On November 30, 1997, four children were shot and killed inside an auto repair garage in Shelbyville, Tennessee. Victims were Brent Holton, 10; his brothers Stephen Edward Holton, 12, and Eric Holton, 6; and their 4-year-old half-sister Kayla Marie Holton. The killings were carried out by their father, 36-year-old Daryl Keith Holton, who later drove to the Shelbyville police station, confessed, and directed officers to the bodies.

Holton told investigators the killings were related to a bitter custody dispute with his ex-wife, Crystal Holton, and said families should stay together and a father should be with his children. Mental health experts for both sides diagnosed him with major depressive disorder; the prosecution’s expert testified Holton could distinguish right from wrong. A jury found him guilty on four counts of first-degree premeditated murder and sentenced him to death for each count.

His death sentence was carried out on September 12, 2007, at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville; he was executed by electric chair.