DATELINE Lars Itzo’s ‘worst mistake’: A murdered wife, a manslaughter charge, and a lifetime of regret

Lars Itzo always maintained that the murder of his wife, Debora Kelly, was “the worst mistake” of his life–because he pulled the trigger of the gun that killed her. The Dateline Lars Itzo episode is the first full-length, in-depth study of the couple’s marriage, the circumstances surrounding Debora’s death, and the ensuing trial, which saw Lars face down a manslaughter charge and the possibility of a very long prison sentence.

The basic facts of the case are these. At around 4:15 in the morning of Saturday, October 10, 2015, Lars Itzo says he awoke to the sound of what thought was “someone breaking in” to he and his wife’s home on the 3500 block of Bent Hollow, on the north side of San Antonio. He took his shotgun and went to investigate. When he saw a light shining at the end of the hallway, he fired one shell–and struck Debora in the chest. She died in the couple’s home.

Itzo was taken in for questioning. Almost immediately, police were suspicious: within ten days of the shooting, local station KSAT would report that police said Itzo had the very least been dangerously reckless. Sergeant Javier Salazar elaborated: “If his claim is that he didn’t know who the person was he was shooting at, at that time the victim was the only other person in the house. So at the very least, his actions were reckless, which is the mental state for the charge of manslaughter.”

Investigators suspected that Debora’s success might have aroused jealousy in her husband, who she’d married two years earlier. Lars Itzo was a local contractor; Debora Kelly, the vice president of National Surgical Healthcare, had a seven-figure net worth, and was a respected member of the community.

And they didn’t necessarily buy his explanation of how the shooting happened. Itzo told them he thought Debora was still in bed with him–that he reached out to her, told her “Just stay here; I think somebody’s here,” and, as far as he says he knew, had left her in the bedroom behind him when he went out into the hall.

There were other possibilities working against Itzo. According to Robert Bunnell, the homicide detective who interviewed Itzo on the night of the shooting, the man’s “grief seemed forced,” and it seemed like he was “trying to sob” during the interrogation, but he couldn’t. Bunnell couldn’t prove that Itzo hadn’t been crying–but would later testify at Itzo’s trial that he didn’t see any tears.

The case went to trial fourteen months later. Prosecutors brought two charges against Itzo: one of manslaughter, and one of murder. Itzo’s defense was that he had been “trying to protect [Debora],” and that he’d been confused when he heard two whispers and saw a light at the other end of the hallway, testifying that “the light made [him] believe that one [whisper] was going one way and the other was coming his way.”

But the jury seemed to feel that if Itzo hadn’t acted maliciously, his recklessness was too much to overlook. On December 16, 2016, after a week-long trial and five hours of deliberations, Lars Itzo, age 49, was found not guilty of murder and guilty of manslaughter in the death of Debora Kelly. Because manslaughter is a second-degree felony, Itzo could have received a 20-year prison sentence; the jury sentenced him to 15.

It wasn’t enough for at least one person: Anne Kelly, Debora’s mother, was asked during sentencing what she thought would be a fitting punishment. “Personally,” she replied, “I would like to take a gun and shoot him.”

Nor was that all Anne had to say. Addressing Itzo directly, she told him “I just don’t know why someone would not take three seconds to reach over and make sure your wife was next to you. It doesn’t make any sense to me, Lars.” And MySantonio.com reported that Debora’s father Jim wondered aloud “why he hadn’t shot Itzo himself.”

Lars Itzo is serving his sentence in remote Beeville TX. His parole eligibility date is exactly seven years from today: June 15th, 2024.

The Dateline Lars Itzo episode airs Friday, June 16th, at 10 PM on NBC.

(Photo credits: Dateline Lars Itzo mug shot via Bexar County Sheriff’s Office)