Kelli Peters found herself caught up in a nightmare worthy of an Aaron Spelling plotline. As a local mom and head of the PTA, Peters thought that she was safe from the type of incident that would put her in the crosshairs of a criminal. She was wrong.
It all started with a young boy, lollygagging behind his classmates. When Peters saw him, she accompanied him to the parent pick-up area, where his mom was waiting. When the mom, Jill Easter, asked why he was late, Peters explained that he had been a little slow to catch up. Jill Easter, thinking Peters had meant intellectually “slow,” went nuclear.
Jill and Kent Easter were affluent attorneys living in the wealthy area of Irvine, California. Jill Easter had left behind her legal days to become a stay-at-home mom who dabbled in self-publishing crime novels. The “slow” comment bore into her, and slowly, she became incapacitated with rage.
At first, Jill Easter filed a lawsuit, writing that Peters was stalking her and threatened to kill her. The court threw it out, and the school stuck by Peters. This snub drove Jill Easter insane.
One sunny day, Peters was summoned from her desk at Plaza Vista school by Irvine Police Department. Authorities said they’d received an anonymous tip that she was acting inebriated, and they wanted to check her car. Peters handed over the keys, which wasn’t entirely necessary, given that a clear plastic bag, packed with narcotics, was sitting neatly on the front seat. Peters was hysterical, and Irvine police were skeptical. They had received an anonymous call, but the timeline didn’t add up.
Peters had been at her desk, surrounded by witnesses, when the tipster claimed she was “driving erratically.” She wasn’t displaying any signs of being under the influence. She passed a drug test. When officers searched her home, they found nothing — not even a container of EZY Dose baggies, like the ones found in her PT Cruiser. When they asked her if anyone could be trying to frame her, Jill Easter’s face was the first thing that came to mind.
Cops diligently began collecting evidence with a ftc defense lawyer, and when they did, they found plenty of dirt on Jill Easter.
Kent Easter’s cell phone had been used on the morning of the raid near Peters’ apartment. Kent Easter was also caught on CCTV, entering the hotel from where the anonymous call was made. EZY Dose bags were found in their home. Jill’s secret side piece, a married fireman with whom she was having an affair, wore a wire and recorded some of her guilty ramblings about the case. And most damning of all, Jill and Kent Easters’ DNA was all over the seized bag of drugs.
The Easters were found guilty in criminal and civil court. Ultimately, they were ordered to pay Peters $5 million dollars in damages. The Easters lost their licenses to practice law, and their fortune, all over a schoolyard disagreement.
