Murdered McKinney woman’s mother says system failed her

by Rodney Williams of McKinneyNews.net

MCKINNEY — The path of destruction left in Brent Stephens' wake is visible in Betty Seymour's eyes.

It was on May 12 that Betty got a visit from McKinney police, a visit which changed her life forever. Betty's daughter Denise Stephens, 36, had allegedly been attacked and beaten to death with a baseball bat at her Dallas office by ex-husband Brent, 38, who then left the scene and drove to the George Bush turnpike overlooking Hwy. 35 and sat on the ledge, threatening to jump. Police talked Brent down and arrested him on the charge of murder. He is being held in Dallas County on a $1 million bond.

Betty is left to pick up the pieces. She has been granted sole managing conservatorship of her grandchildren - ages 2,7,9 - and tasked with the duty of laying her daughter to rest. Betty also has another duty; she wants to warn other women who may be in danger of the pitfalls of the system.

"I want her death to be remembered for how she lived," Betty said. "I want something to be done to protect other women who cried for help and have been swept under the rug so that other people can get the help they need. Her death needs to be remembered for something. It's tragic, and it can't be just dropped."

Denise's story is a cautionary tale of a legal system that doesn't always work.

Denise and Brent divorced in September of 2007, but he apparently never got over it. Rather, his emotions seemed to have intensified following the divorce. Brad Nace, of Nace & Motley, handled Denise's divorce and remained her attorney until the very end. He now represents Betty in her fight to retain sole custody of the Stephens children.

"Generally speaking, in divorce cases there are heightened emotions, which is understandable," Nace said. "The overwhelming majority of cases which I've handled, you see a lessening of emotions immediately following the divorce. In this particular case, there was an escalation."

Escalation is an apt word. Brent appeared unable to move on following the divorce, repeatedly visiting the Seymour residence, vandalizing Denise's car and even breaking into the house when no one was home. The McKinney Police Department was, unfortunately, not unfamiliar with the Seymour residence. McKinney Police Capt. Randy Roland confirmed for McKinneyNews.net that MPD officers had made six separate visits to Betty's house since January. Brent was arrested on charges ranging from Criminal Mischief Over $500 to Assault By Threat.

The violence began to climb in January. On Jan. 21, Brent broke in to the Seymour residence by kicking in the back door. According to Nace, Brent slashed bicycle tires in the garage, took Denise's cell phone bill from her nightstand and, most disturbingly, put cigarette ashes in her bed.

"That was concerning for all of us in that it seemed to be foreshadowing of his then state of mind and his future state of mind," Nace said.

Denise was strong enough and smart enough to document that state of mind following the break in. She recorded a conversation the day after Brent entered the Seymour residence in which he said "The game is escalated. I'm escalating it. I'm not going to allow you to have that kind of happiness in your life. You're denied."

Concerned by this turn of events, Nace filed a protective order on Denise's behalf the next day. On Jan. 24, when Nace and Denise were to be in court regarding the protective order, he received a phone call. Betty and Denise had purchased a hunting camera and installed it on the roof of a neighbor's house. When Betty reviewed the tape that morning, she observed Brent's truck ramming Denise's vehicle in the driveway at approximately 5:42 a.m. on the morning of the 22nd. Denise printed off still photos from the video tape and Nace showed them in court. Denise was granted her protective order.

The incident was reported to McKinney police, but according to Betty and Nace, nothing was done.

"The McKinney PD's response was 'Well, we aren't sure it's his vehicle.' But in light of everything that had happened, looking at everything that had happened in this neighborhood, and looking at the type of vehicle, a dark truck, it was readily clear who was responsible," Nace said.

Thus began the disconnect between victim and system. Brent showed up at the Seymour residence on the evening of Jan. 24 demanding to see his children. Betty refused and the police were called out. According to Betty, officers on scene threatened to arrest her and Denise if they did not surrender the children, stating that they could not enforce the restraining order because it was temporary. A phone call from Nace to an MPD shift supervisor cleared the situation, but left Betty with doubts about the system.

Nace was asked whether he plans to pursue any actions against the McKinney Police Department on behalf of his client. He had this to say:

"We'll reserve comment at this time. But I would like to say that certainly we all know that the McKinney Police Department has a very difficult job in what they do day in and day out. Hindsight is always 20/20. We don't want to bring any ill repute on the McKinney Police Department as a whole. But for Denise Stephens, we certainly feel there was a lapse in certain officers' judgment. We think that they should have looked further into situation. None of us can say that they would have been able to stop Brent Stephens, but they could have made a better assessment on Jan. 24, 2008, and been of a little further assistance."

According to Roland, McKinney police were called out again on April 12 after Brent had gone to the children's school, violating the protective order.

There were five separate cases filed through the Collin County District Attorney's office from incidents stemming from December 2, 2007 to Jan. 29, 2008, all misdemeanors. According to a court clerk, at least one of those cases - Criminal Trespass of Habitation/Shelter Center stemming from an incident on Jan. 29 - was changed from a felony to a misdemeanor.

Betty said she ultimately felt her daughter's cries weren't heard.

"She did everything she could in the right order and the right way to protect herself and her three girls, and the system failed her," she said.

Betty now has custody of the Stephens children, but the court did not remove Brent as conservator, which by implication means he still has rights and duties. Nace has made a request that Brent be removed as conservator, and a full hearing will be held on the matter on May 28 in the 296th District Court of Judge John Roach, Jr. Brent has no ability to communicate with his children through written or oral means, and the same applies to his family at the present time.

Of further concern for Betty, however, are Brent's parents. It was indicated in court that the Stephens family wasn't seeking to do anything "at this time," a statement which leaves open for interpretation what the family's true intentions are. Nace stated that it is their position that no contact be maintained as per the current status quo.

"Anything short of that would expose these children to the very parents with whom Brent Stephens lived, resided, ate with and the very people who knew his then state of mind. We don't want these children to be influenced at any level, whether intentional or otherwise," he said.

For Betty, who lost her husband of 42 years in April of 2007, the world must seem a harsh place right about now. After the passing of her husband, Betty moved to McKinney to be with Denise. Now, she will care for three children who have no mother and, effectively, no father.

Denise Stephens' funeral service was held at First Baptist Church of McKinney on Tuesday.