Mother killed son after he got 'upset' over being asked repeatedly to help her get lawn mower 'unstuck'

Tabatha Lynn Pebler (Fulton County Sheriff’s Office) and Brandon Chrisco (Barker Funeral Home)

A 44-year-old woman in Arkansas will be spending a few years behind bars for killing her son, fatally shooting the 27-year-old man in the chest last year during an argument over a stuck lawn mower. Sixteenth Circuit Court Judge Tim Weaver last week ordered Tabatha Lynn Pebler to serve three years in a state correctional facility after she pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter in the slaying of Brandon Chrisco, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.

Pebler was also given an additional suspended sentence of seven years. Should she fail to comply with the conditions of her release, the court may require her to serve those years in prison.

Pebler was initially charged with second-degree murder and employing a firearm in the commission of a felony in connection to her son’s death. In exchange for pleading guilty to manslaughter, prosecutors agreed to dismiss the remaining charges she faced.

According to a probable cause affidavit , deputies with the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office on the afternoon of May 31, 2023, responded to a residence in the 100 block of Stonewood Road after Pebler called 911 and told the emergency dispatcher that she “had shot her son.”

Deputies on the scene Mirandized Pebler before taking her in for an interview. Pebler told detectives that she was outside mowing the lawn on her riding mower when the vehicle got stuck. She then went to get her son, Chrisco,

Pebler said that her son was “upset” at having to help her get the mower unstuck. A short while later, Pebler told police that she got the mower stuck again and again asked her son to help. This time, she said Chrisco called her a “b—-” and then “shoved her off of the mower.”

“(Pebler) said she went to the car approximately two hundred and fifty (250) yards away, and got her pistol out of the console in the car,” the affidavit states. “(Pebler) said that she took the short way to the vehicle and that (her son) had taken the long way. (Pebler) said that (her son) was still coming after her and she fired several warning shots. (Pebler) said that she then moved towards (her son) and fired a shot at him. (Pebler) said she was not meaning to kill him, she just wanted to scare him and stop.”

Authorities said that Crisco suffered a gunshot wound to the upper left side of his chest and the bullet passed through his body. Multiple shell casings were retrieved from the area.

Investigators said the evidence gathered from the scene indicated that after grabbing her firearm from the car, Pebler moved 18 feet toward Chrisco and fired a round. She then moved an additional 52 feet toward her son and fired the fatal shot when he was less than 20 feet away.

Pebler was ordered to begin serving her prison sentence on Monday.

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