suspected Mitch, the contractor who called 911, as he was the first at the scene before shifting their focus elsewhere.
During the police interview, Mitch told them that he saw Becky’s son, Michael, sitting on the rock across the street. When questioned, Michael claimed he arrived at his house around 8:30 am that morning and found it burglarized. According to investigative accounts, detectives initially considered Michael a suspect, given his past history with drugs and unexplained glass particles in his shoes. The authorities questioned Anthony, who corroborated Michael’s alibi that he was at Anthony’s place at the time of the attack. While the police noted inconsistencies during questioning and polygraph testing, both men argued they were telling the truth and were ultimately cleared. The case became all the more complicated 36 hours into the investigation when Becky Sears was shot at while walking towards her car outside the Healing Hands Physical Therapy Center.
Becky called 911 and told the authorities that the attacker demanded money from her before shooting her in the leg and fleeing the scene. During the police interrogation, she admitted to having an extramarital affair with Kay’s husband, David, for several months. Soon, they got a new lead in the homicide case when Becky’s incarcerated brother, Jerry Jacobs, who was serving time for a misdemeanor parole violation, came forward. He believed that Becky had something to do with Kay’s murder. He told the authorities he was aware of her sister’s affair with David and that Becky had once asked him ways to get Kay killed so that she could have David all to herself. Jerry also claimed that her son, Christopher, also knew about the affair.
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The Perpetrators Were Eventually Brought to Justice
After Michael denied knowing anything about his mother’s affair, the police interviewed Kay’s husband, David. According to him, Kay had found out about his affair with Becky, after which she allegedly quit her job and stopped talking to Becky. He claimed they were planning to relocate. However, he also admitted to talking on the phone with Becky the night before the murder, but denied having anything to do with the killing. Another thing that connected Becky and Christopher to the crime scene was the hammer used in the killing of Kay Parsons. Jerry had recognized it and claimed that it belonged to Becky’s toolbox, which she kept in her garage.
Before Christopher could go on a weekend getaway, the detectives arrested him outside his house and brought him in for questioning. However, he asked for a lawyer right away. Soon, Becky Sears was also arrested in a hotel room at a Holiday Inn. The mother and son were charged with the murder of Kay Parsons. It turned out that the attack on Becky outside the physical therapy center was staged by Christopher and Becky in an attempt to derail the investigation. On May 13, 2009, both Becky and Christopher pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.
However, Becky alleged that she dropped Christopher off at her house on Hot Springs Drive, after which he broke into Kay’s house and committed the killing while she was dropping her other children off at school. In order to receive a lesser sentence, she led the detectives to the bloody clothes that her son wore at the time of the attack. On May 11, 2012, both Becky and Christopher pleaded guilty to the homicide in exchange for avoiding the death penalty. Eventually, they received life imprisonment sentences without the possibility of parole for the murder charge. Meanwhile, Christopher was also sentenced to life in prison for armed robbery and 20 years for the burglary charge.
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