NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The parents of Nashville musician Kyle Yorlets says faith has helped sustain them through the murder of their son and now his mother's battle against cancer in her throat.
Five teenagers have been charged with killing the 24-year-old Yorlets during an attempted carjacking in February 2019. Two teens, Diamond Lewis and Decorrius Wright, have now been transferred to adult court.
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In an exclusive interview with NewsChannel 5 Investigates at their home in Pennsylvania, Larry and Deb Yorlets recounted how they learned about their son's murder when a Metro police chaplain telephoned them with the devastating news.
"She's said, 'Are you by yourself?' - and I knew then it was bad," Deb Yorlets recalled, choking back tears. "I begged her to tell me, but she wouldn't. She said, 'Go find someone.'"
Larry Yorlets was just arriving back home.
"It was dark out and she had a flashlight," he continued.
"I seen she was staggering around, coming across the yard. I remember thinking to myself, if she doesn't watch what she's doing, I'm going to end up running into her just pulling up the driveway."
Deb remembered, "I could barely walk or breathe. He knew there was something wrong. He thought he was going to hit me."
Finally, the husband figured out what his wife was trying to tell him, and he called the chaplain back.
"Of course, your initial reaction is, are you sure it was him? Did you check his wallet to make sure the ID was right? That's the stuff I was asking," Larry said.
Kyle's mother added, "We couldn't believe it."
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The Yorlets have returned to Nashville for the hearings to determine whether Lewis and Wright would be transferred to the adult system where they could face adult time in prison.
Lewis was 15 at the time of the murder, Wright was 16.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates asked the couple, "What has been the hardest moment for you?"
Deb Yorlets began to cry.
"Just not having him to talk to. Just that he's not here," she said. "It's still unbelievable. After all this time, it's like it just happened."
Last November, Deb learned she has esophageal cancer.
In a quiet moment, Kyle's mother says she shared her fears with her son.
"And I said, 'Well, buddy, maybe I'll be coming to see you sooner than I thought," Deb recounted.
"I didn't even get that sentence out of my month, and I heard, 'Oh, no, you're not!' Yelling, 'Oh, no, you're not!'
"So I was like, ok, I guess I'm going to be fine."
Yorlets is currently undergoing chemotherapy and radiation.
Earlier this month, the couple's 8-year-old granddaughter - Kyle's niece - was severely injured after being run over by a tractor on a farm owned by her father.
Asked what has sustained them, Deb Yorlets replied simply: "Faith."
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