Deserae Turner, 22, who survived a shot to the head as a child, is entering hospice care after the wounds inflicted during her ordeal left her terminally ill. Deserae was 14 when she was shot in the head and left to die in a canal bed in 2017 after being lured and attacked by classmates Colter Peterson and Jayzon Decker. She survived, graduate high school, and got married, but the attack left her with lifelong disabilities.
Her family said on Tuesday that after nearly 50 surgeries, including 16 brain surgeries, Deserae has decided to enter hospice after learning that she is dealing with a deadly infection. Deserae told ABC4 that she is preparing for death by surrounding herself with her loved ones. ‘I have been in so much agony, so much pain, for 8 years… it is time for me to take the steps to be in less agony and less pain,’ Deserae said.
‘Everybody is scared of death and, yes, I guess I am scared a little bit , but I also just want it to come quick… I’m not scared of what’s gonna happen next… I truly believe I know where I’m going, and I’m ready to get there.’
‘Des has fought a good fight for more than 8 years now; she is tired. She doesn’t have it in her to fight another life or death battle,’ Daserae’s family wrote on a fundraiser they created for her funeral costs and care.
Her family added: ‘There are things worse than death. Quality of life is more important than quantity. Des made the very brave decision not to treat and to go on hospice. She has a firm belief there is life after death and we will be together again.’
Colter and Jayzon were 17 at the time of the crime. They were each sentenced to at least 15 years in prison in 2018. During their sentencing, Deserae told the court how the bullet, still lodged in her brain, left her struggling to walk, dress herself and function through debilitating headaches. ‘You are evil. I wish this had never happened,’ she told Jayzon, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. ‘Good luck having a life in prison and remember that, because of you, my life is a prison too.’
Prosecutors said the pair concocted the plan in February 2017 while playing video games and discussing their desire to get rid of Dasarae, who was messaging Colter on social media. They lured her to an isolated dry canal bed behind a school in Smithfield, then shot her and left her for dead in a ditch, prosecutors said.
Jayzon kept the spent shell casing as a souvenir, charges said. Officers later found it displayed on his bedroom windowsill. Jayzon was tried as an adult and pleaded guilty to attempted aggravated murder and felony obstruction of justice. Colter was also tried as an adult. He previously pleaded guilty to aggravated attempted murder and robbery.
