West, Texas, man who murdered parents avoids death penalty

WACO, Texas (KWTX) - A West man who killed his stepfather and then shot and killed his mother while she was calling for help was sentenced to life in prison Monday.

Dillon Thomas Bridgers, 32, pleaded guilty to reduced charges in the April 2024 shooting deaths of Regina Marcott, 57, and Delton Marcott, 61, at a residence in the 5300 block of Tokio Road.

Bridgers pleaded guilty to two counts to murder in exchange for the McLennan County District Attorney’s Office reducing the capital murder charge, waiving the death penalty and giving Bridgers an opportunity to seek parole after 30 years in prison.

He will serve the sentences concurrently.

Bridgers, a driver for Uber and DoorDash, was indicted in May 2024 for capital murder because he killed more than one person in the same criminal transaction. Those convicted of capital murder receive the death penalty or life in prison without parole.

Prosecutor Will Hix said he hopes the resolution of the case will help the victims’ family members contend with the tragedy.

“There is no resolution in our system of justice that can undo the awful crime committed by this defendant,” Hix said. “Our prayer is that the finality of this sentence can begin the process of healing for the family that has borne the burden of these terrible murders.”

Bridgers was represented by Russ Hunt and Russ Hunt Jr. The elder Hunt said he doesn’t think anyone will ever know “everything that was involved in why this happened.”

“It is a terribly sad situation,” Hunt said. “There are lots of things that came up. That’s why we ended up pleading him to life with the possibility of parole. But it is just sad all the way.”

After 19^th State District Judge Thomas West sentenced Bridgers, three family members gave victim-impact statements.

“You didn’t just take two lives,” one said. “You tore apart the fabric of our family. You didn’t just end lives. You tried to break our entire family. But let me be clear. You didn’t break this family. The story of our family will always be greater than what you did.”

One woman said she experienced “mental anguish, flashbacks and nightmares” after the deaths.

“I just pray God will allow me to forgive you one day. But not for you, for me,” she said.

According to arrest records, Bridgers’ mother, Regina Marcott, called 911 during the incident that reportedly led to her and her husband’s deaths. The 911 dispatcher heard Bridgers ask, “Who you calling?”

The dispatcher also heard Regina Marcott scream, “Give me the gun,” an arrest affidavit alleges.

Bridgers can be heard yelling on the 911 call, “Did you really do that? You called the cops on your son again?”

Marcott says again, “Give me the gun,” according to the affidavit.

“I’m not going to shoot anyone else,” the affidavit quotes Bridgers as saying.

His mother replies, “Give me the gun. You’re losing control.”

Bridgers refused to surrender the weapon and then said, “It’s going to happen,” apparently referring to going to jail, the affidavit states.

Bridgers next told his mother, “You don’t give a (expletive) about your kids, you don’t give a (expletive) if they go to jail. That is why you are a piece of (expletive),” according to the arrest document.

“At that time, you can hear (Bridgers) chamber a round in the firearm and the victim yells, ‘Dillon,’ and then you hear a gunshot and someone fall and moan,” McLennan County Sheriff’s Office investigators wrote in the affidavit.

“(Bridgers) states, ‘Yeah,’ and then fires two more shots,” the affidavit alleges.

Bridgers is then heard speaking to himself, asking aloud where his car keys are. The phone call then goes silent.

Bridgers fled the scene before deputies arrived, but called 911 to report he shot his parents, the arrest warrant states.

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