Deborah Kelly Itzo

Deborah "Debbie" Kelly Itzo was a successful and driven woman, remembered by loved ones for her goal-oriented personality and her love for life. Born on June 24, 1967, in Topeka, Kansas, the 48-year-old Caucasian woman had built a prominent career in San Antonio, Texas. For seven years, she served as the Vice President for National Surgical Healthcare, a role that often required her to travel. Debbie was described as having a "type A" personality; she was dedicated to her work with the goal of retiring by age 50. Beyond her professional life, she was a cherished daughter to James and Anne Kelly, a sister, and an aunt. Friends recalled her as a "jokester" who loved getting to know people for who they were.

The course of her life was violently cut short in the pre-dawn hours of Saturday, October 10, 2015, inside her North Side home in the 3500 block of Bent Hollow. Her husband of two years, Lars Erik Itzo, called 911 around 4 a.m., telling dispatchers he had shot his wife, believing she was an intruder. In a frantic call, he could be heard sobbing as a dispatcher instructed him on performing CPR. When San Antonio Police Department officers arrived, they found Lars naked and Debbie Itzo deceased on the floor from a single, close-range shotgun wound to her chest.

Lars Itzo, then 49, told police he was startled awake by noises, the dog growling, and saw a light in the house. Believing his wife was still in bed beside him, he grabbed a 20-gauge sawed-off shotgun. He said he heard whispers, and when he saw a figure in the dark hallway, he fired one shot. It was only when he heard his wife's moans, he claimed, that he realized his catastrophic mistake. He described the night as "the worst day of my life."

The San Antonio Police Department handled the investigation. From the beginning, detectives were skeptical of Lars Itzo's account. One homicide detective, Robert Bunnell, testified that Itzo's display of grief during his interview hours after the shooting seemed forced and that he saw no tears. Officers who first responded to the scene noted that Itzo's hands appeared clean, with no blood on them, despite his claim of performing CPR. A crime lab expert testified that the fatal shot was fired from a distance of three to four feet. Prosecutors questioned how Itzo, from such a short distance, could fail to recognize his own wife.

Within days, Lars Itzo was arrested and charged with murder and manslaughter. His trial began in December 2016. The prosecution argued that Itzo’s actions were intentional, while the defense maintained it was a tragic accident. Defense attorney David W. Phillips told jurors his client had no intent to harm his wife and was trying to protect her from what he perceived as a threat. Prosecutors highlighted inconsistencies in Itzo's story and pointed to his seemingly disingenuous sorrow. They did not offer a specific motive but suggested his behavior was not that of a grieving husband who had made a terrible mistake.

On December 15, 2016, after more than seven hours of deliberation, a jury found Lars Itzo not guilty of murder but guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter, a second-degree felony. The following day, after another eight hours of emotional and deadlocked deliberations, the jury sentenced him to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Itzo, who had been free on bond, showed no emotion as the sentence was read.

Debbie’s family expressed their profound grief and dissatisfaction with the verdict and sentence. During the punishment phase, her mother, Anne Kelly, testified about the loss of her daughter. Her father, James, directly addressed Itzo, expressing his fury and struggle to believe the shooting was an accident. "You said it was a split second. You got to decide in a split second," her father said in court. "And it just infuriated me because I don't know how many bad decisions (you) made getting to that split-second place." The case, as of December 2016, concluded with Lars Itzo beginning his prison sentence.