NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A new bill could make GPS monitoring a condition of bail for offenders charged with aggravated assault against a domestic abuse victim.
The Debbie and Marie Domestic Violence Protection Act is named after Debbie Sisco and Marie Varsos, who were killed in a 2021 murder-suicide by Marie’s estranged husband Shaun Varsos.
Shaun was out on bond after strangling his wife a month earlier and threatening to kill her with his gun.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates shared Marie’s story back in 2022 after family members claimed that both women were victims of a broken domestic violence system meant to protect them.
Marie had taken out an order of protection after she was strangled and a warrant was issued for Shaun’s arrest. It took days before police finally arrested Shaun. Meanwhile, he had already managed to walk into the Davidson County Sheriff’s office and accept paperwork for the order of protection.
Deputies later told NewsChannel 5 Investigates that the message wasn’t relayed to their department that Shaun had a warrant out for his arrest.
Once Shaun was arrested and made bail, he requested more time from a judge before the next order of protection hearing.
The order was granted, but just days before the hearing, Shaun drove to Debbie’s home and waited outside for both women.
Frantic 911 calls captured the moments Shaun rushed the home and opened fire, while Marie fired back with her gun.
Both women eventually made it outside while still on the phone with dispatch, as neighbors watched in horror.
Not long after, all we hear is the operator on the other line.
“It’s a very tragic story, but I believe that had we had this bill in place at the time of their murder, it could have hopefully saved their lives,” said Rep. Clay Doggett, R-Pulaski.
Doggett is the bill sponsor for a new GPS monitoring bill he said would notify victims if their abuser is anywhere near them.
The bill leaves room for a magistrate to have discretion over issuing these devices if they feel the offender no longer poses a threat to the victim or the public. Doggett said the magistrate will also have discretion over just how much distance is necessary to protect the victim.
If an offender is found within range of a victim, Doggett said the GPS services will notify the victim and local law enforcement who then could make an arrest.
GPS monitoring technology already exists throughout Tennessee, but in Shaun’s case, the courts did not find it necessary to add the extra layer of protection. That’s despite making a note on Shaun’s bail release order that he “is a threat to the alleged victim.”
Magistrates may have reserved these devices for more deadly crimes in the past, but this bill could give them discretion to provide GPS monitoring for domestic violence victims of stalking and aggravated stalking.
It’s now the second time lawmakers have proposed a similar bill and Doggett said one argument has been the cost of deploying more of these GPS devices.
This bill, however, would require the offenders to pay most of the costs associated with operating the GPS, unless the court finds this person to be indigent.
“We were very careful with this legislation to make sure we did leave discretion in there for judges. I’m hoping my colleagues will find that as a fair concession we’re making there, because a lot of time when you say you shall do things, there’s always a little pushback or hang up,” Doggett said.
Doggett’s bill notes that according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s 2022 domestic violence report, a total of 4,273 incidents of domestic violence involved the use of a firearm or asphyxiation.
If this bill becomes law, Doggett says any one of those thousands of victims could soon have the protections that could save a life.
“I know that everyone in the general assembly is very supportive of these remedies and safety procedures that we’re trying to put in place in the law to provide for those victims of domestic violence. Everyone wants to do something, we may all have a different road we take to get there,” Doggett said.
