Four-year-old Kayla Marie Holton, a biracial female, was tragically killed on November 30, 1997, in Shelbyville, Tennessee. On that day, her mother's ex-husband, Daryl Keith Holton, a 36-year-old Gulf War veteran, picked up Kayla and her three half-brothers, Stephen Brent and Eric for a scheduled visit. Instead of the promised Christmas shopping trip, Holton took the children to his uncle's auto repair garage where he lived.
At the garage, Holton led the children to a back room. He first shot the two older boys, Stephen and Brent. He then brought Kayla and six-year-old Eric to the same area. He positioned Eric in front of Kayla, told them to cover their eyes, and then shot them both with a Russian SKS semi-automatic assault rifle. Evidence suggested Kayla was shot a second time. After the murders, Holton covered the children's bodies with a tarpaulin, cleaned the area, and washed his hands.
Following the killings, Daryl Holton drove to the Shelbyville Police Department and confessed to what he had done. He told the police he killed the children because he believed families should stay together and a father should be with his children, a statement stemming from a contentious custody dispute with his ex-wife. When officers arrived at the garage, they found the bodies of the four children. They also discovered pipe bombs that Holton admitted he had intended to use on his ex-wife and her home.
At his trial in June 1999, Holton's defense argued that he was mentally incompetent at the time of the murders, suggesting possible carbon monoxide poisoning and testifying to his diagnoses of major depressive disorder and passive-aggressive personality disorder. The jury rejected the insanity defense, and Daryl Holton was convicted of four counts of first-degree premeditated murder. He was subsequently sentenced to death for each of the murders. On September 12, 2007, Daryl Keith Holton was executed by the state of Tennessee. He chose to die by the electric chair, making him the first person in Tennessee to be executed by that method in 47 years.
