A new law took effect Monday in Tennessee that requires GPS monitoring of the most violent domestic offenders. Born from an unspeakable tragedy, the law is the first of its kind in the U.S.
On April 12, 2021, Debbie Sisco and her daughter, Marie Varsos, were shot and killed outside Nashville by Marie’s estranged husband, Shaun Varsos, who later took his own life.
Varsos broke into his mother-in-law’s house, where Marie was staying, with guns, zip ties, and battery acid ready to hunt them down.
He had been out on bail after strangling his wife and threatening her with a gun a month earlier.
Alex Youn, Marie’s brother and Debbie’s son, was devastated.
“Two people that I love dearly were just quickly ripped out of my life,” Youn said.
Varsos was considered enough of a threat that the judge could have required a GPS tracking device as a condition of his bail, but he didn’t. Youn believes his mother and sister may still be alive if the judge had required it.