Let's Kill Mom: Four Texas Teens and a Horrifying Murder Pact

by Donna Fielder

In September, 2008, Roanoke, Texas, police discovered a house of poisoned pudding, a bathtub set up for electrocution, a bloody butcher knife, and a hank of chopped-off hair. The worst was yet to come…
 
Days before, seventeen-year-old Jennifer Bailey, her thirteen-year-old brother David, and their friends Paul Henson and Merrilee White had made a gruesome they’d kill their parents, steal their cars and credit cards, and flee to Canada.
 
Paul and Merrilee’s parents thwarted their fates, but Jennifer and David’s mother Susan Bailey wasn’t so lucky. When the devoted mother returned home from work, her two children and their friend Paul took turns stabbing her and slicing her throat. When they were done, they fled in Susan’s car. They made it as far as South Dakota before being arrested.
 
What really led them to make such a despicable pact? The answers would cast a disturbing new light on the way we see the all-American family, our neighbors, our children—and the society that nurtured them. Now an Investigation Discovery TV Special

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Crime

323 pages, Paperback

First published November 3, 2015

Reviews

[Jess☺️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let's Kill Mom by Donna Fielder is a true crime book about 4 teenagers who plan to kill their parents and run away and live on the money they will take from them 🙄
So this one is extremely sad and a little frustrating,it also opens your eyes to the fact no matter what you do for your children it's never enough.
Also it's a little scary how easy it is for children to get sucked into certain things and the things they believe, but to then see how it twists in their minds.
I definitely recommend this because it's just shocking that children between the ages of 14-17 can do this 📖

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book satisfied my thirst for true crime novels. At times it was a bit repetitive, and I also felt as though the author included unnecessary explanations about certain things. (for example: explaining what a Fleshlight is) I guess she just wanted to make sure that all of her readers were fully aware of it. Ha!

But overall, this was informative and gave plenty of graphic information regarding the gruesome murder that these teens went through with. It blows my mind that mere children could perform such a vicious act upon their own mother.

I will look for more of Ms. Fielder's books to read.

[Carm · Rating 1 out of 5]

All I wanted was a true crime fix. This story sounded interesting enough. But, immediately you get that there wasn’t enough of a story in this story to make it into a book. By the half way point, I felt like I’d read the same thing three times. Also, it’s got an uptight Christian vibe. It vilifies emo music and same sex relationships and dungeons and dragons as if to say, “see… this is what’s wrong with kids today”. No… these kids were mentally ill. It wasn’t the music or the dungeon master and it certainly wasn’t the devil. This was an Investigation Discovery documentary that was padded excessively to try to be a book.

[Cheryl Jensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a thorough account of the investigation and arrest of three teens who planned and executed the murder of the mother of two of the teens. It's a disappointment in that what actually happened is never definitively explained by any of the youth, nor are their psychological profiles explored in much depth. The editing allowed some duplicated, almost cut-and-paste, items to remain, ie an explanation of anime, and what times of the day such cartoons would play; Jennifer not being allowed to get a degree in prison; David being very young, but not innocent. It is an OK but forgettable book.

[Shelby Holmes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve always been interested in true crime so regardless I knew that I would be interested in learning of a case I’d never heard of before. This novel had a tendency to drag and over explain or reexplain several events or topics that I personally felt was unnecessary; however, all in all it was a very thorough account and I appreciated that the author actually added the interviews she had with the kids at the end- it was a nice way to end it. If you enjoy learning about cases and enjoy all the components that go into the investigation I think you’ll enjoy it!

[Koren · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-written case about a daughter that enlists the aid of her boyfriend and brother to kill her mother because she wasn't getting her way. I really felt sorry for the mother, a single mother working two jobs and had very little time for her children. Not sure if it would have made a difference in the outcome if she had been home more. The daughter was basically out of control, probably some oppositional defiance disorder going on. I liked that this book was concise with the investigation and trial. I didn't think the last few chapters were necessary where she talks about going to the prisons to interview the kids, but otherwise this book held my interest from beginning to end.

[Clair Rivera · Rating 3 out of 5]

This happened very close to where I live and I knew some of the players, so I really wanted to read it. It was a good read until the last 3 chapters, when things started getting repetitive. Overall, worth the read if you like true crime.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awful crime! Well written/thorough story!

[brenda belg parlaman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting read.....it always baffles me that kids would kill their parents! Don't they think of what is then going to happen??? this book did not disappoint!!!

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

In September 2008, a Texas woman was found by police in her home, stabbed to death, and her children, dog, and car missing. Police only found her body after her children were found in her stolen car in South Dakota, three days later. Her children were brought back to Texas and the most horrific story unfolded as the police examined the crime scene and talked to the children.

This is a true crime story of the (successful) murder of one woman at the hands of her children, and the near murder of at least three others. This is a story that has apparently been turned into a television special for Investigation Discovery but is one of which I was unaware. The story is really frightening; that a woman could be killed by three teenagers who nearly weren't caught. The book has relatively short chapters and I was able to read this in less than 24 hours. There are references to sex and violence and adult language. I don't recall any alcohol or drug use in this book. I am giving this book four stars because there was at least one factual error in the book (a statement that the Mississippi river runs through South Dakota; it doesn't, I believe the author probably meant the Missouri river). And there were more than a few misspellings which were probably the fault of the editor or press operators, not so much the author. Anyway, a good true crime book.

[Anne S · Rating 4 out of 5]

How could 3 teens (although 4 were involved) plot to kill all their parents and actually kill one of them? It's horrifying. I think that it's sad that a 17 year old girl was able to coax her best friend and little brother to do this. I hold them all culpable including the girl who got probation for her part in the conspiracy.

I just read this (weeded from another library, it came out in 2015) and by that time, all the kids were grownups. It seems as though 1) none of them take responsibility for what they did to their mom 2) blame each other 3) the one still lives in a dream world thinking he will get out of prison and get back with the girl who killed her mom. The youngest who was 14 at the time does show some contrition but not enough to realize that he was still part of the problem and doesn't understand why no one from his family (father is unemployed, no car, etc, too far away) and the grandparents are still coming to terms with the fact that their grandchild killed their daughter) and blaming everyone else.

Sad book.

[Pollies · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like reading true crime, and this story was good but the author was really repetitive which ruined it for me. It was like she wrote it a few chapters at a time and forgot what she had already mentioned. It was unnecessary to include definitions of what emo or anime is, especially more than once. She repeatedly mentioned them living in a fantasy world and being a threesome. She repeatedly mentioned that Paul believed they were together in a past life. She took her notes and stretched them as far as possible. Half of this book could have been scrapped and it would have been a much more enjoyable read. I won't be reading anything else from this Author.

[Isaac · Rating 2 out of 5]

tooooooooo manyyyyy details….. and over-explaining that wasn’t needed. i think the average person would know what self harm or emo music is. also, i don’t need to know the extended history of Roanoke. it just seemed pointless to me? if i wanted to read through Wikipedia pages, i would’ve done that instead of all of the definitions she snuck in here for some reason. i kept thinking with each chapter, “okay, NOW she’s gonna get to the nitty gritty”. nope! more useless information that may or may not come up later. also what’s with the shade towards emo and queer people? this book being written only 10 years ago is crazy to me. i would give it half a star if i could.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was your run-of-the-mill true crime book. It was okay in that it talked it about events leading up to and around the events of "killing mom". There were a couple things that did irk me a little bit. The author mentioned emo music and anime a few times in the book, as if this was important and it had something to do with the murder. I don't think that these interests necessarily had anything to do with the killing and therefore, should not have really been brought up as many times as they were.

[Vicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I dont normally read or watch true crime stories but this one caught my eye because it took place not far from where I currently live. This was written like a newspaper article, just the facts laid out and only a few opinions by those in law enforcement who were involved in the case. There's a lot of repeating information because the facts are laid out from several points of view. All the kids involved and the family members all had their own points of view of life before and after the murder and it just goes to show that we never really know someone.

[Amanda Perry-Larkin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a great depiction of the crime committed, it had in-depth details about the whole case and behind the scenes thoughts and feelings. However, I felt it was extremely repetitive and I sometimes thought I was reading the same chapter over and over. It could have been shortened into a smaller book with the same impact.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very disturbing Texas case I did not know about. I felt myself getting angry many times as the mother worked so hard and her ex husband and children were horrible. Such a sad story. Good police work.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is because it is very repetitive as some points. She mentions certain things over and over again, most of it not being important information. Other than that, I really loved the book.

[Abigail Preciado · Rating 3 out of 5]

As interesting of the story it was, it was repetitive. I understand that it was based on facts and evidence, but it repeated things that were said every other chapter. It was a quick read, if you’re interested in true crime.

[Lisa Doyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very straight forward account of a horrific crime. It read like a documentary with personal accounts, historical perspective into mental health and laws. It was an easy read and entertaining if you like straight forward retellings.

[Atlantis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quick audiobook listen but also horrifying story. It's disturbing that a group of teens developed such a skewed view of their world. It gives you pause to consider the importance of raising kids.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent true crime read.

[Jessie Todd Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tough book to read. Ive read lots of true crime but this was a hard one to read. Very very good but tough to readas its so devestating.

[Kelly Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing wasn’t the greatest but it still carried the true story.

[CC · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decided to read because I couldn't believe the title.. got to 80% and just stopped. Seemed to drag, but kept going and then at 80% just decided to stop.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

The crime is terrible and she was sensitive on the subject the best she could. Some parts felt a touch repetitive.

[Madison Guy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a pretty decent book filled with a lot of information. Some things get repeated, which was a little annoying, but other than that, it was good.

[Nancy Cowle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The new Ann Rule author, especially since Rule seems to mostly do compilations now, not book length true crime

[Leslie Scoggin]

This book was definitely a good read, but due to the nature of the topic, I don’t feel like a rating is necessary

[Anissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I went to middle school and high school with Jennifer and Paul. Such a small town with some outrageous stories in the shadows.