TYLER, Texas — The morning of February 4, neighbors say they heard Debbie Ann Bryant, 55, running down Maxwell Drive yelling for help that her husband had been shot.
Police arrived shortly before 8 a.m. and found Allen Ferguson, 58, in critical condition inside a home with a gunshot wound to his head. His daughter removed him from life support on February 7.
Police say Bryant confessed to shooting Ferguson and is now charged with first degree murder.
The arrest affidavit sheds light on Bryant and Ferguson’s relationship and the events leading up to Ferguson's death.
According to the documents, after police took Bryant in for questioning, a detective spoke to the owner of the home where Ferguson was found in. The man told officers Ferguson had been renting it. At the time he rented the home, the couple had been separated, but Bryant moved into the home a couple months ago.
The homeowner also told police Bryant had been at Rusk State Hospital twice and had mentioned multiple times that Ferguson was plotting against her.
At the police station, detectives spoke with Bryant about what happened. The affidavit says she “became more irate and upset, at times throwing the water bottle she had been provided with.”
Bryant told police several times that they could not help her and law enforcement and the hospitals had let her down. She also said no one cared about her because she uses drugs.
The arrest affidavit also states, Bryant many times would speak in third person, and she also admitted several times that she was guilty. She also at one point pointed to her hands and stated the test done for the gunshot residue would come back positive.
The document goes on to say after the reading of her Miranda Warning, it was mentioned that the couple had been together for about 30 years. Bryant advised Ferguson had “become mean to her and mistreated her for the last 20 years and she was tired of it.”
When asked what happened, Bryant said the night before the shooting, Ferguson’s friends had spent the night and were up using drugs. She explained she did not sleep due to feeling so much pain in her body.
Bryant went on to say Ferguson’s friends left that morning and he began getting ready for work. She then told police, she had “thought about killing Allen Ferguson many times,” but she was too scared to follow through.
The affidavit says Bryant thought she was standing in the hallway and aimed towards his head and shot. The detective wrote that Bryant spoke in third person while admitting this.
After hearing the loud shot, Bryant stated she ran out into the street, yelling for help, but she did not check on Ferguson.
The police asked her where the gun was, she told them she believed it was in the hallway of the house but was unsure. Bryant also told them, she slept with a gun every night due to her believing that someone was out to get her, but she didn’t know what type of gun it is except that it’s black and semi-automatic.
A canine discovered the murder weapon, a Colt .45 firearm, buried underneath brush in the backyard of the house.
She remains in the Smith County Jail on $250,000 bond.