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When 41-year-old Laverne “Kay” Parsons was found barely breathing in a pool of blood on March 25, 2009, everyone thought she had fallen victim to a case of bulgery. In fact, a number of other incidents that took place following the attack pointed towards a bulgery.
The case, however, was far from being a burglary when detectives looked more closely at the situation. It was a homicide. A carefully considered plan. Even the events that occurred after the murder were included in this scheme.
It turns out that her dearest friend-cum-neighbour Rebecca Sears, who was also involved in a love-affair with Parsons' husband, was the mastermind behind her killing.
The case was further uncovered in the latest episode of Dateline: Secrets Uncovered. The episode, which went on air on January 3rd at 9:00 PM Oxygen, was titled Secrets on Hot Springs Drive.
The synopsis of the episode reads as
A woman is murdered in a home invasion; her best friend and neighbor is shot the following night; investigators unearth disturbing secrets that suggest the cases may be linked.
Trigger warning: This article contains information about graphic violence.
Chilling details about the gruesome Parsons' murder
5) Sears used her son kill Laverne
Rebecca Sears used her 19-year-old son, Christopher Bowers, to murder Laverne. Bowers struck her with a hammer and hit repeatedly with a baseball bat. She was alive when she was discovered by a construction worker but was barely breathing. She died in the hospital.
Although the motive behind the killing was not revealed by the investigators, it is believed that Sears' love-affair with Parsons' husband may have led her to carry out the heinous.
4) Sears plotted other incidents to mislead the investigators
Rebecca tried to draw attention away from her by planning and plotting other incidents that made her look like she was herself the victim of a similar crime.
First of all, Sears wanted to paint a picture of Parsons being a victim of a burglary and that she was not murdered. A gold necklace and an expensive watch went missing from the crime scene.
Secondly, on the same day Parsons' was attacked, Sears plotted a similar bulgery in her own house.
Third, she staged her own attack the following day. She made an unidentified man shoot her in the leg and ask for money.
3) Parsons was barely breathing when she was discovered
A construction worker discovered Parsons almost dead, lying in a pool of blood in the morning at 8:45. When he did not get an answer on the front door, he walked to the backdoor and found her.
The worker immediately informed the police. He also noticed shattered glass all around her.
2) Sears and Bowers faced death penalty
The mother and son duo faced the death penalty even though she initially pleaded not guilty. Sears' attorney, Victor Hawk, claimed she was innocent and asked for a full transcript of her interview from the police.
However, none worked in her favor and she pleaded guilty in March 2013. Sears was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for the murder, a life sentence for the armed robbery, and 20 years for the burglary.
She is currently serving her term at the Lee Arrendale State Prison in Alto, Georgia.
1) Sears initally asked an unidentified man to kill Parsons
Before using her son to kill Parsons, Sears asked an unidentified man to murder Parsons.
Sears' other son, Michael, also confessed that his mother had told him she "wished she knew someone who would kill someone for her."
