26-year-old Kansas University graduate Teri Lea Zenner was in the process of making her dreams come true. She had recently started her dream job as a social worker for the Johnson County Mental Health Center. One of her clients was 17-year-old Andrew Ellmaker. In August of 2004, Teri told her husband that she was going over to Andrew’s house to make sure that he had been continuing to take his medication.
Several hours later, Andrew’s mother, Sue Ellmaker, heard crying coming from inside her son’s bedroom. When she tried to open the door, it was locked. She shouted to her son that she was going to call the police if he did not release whoever was in his bedroom by the count of three. As she reached three, Teri stumbled out of Andrew’s bedroom with a large gaping wound on her neck. As Sue attempted to protect Teri, her own stabbed her in the back multiple times, only stopping when the knife bent. Sue managed to get herself up and ran to her neighbor's house where she called the police.
When police arrived at the scene, they were completely aghast. Teri was lying on the floor, nearly decapitated. When Sue fled the scene, Andrew produced a chainsaw from his bedroom and attempted to decapitate Teri. If her hair had not have become entangled on the blade, then he would have been successful.
Due to his young age at the time of the murder, Andrew was not eligible for the death penalty. At a pretrial hearing, a doctor testified that Andrew had been diagnosed with schizotypal personality disorder, however, his defence lawyers didn’t want to use his mental health as a defence. He was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to fifty years in prison.
