Click here to see video of Deb Shaffer, mother of Tish Yarbrough, talking after Thursday's sentencing.

By RODNEY HART
Herald-Whig Staff Writer

MONTICELLO, Mo. -- A sobbing Christopher Piersee apologized to the family of his slain wife and baby son just before he was sentenced Thursday morning to two life terms in prison without the possibility of parole.

While one family member forgave him, others didn’t.

Piersee pleaded guilty Aug. 25 to two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the Feb. 3 deaths of 21-year-old Patricia “Tish” Yarbrough Piersee and 5-month-old Landon Piersee in their LaGrange home.

Piersee and his attorneys reached the plea bargain in exchange for having the death penalty removed as a possible sentence. Piersee admitted to shooting his wife to death and beating his son in the head. Authorities said the scene was discovered in the house by Tish Piersee’s father, Eric Yarbrough.

“The last thing I ever meant to do was hurt Tish and Landon,” Piersee said in the courtroom, in an almost whisper-like tone. “The drugs I was on made me confused.”

Piersee’s court-appointed attorney, David Clayton, coached Piersee through his statement and said his client showed remorse for his actions. Clayton said Piersee pleaded guilty to spare families going through a trial, and he hoped the life sentences will “begin the healing process” for the families.

“He will spend the rest of his life asking forgiveness for what he has done,” Clayton said.

Testimony during Piersee’s plea hearing in August showed he was under the influence of Coricidin, an over-the-counter cold medicine for people with high blood pressure that contains Dextromethorphan. Piersee made bizarre statements about Lucifer and angels to police in the hours after his arrest, Lewis County Prosecutor Jake DeCoster said.

Piersee’s grandfather, Wes Davis, married Tish and Christopher Piersee 14 months before the murders. During his victim impact statement, he said the murders were hard on both sides of the families.

“I don’t like what happened, but Chris, I forgive you,” Davis said. His statement prompted sobs from Piersee, who sat about 10 feet away.

Tish Yarbrough’s mother, Deb Shaffer, gave a victim impact statement in court and asked Judge Russell Steele to make sure Piersee could never be a free man again, because he’d likely kill somebody else.

Outside the courthouse after the sentencing, Shaffer let loose when talking about the man who killed her daughter and grandson.

“I wish him the worst imaginable for the rest of his life,” Shaffer said. “There will always be a hole in our hearts and our lives where Tish and Landon used to be. And because of him, they’re gone.”

Tish Yarbrough’s grandparents, Ben and Gloria Yarbrough, held large framed photos of Tish and Landon as Piersee made his statement in court. They both said they did not believe Piersee was sincere when he apologized.

“I’ve never believed him since they’ve been married,” Ben Yarbrough said.

“He’s a con artist, and he always has been,” Gloria Yarbrough said.

Steele said Piersee’s actions “altered the lives of so many people,” and that no sentence could bring back Tish and Landon.

Piersee’s mother, Angie Vaughan, and his grandmother, Alberta Piersee, attended the sentencing. Vaughan said her son had been taking Coricidin pills for at least 30 days before the murders.

“He is not a monstrous man,” Vaughan said. “He is a very loving and compassionate young man. He got involved with the drugs and they turned him completely around.”

Both Vaughan and Alberta Piersee said Christopher Piersee takes responsibility for his actions.

“He chose to take those drugs,” Alberta Piersee said.

DeCoster said Piersee’s use of marijuana was a “contributing factor” to the murders, and called the sentencing “a very sad day for everyone.”

“Guns don’t kill people, people kill people,” DeCoster said. “And drugs don’t kill people. People kill people.”

DeCoster said he walked through the house and grisly murder scene not long after Piersee was arrested. While it shocked him and left an impression, one particular item caught his eye.

“There was a can marked ‘Landon’s College Fund,’ ” DeCoster said. “It will never be used. And it’s so sad.”

Lewis County Sheriff’s Deputy Rob Power testified during an April preliminary hearing about the murder scene after he arrived at 409 N. Main the morning the bodies were discovered. He said the residence was “in disarray” and blood was smeared on walls.

Power said he could make out the word “Lucifer” and “Michael” written in blood on a bedroom wall.

Lewis County Coroner Larry Arnold testified that Tish Piersee appeared to have a cross drawn in blood on her chest. Landon Piersee, laying in a crib nearby in the bedroom, had a cross drawn in blood on his forehead, Power said.

Power said he asked Christopher Piersee while they were sitting in a patrol car if he had shot his wife. He said Piersee replied, “Bullets wouldn’t work, so I used a knife.”

Piersee also said that his wife had “been gone for four or five hours” and that he had used a knife to cut himself.

Power said Piersee told him his wife was “Lucifer,” he was “Michael the Archangel” and Landon Piersee “the anti-Christ.”

Arnold testified that Tish Piersee had a single bullet wound to the forehead but no other apparent injuries. Landon Piersee had blunt force trauma to the forehead and fractures of his skull, he said.

-- rhart@whig.com/221-3370