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Woman accused of killing sister in Carrollwood home moves closer to standing trial

By
Updated  February 20, 2025 5:27pm EST
Tampa
FOX 13 News

Trial set for woman accused of killing, burying her sister

FOX 13's Evan Axelbank reports.

The Brief

    • The woman accused of killing her own sister in Carrollwood moved closer to standing trial.
    • She made a last-ditch effort to stall the justice system on Thursday after being denied claims of incompetence.
    • She's accused of killing her sister inside her Carrollwood home that they shared nearly four years ago.

TAMPA, Fla. - The woman accused of killing her own sister in Carrollwood is now ready to stand trial.

After being denied claims of incompetence, Debra Patton made one last-ditch effort to stall the justice system. Prosecutors said she killed her sister, Karen Pais, at the home they shared nearly four years ago. 

RELATED: Carrollwood woman headed to Florida State hospital after prosecutors say she killed her sister

Big picture view:

Patton turned Thursday's court hearing into a referendum on her public defender. 

"The things that I've asked her to do, she's unwilling to do," Patton told Judge Robin Fuson.

Patton, who is charged with second-degree murder, got a primer in the legal system from Fuson, who said she's allowed to request a public defender, but not any attorney she wants.

Pictured: Debra Patton appearing in a Hillsborough County courtroom on Thursday, Feb. 20. 

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"She's a professional among the professionals," Fuson said of the public defender. "I have complete confidence in her representation."

With that, the case that has gone on since May 31, 2021, when Pais' body was found buried in the backyard of her Carrollwood home, got a step closer to trial. 

Cathy Wynkoop is Pais' lifelong friend, and she's tired of waiting.

"I think she's trying to do everything she can to just delay the inevitable," she said of Patton.

PREVIOUS: Relative charged with woman's murder after body found in Carrollwood home

The backstory:

Patton just finished two years in a hospital for mental health treatment after she was found incompetent to stand trial for allegedly shooting her sister in the chest. With her health restored, the judge ordered the trial to begin in January. 

Pictured: Karen Pais. 

Jurors, and friends, could finally hear if prosecutors have developed a potential motive.

What they're saying:

"She had said to [me and] my husband, my father and other friends, that if you ever find me dead, Debra did it," Wynkoop recalled. "More than once."

Wynkoop said the sisters had a troubled relationship, with them not speaking for the final years of Pais' life. One thing friends do know is that Pais let Patton live in her house with no strings attached, because, in Pais' view, that's what family does for one another.

"I'm just happy now that there is a date set," said Wynkoop, "(and) hopefully it'll happen, and we'll finally get justice for Karen."

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Patton's attorney told the court that her client wanted her to investigate things that were not even tangible to the case, including the motivations and techniques of one of the detectives, along with the history of her ex-husband.

What's next:

The trial is slated to begin on January 15, 2026.

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