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"I Just Killed My Dad": Man Who Allegedly Abused Family Shot By Teen Son and Died Days Later
At the scene, EMS responders found 53-year-old Burt Templet “in a pool of blood” in a bathroom of the home he shared with his son, an assistant district attorney said.
On June 3, 2019 in East Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 17-year-old Anthony Templet made a shocking 911 call.
“I just killed my dad,” he told the dispatcher.
At the scene, EMS responders found 53-year-old Burt Templet “in a pool of blood” in a bathroom of the home they shared, Assistant District Attorney Dana Cummings of the East Baton Rouge DA's office told Kill or Be Killed, airing Saturdays at 9/8c p.m. on Oxygen.
Burt had been shot in the arm, chest and head. “He was still alive, but he was in very bad shape,” Cummings added.
Burt was rushed to the hospital, where he was placed on life support. Anthony was transferred to the sheriff’s station.
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Surveying the scene where Burt Templet was shot
Crime scene officers surveyed the scene, where the door between Burt's bedroom and the hall was broken.
They also collected DNA, guns and shell casings. “They had everything they needed in this case, including a confession,” reporter Austin Kemker told Kill or Be Killed.
Investigators learned that Anthony and Burt had been living alone in the house for about four months. “I don’t really like him,” the teen told a detective about his father.
Burt’s estranged wife, Susan Templet, shared background on Anthony and his family. When she met Burt, she was a single mom with a 6-year-old son, Peyton.
“Anthony was seven,” she said. “Burt had told me that Anthony's mom was deceased.”
While Anthony was open around her, Susan said, she added that with Burt, “he was a completely different child.”
Anthony Templet said his father Burt abused him
In a taped police interview, Anthony said that he “figured [Burt] was just going to try and kill me.” So he shot his father three times.
“He was claiming that his father had abused him,” said Cummings. “But Anthony did not have any cuts and scratches and bruises.”
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Anthony was charged with attempted manslaughter, while Burt continued to cling to life. Four days after being shot, he was taken off life support.
Anthony faced up to 40 years in prison for manslaughter. Defense attorney Jarrett Ambeau took on his case.
“It was obvious to me this killing was justified,” he said. Ambeau learned more about Anthony’s life from his stepmother.
Burt Templet's estranged wife Susan detailed alleged abuse
Susan shared that she and Burt and their sons lived together for several years before getting married. Before long, Burt’s “hollering and screaming” began, she said.
Verbal abuse escalated, and Burt would use his fists or casserole dishes as weapons, according to Susan.
He started “physically abusing all of us," she said, adding that "when he reached a certain level of anger, it was like Popeye eating spinach.”
She eventually sent her son Peyton to live with her ex-husband. In early 2019, four months before the shooting, Burt’s alleged abuse reached a tipping point, according to Kill or Be Killed.
“We got into an argument and he pulled me out of the bed by my hair,” Susan said. “He punched me in my face four times. I saw three of my teeth hit the floor.”
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She filed a restraining order in February of 2019, documenting Burt’s history of abuse and noting that there were multiple firearms in the home. References to violence against Anthony weren’t included.
“I didn’t document anything on the restraining order about Anthony being abused because it would endanger his life more,” Susan told Kill or Be Killed. "Because he was in the house with the abuser."
After conferring with Anthony, Ambeau believed that the teen was "legitimately at the end of his rope,” he said. “He was in a position where he thought his only way out was to kill his father.”
Anthony Templet charged with second-degree murder
Ambeau worked to get the case against Anthony dismissed. The DA’s office convened a grand jury.
Anthony was indicted for second-degree murder. If found guilty of that charge, Anthony faced an automatic life sentence without parole, according to Ambeau.
He was moved from the juvenile facility to the East Baton Rouge Parish prison. His bail was $1 million, according to Kill or Be Killed.
A successful self-defense case would be a tall order. “We have to prove that the person that did the killing was in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm,” said Ambeau. “And that the killing was necessary to stop the attack.”
“That second part was really tough for us,” said Ambeau, adding that Anthony “wasn't touched that evening by his father.”
For the sake of his client, Ambeau believed it was essential that the court understood Anthony’s full life story.
Anthony Templet's complicated history emerges
“For all intents and purposes, Anthony didn't exist,” the lawyer said. “No school record, no medical record. He was secreted away by his father in a way that kept him out of society.”
Burt monitored his wife and son with cameras posted all around their house. “He tracked our every move,” said Susan.
Anthony was allowed to get a job at a local nursery. After the shooting, his employer asked a genealogist to see if Anthony had any other relatives.
The teen’s boss had suspected “that he was kidnapped in some way,” said genealogist Shayna Landry, who looked into Anthony’s past.
After doing some digging, Landry made contact with a woman in Texas who claimed to be Anthony’s mother, Teresa. She lived with Anthony’s sister, Natasha.
When Landry shared her discovery on Facebook, “it blew up,” Landry said.
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News emerged that Anthony was just 5 years old when his father, who had physically abused his mother, took him from their Houston home, according to Kill or Be Killed. Anthony's mom had been searching for him for years, Baton Rouge station WAFB reported.
“We would eventually learn that this kidnapping occurred in the court system,” said Ambeau.
Teresa had no resources, no ability to find her son. “To her, Anthony had disappeared into some black hole,” said Ambeau. Anthony was shocked to learn that his mother was alive.
With new evidence pointing to Burt’s pattern of abuse, Anthony’s defense team filed a motion to reduce his bail in order to get him released.
A psychologist determined that Anthony wasn’t a harm to anyone else. The bond was dropped to $50,000 on the condition that Anthony go to counseling, work on his GED and wear an ankle monitor.
After being incarcerated for more than six months, Anthony was released. His lawyer still had to show that he acted in self-defense when he shot his dad.
“The strongest evidence in our favor is that even as Burt is definitely injured and definitely retreating, and saying stop, Anthony did not stop,” said Cummings. That Burt had been drinking heavily made him even less of a threat, she added.
Anthony Templet charged with negligent homicide
But in light of the evidence of a complicated history of abuse and neglect, Cummings reevaluated the charges against Anthony. “We began talking with defense counsel,” she said.
She offered to go back to the original manslaughter charge. But because that would involve time behind bars, Ambeau passed on the offer.
Eventually, the district attorney convened a meeting with Ambeau and Cummings. The DA put negligent homicide on the table.
The charge “is the killing of a human being through basically reckless behavior,” said Cummings. “It felt like the right resolution in this case.”
The charge carried no jail time, it wasn’t a crime of violence, and it could be expunged from Anthony’s record, said Ambeau. He declared it “a 100% victory.”
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Anthony was sentenced to five years of supervised probation and credited for time already served, Newsweek reported.
At the time of filming, Anthony had chosen not to communicate with any members of his biological or step families, according to the series.
“I still continue to work,” Anthony told Kill or Be Killed. “I finished my education and I'm working on my fitness and health.”
To learn more about the case, covered in the show's “The Other Side of the Door” episode, watch Kill or Be Killed, airing Saturdays at 9/8c p.m. on Oxygen.
