Woman accused of murdering sister, burying her in backyard found competent
Jan 23, 2025
The woman who made national news for killing her sister and burying her body in her backyard was back in court for the first time in two years on Thursday.Debra Patton appeared in Hillsborough County Circuit Court wearing an orange jail uniform.She's charged with second-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of Karen Pais in May of 2021.The I-Team reported that the sisters lived together for years, and Pais confided to friends that she feared her sister would one day kill her.If I disappear or Im dead, tell them my sister did it Watch 2021 I-Team report on the shooting death of Karen Pais: Carrollwood woman charged with killing her sister threatened to murder ex-husband years agoI heard Karen say it many times, 'Shes gonna kill me one day,' Pais' friend Jan Wilder said.Debras ex-husband, Don Patton, told the I-Team in an interview that he uncovered Patton once devised a plot to murder him, but he was out of town on the day she planned to do it.Pais' body was discovered buried in the backyard of her Carrollwood home several days after her friends reported her missing.Her body was wrapped in garbage bags, bound with Bungee cords and buried two feet deep.We were able to locate the body in the backyard. It was identified as being her sister, and we know she was shot in the chest, the prosecutor said at her original bond hearing in 2021. Shes shown zero remorse. She tried to hide the fact of what shes done.Patton was sent to Florida State Hospital in 2022 after psychiatrists determined she was incompetent to stand trial.At Thursdays hearing, the judge ruled that Pattons competency had been restored based on his review of multiple reports from psychiatrists filed in the case.Patton told him she wanted another public defender to represent her, but the judge told her he would not make the decision to allow her to replace her counsel until a future hearing.Another hearing is scheduled for Feb. 20 to set her trial date.