TAMPA, Fla. — A Hillsborough County murder case that captured national attention more than four years ago is finally headed to trial later this month.
Debra Patton is accused of fatally shooting her sister, Karen Pais, and burying her body in the backyard of the Carrollwood home both women shared.
Jury selection is scheduled to begin the week of January 12.
Patton's trial will start 1,686 days after she was arrested, mainly due to the case's twists and turns.
"The circumstances of this case are pretty egregious. The victim in this case is the defendant's sister, who was living with her at the time," Assistant State Attorney John Terry said at Debra’s first court appearance on June 1st, 2021.
“It’s the most horrific thing that’s ever happened”
It was a story that shocked Tampa Bay.
Karen Pais’ body was found buried in her own backyard. The discovery came days after friends said she was last seen.
"It's the most horrific thing that's ever happened in my life. I know that," said one of Karen's friends.
Karen's best friends immediately suspected Debra killed Karen.
Investigators allege Debra fatally shot Karen, then dug a hole in the backyard where she dragged her body.
"What she did to her after she killed her... wrapped her up in garbage bags, put her in a 2-foot hole in the backyard," Jan Wilder said.
Another close friend of Karen, Pam Nelson, said she and Jan knew Karen for decades.
They said Karen often confided in them about how Debra made threats in recent years.
"I've heard Karen say it many times, she's going to kill me one day," Wilder said in a 2021 interview.
"She always told us if I disappear or I'm dead, tell them my sister did it," Nelson said days after the arrest.
Karen kept troubling letter for years
After Debra was arrested, police reports indicate a troubling note was found in Karen's nightstand, sent to Karen by Debra more than 15 years earlier, saying Debra planned to kill her ex-husband Don Patton, who lived in another state at the time.
"It was a very long letter. It was very detailed. She said she was coming up to shoot me and shoot herself," Don Patton said.
When asked why she wanted him dead, Don said, "She blamed me for everything that went wrong in her life."
Don, Jan and Pam are all listed as potential witnesses at the trial.
Multiple competency hearings
Since her arrest, Debra has been transferred between the Hillsborough County Jail and Florida State Hospital multiple times due to questions about her mental state.
At a 2022 hearing, Patton spoke out in court for the first time.
"I feel that I am competent and would love to be interviewed by a psychologist or a psychiatrist. I'm competent to stand trial," Patton said.
Reports from two psychiatrists were inconclusive regarding her competency at that time.
Karen's friends told us they thought Debra was using the evaluation process as a stall tactic.
"I think she's just delaying things for sure. I don't know why though. Why wouldn't she just want to get it over with, start your sentence?" Wilder said.
In a series of hearings over three years, Patton was eventually found to have her competency restored.
Patton demands new court-appointed attorney
"You're only getting to hear one side of the story. Not the real truth," Patton said at a hearing in February of 2025.
At that hearing, Patton asked for a new public defender, potentially causing even more delays.
"I'm having to, at this point, be an advocate for myself in requesting a public defender who's at least willing to fight and investigate properly," Patton said.
"I'm really between a rock and a hard place. So in honesty, your honor, I just don't have confidence in her ability to do this," she added.
Judge Robin Fuson denied her request.
"She's a professional among professionals and I have complete confidence in her representation," he said.
That same attorney filed motions to exclude Debra's threatening letter from evidence, which was granted.
She also asked for hearsay testimony from Karen's friends about previous threats not to be allowed.
The judge granted that motion as well, unless Patton plans to claim self-defense.
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