Tina Eubanks' son said he and his four sisters were packed and ready to travel to Nacogdoches to testify against the man charged with killing his mother and molesting one of his sisters before leaving three of them bound in the living room of their home on Sheffield Drive.

Then they received word that there would be no trial. They were stunned by the news that her murderer had agreed to a 35-year sentence in exchange for a plea to the murder charge. District Attorney Stephanie Stephens had also dropped the other charges against Tim Eubanks — Tina's husband

A major factor in her decision to accept a plea, Stephens said, was to spare the Eubanks' children the emotional distress of having to testify against the man they once called father.

But Rich Kirby, who was 16 years old when his mother died in December, 2006, refuted that claim.

"Every single one of us called our friends in Nacogdoches and made plans to stay with them while the trial was going on," Rich said. "We did not want it to end like this."

In fact, Rich said his family was unaware that any negotiations were going on between the defense and the district attorney until after an agreement had been reached.

Rick Kirby, Tina's father and Rich's grandfather, said when Stephens called him to say they would offer a plea for 35 years, he was "absolutely against it."

"I basically said 'You need to do what you need to do, but we don't agree with the decision'," he said. "Had we gone down and testified, we feel he would have gotten more time. Now, every time he comes up for parole, we are going to have to go down there and make our plea."

Stephens said Friday that she was under the impression that the children were unwilling to testify. Rich and his 14-year-old sister had reportedly already left for school at the time of Tina Eubanks' murder. The three younger girls, aged 12 to 7 were found in the house by police.

"Three of the older kids wanted to testify, and I had talked to the two younger ones and they understood they needed to do it for their mama," he said. "We've been holding our tongues for a long time, but now the gag order is lifted."

Kirby said since the investigation into his daughter's death began, no one had been able to talk about the motive for her death. It wasn't until shortly before Tina Eubanks' death, that the family learned of what she and her family had endured.

"My oldest granddaughter was molested for four years," Kirby said. "My daughter (Tina) found out about it and was going to get her help, which meant he (Eubanks) would have been turned in and put in jail — that was the motivation for him killing her."

Kirby said Eubanks had physically abused the children he had fathered with Tina Eubanks as well her children from a previous marriage, whom he had adopted. He said the abuse went unnoticed because the children covered up the source of their bruises.

On the morning Tina was found strangled to death in the couple's home, Kirby said Eubanks molested one of the girls shortly after killing his wife. An arrest warrant for Eubanks stated that police had learned that sexual molestation had taken place.

"How could any animal do that?" he asked. "My daughter was planning on leaving him after the holidays were over."

Kirby also criticized the way the case was handled by the authorities.

"Even though they blew the forensic evidence by letting us in the crime scene, there was still more than enough evidence to make sure that he got the maximum (punishment)," Rick said. "It should have been an easy first-degree conviction because it was premeditated.

"He picked his time and moment and did all he wanted to do," he added.

Tina's brother, Timothy Kirby, released a statement on behalf of the family saying the local justice system "failed (their) family."

"It began the day of the murder with their crime scene evidence gathering and ended with today's announcement," he charged. "We are in a time of grieving. We've had our time to grieve over the loss of my sister, but now an injustice has been done to the public."

Tina's brother did offer advice to anyone who may be in an abusive situation similar to his sister's — speak up.

"Domestic violence and abuse is not the answer," he said. "If anything in the world, I want people to understand that if you are in a similar situation, you don't need to be."

Since Tina's death, all five of her children now live with their maternal grandparents, Rick and Charlene, in Utah. Her son said that he and his siblings are seeking to have Eubanks removed as their custodial parent.