Piersee's family convinced drugs led to murders

Angie Vaughan says her only motive is to warn other families about what she calls the dangers of abusing a common over-the-counter drug.
Vaughan, the mother of admitted LaGrange murderer Christopher M. Piersee, is certain her son’s abuse of dextromethorphan led him to kill his wife and infant son.
Piersee, 24, was sentenced Thursday to two life terms without parole for shooting 21-year-old Patricia “Tish” Yarbrough Piersee and beating to death the couple’s five-month-old son, Landon.
Dextromethorphan, or DXM, is a common anti-tussive found in many cough medicines.
But it can cause psychedelic hallucinations if abused, and could have other harmful side effects if given to young children or pregnant women.
Vaughan said her son took up to 30 DMX tablets a day for a month before the Feb. 3 murders. She also admitted he smoked marijuana.
“Chris made the conscious decision to take the drugs,” Vaughan said. “He had no idea what was going to happen. He didn’t realize the drugs were going to make him do this.”
At an earlier hearing, witnesses described the ghastly murder scene and what they called Piersee’s odd behavior.
Authorities found Piersee naked in the bedroom with the body of his wife on the floor near the bed and the body of their son in a nearby cradle.
Investigators found red crosses drawn in blood on both victims’ bodies.
Lewis County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Rob Power testified Piersee said he and his wife had a “ferocious battle” after they “spoke in tongues “ during sex the night before the murders and that Piersee knocked over a table and gathered weapons “because he knew the battle was ongoing.”
When Power asked if Piersee was responsible for the deaths, the suspect “started to speak in Biblical terms,” Power testified.
According to Power, Piersee called himself the archangel Michael and referred to his wife as Lucifer and his son as the Antichrist, then disavowed any responsibility for the deaths.
Power said the words “Lucifer” and “Michael” had been scrawled on the walls in blood, and that other words appeared to have been written in blood elsewhere.
Vaughan said Thursday that her research had found that such hallucinations were a common result from the misuse of DXM.
Lewis County Prosecuting Attorney Jake DeCoster said there was evidence that Piersee abused cough medicine and marijuana and said both drugs “could have been a contributing factor” to Piersee’s decision to commit murder.
“What part each played, we’ll never know,” DeCoster said.
Vaughan said she didn’t recommend her son pursue a defense based upon the drug abuse because she didn’t believe a jury would buy the story.
“How can a jury get its head around someone killing a child?” she asked. “This is 12 people who don’t know the family.”
Vaughan said she has too many conflicting opinions and is “too emotionally involved” to say whether she thinks her son should seek a new hearing. Piersee has 180 days to request one.
Although the evidence never was introduced because Piersee pleaded guilty before going to trial, DeCoster said there’s “nothing new” about the drug abuse that “will suddenly come up down the road” and believes it is a moot point.
The defendant’s grandmother, Alberta Piersee, said she and her daughter are not interested in absolving Piersee. She said the case should be a warning to others.
“That’s the only reason we want it out -- so it won’t happen to other families,” Alberta Piersee said.
Vaughan said it’s tough for her to find a way to describe how she feels.
“It’s harder than you can imagine,” she said. “You go through emotions you’ve never felt in your life. There’s no way to explain that to someone.”
A grandmother of Tish Piersee, Gloria Yarbrough, said her family knows all about the pain and loss, calling the deaths a “waste of two good spirits.”