Karla Faye Tucker was convicted of a double murder in 1984, and Candice DeLong, a retired FBI agent, remains disturbed by the case.
DeLong hosts the true-crime podcast “Killer Psyche,” where she analyzes infamous cases and discusses notorious criminals. Recently, her focus was on Tucker, a Texan woman whose death penalty caused a lot of controversy in the past.
DeLong told Fox News Digital, “Karla was doomed from the beginning, once people found out what she did.”
She also pointed out, “And the worst thing she did, and she did not help herself by telling people this, that she had an org–m when she was killing, while she was stabbing someone.”
Karla Faye Tucker killed two people with a pickax before finding God behind bars — but Candice DeLong believes her fate was sealed long before the murders. https://t.co/Hm0pbJsCee
— FOX 9 (@FOX9) March 29, 2026
Tucker and Daniel Ryan Garrett, her then-boyfriend and accomplice, broke into the apartment of Jerry Lynn Dean to steal motorcycle parts. However, the burglary turned into a double murder when Dean and Deborah Thornton, a woman he had met earlier, were brutally killed.
As Fox News Digital reported, Tucker was reportedly angry at Dean over a motorcycle dispute.
A report from the BBC stated, “Tucker did not deny the crime. In fact, Tucker confessed that she was surprised at how long it took them to bludgeon Mr. Dean to death. Later, she told police that she experienced an org–m every time the pickaxe landed, even after the victims were dead.”
When asked whether Tucker deserved the death penalty, DeLong commented, “It raises the thought of, ‘If she could do that once, could she do it again?’”
DeLong further added, “‘What if she got out?’ I’m not saying she deserved the death penalty or not. It would have been fine with me for her to spend the rest of her life in prison. But we, as members of society, when we are so repulsed by what someone not only did but then brags about it, we just want it gone. We want them gone. We want the memory gone. And how do you do that? The ‘Death Chamber.’”
DeLong also explained the sad life of Tucker and the role prolonged drug use played in her crime. Her mother started using drugs, and Tucker followed suit at an early age.
“Drugs, alcohol and marijuana in an undeveloped brain — can create a psychological situation where, when that child or adolescent is an adult, they may have a violent streak, violence toward others and frequently suicidal behavior. We see that as well,” DeLong said.
Visiting with Karla Faye Tucker on death row in Gatesville, Texas. Karla was executed in 1998. pic.twitter.com/pAcuwJyy3O
— Sister Helen Prejean (@helenprejean) June 2, 2017
DeLong even admitted that she was disturbed by Tucker’s painful and sad upbringing.
Tucker’s case had sparked global debate over the death penalty. She had turned to Christianity while in jail and showed remorse for what she had done, as reported by All That’s Interesting.
However, she was executed at the age of 38 on February 3, 1998.
