Tiffani Peacock had some big dreams.
At just 18 years old, Peacock was on the cusp of starting college and wanted to become a veterinarian. She had a beautiful voice and planned to try out for "American Idol." She definitely wanted to have kids one day, but only after she had built a future for herself, Peacock's sister, Tabatha Hastings, told USA TODAY.
"Her whole life was still ahead of her," Hastings said. “We always believed she would have done incredibly well if she had gotten that chance."
Peacock's dreams were cut short on Aug. 24, 2005, when she became the victim of an armed burglary turned deadly in her home in Edna, a small Texas city about 100 miles southwest of Houston. Two men who forced their way into her house, killed her roommate
and her boyfriend, and shot Peacock execution-style, court records say.
Now more than 20 years later, Texas just executed one of her killers and plans to put the other to death by lethal injection on Wednesday, Sept. 23.
The executions have dredged up old wounds and memories but Hastings is focused on honoring her sister's life.
"What I hope people remember is not simply how Tiffani died, but how she lived and who she was," Hastings said. "She was a daughter, a sister, a friend, and someone deeply loved. Her life mattered before it ever became part of a court case, and it still matters today."
As the execution of one of Peacock's killers approaches, USA TODAY is looking back at the teenager's life, what made her special and what happened in her final hours.
What happened to Tiffani Peacock?
On Aug. 24, 2005, LeJames Norman and Ker’Sean Ramey were looking to score some cocaine and decided to rob their neighbor, 38-year-old Celso Lopez. Norman and Ramey forced their way into Lopez's home and held him at gunpoint as they looked for drugs they never found, according to court records. At some point Norman shot Lopez, though he claimed it was an accident.
Lopez’s roommates, 18-year-old Tiffani Peacock and 24-year-old Sam Roberts, walked in on the scene. The two had been dating.
“Norman forced Peacock to her knees and shot her in the head,” court records say. Roberts tried to flee but both Norman and Ramey shot him. Ramey shot all three victims several more times to make sure they were dead, court records say.
“It was an execution,” prosecutor Eli Garza said during Ramey's 2007 trial, according to an archived story in the Victoria Advocate.
Both Norman and Ramey were convicted of the murders and sentenced to death. Texas executed Norman by lethal injection on Sept. 16. The state plans to execute Ramey using the same method one week later on Sept. 23.
Who was Tiffani Peacock?
When Hastings thinks of her younger sister, so many of her memories involve music. The sisters loved going to dance halls, listening to their favorite songs and singing karaoke together.
"She was always the one who could really sing, and I was happily her backup singer," Hastings said of Peacock. "Singing truly was her gift."
The two sisters were close and had completely different personalities, but they balanced each other out, Hastings said.
"Tiffani was softer, sweeter, and very nurturing," Hastings remembers. "I was more independent, blunt, and protective, and I was usually the one who would step in and stand up for her or for anyone I loved. She had a gentle way about her."
She still remembers so many little things that Peacock would do to show her love.
"She would iron my clothes, help me fix my hair," Hastings said. "Those small memories mean so much now because they show how caring she was and the kind of sister she was to me."
Peacock also cared deeply about animals and was so good with them, that her family called her "an animal whisperer," Hastings said.
When her sister was killed, Hastings said that Peacock had just graduated from high school and was planning to attend a nearby community college in the fall, and then work her way toward Texas A&M to become a veterinarian.
Hastings said her sister was fun, bubbly, and sweet, and one of those people who never met a stranger.
"People were drawn to her because she was warm and genuine, and she loved people wholeheartedly," Hastings said. "Even more than 20 years later, people still talk about what a wonderful person she was, how much they loved her, and how much they still miss her. That says a lot about the kind of impact she had on people in such a short life."
Why Tiffani Peacock's sister decided not to attend executions
Many family members of murder victims attend the executions of their loved ones' killers. But for others like Hastings, it can be too hard.
"It would simply be too difficult for me emotionally," Hastings said. "This is an incredibly difficult time for everyone connected to this case, and I am continuing to pray for everyone involved."
She said that she believes in "accountability and justice" for her sister's murder but that she doesn't view an execution as "something to celebrate."
"My faith teaches me that earthly justice belongs to the courts, eternal judgment belongs to Christ, and vengeance belongs to God," she said. "Jesus holds the final judgment."
Hastings said that Peacock also was a believer and that "our faith gives us comfort in knowing that her story did not end with what happened to her."
She continued: "We believe her life had purpose, that she was deeply loved by God, and that one day we will see her again."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: She was about to start college. Then a killer shot her execution-style
