In January of 2000 Danielle Simpson, his wife Jennifer, and a 13-year-old friend decide to rob the home of their elderly neighbor, 84-year-old widow Geraldine Davidson. They break in while she's out, but are startled when the retired school teacher returns home while they are still in her house. The trio kidnaps the elderly woman, bind her with duct tape, and force her into the trunk of her own car. They then drive around the town of Palestine, TX, stopping to show her off to friends along the way. When Danielle Simpson's younger brother Lionel joins them, he convinces the others that Geraldine must be killed.