John DeBlase Out of the two perpetrators, John DeBlase was the first to stand trial before a
Mobile County jury for the murders of his children. The jury selection of DeBlase's trial commenced on October 14, 2014, the same date of his trial's first day. In fact, half of potential jurors had expressed in a survey in July 2013 (a year before the start of DeBlase's trial) that DeBlase was guilty of causing his children's deaths. During the trial itself, the prosecution adduced confession letters penned by DeBlase, in which DeBlase admitted to killing his children, reportedly to put them out of their misery. He claimed that his wife and accomplice Leavell-Keaton had subjected both Chase and Natalie to torture and abuse. He claimed he had no alternative but to do this despite knowing that it was wrong to commit murder, for fear Leavell-Keaton could continue abusing the DeBlase siblings. Convicted murderer Brandon Jerell Newburn, a "jailhouse snitch" who was held in the same prison as DeBlase, testified that DeBlase wrote a total of ten letters and Newburn, who was serving
two consecutive life sentences for a 2009 robbery-murder case, encouraged DeBlase to do so after the latter told him about the alleged abuse suffered by the children. In response to Newburn's testimony, the defence counsel of DeBlase argued that Newburn had helped their client to avoid being bullied and forced to lick toilets by two other inmates in the prison, and Newburn made use of this fact to make DeBlase write the letters, and therefore tried to raise doubts about his credibility as a witness. On November 5, 2014, after a trial lasting ten days, the jury found DeBlase guilty of three counts of capital murder. The sentencing submissions were made on that same day, and the jury would decide between the
sentence of death or life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. During the submissions phase, the prosecution sought the death penalty for DeBlase, stating that such a grave sentence was warranted on account that the murders were "heinous, atrocious and cruel" and that there was more than one victim involved, and the deaths of both Chase and Natalie were "shockingly evil" and "extremely wicked". They also pointed out that in his defence, DeBlase insisted on pinning most of the blame on Heather Leavell-Keaton and claimed he was led along by Leavell-Keaton in killing his children. On the other hand, the defense stated that their client loved his children and was not as evil as what the prosecution painted him to be, and despite failing to protect his children, Leavell-Keaton's conduct were the main reasons that caused him to be involved in the murders. DeBlase's ex-wife, Corinne Heathcock, who was the biological mother of Natalie and Chase, stated that she felt guilty for her children and for giving up custody of the siblings, and she asked herself in court whether her children blamed or hated her for their plights. On November 7, 2014, by a majority vote of 10–2, the jury recommended the death penalty for DeBlase. Originally, his sentencing hearing was set to begin on December 11, 2014, which was subsequently pushed back to January 8, 2015. On January 8, 2015, 31-year-old John DeBlase was officially sentenced to death via
lethal injection by Mobile County Circuit Court Judge Roderick P. "Rick" Stout. Reportedly, DeBlase addressed the court, stating that he would not ask for mercy, but asked for his life and proclaimed he never killed his children.
Heather Leavell-Keaton Heather Leavell-Keaton was the second person to stand trial for the murders of the DeBlase siblings. On May 8, 2015, Leavell-Keaton's trial began before a jury at the Mobile County Circuit Court, although she tried unsuccessfully to move her trial venue from Mobile County to another location. On May 27, 2015, the jury returned with their verdict, finding Leavell-Keaton guilty of capital murder for the death of Chase, but of reckless manslaughter in the killing of Natalie. The verdict was reportedly described as "bizarre" by the prosecution, given that the jury found that Leavell-Keaton had intentionally intended to kill Chase but yet found that the death of Natalie did not happen intentionally due to Leavell-Keaton's actions. The sentencing trial of Leavell-Keaton commenced a day after her conviction. John DeBlase, who was then incarcerated at the
Holman Correctional Facility, was brought to court as a witness in the hearing, but he chose to not testify. Heather Rios, an old friend of Keaton and DeBlase, told jurors that Chase, who often played together with Rios's children, was a sweet boy who would "giggle about anything and everything" and she recounted the "multiple emotional breakdowns" she suffered once the trials began, and revealed that her own children were also unable to comprehend why a child had to suffer from such violent treatment as observed from the DeBlase children's deaths. For a total of three hours into the hearing, defense witness Dr. Catherine Boyer, a psychologist, testified that Leavell-Keaton showed signs of depression and bipolar disorder when she was 14, and brought up a 2009 psychiatric report, in which Leavell-Keaton was possibly suffering from both
borderline personality disorder and
post-traumatic stress disorder, the latter due to a case of sexual abuse when Leavell-Keaton was 11, but she later admitted during the prosecution's cross-examination that this was not an actual diagnosis. Dr. Boyer also opined that Leavell-Keaton had "very deficient" social skills. The forensic pathologist and scientists were also called to the stand to testify on the post-mortem examinations and results of their findings in the deaths of the DeBlase children. On August 20, 2015, Mobile County Circuit Court Judge Rick Stout sentenced 27-year-old Heather Leavell-Keaton to death by
lethal injection for the murder of Chase DeBlase, plus 20 years' jail for the manslaughter of Natalie DeBlase. Leavell-Keaton was the first woman to be given the death penalty in Mobile County, and reportedly,
Mobile District Attorney Ashley Rich stated that Leavell-Keaton deserved the death penalty, and described her as a "domineering, manipulative, deceitful and morally unhinged woman". ==Appeal process==