Accused murderer Tim Eubanks was sentenced to 35 years in prison Friday after pleading guilty to killing his wife, Tina, in December, 2006.

The sentence came just three days before Eubanks was to stand trial for the murder and several additional charges — one for indecency with a child and three for abandoning a child — which were dropped as part of a plea bargain with the district attorney's office.

"What we've done today is essentially assured that there is very little chance that Mr. Eubanks will ever get out of prison," District Attorney Stephanie Stephens said. "It's a 35 year sentence — the man is almost 39, I believe, that's a good lick in my opinion."

Stephens said the additional charges were dropped because the punishment to which Eubanks agreed carried more jail time than he would have received had he received the maximum sentence for the indecency and abandonment charges.

Shackled and dressed in the standard fluorescent orange jail jumpsuit, Eubanks told Judge Bascom Bentley that he was mentally competent and accepting of the plea. Bentley, a visiting judge from Anderson County, was standing in for 145th District Judge Campbell Cox, who was out of town at a conference.

Quiet and unemotional throughout the 10 minute hearing, he looked around the crowd while being escorted to the county jail, to await the completion of paperwork for transfer to prison.

New details about the incident released

The plea came after months of negotiations, said Stephens, who was free to speak about the case now that the gag order has been lifted.

Stephens said she had been adamant during negotiations that the sentence never go below 35 years, her "line in the sand."

Little has been made public about the case since the gag order was put in place, but Friday Stephens was able to speak about what she believes happened the December morning Tina Eubanks was murdered.

"My understanding from talking with Mrs. Eubanks' family is that there were some discord in their marriage, and evidently, there had been some discussion about a separation," Stephens said. "There were allegations that when the family lived in another state, one of the girls was molested by Mr. Eubanks, but that matter was not handled through law enforcement; instead, they chose to handle it privately and there was possibly some pressure from that incident leading up to the murder."

She further explained that after the couple's two oldest children left for school Dec. 13, 2006, Eubanks locked the door behind them, and sometime after that, strangled his wife.

"The two girls in the bedroom closest to the Eubanks' bedroom heard Mrs. Eubanks calling for their son Rich saying 'help me'," Stephens said.

Minutes later, Eubanks came into their room and tied them up with duct tape and across their mouths. He then went to the other side of the house where the other daughter was getting out of the show and confronted her in that room.

"There was some contact between them, and at one point he put his mouth on her breast," she explained "(The daughter) told him she was going to tell her mother and (Eubanks) told her that her mother was gone."

According to the district attorney, Eubanks then bound her with the rest of the children before fleeing the home. He called several family members and friends telling them what he had done and asking for a "few minutes lead time" before they called the police.

The family's minivan was found at about 1:30 a.m. the following day, off Sutton Mill Road in the Littles Chapel Community near Chireno. Eubanks was found inside suffering from what appeared to be a drug overdose. He was transported to a Nacogdoches hospital for treatment, and subsequently arrested. He remained in the Nacogdoches County jail awaiting trial.

Why plea a case like this?

Tina Eubanks' brother, Timothy Kirby, called The Daily Sentinel Thursday expressing outrage at the plea, saying it was being made "100 percent against the family's wishes."

Stephens said part of her motivation for accepting a plea was to avoid having the children testify against their father.

"In making a decision to plea somebody like this, I have to weigh a number of things," Stephens said. "The most important thing in this case I had to weigh was putting young children who are emotionally fragile on the witness stand to confront somebody who was important in their life."

She said she was told the children had been having nightmares of Eubanks killing them.

"These children were dreading the prospect of having to testify, and when I have instance where I can get somebody locked up for what I anticipate is going to be the rest of his life and save those children from having to undergo further trauma, it seems like a no-brainer to me," Stephens said.

Eubanks' attorney, John Heath Jr. said negotiations between his office and the district attorney have been going on for approximately six months, but finally reached the agreement Wednesday night.

"In criminal trials, it's really got to get close before people with interest on either side of the litigation come to the present realization of what is about to happen," Heath said. "I know that from Tim's perspective, he likewise, did not want to have to put those kids through that, in recognition of the fact that he's already put those kids through more than any kid should ever have to go through."

Stephens also mentioned that she felt the case was being "tried on punishment," meaning there was no doubt of his guilt, but it just came down to the sentencing.

"I have spoken with Tina Eubanks' father, and I don't want to say they are supporting this plea, his comments to me were that he understood my decision and respected my decision," Stephens said. "Obviously, there is nothing we can do that is going to make them feel whole again."

Rick Kirby, Tina Eubanks' father said the family believes "he got away with murder," but that he told Stephens that "she needs to do what she needs to do."

"I think if we walk out of here and both of us (Heath and Stephens) are somewhat dissatisfied, then we are probably in the right place," Stephens said of the decision Friday. "Do I think that Mr. Eubanks should serve more time? You bet, and to that extent I'm somewhat dissatisfied. But I don't think either one of us (either Heath or Stephens) will walk out of here today thinking we had a slam-dunk victory."

Defending Eubanks

Heath, Eubanks' attorney, said after the agreement was reached and the gag order lifted, that Eubanks "has been absolutely remorseful about this, and remains absolutely remorseful."

However, it was also Eubanks' remorse that made his case crumble.

Heath said he intended to raise the question of insanity in Eubanks' defense due to a combination of medications, including a migraine medication Topamax and his epilepsy.

"I do believe there are legitimate scientific reasons to think that either Topamax or epilepsy or some combination of those two factors can in fact cause psychotic episodes and cause people to do things they would never have done otherwise," Heath said. "I do not think, with any certainty, that a jury in this set of circumstances would have been persuaded of that."

He further explained that the legal definition of insanity in Texas includes that a person must not know what he or she is doing is wrong. Also, medical insanity or medical side effects wouldn't fit the definition.

That presented a problem, because when Eubanks called friends after the murder and told them what he had done, then fled and tried to commit suicide, it showed remorse — which was a sign that he recognized his wrongdoing.

"If he was remorseful and knew what he did was wrong, then it's not considered insanity," Heath said. "We kept finding ourselves in this circle that we couldn't get out of logically.

"It was difficult for me to say 'Tim, it is what is. And after all of this research that we have done, I haven't found a smoking gun that says I can prove to a jury that the reason you engaged in this bizarre conduct is more likely as a result of a severe mental defect to the extent that you did not know your conduct was wrong,'" Heath added.

Eubanks' attorney said he believed the medication, mixed with the bad decisions Eubanks made is what led to him "blowing up."

"It's my understanding that none of the allegations of either inappropriate contact with children or any of this came about until after Tim had an injury and subsequently became an epileptic"Heath said. "Now, is that a coincidence? What we know about epilepsy is that its an actual misfiring in the brain."

Case Closed

Now that Eubanks has pleaded guilty and has been sentenced, he will be sent to prison for a maximum of 35 years. While he will be eligible for parole after serving only half the sentence, Stephens said she is confident Eubanks will spend the rest of his life in prison.

"I think that we managed to come up with a solution in this case that going to keep him locked up, but he might have some hope that late in his life he might become parolable," Stephens said. "My personal opinion is that it's not going to happen."

Meanwhile, Heath said Eubanks told him that he's "going to do whatever he can do in prison to lead a life that has some meaning left in it."

"It's a very sad day for everyone," Heath said.

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