January of 2011, Klysta called said “momma I want to come home I need my momma time” so I purchased her train ticket for Feb. 20th Sunday 3:00 pm arrival. She called me that Wednesday the 16th early afternoon, said she wanted to tell me something  and so she did; seems she had a black eye , she had received it falling off a ladder; when I questioned her she ( I’m her momma I could tell she was not telling the truth) she said in a whisper” momma Ralph did it and when I get home you and Daddy or somebody need  to come get the rest of my stuff because I’m not coming back”.   I offered to come get her then but she said no she would be home Sunday.    Saturday morning at 8:35  ( I think,I can not be certain of the exact time) the phone rang and Ralph is crying really hard.

 I thought he was saying Demetrius ( her son, my grandson) was gone it was so hard to understand him,  finally a man came on identified himself as Dr. Bill Jones Morgan County Corner, was I the mother of  Klysta Lanell Breshears my heart stopped, my mouth opened screaming, and screaming, my husband was in the bathroom he came out,  I had thrown the phone, he looked at it; then at me.  I looked at him and very calmly said ” Klysta is dead.”  I called Dusti Jean and told her on the phone, my God how could I do that to her, my gentle hearted child? I told her to call her sister Andrea. My sisters and my brothers I called  all the while throwing money from the safe into a bag, credit cards, underwear and no bras,  shirts I took 5 shirts and only the jeans I had on.  I took a minute and a half shower  crying screaming  answering the phone;  at 9:10 we got in the car (my husband never drives  unless we are in his truck) he drove that day, the whole time (5 hours ) I cried  telling him to hurry she needed me I had to see for myself and whatever babble came out between crying and keening for my child. Somewhere along the way we met up with my other two daughters and my baby sister that lives down that way and her husband.. We arrived at the mobile home Klysta and Ralph lived in;  and Ralph’s sister Gwen lives right next door with her family,  they took us into their home, when I walked in Ralph cried out “Mom she’s gone” and collapsed in my arms.  We went to Kidwell Garber funeral home in Versailles, MO.  where they had taken her and they made us wait a few minutes she was being drained so they cleaned her up, placed  a beautiful soft  blanket of multi colored velvet over her body. She still had a little blood on her lips but she was clean I guess.  I had collapsed at funeral home door so they took my cane and put me in a  wheel chair, my sis wheeled me in  and there was my baby my beautiful baby one whole side of her face a massive bruise;  bruises up and down her arms, her eyes, her neck,  her lips, I brushed back her hair I picked her up at the shoulders and held her and cried quietly making humming and shushing sounds to soothe her.  I ran my finger over the top of her ear that always soothed her  and calmed her spirit when a child or upset.  They told me not to but I held her first when she was conceived and born I would hold her in death !

Others came and went  in the room  and they finally made me go to the family room to make arrangements. Ralph stayed outside of the funeral home until  then said he couldn’t bear to see her  like that. Scott her husband was there …after eleven years of beingapart???  Her boys still didn’t know family was trying to track them down they had played at a basketball tournament or with friends , I don’t really remember where someone said they were.

While we were all seated around this table talking about the autopsy and cremation etc my daughter Dusti walked in and looked directly at Ralph and said ” what happened to my sisters face” I  told her shush it was for later.  I ordered crosses with her ashes for her boys and sisters and two close cousins,  ashes in an angel urn for myself the rest we would put in the lake as she wished when the weather warmed, this being February in the winter of southern  Mo. ( We had her memorial service in April  at the Gravois Mill Arm of the lake. )  Anyway we all went back to Gwen’s house they were very sympathetic and told us many stories  seems Klysta had gone to the bar Wednesday night (this was later proved a falsehood she did not go to any bar any night, or that week) got into a fight with some girl then her and Ralph fought when he went to get her or as they were going down the road she jumped out of the truck and fell in a ditch he punched her to get her back in the  truck.  Another story (all of these within a couple of hours of one another)  was that she and Ralph got into it out in the middle of the lane and went to fisticuffs with each other, this  story I might believe  but she had quit drinking some time ago. So we have these three stories  then he says  she was sick on Friday felt like she had flu and was very tired.  Her son Demetrius tried to go in the bedroom to see her at 7:30 Friday morning as she was to have driven him to court for a speeding ticket hearing  that day.  As he approached his mothers room  Ralph closed the door and would not let him in,  said she had hit the bottle pretty hard and she was sick. Demetrius said  he saw  her for just a minute, she was leaned up against the head board with her chin on her chest drool flowing and a towel or sheet over the  top of her head and eyes closed.  Said she looked  really sick and when he tried harder to get in Ralph said he would take him to court  which he had  never taken  the boys anywhere before always said they were her responsibility and he resented it if she did.

Ralph said he came home from work at noon gave her a couple spoon fulls of  chicken soup, saying she  was too tired to eat and laid back down in the bed. He left and came home that evening she was asleep he  ate checked on her; she was sleeping.  He laid on sofa to watch tv and fell asleep;  when he got up next morning went in to check on her she was gone.  He  went to sister  next door got her to come over, she is a social worker (used to be head nurse at  senior center) where she is now social worker  she came over checked her and called 911, paramedics worked on Klysta for a while then called coroner they  took her right to funeral home.

My husband and I came back home that day , what was I going to do, they were doing autopsy and cremation over the next two days I could not help her  I could not do a damn thing to help her, although I wanted to lay next to her giving her my life if I could.  My children did not want me near them because when they said Mom he did this to her I said” oh no he couldn’t have”  they assumed I was taking his side and they left  me so did her boys. I could not go to her house yet but Ralph brought her new puppy to me said ”  mom do u want her puppy I can’t take care of it” he was crying.  I said yes of course ” Klysta had named him “Joseph” due to his multi colored coat but we have a niece named Jo and I had to change it to K.D. (Klysta’s Dog), he has been my constant companion since that day.

Prior to leaving the Ozarks I asked Ralph to come outside with me and we sat on a bench in his sister Gwens yard and I looked him straight in the eyes and face asking him to please tell me  the truth, tell me what happened to my daughter. The story was   she got drunk  they fought he punched her in the eye and that was it.  He was so damn sincere but I knew in my heart, I knew but what was I to do at that moment I was in shock; my husband was just as lost as I was.

The girls and both of Klysta’s boys stayed at her house that night with Dusti and Eric sleeping in the bed Klysta died in no wait I am sorry Andrea and Devlin, came back with us  to Kansas City,  she needed to be back there but would drive back down the next day. Andrea  was so good at keeping us informed and staying in touch with authorities and helping with calls and such.  I truly miss her as well.  Anyway  Ralph stayed at his sisters, Demetrius in his room. Michael  ended up  reading her journal with his aunty Dusti in his mothers room.  Then  around five in the morning  Ralph came in the bedroom to get clothes for work (On Sunday the day after he killed her???)  anyway Dusti had laid the opened journal on the floor by the bed when she went to sleep. Upon waking she found  it was gone.  Ralph says when he came home from work the girls and my grandsons had filled Dusti’s car with most of Klysta’s belongings and he did not know she had a journal.  Actually they took  a couple of her dresses her favorite  pair of shoes and a box of pictures, that was it.  Hold on have to get more tissues and ice.

  On Monday the Coroner did autopsy not much blood in her  seemed her esophagus was busted open and blood drained into bowels been going on for a while he said, no head injuries ie. concussion or split she did have tumor in stomach no ovaries  or womb  her liver was beginning to harden from the drinking he said, although she was a Tylenol PM addict to sleep and had used it for years, I believe this contributed to the liver condition as well as the hard drinking she had done over the years. He  listed all her bruises and said one lung had a little congestion and she had a green foam  with blood in her mouth.  Would not know more until  toxicology came in,  days later it arrived via email , his phone and fed ex …he wanted to get it to me right away as I was calling him and the investigator  every day. He had ruled until the report that it was an indeterminate death and that  he could not say more until the report.  It stated no alcohol in her system , a bit of cannabis, and ten thousand milligrams of pure morphine,  sixty milligrams I am told is the greatest given to people dying and in pain from cancer,  that time of death was at 7:15 am Saturday  the 19th of February.

So she had told the truth when I asked her Wednesday  if she had been drinking she said no she had quit again been off booze for nearly two weeks.  She was already packed just needed to throw shampoo etc in bag,  catch the  train Sunday  morning in Sedalia  she was excited and ready to come home for her momma time. She did that quite often through the year every year especially if as that year weather prevented them from coming for the holidays.

My grandfather and my dad always told me to keep my friends close and my enemies closer so I did with Ralph for six months.  What was strange was after she died hewould text me everyday with  I love you mom, love you mom and dad, I would text back how are you doing son etc.  got to where I talked to his sister on Facebook and phone calls a bit as they were planning the memorial service  down there where all the friends were, we the family would go there.  I have to admit they did a nice  thing but everyone was really there to party even one of her supposed friends was wearing a pair of shoes I had bought her that summer.    Ralph  I would ask, can I please get some of Klysta’s things I had given her  a mothers ring and a heirloom wedding ring, she collected light houses and angels she had my mothers  Bible I only wanted what I thought we as family should have for mementos not that she had much of value in a monetary way.  I just wanted something of my daughters besides a few ashes, and the bill for her cremation.  He said he didn’t know if he could ever let any of it go, he  made a big deal of telling me he put her ashes (prior to service) in his truck next to him everyday ” She is always with me mom, she was my life” and he would cry.

On her 42nd birthday which  was 6 months and one day of her passing, I made reservations at a B&B in Versailles,Mo.  asking  my baby sis to go with me.  Ralph had said we could get some of her things and I wanted to put flowers and candles on the water in honor of her birthday and remembrance of the day.  Ralph wouldn’t walk down to the pier with us, he would not meet us at the house, he had his son and daughter in law there to meet us.  They or Ralph had prepared a small box of things  which consisted of Demetrius’s  cap and gown and a few papers nothing for his brother Michael. I did take  the washstand  with bowl and pitcher I had given her years before it had at sometime been  broken and chipped but sat proudly in her living room. . Her grandmothers Bible went to  my sister and after we met with Ralph he gave me the rings I had requested that he had received from coroner.  We were there 3- 4 days not once did Ralph come to their house or offer to meet there we had to go wherever he was.  When I asked the day we went to their house  if I could go in the bedroom,  my daughters wallet and a picture was on her bedside table there was nothing else there, after being told by Ralph   yea all her things are still here  can’t let them go. NOTHING was there! we looked and looked.  I knew, had always known, he did it he took her life because of his immature jealousy  but I couldn’t trip him in any way.  My girls knew and they believed that I was on his side so I could not even talk to them about it.  My sister and I both walked away from that weekend  without a shadow of doubt,  doubt of what had happened and his guilt.  Ralph text me a week or so later because I had ask his son how it felt to live with a murderer right on face book.  Not nice but so what I am her mother , I am old, grieving and want the truth!! Ralph after months of silence  text me said mom I love you, that was the last time I heard from him! I only want to hear from him one more time when he admits he killed her and why. After that let me kill him please or is he even worth it, the pond bottom feeding scum sucker!

 You need to know that I burned up the phone line with the one homicide detective who said to me each time I talked to him “someday someone will let something slip then we will get him”/ yea right  this in a town where everyone grew up together went to school together.  I asked what happened to the sheets on the bed I found out he never even went to the house.. I asked about the night she was at the bar he didn’t check that either,  he informed me Ralph had  passed two lie detectors well guess what he was never even brought in for questioning!  His sister claimed she had seen a tall skinny dark-haired man pull up and go in their house on Friday for about fifteen minutes but she could not remember the car or any other detail.  There was once a huge drop-off  almost a cliff  behind the  mobile home and Klysta always nagged Ralph about filling it in as he had a bob~ cat to do the job,  within days after she passed he filled it in  bet where all of her things are buried along with the sheets, her journal etc? Did I mention Gwen’s husband Richard at that time was fighting kidney and bladder cancer  do you know Gwen was administering morphine shots to  him for his pain? The chicken soup Ralph fed Klysta  on Friday was given to her other dog  on Sunday morning and she became ill not enough to kill her but she was very ill, it was not to long after that  Ralph called Michael and told him he had had to put the dogs down.

I tried to have an ad placed in the local paper The  Leader asking for any information  about her death and offered a small reward  they wouldn’t even print it.  I am consoled by the boys telling me their momma was reading her Bible everyday  before her passing. I do know from many many notes, calls, cards that she brought so many people to Christ, saved many a marriage  with her  belief and great love of christ, she called me once just to thank me for teaching her and taking her to church so that she knew the Lord and what he could do with her life, she never understood

though how He could heal her of many things but not alcoholism.

I know this is a garbled mess and full of typos etc. I can’t see thru the tears and shaking, very few people know all these details and now that I have written them out I am going to copy this just as it is and blog it. It’s time, I  can feel it. I know wanting something of my daughters from her home is silly  and it will not bring her back.  I also know that Ralph Chapman killed my daughter and he will face judgement day with that on his conscience and soul.   I would just like to see justification here or  even better have him tell me why he killed her was he that jealous of her time with her family? Did he know in  someway that this was it she was coming home and not going back ? I believe that is what it was; I believe he knew that and he was not going to let her go and he didn’t ..not to her family anyway. Thanks for listening/reading   God forgive me I hate that man with a passion!