Texas, P, 1926-1993, Undated

LEGROS v. PANTHER SERVICES GROUP, INC.

ee - e >

953

Cite as 874 F.2d 953 (Sth Cir. 1989)

III.

For the reasons stated above, the district
court’s orders granting summary judgment
in favor of Martin—-Baker and Rix are af-
firmed.

AFFIRMED. —

O & KEY NUMBER SYSTEM P

4nms

David Franklin CLAY,
Petitioner—Appellant,

Vv.

James A. LYNAUGH, Director, Texas
Department of Corrections,
Respondent—Appellee.

No. 87-1521.

United States Court of Appeals,
Fifth Circuit.

May 19, 1989.

David W. Coody, Dallas, Tex., Ken J.
McLean, Houston, Tex., for petitioner-ap-
pellant.

Charles R. Hall, Asst. Atty. Gen., Jim
Mattox, Atty. Gen., Austin, Tex., for re-
- spondent-appellee.

Appeal from the United States District
Court for the Northern District of Texas;
Robert B. Maloney, Judge.

Before RUBIN, KING, and _
WILLIAMS, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:

Considering the answer given by the
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, —— S.W.
2d —— (Tex.Cr.App.1989), to the question
certified to it by this Court in Clay v.
Lynaugh,! the case is REMANDED to the
United States District Court for the North-
ern District of Texas with instructions to
issue immediately a writ of habeas corpus
setting aside the conviction and sentence in

1. 846 F.2d 8 (5th Cir.1988).

cause numbered F-76-9897-HQ, thereby
discharging the petitioner, David Franklin
Clay, from further confinement thereun-
der.

The mandate shall issue forthwith.

O & KEY NUMBER SYSTEM

sums

Gus R. LEGROS and Betty Legros,
Plaintiffs—Appellees
Cross—Appellants,

Vv.

PANTHER SERVICES GROUP, INC. et
al., Defendants—Appellees,

National Union Fire Insurance Co. of
Pittsburgh, Defendant—Appellant
Cross—Appellee.

No. 87-4370.

United States Court of Appeals,
Fifth Circuit.

May 22, 1989.

John A. Jeansonne, Jr., Jeansonne & Bri-
ney, Susan A. Daigle, and Charles A. Mou-
ton, Preis, Kraft, LaGorde & Daigle, Lafay-
ette, La., for defendant-appellant cross-ap-
pellee.

Robert B. Acomb, Jr. and Jefferson R.
Tillery, Jones, Walker, Waechter, Poitev-
ent, Carrere & Denegre, New Orleans, La.,
Texaco—Electro—Coal Transfer Corp., ami-
cus curiae in support of defendant-appel-
lant cross-appellee.

Eileen R. Madrid, New Orleans, La., for
Rowan Companies, Zapata Off-Shore, En-
ergy Service Co., Global Marine Drilling
Co. and Santa Fe Drilling Co.

Terrell D. Fowler, Cox, Cox, Townsley &
Fowler, Lake Charles, La., for defendants-
appellees.

Kenneth G. Engerrand, Houston, Tex.
and David W. Robertson, A.W. Walker
Centennial Chair, Univ. of Texas Law

Pr

_ shave an

PASTER v. LYNAUGH
Cite as 876 F.2d 1184 (5th Cir. 1989)

compel the relief requested. As will be
shown, Paster’s argument is_ ill-founded.

- Physical Appearance at Trial and Dep-
rivation of Sleep,

The state habeas court made eighteen
findings relevant to Paster’s physical ap-
pearance at trial and his complaint that jail
personnel deprived him of sleep. Ex parte
Paster, No. 377293-A (Findings of Fact

27-32, 44-53). Paster notes that the state

habeas court found that he “disliked the
bologna and pimento..sandwiches he was
served while incarcerated” during trial.
Id. (Finding of Fact 50).
acknowledge the following additional find-
ings of the state habeas court:
(1) ‘He was not-served hot meals due
to the logistical problem of always being

in court during the time the meals were -

served. ”« (Finding of Fact 51);

(2) “A motion for hot meals was filed

_ by defense counsel, and was eventually
~ complied with.” (Finding of Fact 52);
and «©
=A3) “The State did not. deprive the Ap-
" plicane of proper nutrition during the tri-
al.” ~@inding of Fact 58)..

Paster also..contends that his ¢onstitu-
ional vight.to a presumption of i innocence
was compromised»by the.denial of an op-

portunity to present an acceptable physical _

appeures<c.. Paster-points-out. that the tri-
al court ordered that he be given a change
of clothes aad an opportunity to bathe and
dé that the state habeas court
found that he “appeared one day before the
jury looking unkempt.” ; Jd. (Finding of
Fact 46). Yet, there were never any find-
ings that the trial court’s order was not
complied with. On the contrary, the state
habeas court found that:

(1) “The Applicant was not tried in jail
clothes or in shackles. He wore street
clothes during the trial.” (Finding of
Fact 44);

(2) “The Applicant was given the op-
portunity to bathe and shave ...” (Find-
ing of Fact 45);

(3) “The record reflects that the Appli-
cant himself expressed satisfaction to the
court with the new set of clothes he was

Paster fails to .

1191

given to wear.” (Finding of Fact 47);

and

(4). “The state did not deprive the Ap-—
plicant of an acceptable physical appear-

ance.” (Finding of Fact 48).

Finally, Paster points out that the state
habeas court found that he was initially
housed in a jail “quite a distance” from the
courthouse, and that as a result he had to
be “awakened early in the morning.”
Paster notes.that. the state habeas court
found that during voir dire he once fell
asleep. Jd. (Findings of Fact 27-30).
Paster fails to mention that upon request
of defense counsel, he was moved to a
downtown jail. Jd. (Finding of Fact 31).
In addition, the state habeas court found
that:

(1) “After The was ered Applicant S

had no further problem i in staying awake
during the trial.” _ (Finding of Fact 32);
(2) “The court, after hearing the Appli-

. cant: testify at the evidentiary hearing

and observing his demeanor, finds that
his statement that he slept all the time
befere the jury during the trial is neither
~eredible nor supported by the record.”
(Finding of Fac#.33); and
, @y. “The S id not deprive the Ap-
zaring the trial. ” (Find-

_The federal disc court concluded that
the state habeas-court’s findings concern-
ing these #Xaims were supported in the
record ahd are dispositive of Petitioner’s
claims.” We agree and deny the relief.
requested. .

B. Access to Legal Materials.

Paster claims that he was denied effec-
tive assistance of counsel because he was
denied access to legal material necessary to
aid in his defense. Paster does not men-
tion that as soon as he filed a motion for
access to legal material it was granted by
the trial court. Jd. (Findings of Fact 54—
55). He was granted access to a law li-
brary and his counsel were allowed to de-
liver additional legal material. Jd. (Find-
ings of Fact 58-66) (noting when Paster
actually visited the law library). Finally,
the state habeas court found that: “The

1190

so

hearing ielore they withdrew the mots
for a continuance. This is precisely the
type of second-guessing we cautioned
against in King v. Lynaugh, 868 F.2d 1400,
1405 (5th Cir.1989).
Supreme Court’s instruction in Strickland,

466 U.S. at 691, 104 S.Ct. at 2066, that:

The reasonableness. ‘of counsel’s ac-

tions may be determined or. substantially.

_ influenced by the defendant’s own state-
_ments or actions. Counsel’s actions are
usually based, quite properly, on in-
formed. strategic choices made by the
defendant and on information supplied
by the defendant.
__ investigation decisions are reasonable de-
pends critically on such information.

a8 hot a cas. in ma counsel failed to

with spond

of ae ‘Alin Seaates + ely
ed cumula-

‘testimony .waS adju

tive “Of Paster, » ‘statements that*he used:

drugs before
investigators.

‘ofessing to the Houston
This was the essence of

strategic decisionmaking. We . conclude ©
_ that at the very least,
conducted their’ defense - “within: the-wide
range of:.reasonable’ professional” assist~

ance.” Stricklend, 486 US at_68: 2. a
| S. Ct. at 2066. :

C. Motion to Rcrewadl for Dedoauk Eviden-

insel for Paster

2

_tiary Hearing.

[5] Paster ‘bears the burden of eae

lishing the-need-for a federal evidentiary

_ hearing, but such a hearing is only neces-

sary if the material fee in dispute and

if the state record is inadequate to resolve» ~

them. Byrne v. Butler, 845 F.2d 501, 512

(th Cir), cert. denied, — U.S. ——; 108

S.Ct. 2918, 101 L.Ed.2d 949 (1988).

Paster contends. that. the district court
should have heard testimony from Lopez
and George. Their affidavits were in evi-
dence before the state habeas | court, how-

6. Inmate George maintained that Paster “was
always under the influence of some kind of _

drug,” the most common being those prescribed.
-to him. Inmate Lopez maintained that Paster
“was so doped up on pills he couldn't even talk”
the day of his confession. The only drugs Lo-

We again quote the

In particular, what -
hearings.

4

_rectness.
preliminary ‘findings, ignoring all othe

876 FEDERAL REPORTER, 2d SERIES —

ever.® Paster has not. pnnel why their
bodily absence at that hearing would call

into question the reliability of the state

habeas court’s lengthy. factual findings re-

lating to his compulsory process and effec-

‘tive assistance of counsel claims. See

Streetman v. Lynaugh (5th Cir.1987) 812

- F.2d 950, 958. Moreover, at oral argument -

in our Court, Paster’s counsel stated that
the only state habeas court finding with
which he disagreed was that the Alabama
prisoners’ testimony would.have been
“merely cumulative.” Under the.-circum-

stances, that is too thi? a.reed on which to.

base the unreliability of the state habeas

Monday-morning quarterbacking- by the
federal courts. The district court properly

denied Paster’s motion for a federal eviden-"
tiary hearing. The record is complete and
-the. evidence in the record is sufficient to —
provide full review of Paster’s constitution-
-alclaims.
F.2d 1325, 1328=29 (5th Cir.1988), cert. de-
nied, 467_U.S. 1220, 104 S.Ct. 2669, 81

— Ed. 2d 374 (98a)

See Baldwin v. Maggio, 704

IV. PHYSICAL ASPEIRANGE AT TRI-

““KLS, AND MEDICAL CARE
[6] Paster argues “that. ‘the federal dis-

trict court failed. to. accord the proper -
weight to the state court findings concern-

ing alleged violations of due process and
effective assistance of counsel.
no contention that the federal district court
failed to consider a certain state court find-

ing or thatthe district court erroneously .

refused to grant it’a-presumption of cor-
Instead, Paster points to a few

other findings of the state trial and habeas

- courts, and argues that these few findings

"pez identified are “the type of medication he...

was on.” Neither inmate testified that Paster
took an illegal drug the day of his confession
and Lopez’ claim that Paster “couldn't even talk”
that day is inherently incredible.

The issue of counsel’s effective- ~

ness at trial was thus fully aired in th —~scsmemne
‘state evidentiary hearing and should not,
as a matter of comity, be subjétted Pion

wig ly AGCESS TO LEGAL MATERI-. ~

There is

been

1192

State did not intentionally deprive the Ap-
_plicant of access to legal materials during

his trial.” Jd. (Findings of Fact 67). We
conclude, as the district court did, that.

these findings dispose of Paster’s. constitu-
tional claim. :

C. Denial of Medical Care.

Paster also.contends that he was denied

the effective assistance of counsel because
he was deprived of medical attention and
suffered pain that prevented him from con-
sulting with his attorneys. The record re-

-flects that Paster complained of pain in his .

shoulder, but was not immediately taken to
a doctor “because he was in court all day
long.” Jd. (Findings of Fact.35-36). After

he requested medical attention for his inju-.

ry, however, “[tJhe trial court ordered that
the Applicant reeéive medical treatment.”
Id. (Findings of Fact 37-38). The state
~ habeas court found further that:

(1) Paster “was»taken to Ben Taub
Hospital, examined Ary a doctor snd ad-
vised there was nothing wrong with his
shoulder.” (Finding f Fact 40);

. (2) Paster “was never in such pain that
_ he could not either proceed with the trial
or confer with his ay ys.” ‘Finding
of Fact 41); and ~~

(3) “By [Paster ‘'s);own adhe his
injury -was not severe enough to affect
his ability to assist ~his aviorneys?"
(Finding of Fact 42).

The trial record reflects that Thesfadge
called the doctor and in open court con-
firmed the doctor’s opinion that Paster’s
injury would not prevent “an intelligent
conversation with his counsel in preparing
the defense to his case ...”’ Paster v. Ly-
naugh, mem. op. at 12 (quoting a passage
_ from the trial transcript). Thus, we are
bound by the findings of the state habeas
court and accordingly pony the relief that
is requested.

CONCLUSION —

[7] We may grant a certificate of prob-
able cause under Fed.R.App.Proc. 22(b)
only by finding that there has been a sub-
stantial showing of the denial of a federal
right. Barefoot v. Estelle, 463 U.S. 880,

‘Claims.

876 FEDERAL REPORTER, 2d SERIES

103 S.Ct. 3383, 7 L.Ed.2d 1090 (1988).
Similarly, a stay of execution may only be
granted if a movant has made a showing
(1) of a likelihood of success on the merits,
(2) of irreparable injury in the absence of a
stay, (3) that the granting of the stay
would not substantially harm other parties,

and (4) that granting the stay would serve

the public interest.- Selvage v. Lynaugh,
842 F.2d 89, 91 (5th Cir.1988). The fore
going discussion demonstrates that Paster
is not entitled to relief on.the merits of his
We can find no basis for granting
a certificate of probable cause nor for i issu-

ing a stay of his execution.

Motion for certificate of probable cause
DENIED; stay of execution DENIED.

8

43
( E KEY NUMBER SYSTEM

UNITED STATES of America,
Plaintiff—Appellee, =“ ~ ..- . —<

: = — '

; Vv. = —— es

_ Larry COOPER, Defendant-Arpellant.
_ UNITED STATES of Atnerica, ~~ _

Plaintifi—Appellee,
es v. : = = oi
Larry Vivien COOPER,
Defendant—Appellant.

Nos. 88-2021, 88-2022 __
Summary Calendax. -..

United States Court of Appeals,
Fifth Circuit.

July 7, 1989.

Convicted felon who had served his
sentences brought action to overturn con-
victions. The United States District Court
for the Southern District of Texas, Ross N.
Sterling, J., denied relief, and appeal was
taken. The Court of Appeals held that: (1)
petition for writ of error coram. nobis was
subject to 60-day appeal period for civil
eases to which United States was party,

“mm

-~s

PEROT

Ra al i a ta

reaver miownpranee: esa =p oo

‘ Trursday, Sept. 21, 1989 » x

OQUSTONIAN

Sam Houston State Unwersity, Huntsville, Texas

_—

Amnesty eroup
--Bahts. execution}; =

} te eps

cnciee { Reporter | 4 bi ay
= SA Bs ¢E
vege Vee
‘Some 20 students from:
the Sam Houston Chapter of”
Amnesty International pro-,
tested the execution of te
row inmate James Em
Paster Tuesday night. °*
“Paster, 44, was a eavicted
of a 1980 contract killing of:
Robert Edward Howard. He:
was executed by lethal injee-
tion at 12:00 a.m. and pro-
nounced dead at 12:17.
{.“I have no idea what his

ly, 1 think this death penalty,
is being used as a deterent™
so that other ‘people.
wouldn't commit crimes. If it
worked, it’ probably ‘would ‘
be fair, but it does not.”' =

Heath, a member of the»

SHSU Chapter of Amnesty;
International, said he had»
learned about the execution:
after receiving -a ~ list:
released from the Depart-; 7
ment of Corrections. He said *

whenever a new execution...

date is set, the information
is sent out to public informa-
tion. He said he found out
that Paster had exhausted
all of his appeals. |

! Many of the “protestors

did not know what Paster’s
charged were but said they
considered them irrelevant.

‘
+ cl

© “That's not the solution,”

hasn't stopped anything. So
‘why do we keep doing it?”
«. Bobby Novasky also con-
‘siders executions to be inef-
fective. “Killing is kill-
2 Ang. we could stop it.”

wr Heath’: claims the death
# penalty i is unjust because it
3 is* not “an, squal
= seprasentationy:

FEL se fe

4

AS ants you have a wealthy

county, you have more.
2. & money and can afford to-
< have capital murder trials,” :

crimes are,”! said Mike: = he said. Heath said the

* Heath. “Speaking personal-’

s lighter sentences because ss
‘te this situation. 2»: "4
“= The main purpose of the?
/: protest was to show other
= people, that not. everyone
% supported the death penal-
tty, Heath said. “It should be
inp @ffective in the sense that
"x there will be people here in
Texas who’ will show the
* world that there are people
Sthat aren't’ gun-ho about
illing someone,” said
“Heath. & 1 os "2 @
“JIumans are fallible and
executions are irreversable,”

said Kevin Winther, citing :;
that ifa man is-wrongly sense *

tenced his: life cannot be
returned.” | =
The group claims there is

“also an economic factor cone ~

‘cerning the death penalty.

Tricia Wright,-Al_ member, = Ae actually: costs more to

believes the death penalty is
ineffective regardless of the’
crime. Wek ee

o: “AMNESTY. es

Jade pe them (prisoners)

continued from Pace. oe

than to keep the said
Mike Palmer. ~

Ninteen year-old Wilson
Revelle, a lifelong resident
of Huntsville, said he has
been to “too many” execu-
tions here. He remembers
Specifically a recent case
when the hose used for let-
hal injection slipped out of
the prisoner's arm.

“I think that was a sign
telling them that they
shouldn't be doing what
they're doing. | hope some-
thing goes wrong with this
one,” he said before the
execution,

Texas Attorney General
Jim_Muttox, _who was pre-_.

the said. “People have killed | -
people over thousands and
‘thousands of years, and it”

of

#

4

E

aw
Be

$

© criminals caught in ther. ‘
« Poorer counties are left with *

) sent at the execution, said Cre.
® the death penalty was 3
<mecessary in the Paster

case.

Paster was a former
lounge singer and Elvis
impersonator, Paster and
another man, Noble Mays,
escaped from the Ellis Unit
of the Texas Department of
Corrections in April for two

__hours before being captured.

CAPTION
READS:

Houstonian phoiu by Eric Smith

“JUST SAY Wo -To-

DEATH Rou"

On QAWwER

wanag

# KATHY FAIR
ue Chronicle

“ if . :

. HUNTSVILLE — Convicted killer.
James Emery Paster, who once ene,
tertained Las Vegas crowds with his.
Elvis Presley impersonations, yet
was described as “Satan personi-

. fied,” was awaiting his execution:
Tuesday night. ol

3¢ 44-year-old former rock mi i
1 and restaurant cook’s plea for a?
third postponement was rejected by °
th Texas Court of Criminal Appeals -
Tuesday morning, and Texas Rex;
sogrce Center attorneys decided not’”
tq @ppeal further. aaa |

‘Paster was to die today in the:

Hifntsville “Walls” Unit for the Oct. .

234 1980, contract killing of Robert

Howard, 38, a Brown & Root. .

machinist gunned down as he left a

Gulf Breeway club... >.
Paster i convicted of slay~
ing..¢wo Houston area women and:
was linked to at least two murders:
elsewhere. A multiple recidivist wha
served time in California and Ala
bama on a variety of‘charges, he was!
first confined at 16.in the Los Angeletyi
area, where he:raped his mother and
_ 23-year-old sister:- =. a
Paster said he killed Howard for
the $1,000 the victim’s wife offered:

Hé wanted the money to buy woofers :'

to us@ with his guitar... °°;
Houston: attorney Stanley Schnet::

der, who handted: Paster’s. previous. ;
appeals, weed to him after.-the «

Téxey Cott “of Criminal<Appeals
denied a stay. © he BIE

“He was: very positive; very up-_

“ Schneider said: “He and I had:
disetseed (last week) the possibility.

ity.
He wats hoping for the. best but

es c55 ee Oe
anticipating the worst.”
Darothy

74-year-old mother who still lives in.
South. Houston; said late Tuesday’.
night Paster’s death would bring. a:
small measure of relief; 000]

Howard, the victim’s

~

execution in co

ig al:

“He doesn’t deserve to be on’ this.
Earth,” she said. “He's getting his.

just due. It’s good riddance for this

universe. I don’t know if God agrees,
though.”

Paster was given life sentences for
his part in the December 1980 rape:
murder of Cynthia Darlene‘Johnson, ::
18, of Conroe, who had a nail driven ‘
up her nose. by. Paster:to ensure her

death, and the November 1980 rape,
slaying of Diane: Trevino Oliver, 27;"*
of Channelview... =. ~

One co-defendant in: those mur- Q

ders, Stephen McCoy, was executed:
in May, while the other, Gary LeB-
lane, is

vi g 33 -yenrs, a plea

bargain for his testimony..

Johnson and Oliver were killed
because McCoy and LeBlanc had
seen Paster murder Howard and he
wanted to ensure their loyalty by
watching them murder someone, au-
thorities said: '

“He is absolutely the worst kind of
man, because you can’t see him .
coming,” said R.K. Hansen, who
prosecuted Paster in 1983. He said
Paster had an engaging ‘personality
and was extremely talentéd — traits :
that masked his dangerousness:. “He ©
thought he was Charles Manson.”

Describing him as “a~’sick, sick
individual who had no respect for
humanity,” Hansen said Paster’s
lack of remorse was evident.

When authorities asked what she ;
was wearing when she was abducted:
Paster responded, “Mam,’ she way
just some girl that was going to dis,

and you want me to remember what:
she was wearing?” -

In a death row interview, Paster:
said, “Had I ever known this individ-t
ual (Howard), had a drink or beer,

with him, I wouldn’t have done it. It:
made it easier, like hitting someones .
on the highway. I never got out of the: |

car.

shot, 20 feet away, in the head.”

Assistant Attorney General Bob |
i

Walt called Paster the type of indi-.

vidual for whom the death penalty: |
was created, and prison recordg re: |

tory persoualityt!

ferred to. his:
and characterized him as the per
ification of Satan. «+ 7. gps *

”

According to court testimony,.
Howard’s wife, Trudy, hired Paster
and brothers Gary and Eddie LeB-~
lane so she could colleet on her
husband’s insurance. Twe monttis

after the murder, Trudy Howard, a
former truck driver, married Eddie
LeBlanc.

The case went unsolved for nearly
three. years until Gary LeBlanc,
wired with recording devicest got
Trudy LeBlanc to discuss the matter.
She and Eddie LeBlanc are serving
life sentences. for their part in How-
ard’s death. s

But Howard’s mother insists,
“Trudy did not have any knowledge,
much léss any part in it.”

She blamed Eddie LeBlanc and:
said he threatened to harm Trudy-
and the Howards’. two sons if she told:
authorities the truth. :

The past nine years have been a-
rough ordeal,; Mrs. Howard said. :

“Aftet: Trady is out, then I can be-

ae AAAS oe

peaceful,” she said.
Paster said capital punishment
was deserved in cases like his.
“There’s no justification for what
I've done,” he said, ,
Associated Press reporter Michael
Graczyk once asked Paster how he
would like to be remembered. The

|

“It’s not hard to take a life — onej!

__— ee |
reply: “One hell of a lot of fun. If you
knew me, I would be an unforgetta-
ble character. 'm a very likable
individual.” . :

Two other Texas inmates have
been executed this year. One was
McCoy.

The other, Leon Rutherford King,
was executed in March for the 1978
beating death of a Baytown man,
Michael Underwood, in a robbery
that netted $11.50.

With Paster, Texas will have exe-
cuted 32 inmates.

a


Lea

|

“Inmate execu uted:

2D =F noe ; oe

. By STEVE BREWER ~

* An Ohio lounge singer linked’
to five murders was} executed,

“early today for the 1980 contract

{Killing of a man outside a soutlys 2

~east Houston club. ry Sc 3
James Emery Paster, 44, was.

=~pronounced dead at 12:17 a.m. by: :
©aq physician. The lethal dose of So-:
**<“dium -Thiopental, Pavulon — a
“eemuscle -relaxant — and Potas-:

s

ote

“sium Chloride — which stops the
“heartbeat, was maminiered at.
“12:10 a.m.

“<< Paster became the third Texas...
. Department of Criminal Justice *

inmate executed this year and —
the 32nd since the death penalty
was reinstated by the Supreme
Court in 1976. yes

“I hope Mrs. Howard can find =
peace in this,” Paster said before -.
he died. It was unclear if he was.

referring to the mother of the vic-._
tim or the wife who was said to °
have hired him to kill. her z

_ husband. .

Paster ane F echaild te Gaicat

a coughed and then died,

Paster’s final meal was T-bone

; steak, dinner salad, french fries

‘and watermelon. He spent much
of the day Monday and Tuesday ~.
watching television and talking | rg

to other seath row ree

no

The Huntsville Item > j= a2 AR

: “Tis was convicted of éapital -
Emiirder { in the shooting death of -

‘38-year-old Robert Edward How-

ard. Howard was shot in the head ~

outside a nightclub in Houston _
« where Paster worked.
= “Had I ever known this indivi? = =
=.dual, had a drink or a beer with »

3 fs B22

= 2

him, T wouldn't have done it,” =

Paster told the Associated Press, # :

é Blanc’s Srother, Ged LeBlanc’
3 and Stephen McCoy were impli-:;

“It-made it easier, like hitting =

xsomeone on the highway. I never

got out of the car, ~ = y=
“It’s not hard to take a life ==

for}
1980 contrac t killing

Higa oF

%
bawst ac

Sure

Paster. z

6 eis. ae

cated in the Howard slaying as

well as the January 1981 rape/.

one shot, 20 feet away in the 5 strangulation death of Cynthia

head,” he said.
-Testimony. supported allega«

“Trudy, hired Paster to kill her for-

“mer husband for $1,000. Trudy = t
~ecuted by the state on May 24.

-. LeBlanc Howard was convicted of -

‘murder with.a deadly weapon ~

* and sentenced to life in prison.
“Her husband, Edward LeBlanc,
*32, was convicted of murder in
“the case and sentenced to life in
prison. | A Bae Ree

slaying of another woman and*-
‘has confessed to the killings of ©

two Houston-area women, al- .
though he was never. tried, for > =

those offenses... ~\)
z, Along with Sees Edward Lets

Johnson, 18, of Conroe and the‘

November “1980 rape/stabbing..
“tions that Howard's ‘ex-wife,”: death of 27-year-old Diane Tre-* = °. ~

vino Oliver near Channelview.
: McCoy was the last inmate ex-

*Paster was given a life sentence .
‘inthe Johnson murder. © =

“Paster, a former lounge singer .
nd Elvis Presley impersonator ©

_ who has been on death row since ~
* 1983, had no prior Texas record

“Paster is also serving & life sen- 8 . but had received three life sen-
_ tence for the rape and murder of . “stences in “Alabam
~.an 18-year-old Conroe woman.
«He has also pleaded guilty to the ~

| in 1982 on-
charges of robbery, assault and
burglary. He also served time in
--San Quentin, where he escaped
vin 1971.22:.%

Early» Tuesday} th the Texas
*Court of Criminal ! ‘Appeals re-
jected his request for reprieve.

EXECUTE ©

Continued from page saat
Defense attorneys contend jurors

at Puster’s trial should have been
allowed to consider evidence of
his abused childhood. ~~ °»<

‘Texas Attorney General “Jim :

Mattox said Paster deserved the
death penalty.

se, abet
oe iN
‘” be y

‘ Mattox also said that Gov. Bill”

HE Bane Aim fe Pica Sr ae

Clements oheatd deal with: press
ing death row letigation issues in
the upcoming special session, -

~The recent U.S. Supreme
Court overturn of the death sen-
tence of Johnny Paul Penry — a

» mentally retarded inmate con-:
+. victed in the slaying of a Livings- |
ton woman — has brought many.
% issues to the surface that must be -
ge dealt with.” ye

Mattox said’ "there? mast. be:

z sate . a

“some kind of standard set to helps)
» juries decide if they should have -
mercy when sentencing if there
were mitigating circumstances.
Mattox and witnesses. were .
erected by about 25 anti-death

~ penalty protesters — who were

See ee Page 3A

a,
re

injection.”

'e. Paster and cellmate Noble
Mays, 35, attempted an escape
, from death row in April. But were
\captured by correctional officers
after two hours of crawling ar-
“ound in air vents at the Ellis Unit.

all members of the Sam Houston¢The two made dummies and

State University chapter of Am-s , placed them into their beds and

senesty International.
The protesters chanted: “Say’

ano to death row” and “Reject the—

; -made a cardboard grate to re-

'place-the one they had sawed
away to access the vents.

!

vend tat

¢ Adiw gre!
wk Ghey

fa bie

bobs


~_ +2 erm aw ee Q

a a

early” Wednesday -

onetime lounge singer
“and Elvis impersonator

12:17 “a.m,” Paster™ was”
entenced to death for
~ the 1980 contract killing
of a 38-year-old Houston.
“man. In addition, he also
was serving a life prison
erm: for the rape and:

1 OXAS,. woman.
a Ve

Satan Poersonitied, ”" was
“executed by injeclons :

Huntsville, | Texas. The

| —was- ‘pronounced dead at,

murder of an 18-year-oldl

G/2°/l 959

: ne Cynthia Johnson, 18, of Con-

Paster was condemned for the con-
tract shooting of Robert Edward |
- Howard, 38, of Houston, on Oct. 25, ©

> LeBlanc, 42, had paid Paster $1,000

‘9 er was tried for those crimes.

wn ee oe coe oramy ®

Slayer Executed .
In Texess —

‘

James Emery Paster, who had
been convicted of three slayings

-and admitted two others, was put to

death by injection early today in
Huntsville, Texas.

Paster, 44, ‘was pronounced
dead at 12:17 a.m. at the Texas De-
partment of Corrections Walls Unit. .

A former cook, lounge singer.
and. Elvis Presley impersonator, |

1980. Howard's. ex-wife, . Trudy:

and a motorcycle for the killing
She is serving a life prion term. | ot

‘Paster also was scnvicied of
roe and Diane Oliver, 27, of Chan-

“nelview, In addition, he ‘confesséd
to killing two other women but nev

ent

“ey Elvis genes tia executed. ;
bs, HUNTSVILLR, Texas — James Paster, described. a8 5
“Satan personified,” was executed by injection early
‘. Wednesday for one of five slayings he was accused of 25
- committing. a Be | ee,
Paster, 44, a onetime lounge singer and Elvis Presley te
impersonator, was sentenced to death in 1981 for the 1980 ae
contract killing of a 38-year-old Houston man. ©

| i - San i rancac Chori

me aes i eta

Sip See new wa wees see wee peprun ade!

ee

Press.

Compiled from the Los Gracies Times and The Associeled. :

~A4 The Arizona Republic ‘Thursday, September 21, 1989


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knees begging for mercy, a badly whipped

man. Both the sheriff’s hands were broken,

but he managed to drive his two prisoners

back to jail at Athens by steering with his
bows.

A few months ago an epidemic of petty
thievery broke out in Athens, and nothing
makes Sweeten more indignant than a sneak
thief, so he asked his friend, Rupert Craig,
the editor, to print this statement on the
front page of the Athens Review :

I AM GOING TO CATCH THE
‘CHEAP SNEAK THIEVES WHO
ARE DOING THE STEALING
‘AROUND TOWN, AND WHEN §I
GET THEM I AM GOING TO GIVE
‘THEM A PERSONAL WHIPPING.
(Signed) Jess Sweeten.

That -statement was enough. Before 24

et “ 12 hours had passed, three-fourths of the stolen

¢

‘on his own.

‘house of Mr. and Mrs. W. T. Ge

Property was returned, and no further thefts
occurred.

_ While denied most of the scientific advan-
tages which metropolitan police’ departments
take for granted, Sheriff Sweeten has studied
fingerprinting and scientific. crime detection
Some of his friends laughed at
that, but it has paid off.

Sweeten’s use of moulage broke one of the
cases that brought him wide acclaim. At
midnight on September 25, 1934, the farm-
rman, an
elderly couple, burned to the ground. The
bodies of the old couple were-found in the
smoking ruins. Everyone declared it was ac-
cidental—all except Jess Sweeten. é

“This is a plain case of murder,” he said,
after studying the positions of the bodies, “The
killer escaped .through that field behind the
house.”. And a little after sunup, sure enough,
Sweeten found a man’s tracks going off
through the field. They showed that the heel
was loose on the left shoe, antl he made a

plaster cast of the footprint.  ~

Pruitt appeared in a nearby community driv-
ing an automobile. Two white men sidled
over to talk to him about the car, thinking
‘Pruitt began to
run, and as it had been raining, his tracks

were plain. There in the mud, unmistakably,

Was the mark of the loose heel on the left
* shoe. ae

When Sheriff Sweeten arrived, he found
rman’s pocket knife hidden in the car. The

‘manhunt that began then and there is crimi-

nal history. Sheriff Sweeten broadcast
thousands of bulletins to every police depart-
ment in America. County funds were inad-
equate, so Sweeten spent his own salary—
then less than’ $300 a month—to travel 30,000
miles through 23 states, running down clues.

Jess knew the Negro he was looking for

and he swore to get him. He set a day-and-
night watch on the.home of Pruitt’s uncle in
Dallas, maintaining it ten months, and on the
night of March 11, 1936, 18 months after the

double murder, Elmer Pruitt walked into his

uncle’s house and into the welcoming arms

of the police. ;
Pruitt confessed to Sheriff Sweeten, nam-

ing Artie Cook and Hughey Fulton as his

accomplices. They had killed the helpless

old couple during a robbery, then fired the
house to.conceal the crime. - Pruitt paid in
the electric chair; Cook and Fulton are in
prison for life.

Bruce Henry, trucking contractor, came
out of the Dixie Theater one night to find
his car had been stolen. He telephoned Sheriff
Sweeten and, within 30 minutes Jess had a
description. of the twe thieves and knew they
were headed for’ El Paso, 710 miles South-
west. So he picked up Bruce and started on
their trail, with his uncanny manhunting in-

_ stinct working full blast. Sweeten came upon
_ the car parked beside the road, 420 miles from

home. One of the thieves popped out with
a pistol, but he threw it down when he recog-
nized the sheriff.. “Don’t shoot, Jess!” he
yelled. There have been very few automo-
bile thefts in Henderson County since then. ~

Four deliberate attempts have been made
to ambush Jess Sweeten. One grew out of
his mass arrests of eleven cattle rustlers.
Three other rustlers, heavily armed and vow-
ing vengeance, lay in wait for the sheriff
under a cotton gin, knowing he generally
passed there at noon. While they waited and

eagerly watched the road, Jess walked up

from the rear and arrested them.
On May 7, 1938, the sheriff and Dr. R. E.
Henderson, county autopsy surgeon, answered

_ a call to an outlying farm to find the head

of the house dead on the kitchen floor, shot
through the chest with a shotgun. His widow
had told neighbors he had killed himself in
her presence. Dr. Henderson was convinced

~ it was suicide, but Sheriff Jess Sweeten said

it was murder. ;

“Now tell me just what happened,” he said
gently to the widow. She went into a long
story and he let her finish. Then he said,
very quietly, “I want you to tell me whether
you killed your husband or if someone else
killed him, for I know he did not commit
suicide.”

Dr. Henderson says you could have cut
the silence with a knife. The woman could
not take her eyes from the sheriff’s face.
Finally she said, “Well, I'll tell you. I shot
him myself.” There were extenuating cir-
cumstances and she escaped with a six-year-

rison term. _ Sweeten says he first suspected
it was murder when he saw that the lethal
shotgun had been put in its proper place.
“And I knew no woman who had seen her
husband kill himself would put the gun back
on its rack,” he said. -:

H IS ASTOUNDING
McGeh

lich Jess is mact

Two nights later a Negro named Elmer-

ern Amer-.


@: officers throughout the state.

OWN IN HENDERSON COUNTY, in East Texas,
Sheriff Jess Sweeten is the law. In a turbulent country
where frontier blood still runs hot and strong, he’s been

the law for ten years, and he’s alive to tell the tale.
That’s something to wonder at, unless you know the sheriff.

He makes a beautiful target, being six feet and six. inches of

solid brawn, but he uses his brawn for other things than stopping

bullets. In fact, Sheriff Jess, as he is known, isn’t a bad hand
with a gun himself. He has been champion pistol shot of all the

sheriffs in Texas—numbering 254—since 1934.
With his two-silver-plated, ivory-handled .44’s he can split a

playing card held edgewise, or shoot the ash off a man’s cigarette

at thirty paces. But he has never killed a man yet. “And I’m

hoping I never have to,” he says., He has won, every gunfight

he has ever been in either by shooting the outlaw’s gun from

his hand or by wounding him, never mortally.
At 38, this rural cop has won the respect and admiration of
He is a shining example

: what a country policeman can do to rid his community of

rawlessness. And because a tough country breeds tough men and

demands tough tactics, he has had far greater hazards to face than
does the average officer. aoe
Sweeten would fool you if you didn’t know his reputation, for

™

“CRIME DOES NOT PAY in Henderson County, Texas—especially
Bince the advent of Sheriff Jess Sweeten (left). He doesn't
kill criminals. He just scares the cussedness out of them.
PATTON, George, elece, Texas, 7-30-1937 &

% Te fi LJ = s it
PRUITT, Elmer, eleCeys QexaSy 5-30-1937

_ YOU'VE SEEN SHERIFFS LIKE
THIS IN THE MOVIES, BUT TEXAS’

JESS SWEETEN IS STRICTLY A
i REAL-LIFE OFFICER

he is handsome in a he-man way. He smiles easily and often, and
his politeness, slow drawl and casual stride are oddly at variance
with the leashed dynamite packed away in his huge frame. He
seems almost shy, but he can be hard—and very hard—when

a

occasion demands it- Take for example his adventure with the

Bilkers (not their real name). a
They lived a few miles out of Athens, and they were a very

_ tough and reckless family. ‘Roy, one of the sons, was the worst

.

of the lot.. He had whipped every man in the district, had stolen
chickens and made himself a general nuisance. The constable
had dropped in twice to remonstrate with him, but each time
Roy had pulled a gun. The officer did not want to kill him. But
he was no coward himself, so he invited Sweeten in to lend a
hand, and Jess mapped out a plan to get Roy. :

“Let me out in the woods before we get to the house,” he told
the constable. “Then you go up to the door as usual, and when
that tough guy comes out I’ll take care of him.”

The constable agreed, albeit dubiously, and Sweeten, armed
with a 30-30 rifle, found a suitable ambush near the house. He
saw the constable fearlessly charge out with a ‘shotgun, and then
things began to happen fast. Bilker came out shooting. The
constable cleared a five-foot fence without touching. timber, and

(Continued on page 10)

INSIDE DETECTIVE, Volume 19, No. 4 April, 1944. Copyright, 1944, by W. A. Swanberg. Published monthly. Office of publication at Washington and South Avenues, Dunelfen, N. J.

Executive, editorial and sre elisa offices, 149 Madison Avenue, New York 16, N
Single copy price ten cents. Su
Dunellen, N. J

addressed envelope.

. Chicago advertising office,
cription in the United States $1.00 a year, foreign subscription $2.20
., under the Act of March 3, 1879. The publisher accepts no responsibility for the return of unsolicited material. All manuscripts should be accompanied by stamped, seff-

Avenue, Chicago 1, Ill. Printed in the U.S. A.
January 15, 1935, at the Post Office at

N. Michigan
a year. Entered as second class matter

’


a

See

sh

4 Be >

« chastened, mended
" Sweeten is especially proud that ‘the

“Bilker ran behind a smokehouse and

stood with his back to Jess Sweeten, not
50 yards distant. It would have been a

ridiculously easy shot, but the big sheriff -
held his fire, for he had no desire to kill

Roy Bilker either. “Throw down that
gun!” he shouted. Ae
Bilker whirled, fired and missed; and

d dodged to the opposite sidé of the smoke-

‘house, peering around the corner to get
another shot. Jess took deadly aim at the
corner of the building just in front of

the outlaw’s eyes, and the 30-30 barked. —

The bullet shattered the weathered wood
into a hundred whistling splinters, and a
lot of them lodged in Roy Bilker’s face.

_ . He fell backwards, dropping his gun. :
Jess charged him and took away the gun.

Another Bilker rushed to the rescue
with a shotgun, and Sweeten dropped him
cold with a right hook to the jaw. One
of the Bilker women came running, strik-
ing at Sweeten with a stick of cordwood.
Jess turned her over his knees and
spanked her where it did the most good.
_ After that, Sweeten and the constable
went through the Bilker house, unearth-
ing six more male Bilkers armed with
various types of artillery. At the end,
there were nine Bilkers in the Athens jail.

Roy, who started it all, turned out to be

‘.an army deserter and went to Leaven-

worth. All the others, now thoroughly
their ways, and

‘silver-haired father marched the whole
clan to the polls last year and saw to it
that they voted for Jess Sweeten for
sheriff. Y
Sweeten can be very tough with a gun
or his ham-size fists, but he does not
rely on physical force alone to keep the
law. On the night of July 2, 1938, a grim
mob formed in the courthouse square at

- Athens, the seat of. Henderson County.

It surged toward the jail in which the
sheriff lives with his family, and the
ominous roar of its coming brought
Sweeten out of bed. The mob, he knew,
had come to get Maceo Smith, 16, a col-
ored boy who had confessed attacking a
, white woman and was in that jail.

The angry mob burst into the jail’s
reception room, A deputy was there. He
grabbed for his gun, but the mobsmen
seized it and demanded the keys. The
deputy said he did not have the keys.

“Well, get ’em!” shouted the spokes-
man, waving a large pistol.

Across the hall the door to Sheriff
Sweeten’s living quarters opened and
the tall sheriff stepped forth. Every man
could see he was unarmed. He just stood
there looking at them for a moment. A
hush fell. When the sheriff spoke, his
voice was quiet but steel-edged. -

“Boys,” he said, “I have taken an
oath to protect my prisoner. I don’t want
any trouble with you, but I’m going to

| keep: my oath.”

He stood there. Feet shuffled, and a
-few men in the rear sidled out- the door,

Slowly, the crowd backed away, cand |

“¥e10 that was the end of it.

Defending the law is a natural heritage
of this remarkable officer. His grand-

father, Marian Sweeten, was a United |

States Marshal in the Indian Territory.
He and his wife were slain on May 3,
1883, in a gun fight with Belle and Sam
Starr, perhaps the deadliest outlaws the

border ever bred. Jess’ father, a Deputy
’ United States Marshal at 17, saw the

killing and swore vengeance. But he was
thwarted when Sam Starr and Frank
West killed each other in a pistol duel
and Belle died from a charge of birdshot
fired from ambush, presumably by her
own son. ;

Jess Sweeten was born at Stigler, Okla-
homa, a farming community. His earliest
plaything was a frontier .45. From both
his mother and his six-foot, red-haired
Irish father, he inherited a reverence for

the law. In 1930 he went to Trinidad, in

Henderson County, Texas, to work on a

construction job. Trinidad was a boom '
town; crowded with’ men who prided-

themselves on being hard. There was al-
ways a fight going on.

One evening young Sweeten saw a
gang of ruffians disarm and beat the night
watchman, and it thoroughly disgusted
him. “If I was a peace officer,” he told his
pals in the drug store, “things would

sure be different around here.”

The worried druggist overheard him.
Two days later a group of business men
offered him $125 a month and commis-
sions (four dollars for each arrest) to
become deputy constable and clean up
their town. They knew they were offer-
ing him a terrible job, but they believed
he could do it, and he did not disappoint
them.

Sweeten was then 27. He sailed into
the job with both fists, disdaining even a
nightstick, and no one submitted peace-
fully. A mere tap on the shoulder was a
signal for a fight. Jess never has equaled
the record he set one night that year—
60 fights and 60 arrests between dusk and
dawn. Then he was summoned to Athens
as chief deputy sheriff, and 18 months
later was elected high sheriff by a land-
slide of votes. He took office on January
‘1, 1933. :

Once last year Sweeten received a
telephone call from Trinidad. “The next
time you come to town, Sweeten,” said a
sinister voice on the wire, “there’s two of
us boys is fixin’ to kill you!”

It is 14 miles from Athens to Trinidad,
and the sheriff was there in 11 minutes.
He walked up and down the main street
until his foes jumped him. Jess knocked
a knife from one man’s hand, a pistol
from the hands of the other. The battle
lasted for 30 minutes, and -when it ended,
one bad man was in the gutter with a
broken jaw and a fractured skull. The
other was on his (Continued on page 12)


famous. The McGehees were itinerant share-
croppers. All four of them—J. W. McGehee,
25, his wife, Carrie Everett McGehee, 21, and
their children, Doyle, 4, and Bobbie, 2—dis-
appeared from the farm of George Patton in
November, 1932. Patton was a substantial,
55-year-old rancher in Sand Flat Community,
eight miles north of Athens.

__ Murder had been suspected and Patton
had been questioned before Sheriff Sweeten
took office, but nothing could be proved.
However, Sweeten was convinced that Pat-
ton had killed the: McGehee family, and in
1933 he began to pay regular weekly visits
to the Patton farm. These seemed to be no
more than neighborly calls, but this human
bloodhound had the scent, and each call the
sheriff asked a few questions.

A year passed, two years, three. Every
week the sheriff’s questioning became a little
more intense, and although Patton did not
realize it, he had told a number of conflicting
stories in these friendly conversations. Still,
without the bodies Sweeten could prove no
crime.

Late in February, 1936, the sheriff thought
the time was right, so he arrested Patton
and accused him of murder. The surprised
farmer was indignantly defiant. “I know
you killed that McGehee family,” the sheriff
told him bluntly, “and I am going to prove
it. You're going to tell me where ‘to find
their bodies, too.”

For 15 days and 15 sleepless nights, the re-

lentless questioning went on. Time after
time Patton seemed on the verge of breaking,
but he never did. Many of the officers came
to doubt Patton’s guilt. Only Sweeten, hol-
low-eyed and grim, remained confident.
He let Patton sleep on the 16th night, and
next morning the farmer summoned him.
“Jess,” the prisoner said, “if you'll’ protect
me, I'll tell you the whole truth,” and the
sheriff agreed.
Patton led him to the cow barn at his own
home. “This is the place,” he said.
Within an hour they had disinterred the
skulls and portions of the bodies of the four
McGehees. Patton said he had slain the par-
ents with an iron bar, strangled the older boy
with his hands, and beaten the baby’s head
against a large rock. He even produced the
iron bar and the rock, both of which were
bloodstained. Patton committed this hideous
mass murder, he confessed, after he and Mc-
Gehee got in a fight over the latter’s failure
to husk 40 bushels of corn. While the two
men were battling, McGehee’s family rushed
to his rescue, so Patton killed them all.
Sheriff Sweeten kept his word about pro-
tecting this cold-blooded killer. When a

lynching mob marched on the jail one night, .

he spirited Patton out of town, for he had
a hunch that this was one mob that would not
listen.

Patton was duly tried and convicted, and
on April 30, 1937, marched to the electric
chair at Huntsville. “You're a good man,
Jess Sweeten,” he said as they adjusted the
electrodes, “and may God save my soul from
eternal fire.”

Editorial praise was showered down upon
Sheriff Sweeten from all parts of the nation,
but none struck a more sincere key than that
sounded by the Los Angeles Times, when
it said “The admiration and respect of every
law-abiding American should go out to the
young sheriff of a remote Texas county...
We never before heard of Jess Sweeten, but
he sounds and acts like a man. We would
like to see a framed picture of him in the
office of every sheriff in the land.”

And the good people of Henderson County.
Droud of “Sheriff Jess,” agree that it would
be a pretty good idea.

Eprror’s Nore: Sheriff Sweeten’s record
of never having killed a man no longer
Stands. In a running gunfight with a kid-
naper recently, the sheriff was forced to kill
Or be killed himself. The sheriff is still alive.

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SING A SONG OF MURDER...

This gunman didn't aim his pistol and bellow "Stick 'em up!". No—this
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“Well, spill it out, man!”

“Just about the time the McGehees
disappeared,” the informant said slowly,
“I bought a mattress from George Pat-
ton. It was soaked with blood.”

“Why were you so long in telling me
this?” Sweeten demanded.

“Well, I didn’t want to make any
trouble. Something like this takes a
heap of thinking over.”

“Let’s go,” the sheriff said springing
to his feet.

“Where?”

“To your place. I want to have a look
at that mattress.”

“I haven’t got it any more.”

Sheriff Sweeten slumped back into
his chair. “What did you do with it?”
he said slowly, trying not to lose his
patience.

“IT sold it to a fellow lives over in
Frost,” the informant said.

Sweeten left quickly and drove at
top speed to the little town of Frost
some 50 miles away. He located the
purchaser of the mattress without diffi-
culty only to learn that he, in turn, had
sold the mattress to a third person.
Just before midnight Sweeten located
the current owner of the bedding. The
mattress was indeed bloodstained. The
sheriff gave the man some money and
stowed the thing in the back of his car.

Bright and early the next morning
Sweeten was at Patton’s ranch. He con-
fronted the rancher with his new find.

The grizzled suspect rubbed the sleep
out of his eyes and glanced at the bloody
mattress. A slight smile creased his thin
lips.

“Recognize this mattress?” the inves-
tigator said.

“Sure. Where’d you dig that up?”

“Never mind that, just tell me how
it got bloody.”

“Well, it’s not McGehee’s blood, if
that’s what you’re thinking,” Patton
said, beginning to get angry.

“Convince me.”

“That’s my cousin’s blood,” the
rancher explained. “Do you remember
he was a constable here a few years
back?”

Sweeten nodded.

“He got shot by a bootlegger. He
crawled to my doorstep and died on
that mattress.”

Now that the incident was retold,
the sheriff recalled it clearly. He was
completely deflated and angry to look
like such a fool before the man he was
convinced murdered the McGehees.

“Okay, George,” he said. “But one
of these days I’m going to find out the
truth.”

“When you do,” Patton said, glaring,
“you'll know enough to leave me alone.”

Sweeten’s irrational conviction that
the rancher was guilty could not be
Shaken. For two years more the case lay
buried in the unsolved files. But in the
sheriff's mind it was stored away in an
easily accessible place and it nagged

_him constantly. When the next piece of

the jig-saw puzzle finally was found it
was in a most casual way.

- Rumors had filtered down to Sweeten
that an illegal still was Operating up in
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the hills. His investigation took him
past the Patton ranch. On a hunch,
driven by an obsession, perhaps, of the
rancher’s guilt, he decided to stop by
Patton’s place. Sheriff Sweeten found
neither the rancher nor his pretty “kins-
man,” Emmy Lou at home. The in-
vestigator poked around a bit and then
stopped to watch the chickens in their
pen. His attention was caught by the
kingpin rooster pecking at something
in the ground. :

The rooster was pulling at what ap-
peared to be a blue rag protruding from
the mire. Sweeten watched in amused
concentration. Suddenly, his smile fad-
ed and his eyes lit up. Shooing the bird
away he took a closer look at the rag
and his suspicion was confirmed. It
was the sleeve of a blue denim work
shirt.

The sheriff snatched a pitchfork and
dug the shirt out. The fabric was rot-
ted, the buttons discolored and rusty
and it was encrusted with dirt. When
some of the mouldy earth was shaken
off the garment a large brown stain was
revealed. Sweeten knew a bloodstain
when he saw one.

His musings were broken by the
sound of an ancient auto chugging up
the road behind him. The investigator
concealed the shirt behind his back
and walked around to the front of the
house where the auto had just come to
a halt.

EORGE Patton climbed out of the
old Ford followed by a shapely
young brunette carrying a brown paper
bag. The rancher stopped dead when
he caught sight of Sweeten. He whisper-
ed something to the girl and she hurried
into the house.

“What happened to Emmy Lou?”
Sweeten asked innocuously.

“She left,” Patton said shortly.

“Who’s that girl?”

“My new wife,” the rancher said.
“We've just come from the preacher.”

“Why, that girl’s young enough to be
your granddaughter,” the sheriff taunt-
ed.

“There’s no law against it; and besides
it’s none of your damn business!”

- Patton glared at Sweeten for a mo-
ment. “I haven’t got time to stand
around here and jaw with you on my
wedding day,” he said then. “State your
business and get out of here.”

“Okay, George,” Sweeten said, show-
ing the shirt.

The rancher stared at it in amaze-
ment, obviously somewhat taken aback
by its sudden reappearance. “Where’d
you get that?” he asked weakly.

“Where you put it. In the chicken
pen,” the sheriff answered. “Notice the
blood on it? How’d that blood get
there, George? Who’s blood js it?”

“Why, you poor fool,” Patton said.
“After all these years you still think I
killed the McGehees.”

“What about the shirt, George?”
Sweeten asked, his voice growing hard.

“That’s my cousin’s shirt. It’s his
blood on it.”

“Why did you bury it?”

“After my cousin got all shot up and
64

Texas “farmhouse” where family and killer lived, and former were slain, cut up.

died in my house I just didn’t want it
around,” the rancher replied evenly.

“You'll have to do better than that,”
the sheriff said coldly. “If your cousin
was shot in this shirt, then how come
there’s no bullet hole in it?”

Patton said nothing. .

The investigator turned on his heel
and stalked away.

“Is that all?” Patton called after him
uneasily.

“No, that’s not all,” Sweeten shouted
without turning around. “I’m going to
find out whose blood this is and then
I’m coming back for you.”

“T’ll be here.”

The denim work shirt was size 14%
and it did not take the sheriff long to
establish that it was not Patton’s cousin’s
shirt. The deceased constable was a big
man who normally wore a size 17 shirt.
A call to Johnny’s mother revéaled that
the missing ranch hand had been just
the right size to have worn a 14% shirt.

In the four years since Johnny Mc-
Gehee and his family had disappeared
this was the first tangible bit of evidence
that Sheriff Sweeten had been able to
dig up. Now the lawman worked swiftly.
With the aid of the Texas Rangers he
located Emmy Lou, Patton’s “cousin.”
She had returned to her parents in
Oklahoma after falling from the ranch-
er’s affections.

The woman was reluctant to talk,
but finally Sweeten got something out
of her. She said that Patton had men-
tioned the McGehees only once, and
that time had been when he was drunk.
According to Emmy Lou, Patton had
told her the alleged story of the family’s
disappearance. The rancher had said
that one day a’gang of bootleggers had
driven up in a truck. Johnny went out
and spoke with them. A few moments
later a fight broke out and the ranch
hand was shot. When Carrie McGehee
rushed out with one baby in her arms

and the other following behind, the
bootleggers gunned them down. The
gang put the four bodies in the truck
and drove off.

ie was a fantastic story and Sweeten
had difficulty believing it. He asked
Emmy Lou why Patton had not inform-

ed the sheriff’s office. The woman ex-

plained that she had asked the rancher
the same question and he had told her
that he didn’t want to be mixed up with
the law or with the murderous boot-
leggers.

Sheriff Sweeten rushed back to Athens
and with aid from the Rangers arrested
George Patton and took him to the bar-

racks at Tyler. With the rancher be-

hind bars, the sheriff, and Deputies
John Gregory and Dan Hines went to
the ranch with shovels and dug up the
chicken pen.

At 11 o’clock that night they re-

turned to the barracks and with the aid. _

of Ranger Captain T. M. McCormick,
began grilling the suspected murderer.

“George Patton,” Sweeten said, “I
charge you with the murders of John
McGehee, Carrie McGehee, Doyle Mc-
Gehee, aged four and Bobby McGehee,
aged two.”

“I hope you have more to go on than
what you’ve been using to hound me
with these last years,” the rancher said
sardonically.

“We do,” replied the sheriff, produc-
ing the bloody shirt. “For one thing, it’s
not your cousin’s, It’s too small.”

“I still say that shirt belonged to my
cousin,” Patton insisted. ;

“Did these belong to your cousin,
too?” the lawman asked, taking out
and placing on the desk a pair of baby’s
shoes, a child’s jumper, a broken toy
and a woman’s slip, All these items
were bloodstained.

SEE pe NSE hie stint 2c

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The rancher’s face went white and os

he did not respond.

AMAZING DETECTIVE.


knew nothing about the McGehees or
their disappearance.

The sheriff took advantage of Patton’s
absence to have a look around the farm-
house. The place was sparsely furnished
with seedy furniture, about average for
that part of the country. His interest was
aroused when he entered a bedroom that
was neat, with the bed made, in con-
trast to the other bedroom that was a
mass of tangled sheets, blankets and
other debris. Something on the wall of
that room caught Sweeten’s attention.
Moving closer, he noticed that it was
pock-marked by shotgun pellets at a
point about waist high. The investigator
Started to pry some of the spent lead
out of the wall with his pen knife.

“Looking for something, Sheriff?” a
voice interrupted from behind.

The investigator spun around and
was confronted by George Patton, a
mean glare in his eye and a loaded
shotgun clenched tightly in his hand.

“Yeah,” said the sheriff, extending a
palm containing three spent pellets.
“How did these get in your wall?”

“Shot at a cat one night. Missed him,”

the rancher replied without expression. -

“Waist high?” Sweeten asked, doubt-
ful. “Was it climbing the wall?”

“Yeah.”

“Is this the room the ‘'McGehees
slept in?”

Patton nodded.

“Did you kill them here?” Sweeten
suddenly shot out.

“Hold on a minute,” the rancher

. Said without blinking an eye. “First of

all, who says they’re dead? Did you
find their bodies?”

“No.”

“Then you’ve got no call asking a
question like that.”

“O.K.,” the sheriff said evenly, “but
if you did do it, I’m going to nail you.”

Sweeten turned on his heel and walk-
ed out, angry with himself for losing
his temper with the rancher. After all,
he had nothing to prove that the Mc-
Gehees were dead and certainly nothing
to lead him to suspect the 50-year-old
rancher. As he walked away, the inves-
tigator’s anger mounted. Suddenly he
turned and said, “George, I’m going to
take you down to headquarters for
questioning.”

“Suits me,” the rancher replied even-
ly.
Sweeten had George Patton arrested
and placed in a cell. Then he rounded
up a posse and went back to the ranch
he had just come from. The men started
to dig. They dug for three days and
did not find a single thing. At the end
of that period George Patton was re-
leased.

They had nothing on which to hold
him. The rancher might have shot at a
cat as he claimed and John McGehee
and his family might have just dropped
from sight for some undisclosed reason.

Though Sheriff Sweeten was distract-
ed by other duties in the course of the
next few months the mystery lingered
always in the back of his mind. He
mulled over his suspicions and recalled
the nagging uneasiness he felt when he
62 :

spoke to George Patton. Unfortunately,
all the sheriff had to go on were his
suspicions, and they were not enough.

In July of that year Sweeten got a
tip which stirred him into action on
the case again. One of George Patton’s
neighbors presented himself at head-
quarters and informed the sheriff that
a new and unmarked grave had appear-
ed overnight in a cemetery a stone’s
throw from the Patton ranch. As far
as Sweeten knew there had been no
deaths in the area and no funerals.

“Exactly how far is that cemetery
from Patton’s place?” the sheriff de-
manded. .

“Less than half a mile.”

Sweeten reached for his hat and the
pair left. After stopping at the inform-
ant’s cabin for shovels they drove
straight to the cemetery. They found the
fresh, unmarked grave easily and the
soft, newly-turned earth was excavated.
Some minutes of digging exposed the
plain pine lid. With mounting’ tension
and expectancy Sweeten pried off the
cover with his shovel.

The nails squeaked as they came out
of the soft pine. The sheriff raised the
cover and peered anxiously into the cof-
fin. Then with a sigh of disappointment
he let the lid drop back into place.

“It’s not Johnny McGehee,” Sweeten

Said.

Instead of the decaying remains of

Killer boiled bodies in these pots, destroying most evidence, burying rest. :

the missing ranch hand, an aged tramp,
who could not have been dead for more
than 24 hours, reposed in the coffin.
The cemetery attendant was found at his
home and he produced genuine burial
papers for the tramp. The attendant
confirmed that the body they had just
exhumed had been placed’ there the
previous evening after the tramp had
been found dead in a back alley.

Pe nameless soul was again sealed
in his coffin and re-buried. The sher-
iff was angry at this false tip and angry
at himself for having jumped at it. He
could have saved himself a lot of trou-
ble had he gone to the attendant first
instead of impetuously rushing out and
tearing up the grave.

While he was on it, Sweeten checked
with Johnny’s mother and learned that
she still had had no word from her son.
A call to the Rangers at Tyler revealed
that that agency had turned up no new
evidence. Sweeten went back to his
other work.

Two months later, in September,
what looked like the hottest lead of all
came in. Another neighbor of Patton’s
went to the sheriff and asked if he still
suspected that George Patton had done
away with the McGehees.

“Yes, I do,” the sheriff replied.
“Why?”

“I think I’ve got something for you.”

AMAZING DETECTIVE


“TI don’t understand,” the mother said.
She shook her head and tears started
to form at the corners of her eyes.
“Why hasn’t he written us. It’s over
three months since we last heard from
him. That’s unlike John.”

Sweeten fired a loaded statement at
the woman. “Patton told me that John-
ny mentioned that he didn’t get along
with his folks and that was the reason
he was leaving.”

The woman’s head sagged as if she
had been dealt a physical blow. “But
that’s not true,” she protested. “Johnny
loved his family. There were no hard
feelings between us.”

Now the sheriff knew that there was
something fishy in Johnny’s disappear-
ance. “How did your boy get along
with Carrie’s folks?”

“Fine. They never had any trouble.”

“Have they heard from Carrie?”

“No.”

“When did you last hear from John-
ny?”

“About Thanksgiving.”

“And that was the last time and he
said nothing about moving away?” the
sheriff asked.

“No,” the mother said, beginning to

sob, “and he even mentioned that he’d -

see me at Christmas. That doesn’t sound
like he was planning to go away, does
it?”

Sweeten said nothing but admitted to
himself that it certainly didn’t seem as
if Johnny McGehee was planning to
take a trip.

The distraught parent left and Sweet-
en was more disturbed than ever. He
got into his car and drove out toward
the Patton ranch again. He didn’t stop
there, though. Instead he questioned
every neighbor of George Patton.

The sheriff asked the same questions
at each of his stops. Had there been
any trouble between Patton and John
McGehee? Had anyone seen the truck
that was supposed to have taken them
away? At each place these questions
met with no’s. At the end of that day
Sweeten had the impression that the
McGehees were a likable young couple,
very much in love with each other.
According to all those questioned, young
Johnny was not a drinking man.

George Patton, on the other hand,
had a reputation among his neighbors
as being surly and somewhat girl-
crazy. That was no cause for suspicion,
however.

The sheriff drove back to town and
contacted the Texas Rangers at their
station in Tyler. He outlined what little
information he had on the family’s dis-
appearance and asked them to conduct
a search as far as Mobile.

HREE weeks later the Rangers re-

ported that they had found no trace
of the McGehee family. In those three
weeks Sweeten had questioned just about
every living soul in the area around
the Patton farm. No one could think of
any reason why the young hand should
suddenly take off for parts unknown
with his family. As far as anyone knew,
Johnny McGehee had never been in any
AMAZING DETECTIVE ©

Mother wondered why he stopped writing.

trouble with the law and had no reason
to flee on that account. It was time for
another talk with George Patton, the
sheriff decided.

Sweeten got a break on this second
visit. George was out and he had a
chance to talk with the slow-witted
Emmy Lou alone. She was not bright
enough to lie to him, the sheriff knew.
After a few moments of conversation
the investigator was convinced that she

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\
}

ict was ridiculous,” cried
rd. His cheeks sunken, his
jutting out, looking for all
<e an Old Testament pro-
: father-in-law told repor-

»r been for vengeance. I
d him (Abbott) to get the
ted to see him put away,
re he can’t hurt anyone.
on an island. Give him a
3ut don’t let this guy walk
gain!”

.e does will be largely up to
ig, Who ordered pre-
isychiatric tests on Abbott
‘uary 24th for sentencing.
:, however, the Manhattan
rney’s office petitioned the
{ Abbott a “persistent vio-
which, under New York
»uld make a minimum of 10
in prison mandatory.
ttorney Fisher notified the
.e would oppose any such

g a further hearing, his en-
1 the balance, Jack Henry
eturned to his jail cell, one
requested, solitary con-
the Brooklyn House of De-
t he will be returned to the
Beast is not a question. All
to be answered is, for how
kek

JITOR’S NOTE:

inand Roberta Lester are
names of the persons so
e foregoing story. Fictiti-
have been used because
reason for public interest
ities of these persons.

(from page 18)

‘rant, District Attorney
Imes filed a complaint
ord X. Phillips, alias Ab-
for felony arson in setting
indoned building.

sday evening, February
zeles police called head-
ouston. The call was taken
t Mason.

your man and his girl
APD detective said. “She’s
tatement saying she was
en he set the fire in the

it Phillips?” Mason asked.
a long pause and then the
ifthe LAPD detective said,
at wrapped up for you, too.
d to the murder and says
tradition. How come you
et so lucky?”

3 because we sweat a lot,”
1. “And we’ve sweated this

TP ttm tegen Tot eer A is

~ one out real good.”

Returned to Houston, Phillips
granted an interview to reporters with
the Houston Post newspaper in which
he allegedly admitted slaying Mrs. Siff
and said that he felt no remorse for the
crime.

“It was either her or me who would
die,” he was quoted as saying.

Phillips, according to the news ac-
count, said he intended only to
burglarize Mrs. Siff's office when he en-
tered the building, using his knowledge
he had gained as a security guard. He
said he needed money to pay his rent
and to buy food and drugs for himself
and his girlfriend.

Mrs. Siff was typing at her desk when
he arrived, Phillips was quoted as say-
ing. “I reached my hand into the room
and clicked the light off. I asked her for
moaey. That’s all I wanted. Before I
knew it, the woman was at my chest.”

Mrs. Siff screamed at him to get out
and then kicked him, the news account
reported. “I started holding her hands
and choking her so she’d stop. I told her
all I wanted was money. After that I
don’t know what happened. A surge of
fear came over me... it was her life or
mine.”

Phillips was quoted as saying that he
feared that either Mrs. Siff or the police
would kill him and he grabbed a tele-
phone cord and choked the woman. “She
didn’t give me no kind of choice. She just
fought. After she went down, I felt re-
lievéd inside. I didn’t feel remorseful as
though I’d done an awful thing, perhaps
because she struggled and I was actu-
ally fighting for my life.”

Phillips concluded the interview, ac-
cording to the news account, by saying,
“In those few seconds just fighting with
her... her inner spiritual strength was
so great in that moment... and her will
to live... and her will to fight .. . there
was great strength ... and I had great
admiration for her.”

District Attorney Homes presented
the state’s case to a grand jury on Feb-
ruary 17th. Phillips’ girlfriend testified
for 30 minutes. The jury returned an
indictment alleging Phillips strangled
Mrs. Siff with his hands and a cord.

At a preliminary hearing on the
charge, Clifford Phillips was ordered
held without privilege of bond pend-
ing further legal proceedings.

Under the law Phillips is entitled to
the presumption of innocence until such
time as he may be judged at a fair trial.

kek

EDITOR’S NOTE:

Arnold Byers is not the real name of
the person so named in the foregoing
story. A fictitious name has been used
because there is no reason for public
interest in the identity of this person.

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SECT TTT Ti i th) a SraTe te

Official Detective 75

é

Texas Executes Killer
Of a Theater Director

HUNTSVILLE, Tex., Dec. 15 (AP) —
A former security guard at a Houston

| playhouse ‘was executed by injection

early today for strangling the theater’s
director during a holdup.

The convict, Clifford X. Phillips, 59,
went to his death hours after the Su-
preme Court refused to block the exe-
cution.

Mr. Phillips was convicted in the
1982 murder of Iris Siff at the Alley
Theater. Mrs. Siff, 58, was working late
on a government grant application

\| when she was strangled with a tele-
-phone cord.

Mr. Phillips had been dismissed as a

" guard a few weeks earlier for sleeping

on the job.

His lawyers had argued that Mr. -

Phillips, who is black, was a victim of
racial discrimination. The jury was all-
white and the victim was white.

Mr. Phillips had served seven years
in prison in New York State for killing
his 3-year-old son in 1970 by forcing
water down the child’s throat. The
child’s body was found in a suitcase. He
was also accused of beating his daugh-
ter into a vegetative state.

“Enough is enough is enough,”’ Jo-.

seph Siff, Mrs. Siff’s son, said on Tues-

+ day. ‘This man has had three strikes.

As far as I’m concerned he’s given up.

his rights to the potential for rehabilita-
tion, by his own actions.”’

- Mr. Phillips gave a rambling final
statement that lasted nearly five min-
utes. In it he expressgd love for his
wife, gave thanks to llah and ex-
pressed remorse for the slaying.

NEW YORK TUES 12-16-93. PAGE BUF

Npaid/ns &

PHILLIPS, Clifford, LI TX (Harris) DEc. 15 1993

Us OS

Texas ex sae man hans killed

noted Houston theater director

Associated Press

HUNTSVILLE, Texas — A New
York man was executed early
Wednesday for the 1982 robbery-
slaying of a prominent Houston the-
ater director.

Clifford X. Phillips, 59, was pro-
nounced dead at 12:53 a:m., 10 min-
utes after the lethal drugs began
flowing into his arm.

Mr. Phillips had a rambling final
Statement that lasted nearly five
minutes. In it he expressed love for
his wife, gave thanks to Allah and
expressed remorse for the killing.

“It was a very unfortunate situa-
tion. Only God know it was an unin-
tentional situation that took place,”
he said. “I want to express remorse
to the family for causing such dis-
comfort in their lives. Only God
will determine if I be that type of

guilty or innocent person as news-
papers and media made me to be.”

The execution was delayed for
about 30 minutes because prison of-
ficials had difficulty finding a suit-
able vein in which to insert the
lethal drugs.

Mr. Phillips was executed for the
Jan. 12, 1982, murder of Iris Siff at
Houston's Alley Theater.

In September, Mr. Phillips,
whose record included murdering
his 3-year-old son and severely beat-
ing a daughter, came within a few
hours of execution before the pun-
ishment was blocked by a federal
judge. —

Mr. Phillips’ attorneys said their
client, who was black, was unfairly
convicted and sentenced to death
by an all-white jury. The slaying
victim -was white.

flue (§ (9 (3

ve 5, 1 b
?

ee once,

fore being put to death
while technicians Strug-
Sled to insert a fatal needle
into his arm.

Clifford Phillips, 58, was
Scheduled to die late Tues-
day night for the 1982
Strangulation of a Houston
theater Manager,.

That cleared the way for

Phillips to become the 17th

man this year to be exe.

Carries out Sentences by le-
thal injection,

However, Clifford's ex-
ecution was delayed be-
Cause prison Officials haq
i ding veins in
his arms Suitable for the
needle.

Phillips was Pronounced
dead 10 minutes after the

In May 1970 the boy’s
body was found in a Bronx
lot, stuffed in a suitcase,

Phillips beat the toddler
€cause he Sucked his
thumb.

The Couple, described by
Prosecutors ag drug ad-
dicts, had already been in-
dicted for beating their 5-

In Texas, Phillips be.
came a security guard at
Houston’s Alley Theater,

But in 1982 the Manager,
Tris Siff, was found dead in

_her office, strangled with a

telephone cord.
Police,
Phillips confessed to kjj]-

prison Chaplain.
Shortly before’ his death
he made a rambling state-
ment, Saying: “Only God
knows it was an uninten-
tional Situation that took
Place.
“I want to express re-
morse to the family for
Causing such discomfort in

Which we live kept [Phil-

lips] alive for 11

years of

think that's unfortunate,”
Post Wire Services

more

appeals and ]°

Com tani, —_

CES



Gree acreyeeenes est eeseinemncnstnsiena i anemait Ao nr Ao ee ee ee a Re te eameeeerney neni nnn

ing sworn testified for the State as follows: ak

2i
I ax the assistant manager of the Imperial State Farm, |
The corning .that-Davis_:ags-killed_we were .working.at.Sugarland, = ou
we had sore worx at Sugarland, when one of the crivers came up and

reportea that the-negro-Jessie Davis-was dead duwn there by a -bridse.-—
I went Gown to investigate it and fou-d hir. dead. Hewas hit both

in the sront and-back-of-the: head veka some biunt instrument. ----=
we Gidnt know who did it at the tix I began to investigate the
trusties and fund out tht this negro that was killed | was Sup Osed to
have secre cone; on hir in fact about 9i4.10 and that’ he had four dolla
anc ten cants in dines and it was reprted to me that sar Phillips ~~
had lost seven dires out there the same morning in a crap game. . :
and aiso that he did not eat any breakfast that morning with the other
trusties,. which. caused.me to suspicion hin... Right before dinner... >
Friday i toox hi:. off the coito. wagon and put hi... in the building
and searched hime—I-thinkx it was--twent;fow-dines-I-s0t -off -hin----._.
and a pocxet xnife ‘that bel-enged to the negro Jessie Bavis that was

kiited then f-went—to-search hin he-threwwthe-knife-in-the REE
toilet and I had-another:.negro to. get the knife out. He firsts 2

tried tS irplicate two OtKEF “negroes In it butafter coor tt-att upon —
hirself after we-got Bit to" jailscs.No force was used:to make hin. make.

this conression.:

‘
.
<
1
foarte vs
4
. }
lee inne - " ors a Wa ce lle IN
: 23
‘
»
oa
« > 43.2 “ f
bss % iy ex. et SPY ite rae gti PET bee EAN ACIS ee MRD
Vee ¢ at ws wt. aha RG Av et oe . rae i ‘ FIRS po Aganich a) : A of . ° i. > * abn Om
: Ett Z ev Pet aba nian bihdi aed DT 2 JA Shalt Tae ioe des Sil Sc steele


Before our CoURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS, on the LL day of

oe

the cause upon appeal to revise or reverse your J udgment between
a PQ PP : . werd : y :

| Appellant__,

ee
tyveagt
; :
iv y

], ‘
soe

“Lf The State of Texas,

#

Appellee__,

>

VS pera hs
q

-3

Sgfin

was determined; and therein our said CourT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS made its order in these. words: -

ad

“This cause came on to be heard on the transcript of the eacavd of the Court below, and the same e being

rectal because it is the opinion of this Court that there was no error in the judgment. It is ordered,
adjudged and decreed by the Court that the judgment be in all things affirmed, and_thetabhe=seseilemt—nay

atheostesathischebaiteememiad, and that this decision be certified below for observance.”

WHEREFORE, We command you to observe the Order of our said COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS in this

behalf and in all things to have it duly recognized, obeyed and executed.
boty

WITNESS, the Hon. W. C. Morrow, Presiding Judge of our said COURT OF

APPEALS, with the. Seal thereof annexed, at the City of Austin, this

S Lom La Fase Qitl”

Clerk.

Va, Le

Deputy Clerk.


-B18

The Arizona Republic

pu Ze

Associated Press ‘

HUNTSVILLE, Texas — A 23-
year-old man, who would have been
the youngest inmate executed since
capital punishment resumed in
1976, escaped the death chamber
when the U.S. Supreme Court
issued an indefinite stay Monday
hours before he was to receive &,
lethal injection.

Jay Kelly Pinkerton had been
scheduled to‘die early today for
murdering two Amarillo women.
The court issued the reprieve while
it considers whether jurors opposed
to the death penalty can be ex-
cluded from capital cases.

It was the second time in three

months that Pinkerton had re-

Court stays execution

ceived a reprieve from his death
sentence. In August, the high court
voted. 6-2 to block Pinkerton’s
execution while it decided whether
to hear an appeal. The court later
refused to consider his appeal,
allowing a Texas judge to set
another execution date.

Pinkerton’s attorney, Dean
Roper of Amarillo, had appealed
again to the high court earlier
Monday, saying it was unconstitu-
tional for jurors opposed to the
death penalty to be excluded.

_‘ Within the past month, the --

Supreme Court has stayed two
other executions while it hears

of 23-year-old 3

“TUE Solar Ah TPH HESS

similar arguments in an Arkansas’
case.
Roper said he has 90 days to file
a petition with the high court for a
review of Pinkerton’s case.
“There’s a wide spectrum ‘of
things the court could do if they

found jury selection was unconsti-.

tutional,” Roper said. “One of those

could be a new trial. Another could |

be to reform sentence.”

The baby-faced convict, a former.

apprentice meatcutter, faced lethal
injection for the October 1979
mutilation death of Sarah Donn
Lawrence. He also was convicted of
the similar slaying five months later

at the time of Lawrence’s killing.

of Sherry Welch. Pinkerton was 17 [-..

“=

"HUNTSVILLE - Jay. Kelly Pinkerton, 2h, p
a) s$

execution,

16, 1986~ (134-6. )

pansiehietasetet hata aie,

rayed to A
He raped, murdered Amarillo onan OSA TODAY, bac
4 3s . PY

« 6c ¥ py
9goT “ST ABW Sexe] uoTQOefUT TBUugeT fle feqtum Sk tTey Lee ‘NOLUHYNId

*“SexX8], — NOLYAYNTI


PINKERTON, Jay, white, @ethal injection, Texas 5-15-1986.

2
Ma i ‘ceaveneiny Oy Kab Patan 3 3
be fe ene of one woman and the: xan er he et ren, Poker
1
be ay Sa t
$ ba Ss :
‘ - =e ny Pinkerton, 4, ras promnced dead A 1225 am. si Bop the execution. ° : é
“POSS. Assistant Attorney General Monroe Clayton, just hours f
nite Pinkerton, an tpyeeica meat cutter, was executed for
: infers See reed oly judges Bam hen! sppeel hart caarered by raping and mutilating Sarah Donn Lawrence in 1979 during :
Sie af hiner motes BE GS a foe a burglary of her Amarillo home when he was 17 years old. é
oe Rae ks , Mrs. Lawrence, 30, was stabbed more than 50 times and her a
tS wna dpe: , - throat’ was slashed ry Wah 25 of Arar, who a al
ata» Sherry .W 25, of Amarillo, who was ,
. “Yes “Be strong for me," Prion tl biter want rete tabbed while working in a furniture store. Sal se to
SRRTER tama bo everybody on the phe 1 pot 00 Ga ec _.. Even before the final appeals were rejected Gov. Mark Pd w
= ly on the phone. I got to talk to Mom. * i J
Let goodbye to Mom. Keep your spirits up for me” Sa White announced he would not halt the execution, calling
SRY Panes m0 oF the knoe val ah belo exten re
SOs ‘The US. Supreme Court on Wednesday twice refed to imaginable.” Pie he
° en! ‘ates “4 sh

THURSDAY, MAY 15, 1986

Montgomery, Ala.

She Advertiser

Court Clears Way for Execution

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — The
mother of condemned killer Jay Kel-
ly Pinkerton delivered a desperate
-appeal from her son to a federal
judge late Wednesday, hours after
-the U.S. Supreme Court refused to

_block his scheduled execution.

“Tt’s a motion filed by Pinkerton
himself,” said his lawyer, Dean Rop-
er. “It’s unusual but it’s legitimate. It
primarily deals with trial procedures
and evidence at the time of trial.”

A federal judge in Houston was
considering the motion.

Pinkerton, convicted of murdering
two women, had said earlier Wednes-
day that he was certain he would win
another reprieve and be spared from

- death by lethal injection, scheduled
« for early Thursday.

‘ “He told prison officers he was
‘ very confident he would receive a
stay,” said prison spokesman Charles
* Brown.

, Gov. Mark White said late Wednes-
‘ day that he would not halt the execu-
; tion, calling the slayings “two of the
‘ most brutal and heinous crimes
. imaginable.”

“After years of litigation, Mr. Pin-
kerton’s case has been scrutinized in
detail and no errors have been
found,” White said. “It is time that
the state be allowed to carry out its
lawful punishment.”

Pinkerton, 24, averted lethal
injection in August just 26 minutes
before he was to be taken into the
death chamber. Another stay was
granted in November just 10 hours
before his scheduled death.

On Wednesday, however, the Su-
preme Court refused by a 7-2 vote to
postpone the execution.

Justices William J. Brennan and
Thurgood Marshall, who oppose cap-
ital punishment in all circumstances,
dissented.

Two Texas inmates were put to
death earlier this year, bringing to 12
the number of prisoners executed
since the state resumed the death
penalty in 1982. Fifty-six people have
been executed nationwide since since
the U.S. Supreme Court allowed
states to restore the death penalty in
1976.

Pinkerton was taken to the Texas
Department of Corrections unit out-
side Huntsville that houses the death
chamber.

“He looked tired because he had
been up all night reading and typing
legal materials, but he was calm,”
Brown said. Pinkerton ate a break-
fast of oatmeal and cream of wheat
and drank milk and coffee, he said.

Pinkerton, a Muslim, refused to eat
or drink anything else until after
sunset Wednesday, selecting a fish

sandwich, french fries and milk as his |

final meal. He designated his paren-
ts, two brothers and a friend to wit-
ness his death.

Pinkerton, who was an apprentice
meat cutter, was sentenced to death
for the fatal stabbings of two
Amarillo women in 1979 and 1980.

Pinkerton has denied killing Sarah
Donn Lawrence and Sherry Welch.
Mrs. Lawrence, 30, was raped and
stabbed more than 50 times during a
burglary of her home. Mrs. Welch, 25,
was stabbed while working in an fur-
niture store.

SET FORTH IN PARAGR
NOTICE. Vil. All persons
against whom actions are
not come within the provis’
New York Insurance Law
Company may be. liable
tracts and which have
date of the Order of L’
employed or retaine
advised that the emp!
attorney has been te’

Order of Liguidatc
THEREFORE AC
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Jay Kelly Pinkerton ©
Convicted murderer :

Doomed killer
gets reprieve b

HUNTSVILLE, Texas — '
Convicted murderer Jay Kelly\)
Pinkerton won a temporary ie

%

stay of execution early today
from the U.S. Supreme Court
minutes before he was to be put

to death by injection.
Pinkerton, 23, who was
moved to a holding cell a few |
- steps from Texas’ death eet

chamber, would have been the ..
youngest person executed since ~|
capital punishment was u
restored nearly a decade ago.

The vote to keep Pinkerton
alive until the court considers as

formal appeal in his behalf was ©
6-2 vs
A ms
The court did not specify l¢

when that would be in its ordergt
issued at 12:40 a.m. EDT.
Executions in Texas normally
por place just after midnight

‘day a sheriff asked him to confess toa .
‘murder minutes before his scheduled ..
*death,."1 believe they (prosecutors)
- havea guilty conscience,” said Pinker-:£
‘ton, 23, who says he did not kill the

: rillo woman h was convicted of ,;
murdering, &.**'4 -— thay
Si chlaliniel

& “4
Dae (ere y
seep Peay eT eM

tay of execut
; win

ion for young Inmate
oy yA while tt considers whether

since capital punishment It was wea Pinkerton
the U.S." received a

f
“Wy rimes_ O- 16 5 1p)
Half-Hour Before Death,
Texas Convict Is Spared

HUNTSVILLE, Tex., Aug. 15 (AP) —
Reprieved less than a half-hour before
he was scheduled to be executed, Jay
Kelly Pinkerton was returned to his
death row cell today to await review by
the Supreme Court of his death sen-
tence for raping and killing a woman.

been the youngest
States to be put to death since the Court

_ restored the death penalty in 1976.
filed in Mr. Pinkerton’s behalf the
previous day, voted 6 to 2 for a stay of
execution until it considers an appeal.

few feet from the chamber where he

Warden Jack Pursley told him at 11:43

The 23-year-old convict would have |
person in the United .

The Court, after considering motions ©
Mr. Pinkerton was in a holding cella’

was to receive a lethal injection when .

P.M. of the Court's action moments .

earlier. The execution had been sched- ;

uled for just past midnight.

5 pi, ashen AO

time in

three;
err had

v6

Hy f~ “€F Convicted murderer ~~ Kelly Pinkerton faces execu-'
“at Tuesday in Huntsville, exas, If his latest appeals fail. {
i i he came within 26 minutes of getting a lethal 2) ~*

tery
ao Sinjocton before it was blocked. Pinkerton, 23, would be the:#;

© ag x Youngest person pat to death in the USA ta; decees.
“~~ <7 WY HUNTSVILLE, Texas The US. Supreme ne Court Mon,
yo) day kssued an indefalte stay in the scheduled execution of
k ‘ be re"

bs aT NO Be nT

' | Texas Convict Is Given as

o” | A Stay of Execution “£747
’ |° WUNTSVILLE, Tex., Nov. 25 ve
man who
executed since
. ven ian indefinite stay of execu-
2 | toa thie United States Supreme .

, hours before he was to re~ ce al
aly Pi met ag
prisoner, Ja Pinkerton,
© Pristheduied to die Tuesday for
two Amarillo

have ©
capt."

!

Texan Awaits Execution

In Rape and Slaying

HUNTSVILLE, Tex., Aug. 14

— A 2 year-old man andered to phe
raping and killing a woman visited
with his brothers and parents today as
he awaited word on whether the Su-

preme Court would st i
before dawn Thursday. ror eerie LY

hae condemned man, Jay Kelly *
inkerton, was in a “real calm, good \\
mood" today when he was moved from ~~
death row to a holding cell near the

chamber where he awaited execution & |
according to a spokesman for the |

Texas Department of Co
rrections.

Mr. Pinkerton has had a request for a oe
Stay of execution pending before the &
Supreme Court since Tuesday. Hislaw- .~
Ts asked the Supreme Court to block bK
. B] “ing cca the grounds of im-
roper use of a surprise witness b
prosecutors and ineffective feget ry
assistance in earlier appeals. - Ss
Mr. Pinkerton was ordered to die for
the murder in 1979 of Sarah Donn Law-
rence, 30 years old, in her home in
Amarillo, Tex. Mrs. Lawrence was
sexually mutilated and abused both be-
vo and after she died from being
abbed more than 30
Bowie knife. ee

3
<
“2
Ss
£

i

; ed an %.. gentence. In ‘d rz alia mane ‘
4 Suprem: he» 6-2 to halt Pinkerton® » ay Ml ison | Eee) Texagam-', *
Simeon ceva setts of exetution far faplet “i csuseme ares
7 to an : 1. | i™. PR tiaras { i
yes ayo Pt for the refused to consider IG by ol | pled ‘Deca tas’ hat i ns have been the youngest in-
pe gory Y rarillo women, » allowing @ ban Mee 2 | ; Supreme Contt granted a stay of exe-¥'' Court ‘restored i
© Amiithe reprieve, another exc) (Mpg ‘cution today for murderer Jay Kelty '«’ 1976. ‘the death penatty in:{J
9 Gare ri diate ‘eo tant ldhar ee before he waa” because is trea be
¢ : jection for the rape: + z,
petra sinh of ra Stemi fom neh
2 eer {Ont Amar wal ted ‘Megally’ against him. Te
fay Shine two days after the Bh
, 5th US’
}_ MHUNTSVILLE, Texas: The U.S. Supreme Court grai {Cireutt Court of Appeals in New Qriej
Hed a lastminute stay of execution to Kilet sey Kanes ap Pf a bite te ewecwok“d

erton, 23. He was convicted of stabbing two

: Pink
b Yeast 30 times each. g~|


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46

Death Row Teenager

(continued from page 47)

tapes of the crime scene and the
autopsy itself failed when Judge
Harney, after observing the gory
evidence, ruled them inadmissible.

There was a disapproving murmur
from the court when defense attorneys
protested to the five magnified color
photographs representing Sarah Donn
in death; They called the exhibits
‘‘inflammatory and prejudicial
aspects.’’ Judge Harney overruled the
objection. ae

The prosecutor shepherded a
collection of witnesses into the witness
box, among them former police
identification officer Carolyn Porter,
who identified a color photo she had
snapped of a bloody palm print on
Mrs. Lawrence’s bare buttock. She
also identified a latent fingerprint that
she lifted from the topsy-turvey coffee
table by the victim’s body.

Through the second and third day
of the trial the prosecution continued
to parade witnesses like a circus

ringmaster, including officers and’

Swat team members from Amarillo,
FBI fingerprint specialist Peter J.
Belcastro of Washington, D.C., the
two police officers who went to
Pinkerton’s house directly after the
killing, and Amarillo pathologist Jose
Diaz Esquivel, who said: ,°

“‘The victim died of asphyxia, either
because her windpipe was cut and then
misaligned so that she could not get
air into her lungs, or because there was
an actual obstruction of her windpipe,
perhaps the knife blade.’”

The ultimate incredulity (according
to the defense) came when the State
summoned a jail inmate who shared
an adjacent cell to Pinkerton in
Randall County Jail. He told the court
that Pinkerton rambled off a tortuous
story one night, claiming that he
stripped the blonde naked, sexually
violated her, then stabbed her to death

‘as she pleaded for her life.

‘‘Jay’s a hard man to follow,”’ the
convict cackled. ‘‘Sometimes he seems
like a nice fellow, but when he would
start telling about the killing, he
seemed kind of crazy.’’

The defense team maintained that
there was at least one other suspect
that may have ferociously attacked
Mrs. Lawrence with the brutality that
“only could be the deed of a maniac.”’

A sultry-looking brunette in. her

mid-twenties took the stand and said
she was a waitress from Amarillo, and
on the night of the Lawrence murder
her live-in-lover came home with
splotches of blood on his army jacket.
She said when she first saw the
composite sketch of a possible suspect
in the newspapers she told her
boyfriend, ‘‘Hey, this looks exactly
like you.”’ She said her boyfriend cut
her short. They had a row, and he
stormed out of their apartment about
6:30 p.m. and never returned until
after the time of the slaying.

Five days after the trial had begun,
the jury deliberated. After 3 hours and
24 minutes they convicted Jay Kelly
Pinkerton of first-degree murder.
They went into secret session after a
short recess and in an hour and two
minutes returned with a verdict of
death.

In early May, 1982, Pinkerton went
on trial for the rape and stabbing death
of Sherry Lynn Welch on April 9,
1980. The trial was held in El Paso on
a change of venue. The presiding judge
was District Judge Jerry Shackelford,
of Amarillo. District Attorney Danny
Hill of Amarillo prosecuted the
murder case. Amarillo lawyers Richard
Stokes and Dean Roper were appointed
by the court to represent Pinkerton.

District Attorney Danny Hill, in his
opening statement told the seven-men,
five-women jury that he would present
forensic specialists who would testify
that chew marks around the nipples
of the breasts of the 25-year-old
blonde, definitively matched Pin-
kerton’s dental impressions.

‘‘The evidence is very technical and
very scientific,’’ Hill said, adding that
he would also present witnesses whose
testimony would ‘‘put the defendant
at least in the area of the murder.’’

And Judge Shackelford overruled
the defense team’s objections that
color photos showing the blood-
drenched body and the inside of the
blood-spattered furniture store, be
shown to the jury. One juror became
nauseated and had to be attended by
a nurse.

The furniture store proprietor
testified that he found the ravaged
body and a bloodied bank deposit bag
behind the counter in the store:

(continued on page 50)


Death Row Teenager |

(continued from page 48)

“‘I saw Sherry’s body,’’ the visibly
shaken witness said. ‘‘She was lying
face down on the floor. I called out to
her and then I noticed there: were
wounds in her back.

“*IT got. right down by her and
shouted as loud as I could and got no
response,’’ he continued.

Amarillo police officer James Cook
testified that he was the first officer
on the scene. He said the body was
naked and ‘‘still warm.”

Convicted of both slayings, Jay
Kelly Pinkerton was sentenced to die
by injection on May 31, 1984. He
would have the distinction of being the
youngest inmate executed since capital
punishment was reinstated in 1974.

But it was not to be. Only hours
before he was to die he was given a

stay of execution from the U.S.
Supreme Court.

Scheduled to die again, on August
14, 1985, at midnight, he was told at
11:45 p.m. that another stay had been
issued on a 6-2 vote by the court.

“I had finished my last prayer when
the warden walked in,’’ he said. “It
was a relief. I don’t think that I was
confident. I believe in God. I seek
refuge in His hands. I don’t rely on
what the courts can do for you. I

didn’t feel any pressure, but I had:

prepared for quite a long time mentally
for death. I was ready to meet my
maker.”’

And then on the nippy, dismal
morning of Wednesday, May 15,
1986, he told his father, who had just

‘entered the execution chamber at the

Huntsville ‘‘Walls’’ unit, “‘Be strong
for me. I want you to know I am at
peace with myself and with my God.”’

When Warden Jack Pursley asked
for a last statement, Pinkerton turned
to his father and said, “‘Keep your
spirits up for me. Give this to those
people. We’ve got something better.’’

The lethal dose of sodium thiopental,
Pavulon (a muscle relaxant) and
potassium chloride (which stops the
heart beat) was administered at 12:16
a.m. Intravenous tubes were inserted
into both arms. The needle in Pin-
kerton’s right arm was a few inches
above a heart-shaped tattoo on the
inside of his arm; Pinkerton was born
on Valentine’s Day in 1962.

At 12:25 he was pronounced dead
— the third killer to be executed in
1986 and the 13th since Texas began
Carrying out the lethal injection death
penalty in December of 1982.. x

‘Mad Dog’ Harvey Had A Big Gang

(continued from page 13)

weren’t working out as planned.
Shortly before one o’clock, the Buick
slackened speed. Stone and Crescio
swiftly followed suit. From a safe
distance they watched as it drew up
before Marty’s, a brightly lighted diner
at the corner of Broad and Winter
Streets on Highway 1.
__ The two police cars drew up behind
a line of parked automobiles to a
vantage spot from which the occupants
of the black Buick were clearly visible.
Stone pointed out a slightly built man,
well in his forties, seated beside the
driver.

**That’s Frank Obrey,”’ he stated.

Inside the Buick there was more
animated conversation before the three
apparently caime to some decision. The

~detectives watched as they stepped out

of their car, stopped in the shadows
to exchange a few more words and
then separated to enter the diner
singly. The detectives looked through
the long picture windows lining the
deep overhanging front with the
flashing sign; inside some fifty or more
men and women were enjoying a late
snack.

None of them glanced up or paid
any heed as the three men came in,
one at a time, two to take widely
separated seats at the counter; Obrey
to slip inside an unoccupied booth.
Now huddled in the shadows, Stone’s

50

eyes never left the lighted diner and
the three men seated as strangers at
strategic points. ;
“‘Grandstand seats for a stickup,”’
he observed softly. Then he motioned
the others closer. ‘‘We’ll cover all three
entrances,’’ he directed. ‘‘You and

‘your men, Crescio, take the Broad

Street door. We’ll rush the Winter
Street entrance and the rest of you
cover the rear kitchen exit.’’ He
paused. “I’m taking the man in the
booth.’’

As they came into the light, one of
the three men inside gave a quick
glance towards the street. The police
froze. But apparently the man saw
nothing suspicious. He turned back to

his coffee; Stone motioned the group .

to proceed.

“Take no chances,’’ he warned,
drawing his gun. ‘‘They’re armed!”’

As he spoke, he made a dash for
the Winter Street entrance, covered by
his man’s guns; Crescio and his
detectives raced to Broad Street.
Diners looked up, stunned by the sight
of men in plain clothes with drawn
revolvers converging from all sides.

“‘Robbers!’’ a woman shrieked. She
turned to flee only to find her path
blocked by more armed men. She
slumped forwawrd; a steaming cup of
hot coffee slipped from her upraised

hand. it spattered the gown of another

woman who shrilled in pain as the
steaming liquid trickled over her bare
flesh. From all sides came answering
screams. Crockery crashed from
overturned tables as men and women
scrambled for shelter. Stone tried to
pitch his voice to drown out the
growing uproar.

““We’re police officers,’’ he shouted
again and again. In the confusion, his
words went unheard.

Obrey, seated in the booth, spotted
the advancing Stone. Pushing back the
table, he leaped to his feet and made
for the front door. Lunging forward,
Stone gripped him by the waist.
Swinging him off balance, he pinned
his arms to his side. Obrey, fighting
Savagely despite his slight stature,
wrenched himself free. He stepped
back, one hand reaching downward.
towards his belt. Crescio, coming from
behind, seized his throat and twisted
him floorwards. Stone glimpsed
Obrey’s moving hand and gave sharp
warning.

“‘Look out!’’ he cried. O’Gara and
Lovett ripped open the man’s coat and
grabbed the two guns held in position
by the tightly strapped belt.

Meanwhile, battling their way
through the confusion, Crowly,
Monsour, Coniff and F. oley made their
way to the counter. They reached for
the other two men and dragged them
from their seats. In the pockets of one,
detectives found a loaded revolver.

(continued on page 52)


“fe

— Oe ee

NE ek aS eT CO

‘in ahidhndiivin oa coker ee eee ee Pe ee ee

daughter’s murderer to the police, so
we can put this all behind us,’’ Mrs.
Lewis said.

Frank Bounds, who also uses the
name of Comie L. Collins, remains
at large, a fugitive from the murder
warrant filed against him by Chicago
police.

The 40-year-old accused killer was
described as being 5-feet-8 inches tall,
weighing 150 pounds, having a
medium brown complexion, brown
eyes and short, black hair. He has a
half-inch scar over his left eye, and
the name ‘‘Charlene’’ tattooed on his
left forearm.

Chicago police ask anyone with
information regarding Bounds’
whereabouts to call them at (312)
744-8280.

Meanwhile, he must be considered
innocent of all charges unless proved
otherwise in a court of law. *

(Editor’s note: The names Lottie Carmody and
Lee Folsome are fictitious. Use of the real names
would serve no public interest.)

Death Row
Teenager

(continued from page 17)

publicity given the case by the media,
and an over-fastidious press.

Jury selection began in the magni-
ficent Corpus Christi courthouse on
May 8, 1981. The court was packed.
Pinkerton sat defiantly, his handsome
face bristling with confidence. He was
innocent, he said, and his able attorney
would prove this conclusively. A week
later a panel of seven men and ‘five
women would hear the highly colored,
sometimes disgusting details of the
case.

The district attorney’s scheme to
have the jury view some color video-

(continued on next page)

THE WINNERS!

Winners of Contest No. 40 for correct-
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of $150; Richard Vestal, Harrisburg,
Ill., Second Prize of $50; Joan Redd,
Salem, S.C., and Ralph Hina, Sturgis,
KY., Runnerup Prizes of $25 each.
Checks in those amounts and our con-
gratulations have gone out to the lucky
winners. More winners next issue!

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1186

tion for an evidentiary hearing in the dis-
trict court and vacated his stay of execu-
tion. Before us are Paster’s motions for
stay of execution pending appeal and mo-
tion for certificate of probable cause to

appeal, the latter of which may only be

_ granted if a petitioner makes a “substan-
tial showing of the denial of a federal

right.” Barefoot v.. Estelle, 463 U.S. 880,

“103 S.Ct. 3388, 3394, 77 L.Ed.2d 1090
(1983). We affirm the district court’s judg-
ment and deny all relief requested by Past-
er. : ae

lL FACTS AND PROCEDURAL
BACKGROUND

The facts of Paster’s capital crime come
from his taped confession introduced at his
trial and the testimony of an accomplice to
the murder. In October, 1980, Paster and
two accomplices, Stephen McCoy and Gary
LeBlanc, agreed to kill Robert Edward Ho-
ward at the suggestion of Howard’s ex-
wife and her current husband. Paster
' sought and was promised $1,000 for the
slaying. On October 25, Paster, McCoy

and LeBlanc were told that Howard would

be at the Legal Tender Club. They went to
the parking lot, slit Howard’s truck tire
and waited for him to leave the club.
When Howard noticed the flat tire, he
opened his hood to get the jack. Paster
approached from Howard’s rear and shot
. him in the back of the head.

According to evidence introduced at the
punishment phase of Paster’s trial, he sug-
gested that the men should seek out two
other people to murder. Gary LeBlanc tes-
tified: “[Paster] said that we was all in it
together and somebody was going to have
to do another killing. All of us were going
to have to do another killing.... He said
that was [so] nobody can testify against
somebody else.’”’ In mid-November, 1980,
the trio forced Diana Trevino Oliver into
their car, took her to a field, raped her, and

i. McCoy has been executed for his participation
in the murder of Cynthia Johnson.

2. Jackson v. Denno, 378 U.S. 368, 380, 84 S.Ct.

1774, 1783, 12 L.Ed.2d 908 (1964) (requiring “a .

fair hearing in which both the underlying factu-
al issues and the voluntariness of [a] confession

876 FEDERAL REPORTER, 2d SERIES :
~ then McCoy stabbed her to death. On De-

cember 31, 1980, the trio found Cynthia
Johnson stranded on the side of the road.
They took her to a warehouse, raped her,
and after LeBlanc unsuccessfully attempt-
ed to strangle her, Paster strangled her to
death and drove a nail up her nose.!

On June 1, 1988, Paster was indicted for
the capital murder of Robert Edward Ho-
ward. Earlier, police had tape recorded
Paster’s confession at Holman State Prison
in Atmore, Alabama where Paster was
serving three life sentences for robbery-as-
sault, robbery in the first degree and bur-
glary in the first degree. Paster filed a
motion to suppress the confession at his
trial and the state trial court conducted a
Jackson v. Denno hearing.2. After a sec-.
ond suppression hearing, the state trial —
court decided to admit the taped conversa-
tion.

On September 21, the jury found Paster
guilty of capital murder. After a punish-
ment hearing on September 22, 1983, Past-
er was sentenced to death. The Texas

‘Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed Past-

er’s conviction and sentence on direct ap-
peal. Paster v. State, 701 S.W.2d 843 (Tex.
Crim.App.1985) (en bane). The Supreme
Court denied certiorari on February 24,
1986. Paster v. Texas, 475 U.S. 1031, 106
S.Ct. 1240, 89 L.Ed.2d 348 (1987).

- Paster’s execution was first scheduled

for June 2, 1986. In May 1986, Paster filed

a state habeas petition through his attor-
ney and a pro se request for stay of execu-
tion in federal district court. On May 27,

1986, the state habeas court withdrew the _

order scheduling Paster’s execution and set
an evidentiary hearing. The federal dis-
trict court dismissed Paster’s application
for a stay of execution as moot. On Octo-
ber 24, 1986, after three days of hearings,
the state habeas court entered findings of :
fact. and conclusions of law and recom-
mended that relief be denied. On March

are actually and reliably determined”). The
state trial court dictated oral findings on the
date of the hearing, August 22, 1983, and filed
detailed factual findings on January 15, 1985
upon the order of the Texas Court of Criminal
Appeals.

~ aa es

1188

(1986); Engle v. Isaac, 456 U.S. 107, 102

- S.Ct. 1558, 1572-73, 71 L.Ed.2d 783 (1982).
Without reaching the issue of prejudice, we

find that Paster has failed to make the
required showing of “good cause” for his |

noncompliance with state. procedures. In
Thompson v. Lynaugh, 821 F.2d 1080,
1082 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 483 U.S. 1035,
108 S.Ct. 5, 97 L.Ed.2d 794 (1987), we held
that the Supreme Court’s decision in Booth
did not create a sufficiently novel issue to

excuse noncompliance with state proce-

dures.> We are thus bound by our earlier

'-. precedent and affirm the district court’s

refusal to consider the merits of the claim

-based on the -procedural default doctrine.

Ill. MOTION FOR A CONTINUANCE
“TO SECURE WITNESSES

- At Paster’s Jackson v. Denno hearing on
August 22, 1983, he asserted for the first

time that he was under the influence of ©

drugs when his confession was taped. A
week - later, inmates Roberto Lopez and
James George were subpoenaed from the
Holman State Penitentiary in Atmore, Ala-
bama, because Paster asserted that they
would corroborate his story. On Septem-
ber 19, 1983, one of Paster’s attorneys

moved for a continuance to secure the pres- —

ence of the Alabama witnesses. On the

Sé.

Later that day, after Paster had con-
ferred with his attorneys, Paster withdrew
his motion for a continuance:

MR. GUERINOT: At this time, Judge,
we would state for the record that the
Defendant at a prior date, specifically
August 29, 1983, subpoenaed Mr. Lopez
and Mr. George from the Holman Unit of
the state penitentiary in Alabama at At-
more. After having discussed this thor-
oughly with Mr. Paster, we have decided
we would waive their appearance in this
trial.
nesses in this case.

THE COURT: Do you so agree, Mr.

Paster?

~-§. Texas law has recognized a prohibition against
the use of victim impact evidence at a capital
murder trial from as early as 1901.

same day, Paster filed a similar motion pro

They are no longer needed as wit-

Vela v.

876 FEDERAL REPORTER, 2d SERIES

MR. PASTER: Yes, Your Honor, I do.

The next day, they reiterated the withdraw-
al of their motion for continuance to secure
the Alabama witnesses:
MR. HANSEN: Judge, I believe this was
resolved yesterday, but just so that the
- record is perfectly clear, there was a |
sworn Motion for Continuance filed by
the Defendant yesterday requesting a
continuance in order to secure his wit-
nesses from Alabama. I kriow that he
waived yesterday the appearance of
those witnesses, but I would like the
record to indicate that the Defendant has.
withdrawn his sworn Motion for Continu-
_ ance at this time. Would the Court rule
on that?
MR. GUERINOT: We have withdrawn
it, Judge.
THE COURT: Is that true, Mr. Paster?
MR. PASTER: Yes, sir, it is, Your Hon--
or 8 | |
Paster now asserts that his rights to
compulsory process and the effective as-
sistance of counsel were violated when the
trial court refused to grant the continu-
ance. Paster also seeks an evidentiary
hearing in the federal district court to de-
velop the facts of these claims more fully.

A. Trial Courts Ruling < on the Motion for
Continuance.

[2,3] The record makes clear that there .

“never. was a motion for a continuance to

secure the Alabama witnesses. before the
state trial court long enough for the trial
judge to grant it. It is the defendant’s
responsibility, with the aid of the court, to
subpoena witnesses to appear in his de-
fense. There can be no error in the trial
court’s allowing Paster to withdraw his
own motion made earlier in the day. The
federal district court ruled that Paster’s
claim is frivolous. We agree. In Skillern
v. Estelle, we stated that “ [w]Jhen a denial
of a continuance forms a basis of a petition

for a writ of habeas corpus, not only must

there have been an abuse of discretion but
it must have been so arbitrary and funda-

State, 516 S.W.2d 176, 179 (Tex.Crim.App. 1975)
(citing a line of cases from 1901-1971 holding
that such evidence was inadmissible).

_ PASTER v. LYNAUGH

ee “Se.

1187

’ Cite as 876 F.2d 1184 (5th Cir. 1989)

25, 1987, the Texas Court of Criminal Ap-
peals denied habeas relief without written
order based on the findings of the state
habeas court. .

On July 8, 1987, Paster’s second execu-
tion date was scheduled for August 14,
1987. On July 30, 1987, Paster filed a
petition for writ of habeas corpus in the
United States District Court of the South-
ern District of Texas. Since two of his
claims had not been exhausted, the federal
court deferred action, and he filed a second
state habeas petition and motion for stay of
execution in state court. On August 4,
1987, the state habeas court denied relief.
On August 10, 1987, the Texas Court of
Criminal Appeals denied relief. On the
state’s motion, the federal district court

deferred consideration of the request for.

stay pending action in the state habeas
court. On August 11, 1987, a stay of exe-
cution was granted by. the state habeas
court.

On October 5, 1988, the federal district
court entered 4n order adopting the federal
‘magistrate’s memorandum which denied
habeas relief on all seventeen grounds for
relief and vacated the stay of execution.
The district court also denied a certificate
of probable cause to appeal. As of the
date of this decision, the state has not
rescheduled Paster’s execution.

Paster essentially raises three issues in
this appeal relating to seven grounds for
relief in his federal habeas petition:? (1)
whether Paster’s Booth v. Maryland *
claim is procedurally barred; (2) whether
an evidentiary hearing was required in fed-
eral court to determine whether Paster was
harmed by the state trial court’s failure to
grant a. continuance at trial to secure the
testimony of prospective witnesses; (3)
whether Paster’s trial was rendered funda-
mentally unfair because he was deprived of
sleep, medical care, adequate food, clothing
and grooming facilities. We resolve each
issue in turn.

3. Although Paster raises four points of error we
combine two in our discussion because they

‘ both relate to the weight the district court gave
to the findings of the state trial and habeas
courts on a particular group of facts.

Il. BOOTH v. MARYLAND CLAIM

{1] At the sentencing phase of Paster’s
trial, the state introduced evidence of the
emotional impact on the families of the
victims and about the victims’ physical con-
dition when they were found by police.

Paster challenges the testimony of Cynthia

Johnson’s uncle, the testimony of Diane |
Oliver’s sister and a portion of the prosecu-
tor’s closing arguments as violative of the

instruction in Booth v. Maryland. How- ~

ever, Paster never objected to this testimo-
ny or to the prosecutor’s closing argument
at trial.

In response to Paster’s second state peti-
tion, the state habeas court found that the
claim was- waived under state law:

In Ground of Error Number Five the |
applicant has, for the first time, raised

an issue concerning the propriety of al-

leged emotional appeals by the trial pros-

ecutor for the jury to consider the emo-

tional impact of the crime upon the vic-

tim’s family. This contention has not
- been preserved by timely objection and
the error, if any, had been waived.

Ex parte Paster, No. 377293-B (Dist.Ct.
Harris County, 228th Judicial Dist. of Tex-
as, Aug. 4, 1987) (Finding of Fact and —
Conclusion of Law 2).. The Texas Court of

Criminal Appeals affirmed the opinion of

the state habeas court, satisfying the re-_

quirements of Harris v. Reed, — USS.

—, 109 S.Ct. 1038, 1039-40, 103 L.Ed.2d

308 (1989). Ex parte Paster, No. 15,995-02
(Tex.Crim.App. Aug. 10, 1987).

Thus, under Wainwright v. Sykes, 433
U.S. 72, 86-87, 97 S.Ct. 2497, 2506, 53 L.Ed.
2d 594 (1977), we are procedurally barred
from considering this issue on federal habe-
as review unless Paster can show “good
cause” for his noncompliance with state
procedures and actual “prejudice” result-
ing from the alleged constitutional viola- ”
tion. See also Murray v. Carrier, 477 USS.
A78, 106 S.Ct. 2639, 2650, 91 L.Ed.2d 397

4. Booth v. Maryland, 482 U.S. 496, 107 S.Ct.
2529, 96 L.Ed.2d 440 (1987).

PASTER v. LYNAUGH

ey. mee :

1189

Cite as 876 F.2d 1184 (Gth Cir. 1989)

menGdle: unfair that it violates constitution-

al principles of due process.’” 720 F.2d

839, 850-51 (5th Cir.1983), agek denied, 469
U.S. 873, 105 S.Ct. 224, 83 L.Ed.2d 153
(1984), quoting Hicks v. Wainwright, 633
F.2d 1146, 1148 (5th Cir.1981). We see no
abuse of discretion in the state trial court’s
actions whatsoever.

B. Effective Assistance of Counsel.

[4] We review the effective assistance
of counsel claim based on the familiar two-
prong-test of Strickland v. Washington,
466 U.S.,668, 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 2064, 80
L.Ed.2d 674 (1984):

_.. First ... that C8 eee was
rcticielit. This requires showing that
counsel made errors so serious that-coun-

_ sel was not. functioning” as the ‘counsel’
= guaranteed the defendant by the Sixth

Amendment. Second, the defendant

must show that the deficient perform:

ance prejudiced the defense.
quires showing that counsel’s errors
were So serious as to deprive the defen-

dant of a fair trial, a trial whose result is:

reliable. Unless a defendant makes both

showings, it cannot-be said that the con-~

viction or death sentence resulted from a
breakdown in the adversary sa that
_renders the results unreliablé

In our review, we a that “Judi- ;

_ cial scrutiny of counsel’s performance must
be highly deferential,” id. at 689 and 104

S.Ct. at 2065, and that we must “indulge a

strong presumption that counsel’s conduct
falls within the wide range of reasonable
professional assistance,” zd. at 689 and 104
S.Ct. at 2066.

Both of Paster’: s trial ersel teste

and submitted affidavits for his state habe-
as evidentiary hearing. Counsel had exten-
sively discussed with Paster the circum-
“stances of his confession before the sup-
pression hearing.
_ learned from Paster on the day of the
Jackson v. Denno hearing his contention

that his confession was obtained under the

influence of illegal drugs. They discussed
- with him whether to subpoena the prison-

ers from Alabama. They decided that any

such testimony would be merely cumula-

This re-

However, they first.

tive of Paster’s own evidence. Later, be-

fore trial they made a strategic decision to

forego the testimony of the Alabama wit-
nesses to prevent the jury from finding out
at the guilt-innocence phase of trial ‘that
Paster was jailed there: Paster testified
that he never wanted them to appear at his
trial but only at the then-already-concluded
Jackson v. Denno hearing. Yet. Paster’s
only explanation to his attorneys as . why
he wanted to subpoena them was, “well,
have age ever been in an Alabama peniten-

tiary.”

Title 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d) (1982) requires
federal courts to grant a presumption of

correctness to a state court’s explicit and

implicit findings of fact if supported in the
record. See Marshall v- ~Jonber gen, 45
U.S. 422, 103 S.Ct. 843,-74L.Ed.2d 646
(1983). In réspons® co Paster’s first state
petition, the state habeas tout

ty-six findings “pelevant to thecgntinuance
issue, including 4 finding th2t Pasteen's.at-—
torneys decided not to cal! fhe witnesses at
trial to prevent the jurv 0m learning of.

_Paster’s” incarceration Af Alabama” Ex
2 parte Paster, No. 3

7793-A (Dist.Ct: Har-
ris County, 228th” Sudicial Dist. of Texas,

Oct. 24, 1986) (Findings of Fact 1-26; Find- —
Ing of Fact 24).
also found “Tat ‘the’ ‘detision to withdraw

Tne state. “habeas court

the motign for continuance was go after
consultation with Paster and“ was “a matter
of trial’strategy.” Jd. (Findings of Fact 21,
23). Based on the “detailed written find-
ings of fact” of the state habeas court, Bs

_federal district: court concluded that ‘
ineffective assistance of counsel has a
demonstrated ‘under. Strickland v. Wash-

ington.”

The records of the aera and the state
evidentiary hearing support the findings of+
the state habeas court. Paster actively
assisted his counsel at trial and conducted

legal research in his-own defense. He

agreed with | his counsel’s trial strategy at
the time he withdrew his motion for a
continuance to secure the Alabama wit-

nesses. Only now does he suggest that his © ~
attorneys should have interrupted the trial ~~

and interviewed the Alabama witnesses or
requested ‘an additional Jackson v. Denno

ourt: made twen- —

co ae.

958

the special issues will preclude the impo-
sition of the death penalty (Supplemental
Petition, Ground for Relief Twelve); and
(3) that the Texas Capital Sentencing
Statute is unconstitutional because it pre-
cluded McCoy’s counsel from investigat-
ing and presenting evidence in mitigation
of the death sentence (Ground Thirteen).
In its ruling on McCoy’s first state habe-
as petition, the state habeas court conclud-
ed that “[Petitioner] is procedurally barred
from raising ground for relief ten [federal
Ground for Relief Nine] wherein he com-
plains that the tape-recorded confession ad-
mitted into evidence was altered such that
[Petitioner] was denied a fair trial and due
process of law.” Ex parte McCoy, No.
377288-A (Dist. Ct. Harris County, 177th
Judicial Dist. of Texas, Feb. 20, 1989) (Con-
clusion of Law 13). The Texas Court of
Criminal Appeals denied relief on this
ground, noting that ‘t]he findings and con-
clusions entered by the [state habeas] court
are supported by the record.” Ex parte
McCoy, No. 18,092-01 (Tex.Crim.App.
March 7, 1989).

In its ruling on McCoy’s Supplemental
Petition, the state habeas court concluded
that ‘{Petitioner] is procedurally barred
from raising supplemental ground[s] for
relief three [and four] [federal Supplemen-
tal Petition Ground for Relief Twelve and
Thirteen] in that he did not object at the
. time of trial to the capital murder sentenc-
ing scheme on the basis that it is unconsti-
tutional for the reasons articulated in
[those] ground{s].” Ex parte McCoy, No.
377288-B (Dist.Ct. of Harris County, 177th
Judicial Dist. of Texas, April 27, 1989) (Con-
clusions of Law 4 and 5). The Texas Court
of Criminal Appeals denied relief ‘‘on the
basis of the [state habeas] court’s findings
of fact and conclusions of law.” Ex parte
McCoy, 18,092-03. (Tex.Crim.App. May 9,
1989).

[1,2] Thus, under Wainwright v.
Sykes, 433 U.S. 72, 86-87, 97 S.Ct. 2497,
2506, 538 L.Ed.2d 594 (1977), we are proce-
durally barred from considering these is-
sues on federal habeas review unless
McCoy can show “good cause’ for his non-
compliance with state procedures and actu-

874 FEDERAL REPORTER, 2d SERIES

al “prejudice” resulting from the alleged
constitutional violation. See also Murray
v. Carrier, 477 U.S. 478, 106 S.Ct. 2639, 91
L.Ed.2d 397 (1986); Engle v. Isaac, 456
U.S. 107, 102 S.Ct. 1558, 71 L.Ed.2d 783
(1982). Without reaching the issue of prej-
udice, we find that McCoy has failed to
make the required showing of “good
cause” for his noncompliance with state
procedures.

McCoy does not attempt to explain his
failure to object to the introduction of the
tape-recorded confession on the ground
that it was altered. Such a ground for
objection is certainly not novel or un-
knowable. Second, in King v. Lynaugh,
868 F.2d 1400, 1402 (5th Cir.1989), we held
that King was procedurally barred from
raising whether the jury was properly in-
structed ‘on what would be the conse-
quences of ‘yes’ and ‘no’ answers to the
special issues” because “no attempt [was]
made to explain why trial counsel did not
object to the jury charge.” No attempt is
made to explain McCoy’s trial counsel’s
failure to object either. Moreover, there
has been no change of law that would
make these claims any more or less merito-
rious.

[3] The same is true for McCoy’s re-
maining challenge to the Texas Capital Sen-
tencing Statute, that it precluded McCoy’s
counsel from investigating and presenting
evidence in mitigation of the death sen-
tence. McCoy argues that the grant of a
stay of execution in Selvage v. Lynaugh,
842 F.2d 89 (5th Cir.), stay granted, —
U.S. —, 108 S.Ct. 1288, 99 L.Ed.2d 494
(1988) makes reliance on that case “danger-
ous.” Our holding on procedural bar is
unaffected by the grant of a stay of execu-
tion by the Supreme Court. We held that
an almost identical challenge to the Texas
Sentencing Statute was “not a recently
found legal theory not knowable by compe-
tent trial counsel.” Selvage v. Lynaugh,
842 F.2d at 98-94. See also King v. Ly-
naugh, 868 F.2d at 1403; Bridge v. Ly-
naugh, 863 F.2d 370 (5th Cir.1989).
McCoy’s reliance on the Supreme Court’s
grant of certiorari in Franklin v. Ly-

“naugh, — U.S. ——, 108 S.Ct. 221, 98

McCOY v. LYNAUGH

ut >,

959

Cite as 874 F.2d 954 (5th Cir. 1989)

L.Ed.2d 180 (1988) and Penry v. Lynaugh,

— U.S. —, 108 S.Ct. 2896, 101 L.Ed.2d -

930 (1988) as “reviving” his previously

foreclosed claim is misguided. As we stat-

ed in King v. Lynaugh:
The Supreme Court’s grant of certiorari
in Penry and Franklin does not alter the
fact that such claims have been well
known to trial counsel, especially since
counsel preserved Penry’s and Franklin’s
claims in 1980 and 1982 respectively.
We are thus bound by our controlling
precedents in Selvage and Bridge until
this court, en banc, holds otherwise. For
this reason, we are barred from consider-
ing the merits of these grounds and deny
the relief requested.

868 F.2d at 1408 (citations omitted). The
Supreme Court subsequently denied the
stay and King was executed by the State of
Texas. —— U.S. ——, 109 S.Ct. 1564, 103
L.Ed.2d 930 (1989). We are accordingly
barred from considering the merits of these
three grounds for relief.

Ill. EXCLUSION OF VENIRE-

MEMBERS WEAVER, FOLEY AND
FINNEY (GROUND FOR RELIEF
ONE)

The parties contest whether McCoy’s
challenges to the exclusion of these pro-
spective jurors for cause was barred by his
counsel’s failure to object at trial. The
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, on direct
review, held that McCoy waived his chal-
lenge. McCoy v. State, 713 S.W.2d at 953.
This holding was clear and explicit pursu-
ant to Harris v. Reed, — U.S. ——, 109
S.Ct. 1038, 1089-40, 108 L.Ed.2d 308 (1989).

On state habeas review, McCoy again
raised this claim as well as a related inef-
fective assistance of counsel claim. The
state habeas court did not squarely address
the first claim as such. It held, rather,
that trial counsel were not constitutionally
ineffective for failure to challenge the ex-
clusion of these veniremembers because,
under the first prong of Strickland, such
challenges lacked merit.
McCoy may contend either (1) that the
“last state court” to address the challenge
of these jurors did so “on the merits,”

Counsel for.

albeit in the context of another issue, or (2)

‘that the “last state court” did not explicitly

rely upon procedural bar as to the issue of
excluding these veniremembers. In either
case, according to McCoy, no procedural
bar arises following the adoption in Harris
v. Reed of the “plain statement’ rule.
Harris, 109 S.Ct. at 1039-40 (“a procedural
default does not bar consideration of a
federal claim on ... habeas review unless
the last state court rendering a judgment
in the case ‘clearly and expressly’ states
that its judgment rests on a state procedur-
al bar’).

How we characterize our scope of review
makes no difference to the result. If the
claim is procedurally barred, McCoy loses
in his application for federal habeas relief.
If it is not procedurally barred, he still
loses. The discussions in Part IV and
VIII(1) below explain that the trial court’s
basis for excluding veniremembers is a
finding of fact and that, in each of these
three cases, the prospective jurors admitted
they could not impose the death penalty.
The appropriate testimony of each juror is
cited and has been reviewed by us. Wheth-
er we are procedurally barred from ad-
dressing this issue would seem a moot
point.

There is no doubt that Harris can be
literally read to prevent the use of proce-
dural bar here. To do so, however, under-
mines the finality of state review proce-
dures and encourages the petitioner’s repe-
titious raising of frivolous points in hopes
that some last court, somewhere, will not

incant the magic phrase of procedural bar.

Here, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
said precisely that McCoy’s claim was
waived. As a court answerable to the
Court of Criminal Appeals, the state habe-
as court had no authority to go behind or
modify that holding, and it did not do so.
A proper concern for state procedures
should suggest that the issue, although not
explicitly declared procedurally barred by
the state habeas court, is in fact so barred.

If one alternatively reads Harris to dis-
pense with procedural bar of the juror chal- —
lenge on the merits because the state habe-
as court treated it within the sixth amend-

all On

960

ment ineffectiveness of counsel claim, an-
other unpalatable situation arises. This re-
sult leads to the reverification of every
challenge not made at trial and completely
undoes the theory of procedural bar. Such
a catch-22 would seem avoidable under
Harris if the state habeas court adds that
it has no power to review the merits of
such underlying issues because of the prior
court’s finding of waiver. Yet, this conclu-
sion should seem superfluous where the
prior court was the state’s highest tribunal.

We resolve the apparent tension within
Harris by alternative holdings: if the claim
was procedurally barred, we pretermit its
consideration; if it was not procedurally
barred, we have considered and rejected it
on the merits.

IV. EXCLUSION OF
VENIREMEMBER TUCKER

Texas law provides that either the state
or defense may challenge a prospective ju-
ror for cause if he has a bias or prejudice
for or against the defendant. Tex.Code
Crim.Proc.Ann. art. 35.16(a)(9) (Vernon
1989). In addition, we held in Brooks v.
Estelle, 697 F.2d 586, 589 (5th Cir.1982),
that a “state is entitled to exclude [prospec-
tive] jurors who state they cannot follow a
constitutional state law.” The state chal-
lenged prospective juror Linda Tucker for
cause and the trial court struck her from
the venire. In Ground for Relief Two,
McCoy contends that the trial court’s exclu-
sion of Tucker violates his rights under the
Fourteenth Amendment.

[4] We are mindful that a court’s exclu-
sion of jurors for cause is a question of
fact, Wainwright v. Witt, 469 U.S. 412,
427-29, 105 S.Ct. 844, 8538-54, 83 L.Ed.2d
841 (1985), because 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)
(1982) requires federal courts in habeas
proceedings to grant a presumption of cor-
rectness to a state court’s explicit and im-
plicit findings of fact if supported in the
record. See Marshall v. Lonberger, 459
- US. 422, 103 S.Ct. 843, 74 L.Ed.2d 646
(1983). In addition, we must accept the

2. We do not consider the Wainwright v. Witt
standard for evaluating a prospective juror'’s
bias against the death penalty because Tucker

of Law 6(a)).

874 FEDERAL REPORTER, 2d SERIES

findings of the federal district court on this
issue unless they are clearly erroneous.
Fed.R.Civ.P. 52(a). See Rule 11 Governing
Section 2254 Cases (adopting the Federal
Rules of Civil Procedure if not inconsistent
with the federal Habeas Rules).

[5] The state habeas court found Tuck-
er had been properly excluded under state
law because “she was particularly biased
against rapists.” Hx parte McCoy, No.
377288-A (Finding of Fact 27; Conclusion
The federal district court
also rejected the argument that Tucker
was biased against the death penalty:

This Court finds, instead, that Ms. Tuck- —
er was properly excluded under state
law. Her voir dire testimony revealed
her strong feelings against rapists
which, in turn, might have compelled her
to hold the State to a lesser burden of
proof than is required by law. Petition-
er’s claim here is meritless.

We find substantial evidence in the
record to support the state habeas and
federal district courts’ findings. The ex-
cerpt of the voir dire contained in the feder-
al district court’s opinion is illustrative.
McCoy v. Lynaugh, mem. op. at 7 (venire
member Tucker said ‘I don’t think I could
[follow the law]” in a case alleging that a
death has resulted during the commission
of an aggravated rape). Thus, Tucker was
properly excluded under state law where
she admitted that she could not follow the
law. Brooks v. Estelle, 697 F.2d at 589.?

V. COMPETENCY TO STAND TRIAL

[6] In Ground for Relief Three, McCoy
alleges that he was not legally competent
to stand trial. A defendant is competent if
he has sufficient ability at the time of trial
“to consult with his lawyer with a reason-
able degree of rational understanding” and
“he has a rational as well as factual under-
standing of the proceedings against him.”
Dusky v. United States, 362 U.S. 402, 402,
80 S.Ct. 788, 789, 4 L.Ed.2d 824 (1960).
McCoy alleges that he was legally incompe-

was not excluded as a result of any bias against
the death penalty.

McCOY v. LYNAUGH

, aS
Sie os

961

Cite as 874 F.2d 954 (5th Cir. 1989)

tent to stand trial because: he has a histo-
ry of psychological illness; he twice tried
to commit suicide waiting for and during
his 1983 trial; and the Harris County Sher-
iff’s Department had administered ‘mind
altering drugs” to him.

After the first suicide attempt, the state
trial court ordered a competency evaluation
of McCoy. The state habeas court re-
viewed the findings of the trial court and
the report of Dr. Jerome Brown who had
examined McCoy in light of the attempt.
The state habeas court found that:

(1) Dr. Brown was aware of McCoy’s
attempted suicide and medication he was
on (Finding of Fact 19);

(2) Dr. Brown believed ‘“McCoy demon-
strated a rational as well as factual
understanding of the proceedings and ap-
peared to possess the ability to consult
with his attorney with a reasonable de-
gree of rational understanding” (Finding
of Fact 21); and

(3) “There was no evidence to support
a finding that Applicant was incompetent
to stand trial.” (Finding of Fact 24).

Ex parte McCoy, No. 377288-A. McCoy’s
counsel’s affidavits likewise reflect that
they did not consider him incompetent dur-
ing trial. The federal district court found
“no evidence that McCoy was incompetent
at trial time or during trial.” McCoy v.
Lynaugh, mem. op. at 9.

We have examined the report Dr. Jerome
Brown filed with the state trial court at the
time of McCoy’s capital murder trial and
find sufficient support for the findings of
the state habeas and federal district courts.
We conclude that McCoy was legally com-
petent to stand trial and his Ground for
Relief Three is without merit.

VI. IMPROPER USE OF HYPOTHETI-
CALS DURING VOIR DIRE

In Ground for Relief Four, McCoy as-
serts that the State violated his right to
due process when it used improper hypo-
theticals in voir dire to distinguish between
the statutory terms “intentional” and ‘de-
liberate.”” McCoy alleges that this con-
fused the distinction between the terms
and led the jury to automatically answer

~§.W.2d 185,

the special issue on “deliberateness” in the
affirmative after finding McCoy guilty of
“intentional” capital murder.

[7] Assuming, arguendo, that such
hypotheticals would constitute a violation
of due process, McCoy is still not entitled
to relief based on mere conclusory allega-
tions. Schlang v. Heard, 691 F.2d 796, 799
(5th Cir.1982), cert. denied, 461 U.S. 951,
103 S.Ct. 2419, 77 L.Ed.2d 1810 (1983).
The state habeas court noted that McCoy
failed to point to one such misleading hypo-
thetical. Ex parte McCoy, No. 377288-A
(Finding of Fact 63). The federal district
court examined the one allegedly improper
hypothetical that was identified in McCoy’s
federal filing. (See Transcript, Volume III,
pp. 301-18). The federal district court
found “‘no evidence of impropriety in the
hypothetical to which Petitioner objects.”’
Likewise, we have examined the allegedly
improper hypothetical addressed to exclud-
ed venire member Linda Tucker, and we
find no statements that would mislead the
prospective jurors. Accordingly, we deny
relief on Ground Four.

VII. THE TRIAL COURT’S FAILURE
TO INSTRUCT THE JURY ON THE
INAPPLICABILITY OF THE LAW
OF PARTIES (“SUPPLEMENTAL PE-
TITION, GROUND TEN)

[8] McCoy asserts that he was entitled
to an instruction that the law of parties
may not be considered by the jury in as-
sessing punishment or in answering the
special issues in a capital case. The case
on which he relies, Nichols v. State, 754
199 (Tex.Crim.App.1988),
states only that such an instruction may be
given upon request. Nichols expressly
holds the court is not obliged to so charge
the jury. Assuming for present purposes
that McCoy’s counsel expressly requested
such an instruction, and that it was errone-
ously denied by the trial court, we never-
theless find no constitutional violation from
this omission. This court has previously
held that the special issues submitted to
the jury in Texas capital punishment cases
sufficiently focus on the defendant’s per-

3!

id relatives,
vo things—
»b, aS a ma-
have a beer
while. And
hen it came
s. He liked
her love in-
iestion. He
ol pair, ev-

‘d about
»had no
tes. But
evidence

or one compact lead that had any
promise. And no motive.

After a year, police marked the
case “unsolved” and busied them-
selves with other crimes, Life—and
death—go on.

In November, pretty Diane Trevi-
no Oliver disappeared without a
trace. Friends and relatives could of-
fer no reason for the sudden disap-
pearance of the 27-year-old waitress.

The search continued throughout
the week without any possible re-
sults. It would continue into the fol-
lowing week, when deputies and
bloodhounds would aid the local au-
thorities. Hunters with dogs searched
the entire section around the San Jac-
into State Historical Park. Civilian
volunteers dragged the Old River,
and various channels leading into
Lynchburg. But Diane Oliver was
nowhere to be found.

The disappearance was beginning
to turn into another “unsolved” mys-

Agent Jim Mattox believed killer
‘got just penalty for his crimes.

tery when two bikers peddling along
a trail noticed what appeared to be a
foot sticking above the brush. The
youths moved closer to investigate.
Astonished, they saw it was a wom-
an’s naked body. The youths peddled
to the nearest house and phoned po-
lice. The dispatcher asked them to
return to the site to await the arrival
of a police cruiser.

Authorities examined and removed
the nude, partly decomposed corpse
of a young brunette from a sandbank
grave. Immediately. the seasoned of-
ficers noticed that the body matched
the description of the young woman
reported missing carlier that month.

The corpse was removed to the
country morgue, where positive iden-
tification was made by Diane Trevi-
no Oliver’s relatives.

There were indications that the
young woman had been stabbed re-
peatedly on the neck, face, and
breasts. However, probers combing
the area found no trace of a murder

weapon.

The medical examiner reported that
the woman had died of stab wounds
which suggested that she had been
lying on her back during the attack.
He said there were indications she
had been raped.

Anyone who even slightly knew
the victim was interrogated at length
in hopes that they might supply in-
formation that could aid the probe.
Not entirely satisfied with their initial
interrogation of people questioned,
sleuths again contacted them and sys-
tematically checked out the details
they had previously given. If addi-
tional clues were acquired at this
point, it was not made public. Again,
life—and death—go on.

For 18-year-old Cynthia Johnson
of suburban Conroe, a recent high
school graduate, life was full of ex-
citement and promise. Then she too
disappeared without a trace.

Accounts varied as to what actual-
ly happened to Cynthia. Some said
she had a date to meet a girlfriend
outside a movie theater in Conroe,
and never showed up. Others said
she was hitchhiking to an under-21
nightspot to meet some friends, and
was picked up by a stranger. In any

Condemned man’s cell on
Death Row, Huntsville, Texas.

SL ag DCR PY RP LEAT TY AEB RGN i RN RAN ca area eee
Oakland, California . | 3 Wednesday, Sep

ee

Sy ee Bote! ES Fe a Re ee
Rkiihl iia ads hs coca tas Pee

’ -_-

or Executed +
xaas a

1es Emery Paster, who had
svicted of three slayings
iitted two others, was put ta
y injection early today in
ile, Texas. —

cer, 44, was pronounced
12:17 a.m. at the Texas De-

Texas execuies man linked to 5 slayings

HUNTSVILLE, Texas — A man described as “Satan
personified” was executed by injection early today for one of
five slayings he was accused of committing.

James Paster, 44, a onetime lounge singer and Elvis
Presley impersonator, was pronounced dead at 12:17 a.m.
CDT (10:17 p.m. PDT yesterday). Paster was sentenced to
death for the 1980 contract killing of a 38-year-old Houston
man, said Bill Zapalac, an assistant attorney general.

Yesterday, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals refused
to grant a reprieve. Defense attorneys contend jurors at

Paster’s trial should have been allowed to consider evidence
of his abused childhood. . .
Paster also pleaded guilty ‘to the slaying of another
woman and had confessed to killing two other Houston-area
women, although he never was tried for those offenses.

i

it of Corrections Walls Unit,

bs

NATIONAL NEWS

‘ “  ormer cook, lounge singer
vis Presley impersonator,
vas condemned for the con-
ooting of Robert Edward:
, 38, of Houston, on Oct. 25;:
foward’s ex-wife, Trudy
, 42, had paid Paster $1,000
notorcycle for the killing.
ving a life prison term.

2

ter also was convicted of
“ynthia Johnson, 18, of Con-
- Diane Oliver, 27, of Chan-
. In addition, he confessed:
g two other women but nev~
ried for those crimes. _

Wednesday, September 20, 1989

es
San Francisco Chronicte

THE VOICE OF THE WEST


wer Nr mewea wwe 2 eo -

executed by injection

1S

Vv

N EXAMINER NEWS SERVICES __

.< HUNTSVILLE, Texas — A
\S former Elvis Presley impersonator

was executed by injection early
Y Wednesday for one of five slayings
v he was accused of committing.
James Emery Paster, 44, was
g pronounced dead at 12:17 a.m.
e He was sentenced to death for
‘

ve)

shooting Robert Earl Howard, 38,
outside a Houston nightclub Oct.
25, 1980. |
b The victim’s ex-wife, Trudy
y Howard, hired Paster and brothers
2 liddie and Gary LeBlanc to kill
Y Howard for $1,000. The other three
| v4 are all serving prison terms in the
case.

* Paster also was serving a life
rison term for the rape and mur-

“pI
der of an 18-year-old Conroe wom-
€.

wee

an. Stephen McCoy, Paster’s co-
defendant in that case, was execut-
ed earlier this year,

Paster also pleaded guilty to the
slaying of another woman and has
confessed to killing two other
Houston-area women, although he
never was tried for those offenses.

“T’m about as smart as a box of
rocks,” Paster said recently in a
death row interview. “I’m not try-
ing to justify any darn thing.
There’s no justification for what
I’ve done.”

Paster spent most of Tuesday
watching television or talking with
fellow death row inmate John Paul
Penry, Corrections Department
spokesman Charles Brown said. He
ordered a final meal of steak, salad,
french fries and watermelon.

43
oe

(f
d
=
—LY

| Wwe Ane ska,

G—-2Zo-F7
Sas,

_


Love Me Tender’ hummed in his
mind even as he blasted away...

The gun that was used in the
Houston nightclub murder.

by BILL KELLY

he murder of 38-year-
: old Robert Edward
Howard had all the
earmarks of a neat profes-
sional hit—quick, no wit-
nesses, no prints, no
bungling. Howard was
struck once in the forehead
by a high-caliber weapon
as he left a Houston, Texas,
nightclub on Oct. 25, 1980.
Death was instantaneous.
Harris County detectives began the
task of recording the scene and lo-
cation of the body with photographs
and measurements. This done, the
body, having been identified from the
contents of a wallet, was loaded into

14

/

\ ee

James Paster: “I’m some kind

of schizophrenic.”

an ambulance and taken to the coun-

ty morgue.

Who was the dapper Robert Ed-
ward Howard? And why would any-

one want him dead?

ELE WE.

\

ee

The killer’s profile described him as a loner
unable to carry out an ordinary relationship
due to sexual immaturity. To judge by his
vicious actions, his favorite love object was
his gun.

SCHIZO
KILLER

WHO
THOUGHT
HE WAS

ELVIS!

According to friends and relatives,
Howard lived for only two things—
his wife Trudy, and his job, as a ma-
chinist. Oh, he liked to have a beer
with the boys once in a while. And
he had expensive tastes when it came
to clothes and restaurants. He liked
to fish. But as far as another love in-
terest, was out of the question. He
and Trudy were a perfect pair, ev-
eryone agreed.

For months detectives talked about
the murder of “the man who had no
enemies,” and compared notes. But
there was not one iota of evidence

me OO

; ANAL_ / g g Zey

or one compact le
promise. And no m

After a year, pc
case “unsolved” a
selves with other c
death—go on.

In November, pre
no Oliver disapp:
trace. Friends and r:
fer no reason for t!
pearance of the 27-:

The search conti
the week withou:
sults. It would cont
lowing week, wh
bloodhounds would
thorities. Hunters
the entire section ar
into State Historic
volunteers dragge:
and various chan
Lynchburg. But D
nowhere to be four

The disappearan
to turn into anothe:


—

52

Sheriff Jess Sweeten held suspicions of murder for four
years before he could uncover evidence that confirmed them

Patton frowned. “That’d be about the same time that
he packed up his family and left me, short-handed and
without notice.”

Sweeten cyed the man shrewdly, conscious of the face
that appeared at the curtained window but trying not to
ey any sign that he’d seen it. “There wasnt anything

e told you?” Sweeten asked. “Nothing that seemed to
be on his mind, maybe bothering him?”

“In-laws, he said. I reckon that young fellow just
married too soon, wasn’t about to settle down to bringing
up a family,” Patton replied. “Too bad for that pretty
little Carrie and her kids.”

The rag at the window fluttered again. Sweeten’s
curiosity got the better of him. “George, who is that
girl hiding out there in your kitchen?”

Patton grinned sheepishly. “You sure got a sharp eye,
Sheriff. That’s just a little gal I met on a trip up to
Oklahoma. She sort of keeps house for me, mends things
around the place.” He turned his head and called out
sharply: “Sally Lou, come on out here. The sheriff wants
to see you.”

There was an agitated stir at the makeshift curtain. and
a moment later a comely woman in her early 30s shuffled
to the doorway. She was dressed in a nondescript, tight-
fitting cotton wrapper, with a pair of broken-down carpet
re (pe on stockingless feet. Unconfined, her dark hair
fell down over her back. She stared dully at Sheriff
Sweeten.

“What's your last name, Sally Lou?” Sweeten asked.
“Where are you from?” ~

His kindly tone brought a quick response. “McGaw,”
she said. “I come from Oklahoma. George and I are
cousins.”

“How long have you been here?”

“Almost a month now.”

“That’s right, Sheriff,” Patton put in. “She’s only been
here a little while, couldn’t tell you a thing about the
McGehees, I’m afraid.”

Sweeten nodded. “Well, George, if you or your cousin
should happen to hear from Johnny or his wife, let me
know right away, will you?”

“Sure thing,” the farmer said pleasantly.

Sweeten took his departure, drove the seven miles back
to Athens. In his office he tossed his hat on his desk and
eased down into his chair opposite Mrs. John Allen, young
Johnny McGehee’s mother. She had been anxiously
awaiting his return for over an hour, An attractive,
middle-aged matron, she was obviously upset. If the
truth were known, and Sweeten tried to hide it, he was
pretty upset himself. For though he had not a single
concrete fact to go on, he sensed that there was more to
the disappearance of young McGehee and his family than
the simple story told by George Patton. There was, for
one thing, the odd fact that Patton referred to his good-
looking “cousin” as “a little gal I met on‘a trip.”

“Did you find out anything?” asked Mrs. Allen eagerly.

Sweeten shrugged. “Nothing much, except that your
son suddenly took it into his head to move on. According
to Patton, some fellow came by in a truck and he asked
him for a lift. He packed up bag and baggage and
skedaddled out with his wife and the kids. Said he was
going to Mobile.”

“But why?” implored Mrs. Allen. “Why hasn't he
written us? It’s over three-months since we’ve heard
from him. That isn’t like John.”

Sweeten looked at her from half-closed eyes. Her
distress seemed genuine enough and he could not deny
the lines of worry on her face.. “Patton said that your
boy told him he couldn’t get along with his folks—that’s

“There weren’t no bodies to bury,” insisted man with wide
mustache when shown baby shoe, broken toy and girl's slip

most li
Mrs.

snappe:
a little
down |
betwee
wrote
sure s«
babies.
“Hoy
“The
him fir
“Anc
“Nn, 0,
“Wh
“Alo
“An
“Not
he’d b:
he was
Swe:
Mrs. /
her w«
her th
family
again.
Tho:
he he:
He ke
Tho
Sweet
until «

ith wide
cirl’s slip

an were,

2 b atabe

Searched fro top to bottom, farmhouse where

most likely the reason wh he was clearing out.”

Mrs. Allen’s jaw sagged for a moment. Then her eyes
snapped. “But that’s not so,” she protested. “Johnny was
a little wild before he martied Carrie. But once he settled
down he was a good boy. There was no hard feelings
between us. We did all we could for his two babies. We
wrote regular.” She wrung ‘her hands piteously. “I’m
ar something’s happened to J ohnny and Carrie and the

ies.”

“How did Johnny get along with Carrie’s folks?”

“There never was a word between them. They liked
him fine.”

“And they haven't heard from him or Carrie, either?”

“No, sir,” she said.

“When did you get your last letter from Johnny?”

“Along about Thanksgiving time.”

“And he said nothing about moving on?”

“Not a word,” sobbed Mrs. Allen. “Why he even said
he’d be seeing us at Christmas time. That don’t look like
he was aiming to go away, does it?”

Sweeten had to admit that it didn’t. He questioned
Mrs. Allen a few minutes longer but save for her fears,
her worry and doubt, she could tell h:m little. Assuring
her that he would do his best to locate her son and his
family, he dismissed ‘rer at last, then reached for his hat

again. ‘

Thoughtfully, he climbed into. his car. Thoughtfully,

he headed out the road toward the Patton farm again.

He kept thinking about the girl in the tattered dress.
Though over the course of the next four years Sheriff

Sweeten was to make many trips to the Patton farm,

until every stick and stone on the 20 acres was as familiar

McGehees lived held no clue

to thein whereabouts

to him as the palm of his hand, he did not stop there a
second time on this afternoon of February 18th, 1933.

Instead, he dropped in on Patton’s neighbors. There
were a lot of things he wanted to know. Specifically, had
there been trouble between George Patton and his hired
hand, Johnny McGehee? Had anyone seen the McGehee
family since Thanksgiving? Had anyone seen the truck
that had carted them away?

At every stop, the answer to every question was no.
Sweeten learned little about the McGehees except that
they were a mighty nice couple, apparently very much
in love and crazy about their two youngsters, Doyle, 4,
and Bobby, 2. But he did learn something about George
Patton.

According to the consensus of male opinion, Patton had
an ever-hungry eye for a woman. Though he had never
married, he had always found some female to keep him
company. Currently, “Cousin” Sally Lou was his main
interest.

That was something, but surely not enough to arrest
a man on a charge—a charge of what? Sweeten caught
himself up short. That was the first time he had con-
sciously thought of arrest in connection with the missing
McGehee family. What was he investigating? Kidnaping?
Murder, without a body? Without four bodies?

Despite his skepticism, his feeling of uneasiness in-
creased as he drove back to town. On reaching his office
he immediately contacted the Texas Rangers at their
station in Tyler, gave them what little information he
had on the disappearance and asked them to extend the
search as far as Mobile. Then he hit the roads again.

An entire family had vanished (Continued on page 88)

53


Da JESS SWEETEN, sheriff of Henderson
¥ County in east Texas, squatted on his heels amid the
rubble that littered the dooryard of George Patton’s farm
and deftly rolled a brown-paper cigarette. Only two
hours had elapsed since the woman had entered Sweeten’s
office in the county seat, Athens, and complained about
her mysteriously missing son, Johnny McGehee. Now,
as he stuck the cigarette into his mouth, Sweeten was
studying the gaunt and grizzled farmer who had em-
ployed Johnny as a handyman.

Patton, a hardbitten man in his early 50s, lounged
against the casing of the half-open door. A week’s growth
of stubble sprouted on his chin and Sweeten noticed that
he chomped nervously on a wad of cut-plug tobacco.
The sheriff also noticed two other things: a single-
barreled shotgun was leaning against the wall just inside

Deputies look for clues in room from which

the door, and someone—a woman-—was squinting out at
him from behind the soiled rag that served as a curtain
on the kitchen window.

Sweeten slid a match across the leg of his pants and
fired up. In a cloud of smoke he said, “So Johnny
McGehee and his wife and kids lit out—just like that?”

“Yes. Just like that,” Patton echoed him. -

Sweeten climbed to his feet. “When was this?”

“Day before Thanksgiving.”

“Kind of sudden, wasn’t it?”

“Nothing could have been suddener,” said Patton. He
looked at the sheriff with interest. “What's all the ques-
tioning for? Anything happen to Johnny and his wife?”

“That's what I'm trying to find out,” replied Sweeten.
“His folks over in Anderson County seem worried about
him, haven’t heard from him in three months.”

Carrie and Johnnie McGehee and two children vanished

THE


es}

”
|

AMILY

BY TONY FIELD

THERE WASN'T A SIGN OF

‘THEM—NO NEW ADDRESS,

NO LETTERS—NO BODIES

Ranger Dan Hines ( r.) helped in hunt that ended at hidden graves (below)

PHILLIPS, Clifford, black, LI TX (Harris) Dec. 15

2.9

Show biz shocker of the year!

1993

TRUE-LIFE

_ STRANGLING

AT THE ALLEY
THEATRE!

by JACK G. HEISE

Special Investigator for
OFFICIAL DETECTIVE STORIES

that some Texans are prone to

exaggerate just a bit when they
brag about how big and how good things
are in the Lone Star State. Few, how-
ever, would question their veracity
when they boasted about the Alley
Theatre in Houston and its talented
managing director and author, Iris Siff.

The bizarre murder of Iris Siff in the
theater building in the early morning
hours of Wednesday, January 13, 1982,
not only puzzled and shocked residents
of Houston but was felt by cultural
groups throughout the nation and
abroad.

The present $5.5 million, four-story
complex with two complete theaters
seating 1,000 persons on Houston’s
downtown Texas Avenue, actually
started in an old building with an alley
entrance off South Main Street in 1947
by Nina Vance as a showcase for local
talent.

It has become a model for successful
performing arts and development of ta-
lents in acting and writing under the
genius of Iris Siff.

A year after the Alley Theatre
opened, a very pretty and gifted young
woman who had just graduated from the
University of Texas with a bachelor’s

14 Official Detective

L* FAIRLY common knowledge

degree in theater was given a minor role
in one of the productions. .

The young woman wasn’t too certain,
after appearing in the play, that the
theater should be her career. She left to
attend the University of Mexico in
Mexico City as a political science major.
Deciding on a diplomatic career, she be-
came a radio field representative in
South American for the Office of Inter-
American Affairs, headed by Nelson
Rockefeller. ,

Returning to Texas, Iris again
changed her mind about her career
when she met Al Siff, a young Dallas
businessman. They were married and
had twin sons. Iris pursued a new career
as fashion and merchandising manager
for one of Texas’ largest department
stores until the family moved to Hous-
ton.

Iris called on Nina Vance and Nina
persuaded her to take the role of Mary
in the production of “John Loves Mary”
which was to be the last play in the
original South Main Street building.

When it closed, it retained the name
of. Alley Theatre and moved into a con-
verted fan factory building on Berry
Street. Nine talked Iris into staying on,
not as an actress, but as her assistant in
both the management and artistic oper-
ation of the theater.

Iris had finally found the career she
could pursue for the rest of her life. She
established the Alley Academy, a train-
ing wing for new talent. She added to
that the Merry-Go-Round Theater for

AN | 089 eas

young people and the Alley Guild, a
volunteer wing to raise funds for a new
building.

She assumed the role of liaison officer

to the architects as they designed and |

built the new structure, which would
have a resident acting company of 100
and perform a 40-week season.

The author of a set of books “On Stage
in Ten Steps,” Iris used the instruction
for her Studio School at Theater and it
was adopted by numerous other insti-
tutes for the training of young actors.

With the death of Nina Vance in Feb-
ruary, 1980, Iris was placed in charge of
the complete operation, management
and artistic, with an office on the fourth
floor of the Alley Theatre complex.

The day following the murder of Iris
Siff, Houston detectives with the Harris
County Medical Examiner’s inves-
tigators and representatives from the
district attorney’s office went into a
huddle to evaluate the evidence that
had been collected.

They agreed that there were perhaps
a half-dozen possible motives for the

crime, a pile of evidence, some.

suspects—and everything they had ap-
peared to contradict iself. No one had
any doubts that it would be a tough,
complicated case to solve.

Iris Siff was found at 7:20 a.m. lying
on her back on the floor of a conference
room that adjoined her office on the
fourth floor of the building. It was
thought at first that she might have suf-
fered a heart attack until someone

a

\f

noticed the bruise marks or
across the bridge of her nos«
eyelid.

She was wearing a beige
tan sweater. There was a la
ring on her finger, an exp«
watch and gold bracelets «
Her underclothes were inta
was no evidence of a sexua

There were no visible sigr
gle either in the receptior
room or her spacious inner

Investigators noted that :
desk in the office held num:
of papers and files, scatter:
had been worked on, with
empty package of cheese ch
bread spread with jelly by a
that lay on top of it and a ne
of cold coffee.

On a nearby smaller tab]
foffee maker was still brev

Detectives learned that !
last been seen shortly befo
backstage with the cast th
pleted a preview perf
“Elephant Man” that was
open on Thursday.

Theater personnel said }
usual for Mrs. Siff to work
until dawn. This was con!
the detectives contacted
They had not been concern
hadn’t returned home from

Two security guards had
during the night.

One manned the lobby
ing, where the glass fron’
locked. He checked anyons
leaving the building after c
He was unable to recall tha
entered or left the buildin
night. :

A second guard made t
the parking lot, theater <
first two floors of the comp!
doors to the two top floors «
closing time and could on
from the inside for escape i
a fire. He recalled seeing }
in its assigned space whe)
the parking lot at two o
morning and noted it wa

-four o’clock.

An alert went out for t/
was a black 1973 Lincoln
with Texas plates PYH 4:

As the lab technicians
work to preserve physica
film, dust for fingerprin'
diagrams of the scene, ho
tives questioned the pers«

They learned there had
of petty thefts from the d:
and property room in the
weeks earlier a burglary
ported backstage. A pa
machines had been take:
robe and left near a doc
the thief might have be«
away before the machine
moved. All that was miss


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Chicago Tribune /isthg —

Henderson /bar'sor. Texas A-A-/900

Galveston Daily News 2/3/00 Ab Contirms ex.
AY year old nero. Ln §f40/99 he gunned down His

wife and mother in law th a jealous rage over SUs-
peered intidelity by whe SEYMEP.

Black for murder ot two blacks.

PERRY, Diggs, black, hanged Bay City, Matagordo Co., TX, April 21, 1913.

“Bay City, TX, 4/21/1913-Diggs Perry, negreo, paid the extreme penalty of the law
this afternoon when he was hanged here for the murder last September of Jack Simmons,
an aged man of his own race. He was to have hanged on March 17, but Gov. Colquitt
granted a respite of 30 days. In the interim the board of pardon advisors investigated the
case and reported unfavorably on a petition for commutation. The execution of Perry was
the first hanging in this county in 30 years. Sheriff frank Rugely officiated at the interior
(2) execution - the hanging of 3 negroes and at the hanging of Perry today. Perry was
hanged in a barn around which a considerable crowd congreaged. He took his plight very
coolly and protested his innocence to the end. He claimed he was the victim of
circumstances and had been unfairly acused. With a final word of goodbye he signified his
readiness to accept his doom and a hymn was sung by his friends. The trap was sprung at
1:16 o’clock and at 1:30 he was pronounced dead. The hanging was quiet and orderly.
The crime for which Perry was executed was revolting in character. The record in the
district court of Matagordo County, in which he was convicted, shows that the old man,
Jack Simmons, was shot and robbed of $35.00 and then thrown into his own fireplace to
burn.”-News, Galveston, TX, 4/22/1913, page 3, column 2.


PHILLIPS, £ wary eet electrocuted Texas (Fort nee sae on May i, 1926,

ta:

TEXAS STATE PRISON SYSTEM

H. W. SAYLE, CHAIRMAN, BOARD OF PRISON COMMISSIONERS
W. R. DULANZY, FINANCE COMMISSIONER - S. G. GRANBERRY, FARM COMMISSIONER

. Warden's Department

N. L. SPEER, WARDEN

FORREST REAGAN, ASSISTANT WARDEN . : ADMINISTRATION HEADQUARTERS:

<. M. DAVIS, SECRETARY TO WARDEN
HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS

Vay 15th, 1926.

~

~am PhIliive.

Case 743879, in the District Court of Fort Bend County Texas.

BARDGN'S 2 Rou ABTS ER BXRCU2TOH. | | aes

; =eceived death warrant tomather with She body of Sam Phillivs from the
Sherritt of Fort-Bend County on the llth ay of April, 1926.

Death ane ee execution or said Sam Phillins on the 14th, day
of Gay 19265 2

a ens ~_ -

Surther in accordance with the judgment of the District Court of Fort
Bend Counsy, Sam Phillips was duly executed On the 14th day of May 1926.
au ohe nour of 12:16 A by causing to pass through the body of said
Sam Phillios a current of electricity or surricient intensity to cause
death, Grd the said Sam Pjillios was pronounced dead by Dr. L. BE. Bush, ii
the Legal Prison zhysioian at che hour of 12:15 Ali five minuets avter
vhe annlication of tha electric currents. ;

Further, there having been no relatives to elsin the body of said Sam
2hiliips, he was buried in the Prison Cemetery at E nosville, after the
2rison Chaolain conducted the burial services and the State furnishe

g decent burial.

“iluness my nand at Huntsville, Texas, this the 15th day of: Lay 1926.

ea ~ -~ een set ne nen 7 - semen epee o: wena wo so cae omemnenpen ennai

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2 a GRAVD JURORS for the County of ort. _ Ber ah. ks is @ aforesaid, “duly

sept ptt

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organized as ‘such at the... re h es : . of th the District Court for. said County,

% om

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upon ‘their oaths i in said Court, present thet. e. .

Shed ‘State of Texas, did rey and there wna
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Ez “AND TE: ‘GRAND “JURORS. “AFORESAID” upon “thei ‘oaths 3 aforesaid do further

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(228 SOUTHWESTERN -2nd= 516; Cert, Denied: 71 SUPREME COURT 82,

PICKETT, Ben, Jr., black, electrocuted Texas State Prison (Harris County) on 1-13-1951,

"Armed townspeople of Sheldon Monday turned out in force to seek a negro sought for the rape
of a white woman, The sheriff's office dispatched several cars of deputies to the scene,
W. R. Lynch, who operates a grocery store amd service station at Sheldon, said the negro,
shortly before 11 a.m, entered the home of a widow, about 50-years-old, who lives on the
_eaumont Highway there, The negro threatened the woman with a knife and then raped her, Mr,
Lynch said. Two men in a beer truck said they saw the negro run from the house and leave in
a 1939 black sedan, The woman ran screaming from the house and was taken to the Lynch store
by neighbors. She was given first aid there," CHRONICLE, Houston, 11-15-19)8 (1-6, )

"A 32myear-old negro, arrested in Liberty early Tuesday, is in the Harris County Jail, char-
ged with raping a 5lj<year-old widow in Sheldon at 11 a.m. Monday. The negro, Ben Pickett,
was identified by the woman at 3 asm, Tuesday and was charged in Justice Thomas I, Decker's
court. Pickett denied the charge, The wman also identified a pearl-handled knife found on
the man as the one which he used to threaten her, His arrest climaxed a day and night searct
by an armed posse of Sheldon citizens and sheriff's deputies in the heavily wooded area
around Sheldon and neighboring towns, The woman was attacked by a negro who forced his way
into her home on the Beaumont Highway and threatned her with a knife. She said the negro
left her home in a black sedan with white rims, While the search for the negro was in pro-
gress, many citizens called the sheriff's office with possible clues, One paid off, A citi-
zen told the sheriff's office he had seen such a car in the neighborhood of Sheldon two
weeks ago and remember the licensenumber, A check showed the car belonged to Pickett and a
Liberty County deputy sheriff arrested him in his home, An unidentified citizen, said to be
an employee of the Gulf Oil Company, reported that he saw the same negro attempting to force
the same woman into a car two weeks ago, The victim recalled the incident but said she

was not sureit was the same negro. Deputy Sheriffs A, K, Shipley and M, M, Brown returned
Pickett to Sheldon, where the woman identified him and his automobile, She also identified
clothing found in Pickett's house as that he was wearing when he attacked her,"

CERONICLE, Houston, 11-16-1918 (1/3.) yy ee

| L/,)\ fipbttt CUaea
Sian dented ONE ten. Pome ere

ates f floor
CP gah lf “1 Teg feeeegor Fy 7

Texas Executes Killer of 2 Women

After Plea Taken by Mother

NY TIM) Frikiy an

HUNTSVILLE, Tex., May 15 (AP) —
Jay Kelly Pinkerton, convicted of kill-
ing two women, was executed today by
injection.

Mr. Pinkerton, 24 years old, was pro-
nounced dead at 12:25 A.M., according
to the state’s Assistant Attorney Gen-
eral, Monroe Clayton. This was hours
after Federal judges rejected an ap-
peal delivered by his mother.

His father, Gene, the only relative to
watch the execution, gripped an alumi-
num rail in the death chamber a few
feet from his son.

“Be strong for me,’”’ Jay Pinkerton
told his father. ‘‘I want you to know
that I’m at peace with myself and with
my God. I talked to everybody on the
phone. I got to talk to Mom. Say good-
bye to Mom. Keep your spirits up for
me.”’

Then he chanted: ‘‘I bear witness to
Allah. I ask for your forgiveness.”’

“Bye, Jay,”’ his father said.

Fails

(6-b¢ fF &

ee

.

Associated Press

Jay Kelly Pinkerton

“T Jove you, Dad,” replied Mr. Pink- f
erton, who then said, ‘‘I feel dizziness. I
feel dizziness.”” He yawned, his eyes
closed, and he died.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court
twice refused to block the execution.

After the first rejection, Mr. Pinker-
ton’s mother, Margie, carried a per-
sonal appeal from her son to Federal
District Judge Hayden Head of Corpus
Christi, Tex. Judge Head, who was in
Houston for a meeting, denied the ap-
peal 25 minutes later. The United
States Court of Appeals for the Fifth
Circuit in New Orleans and the Su-
preme Court then also refused to stop
the execution.

Mr. Pinkerton, an apprentice meat-
cutter, was executed for raping and
mutilating Sarah Donn Lawrence in
1979 during a burglary of her home in
Amarillo when he was 17 years old.
Mrs. Lawrence, 30, was stabbed more
than 50 times and her throat was
slashed.

He also was convicted of the 1980
murder of Sherry Welch of Amarillo,
25, who was stabbed while she was
working in an furniture store.

Even before the final’ appeals were
rejected, Gov. Mark White announced
that he would not halt the execution,
calling the slayings “‘two of the most
brutal and heinous crimes imagi-
nable.”’

“After years of litigation, Mr. Pink-
erton’s case has been scrutinized in de-
tail and no errors have been found,”’
Governor White said. ‘‘It is time that
the state be allowed to carry out its
lawful punishment.”’

Last August Mr. Pinkerton averted
death 26 minutes before he was to be
taken into the death chamber. Another
stay was granted in November, 10
hours before his scheduled execution.

Mr. Pinkerton’s lawyer, Dean Roper,
said the appeal delivered by the mother
was unusual but legitimate. It con-
tended that the jury had not been asked
the proper questions in the sentencing
phase of the trial, particularly whether
Mr. Pinkerton had been provoked by
Mrs. Lawrence into killing her.

The execution was the third in Texas ||

and seventh in the nation this year.

PTI i
PINKERTON, Jay Kelly, white, 2h, lethal injection, Texas, May

——

15 » 1986.

TEXAS STATE PRISON SYSTEM
3 ‘ H. W. SAYLE. CHAIRMAN, BOARD OF PRISON COMMISSIONERS
, ‘ W. R. DULANEY, FINANCE COMMISSIONER

S. G. GRANBERRY, FARM COMMISSIONER

“~Tarien’s Department

N. L SPEER. WARDEN
FORREST REAGAN, ASSISTANT WARDEN
Cc. M. DAVIS, SECRETARY TO WARDEN

ADMINISTRATION HEADQUARTERS:
HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS

May 15th, 1926.
District Clerk o7?

Tort Bend, County,
Richmond, Texas.

Case 44879 Sam Phillivs
Iam mailing

endorsed, and my return after execution of Sam Phillins.

Please favor me with a certificate of receint in or

* ean complete my Tile.

Very t

t

uly Yours,

iLS=r

you: soday warrant in the above case duly


before + the hour oF

thronzh Dis body a
2 cauge death ang the Ipplication and Continuanes 9F gueh
throush She body ov che gaig ©am “hillipg until the €8id Sam
ig dead, and if is further CoNsidere} and ordereg Shat the Clerk
Of this Court shall issue a the @xecution or thig Sentence
the same fo the Sheriry of
» who saat] delivoz Said warrants bozether with

eee ae at aunts ~

sideration Of the aforesaia Proriges,
50 execute the gaig Judgment and Sentence

ald San- id 11ips »in the County of dalker, = tate Of Texas .

at any fine def ore the

Sunrise on the 14th day of} May a.D. 1996 Pion and thera °

tO Das ~ carouzsh the body of the Said Sam Fhillipg a current.
of electricity o¢ sufficient intensity to cazge death, ;
ang the applicasi nti sue] trent throush the aody
of the said Sam Pailiipg un til said S: “nillips ig deag.

In executin= $7 r f t will Observe all the row

Quirenents of ti ay, i Made ang Provided,

Herein Fail log, é this writ, ang how you have S9cUted the
Same, make due Tecvurn in 2Ccordance with law.
GL 7 ai o_o my hand ang Seal of saig Vourg, a%& offiee in

3ichmong, » in the County or Port Send, hie 8th day of

aPFil a.D. 25 : Ke
oe ‘5 y a ; ‘ 4 - Shey: a

Jistrics Court,


td
%
|

PINKERTON, Jay Kelly, white, lethal injection, Tex., May 15, 1986.

When probers had gathered all the evidence, there
were many who were convinced that the butchery
of Sarah Donn Lawrence was

HE TEXAS courtroom became a

horror chamber on May 26,

1981, when the trial of a youth-
ful sex-killer brought to light the details
of the merciless torture death by stab-
bing, mutilation and sexual abuse, of an
attractive mother and housewife.

One witness called by the state tes-
tified that the accused man bragged to
him and three other fellow jail inmates
that on the night of the killing he had
“cut his way into her womb for sex.”

“He bragged about it, is what he did,”
the state’s witness told the court. “He
said he cut her breasts off and actually
bragged about it.”

The jail inmate said that while he was
in a cell alongside the accused killer, he
heard the man laugh in the night and
boast that he had killed the Amarillo,
Texas woman.

An Amarillo pathologist testified the
female victim was stabbed more than 30
times in a fashion that indicated the
defendant may have tortured the
woman before he sliced through her
windpipe, dealing the life-ending blow.

In reference to the sexual attack on
the murder victim, the pathologist told
the jury that a two-inch cut in the lower
abdomen could have accommodated a
male penis. But he said that he found no
seminal fluid around the wound, and
that he could not run tests for seminal
fluid inside the wound because it had
been washed out by bleeding.

The Amarillo pathologist also tes-
tified that “something cylindrical was
inserted into the victim’s vagina after
her death.”

The bizarre details of Amarillo’s
pre-Halloween killing of Sarah Donn
Lawrence, 30, on October 26, 1979,
began unfolding in the Nueces County
District courtroom at Corpus Christi,
Texas. The trial was moved to the south
coastal city on a change of venue from
Amarillo, the northernmost Texas
panhandle city of 150,000 population.

Judge Naomi Harney of the 251st
State District Court of Amarillo, pres-
ided over the capital murder case in the
spacious, modern courthouse built in
1975. The courtroom was so designed
that the presiding judge, the jury, the
defendant and the attorneys and the
other officers of the court are seated ina
circle in the center of the courtroom.

The beauty of the courtroom was
marred by five enlarged color photo-
graphs of the Sarah Donn Lawrence
death scene. Behind the witness, chair,

30 True Detective

most

HIDEOUS
MURDER
IN TEXAS

HISTORY

by NINA COX

and in full view of the jury members,
photographs showed the body of Mrs.
Lawrence in the blood-soaked sur-
roundings. Her legs were spread and
there seemed to be cuts on the body,
from head to toe; also, many bruises
were visible.

A week, beginning on Monday, May
18th, was spent selecting 11 jurors. By
the end of the week one juror was yet to
be picked, and a three-day holiday in-
terrupted completion of the panel.

After the May 25th Memorial Day ob-
servance the twelfth jury member was
named and Judge Harney ordered the
panel sequestered until the testimony
was heard and the final verdict was
reached.

The brutal killing of the vivacious
blonde wife and mother of three small
children, and the investigation before
the accused was brought to trial, were
revealed in an unbelievably gruesome
drama.

TRUE DETECTIVE MAGAZINE

December, 1981.

On that fatal night in October, Sarah
Lawrence took her children—ages four,
five, and nine—to the elementary
school located across the street from the
Lawrence southwest Amarillo home to
participate in a Halloween carnival.
The event was one of many sponsored
annually at each of the schools, usually
prepared by the parent-teacher organi-
zation.

This was to be the last outing for Mrs.
Lawrence with her children.

The Lawrences had been married
only a short time, and were to observe
their second anniversary on November
4th. On the night that tragedy struck,
the victim’s husband was at work on the
evening shift, from 3:00 to 11:00 p.m. at
an Amarillo industrial plant.

Mrs. Lawrence had been an Amarillo
resident most of her life. She worked as
a clerk at a computer data firm.

She and the children arrived home
from school shortly after 9:00 and she
talked to her husband on the telephone.
She told him about the carnival events,
and then said she planned to give the
children their baths and put them to
bed. She said she was watching the TV
program “Dallas” and that she would
see him when he got home about 11:30
p.m.

This was the last conversation the
couple would share.

A real monster struck a short time
after the phone conversation ended. The
killer may have been on the premises at
the time the Lawrence couple was talk-
ing. Only two hours later, her husband
was gazing in horror at Sarah’s
bloody corpse.

The victim’s husband arrived home at
the usual time, about 11:30 p.m., raised
the garage door and parked his car and
started to enter his three-bedroom
home. He was greeted by the frenzied
barking of the pet cocker spaniel. The
Lawrence couple was keeping the dog
for relatives who were out of town.

He entered the living room and the
dog met him, all the while barking vic-
iously and running back and forth from
the front to the back rooms of the house.

A bloody, gruesome sight was in store
for the husband as he went towards the
front part of the house. He heard the TV
blaring before he reached the den. The
graphic scene that he came upon was
stamped indelibly in his memory.

“IT went into the den; that’s when I
first really saw Sarah,” he testified on
the witness stand nearly two years


THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE
FRIDAY, AUGUST 16,

L985

Supreme Court review of:

By FRANK KLIMKO
and RAUL REYES
Houston Chronicle

AUSTIN — Attorney General Jim
Mattox says it is unclear whether the
U.S. Supreme Court will review the
death denalty case of convicted mur-
derer Jay Kelly Pinkerton, even though
the court issued a last-minute stay of
execution.

Five Supreme Court justices granted |

a stay of execution Wednesday to the
former Amarillo meat cutter just 26
minutes before he was to be put to

death for the 1979 mutilation murder of |

a mother of three.

And, the sheriff of Randall County
said he hopes Pinkerton will carry out
his promise to help clear up some un-
solved questions about the killing.

Mattox said Thursday the justices
did not make it clear whether they

would actually hear the case of Pinker-
ton.

“In reading the four-paragraph order
it appears that the a may have
felt that they ..
needed more in-
formation and
therefore
granted a stay
on that basis,”
Mattox — said.
“One of the jus-
_ tices indicated
he found no sub-
stance to the
claims, but
wrote that he
wanted clarifi-

Pinkerton

cation on the positions of other justices
and therefore voted to issue the stay.”
Mattox said his office now will wait
to see if the court decides to hear Pin-
kerton’s case in full.
Pinkerton’s attorney. Mike Charlton

of Houston, agreed that the court did
nut grant a review in staying the exe-
cution.
son in the state of Texas when they
issued the stay, he said.

Charlton said he would be filing addi-
tional papers with the court seeking to

overturn Pinkerton’s capital murder —

conviction. The appeals center on alle-

gations that prosecutors used illegally —

obtained evidence and they did not
properly notify defense attorneys of the
' State's star witness against Pinkerton.

“I was the most surprised per- |

Pinkerton, 23, was waiting in a hold-
ing cell only a few feet from the death
chamber when told that the execution
had been blocked.

He was taken back to his death row
cell at the Texas Department of Cor-
rections’ Ellis Unit, 13 miles from the
death chamber, and “looked like a

piece of wilted lettuce when he re- ;

turned to the prison,” officials said.
He spent most of Thursday sleeping.
Randall County Sheriff Harold Hooks

said he met with Pinkerton for about 45 :

minutes at the death house Wednesday
night. Hooks presented Pinkerton with
a list of questions about the Lawrence
killing that investigators have been un-
able to answer.
But Pinkerton refused to cooperate.
“He said his big mouth had probably
gotten him in this trouble and he didn’t
want to make it worse,” said Hooks.

Pinkerton did, however, eventually
agree to write a reply to Hooks’ ques-
tions and was writing the letter when
word of the stay came from Washing-
ton, D.C. The sheriff now doubts he will
receive Pinkerton’s reply.

Hooks refused to disclose the exact
nature of the questions. He said he had
agreed to not release the questions to
the public if Pinkerton won a stay.

Mattox also was surprised by the Su-

{

Pinkerton case
uncertain.

preme Court’s last-minute action.

“We were of the opinion that a stay
probably wouldn't be granted,” Mattox
said. “We looked at the issues and did
not see any meritorious ones in the

group.”
He said, however, that his office was

initially surprised that Pinkerton was -

moving quickly through the appellate
process.

Mattox complained the appeals
courts were inconsistent in their death
sentence rulings.

“The federal courts continue to send |
conflicting signals,” he said. “They ap-

pear to be on the verge of moving these
matters forward very rapidly and then
they take this kind of action which

would indicate a slowing of the pro-

cess.”

The last late execution stay in Texas
came in October 1983 when Justice By-
ron White halted the execution of Ama-

rillo drifter James “Cowboy” Autry. .

Autry, who waited on the execution ta-
ble with two needles in his arms for
more than an hour, was put to death six
months later for the killing of a Port
Arthur convenience store clerk. |

Pinkerton, a convicted burglar with
a history of juvenile crime, was ‘sen-
tenced to death for the Oct. 26, 2979,
rape and mutilation of Sarah Donn
Lawrence, 30. He also is under a déath .
sentence for a similar killing five
months later of Sherry Welch, 2 a°
former beauty queen.

The families of the victims were dis-
appointed with the stay. “It figures,”
said Mrs. Lawrence's mother, Virginia
Royer of Lubbock. “I was afraid this
would happen. But maybe it was God's
will.”

The condemned man’s mother, Mar-
gie Pinkerton, said the family was re-

lieved. “We were not surprised,” she |

said. “We felt he would get it all along.”

are v Van
, however,
iless error
ved in the

ourt. a

ant of the
cky is re-

1anded for.
tent with.

Pinketrr ekecufek Mery 1966
/terts ville “Texas

MEMORANDUM CASES

Cé No. A-872. Jay Kelly Pinkerton,

Appellant v O. L. McCotter, Di-
rector, Texas Department of
Corrections

476 US 1109, 90 L Ed 647, 106 S
Ct 1961.

May 14, 1986. The application for
stay of execution of the sentence of
death presented to Justice White
and by him referred to the Court is
denied.

Justice Brennan, dissenting.

Adhering to my view that the
death penalty is in all circumstances
cruel and unusual punishment pro-
hibited by the Eighth and Four-
teenth Amendments, Gregg v Geor-
gia, 428 US 153, 227, 49 L Ed 2d
859, 96 S Ct 2909 (1976), I would
grant the application for stay in
order to give the applicant time to
file a petition for writ of certiorari,
and would grant the petition and
vacate the sentence in this case.

Justice Marshall, with whom Jus-
tice Brennan joins, dissenting.

Applicant seeks a stay of execu-
tion, claiming that the Eighth and
Fourteenth Amendments are of-
fended by the State’s attempt to exe-
cute him for a crime he committed
while a juvenile. This Court has not
yet considered whether imposition of
the death penalty for a minor’s
crimes is so antagonistic to civilized
notions of morality as to transgress
the bounds imposed by the Constitu-
tion. I believe it is time for this
Court to address this issue of pro-
found significance. See Roach v Ai-

ken, 474 US 1039, 88 L Ed 2d 637,
106 S Ct 645 (1986) (Brennan, J.,
joined by Marshall, J., dissenting).
Accordingly, I would grant the stay
of execution in order to afford Pink-
erton an opportunity to present his
claim in a petition for certiorari.

No. 85-777. National Federation of
Federal Employees, Petitioner v
Defense Language Institute

476 US 1110, 90 L Ed 2d 647, 106
S Ct 2004.

May 19, 1986. The petition for
writ of certiorari in the above-enti-

tled case was dismissed today pursu-
ant to Rule 53 of this Court.

Same case below, 767 F2d 1398.

No. 85-1257. Terry Rogers and
Brenda Rogers, Appellants v
Cheyenne Airport Board and
City of Cheyenne

476 US 1110, 90 L Ed 2d 647, 106
S Ct 1961.

May 19, 1986. Appeal from the
Supreme Court of Wyoming. The
appeal is dismissed for want of a
substantial federal question.

Same case below, 707 P2d 717.


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§ Seether
2 Geter:

e
~

later in a tense, hushed courtroom.

“What sticks in my mind is the hole in
her throat with blood still running out
of it,” he told the court.

The distraught husband saw his wife
sprawled on her back on the living-room
floor. She was wedged between the
couch and a coffee table.

Her nude body was exposed, for the
robe she wore had fallen open. Blood
was oozing from numerous wounds and
her panties were down around one
ankle.

“There was a lot of blood on the side of
her face,” the victim’s husband said. “I
could tell there was no life there.”

His first thought was that the killer
might be still in the house. The man ran
back into the garage to look for a
baseball bat to use as a weapon, but it
wasn’t there in its usual place. Then he
grabbed a .410 shotgun, but he found it
was inoperable.

Next he got a .38-caliber pistol from
the master bedroom, but he had no
shells for it. Frantic by this time, he
loaded a .30-06 rifle and began a search
of the bedrooms.

He awakened the children and after
determining they were unharmed, he
told them to go back to sleep. He dashed
into the master bedroom again and
found it was empty, but he noticed a
small window open.

Then the heartbroken husband called
the ‘police and an ambulance.

Two police cars patrolling the area
arrived almost immediately. The offic-
ers viewed the grisly scene briefly, ob-
serving at once that the victim of the
crime was dead.

The children were taken to a
neighbor’s house nearby and the officers
radioed for reinforcements.

Soon detectives, identification tech-
nicians and a Randall County justice
of the peace arrived.

Amarillo pathologist Jose Diaz-
Esquivel came to the crime scene and
examined the body before it was re-
moved to an Amarillo mortuary, where
an autopsy was later performed.

Officers learned from the grief-
stricken husband that Sarah’s purse
was missing and that a hunting-type
Bowie knife about 10 inches long was
not on a plaque hanging on the wall in
its usual place.

Carolyn McPhee Porter, police iden-
tification officer, answered the call to
the bloody scene. She photographed the
body and took several shots of the death
room. A fingerprint on the coffee table
located near the victim’s body was
photographed by Officer Porter.
Another print was taken from the
plaque on the wall that had previously
held the knife that was now missing.

Later, Officer Porter went to the mor-
tuary and photographed a bloody
palmprint on the thigh of Mrs. Lawr-
ence. That print would play a vital part

Seventeen-year-old Jay Pinkerton was all smiles in court, even though he was
on trial for the savage knife-slaying of Sarah Donn Lawrence, mother of three

in identifying the killer.

Believing it was possible that the kil-
ler might still be in the southwest part
of the city, Lt. Keith Ferguson, in com-
mand of the crime scene, called a SWAT
(Special Weapons and Tactics) team.
Kenneth Brink was among the team
members answering the call. While
Brink was cruising the area he spotted a
figure walking fast through a parking
lot of one of the all-night stores. When
the patrol car came into the person’s
view, he started running and Brink
gave pursuit.

After a two-block chase Brink took
the young man into custody and drove
him to the police station for question-
ing. Officers learned the man’s name
was Jay Kelly Pinkerton, 17, and that
he lived just a few blocks from the
Lawrence home.

The youth was already an object of a
search by police that night, because he
lived in the area of the homicide, and

because Pinkerton had a record that in-
cluded burglary.

Officer Brink and another officer had
been to the home of Pinkerton’s parents
soon after the slaying was discovered
and had talked to the parents, but they
had not been admitted to the house.

After police grilled Pinkerton they re-
leased him for lack of evidence, and be-
cause his relatives provided his alibi for
the evening. But Pinkerton was still
considered by police officers as a suspect
in the crime that had just occurred.

Meanwhile Lieutenant Ferguson di-
rected officers on foot and in cars in a
search of the neighborhood within a
several block radius of the Lawrence
home.

As they went house to house, knock-
ing on doors, they found no one who had
heard or seen anything unusual, though
some persons said they’d heard dogs
barking.

The investigative team spread out to

True Detective 31


POLANCO, Jesse, His,

‘|

elec. TX (Bexar) August 19, 1938

guided ‘his vehicle expertly

Giese FORBES, bus driver,

in

around the El Paso street route,
San Antonio, Tex. It was getting late

and he had not picked up any passengers

by

the time he reached Rosillo street.

Forbes was a friendly man. He liked
companionship. So it was with a warm
feeling of relief that he saw two men

pa

ssengers waiting under a dim street

light at the corner. Then suddenly he

tensed.

Too late the unwary driver saw the

dull gleam of a pistol in the hands of the
foremost customer.

sh
40

Before Forbes could slam the door
ut, the men were aboard. In a thick,

STARTLING DETECTIVE, February, 1942

calm voice the gunman demanded : “Hand
over your money. Be quick !”

Forbes glanced about wildly but the
street was deserted. “I—I haven’t any
money,” he protested. “T turned it all in at
the office before I started this’ last trip
out, and I haven't picked up any more
passengers.”

The black eyes of the bandit glared
into the driver’s frightened face. The

menacing muzzle of the pistol moved an.

inch closer to Forbes’ body. The driver
swerved backward, instinctively. The

move was fatal.
“Take it, then!” the brutal voice of the

bandit rasped, and a flash of orange flame
streaked toward the driver’s body. The

5 HARTI EMR

This official police close-up shows the
killer quartet whose stealthy stickups
of bus drivers spread dismay through
San Antonio, Tex. Left to right, they
are: the “stooge” whose youth saved
him from a long prison term; the trig-
german, without his telltale mus-
tache; the getaway Car driver; and the
No. 2 gunman of the mob.

roar of gunfire filled the night as Forbes
slumped forward, screaming with pain.

With one leap the two gunmen were
gone into the darkness. Seconds later the.
drone of a motor at high speed left a thin
trail of sound to tell which way they had
gone.

The echoing sounds of the shot roused
the neighborhood to instant action. A
block away, a man heard the deadly blast
as he sat on thefront porch of his home.
While he was rushing toward the sound
ofthe wounded man’s screams, another
resident of the neighborhood raced to a
neighboring drug store to report the
tragedy.

The first man reached the bus, pant-


ing, and for a second was held motion-
less by the horrible sight before him.
George Forbes half lay over the steering
wheel, his hands clutched at his abdomen,
while his life blood stained the upholstery
and floor of the vehicle in a widening
pool. .
Minutes later on that night of May 14,
1936, help arrived. An ambulance slid
to a stop beside the bus, and Forbes was
rushed to William B. Green hospital.
Meanwhile, the alarm had started po-
lice cars roaring to the scene. While

42

hief ‘

squads of uniformed men threw a block-
ade around nearby streets, Detectives

_ Ed Amacker and Fred L. Littlepage, ace ©

investigator of the homicide division,
took over at the scene.

They examined the bloodstained street
bus with expert thoroughness, but they
soon determined that the bold midnight |
bandits had left no clues. The horrified
spectators could tell them nothing.

“Mr. Forbes was alive when we put
him, in the ambulance,” said the man
who had arrived first on the scene.
“But I didn’t try to talk to him.”
Littlepage wheeled toward Am-
acker, “Stay here and see what you
can find out. I'll go to the hospital.
Maybe Forbes can tell us” some-
thing.”
Amacker nodded assent, and by
the time Littlepage’s car had
sped out of sight he was taking
a from the witnesses.

Amacker learned little. But
two things that the shudder-
ing bystanders remembered

seemed to have significance.

“T saw those two guys

waiting for the bus,” one
man said. “They stood there
for several minutes. I was walk-
ing by and I didn’t see them get on the
bus.”

“Can you describe them ?”, Amacker
asked.

“J didn’t pay much attention to them.
But they were both young and both ‘of
them were real dark. They were dressed
in dark suits. One of ‘them had on a
sweater and I’m sure he had a mustache.”

“Fine,” Amacker said. “That’s a good
description.”

He hastily scribbled notes, then turned
to others in the crowd. “Did any of you
see the escape?” he asked.

“tT gaw a car go by my house just a few
minutes ‘after I heard that shot,” a man
volunteered. “Maybe it wasn’t the ban-

\

of Detectives Aubrey Hopkins, :
‘netted the desperate foursome. Detective Ed
ed the killers from the corner of El Paso and Rosillo streets, above,
the crime scene, to the ends of their separate trails.

e relentless manhunt

left, directed th
Amacker, below left,

?

dits’ car but it was running without
lights. I went to the door when I heard
the shot: and the car whizzed by about
that time. Looked like four men in it.”

“Which way did they go?”

“They were heading north but I think
they turned a corner down the street and
went back east toward town.”

“What kind of car was it?”

“Well, it was an old roadster of some
kind, It sounded like a Ford.”

Amacker rushed to a telephone and re-
layed this information to headquarters.
Capt. Aubrey Hopkins, chief of the de-
tective bureau, took the call, “Radio the
squad.cars to look out for four men,” Am-
acker told the chief. “I believe two men
stayed in the automobile as lookouts while
the other two held up the bus.” He added
a description of the men who had halted
Forbes. Then, while police prowl cars
took up the hunt, the detective went back
to his work at the scene.

,

r THE bandits had escaped in an auto-
mobile, it was strange, Amacker

thought, that no one saw the car prior to
the holdup. And only one man had seen a
suspicious car in the neighborhood after
the shooting. This witness lived more
than two blocks from where, the holdup
occurred. “They hid out somewhere
around here,” Amacker decided.

y He studied the ground carefully, then
his gaze turned to Elvira alley, a narrow
passageway, half overgrown with shrub-
bery. Purposefully he strode to the alley.
Tracks of an automobile showed plainly,
while several cigaret stubs and the foot-
prints of men gave evidence that this was
the place of concealment.

The detective was disappointed to find
that none of the tracks was plain enough
for a print, but he could tell that several
men had tramped about. Moreover, the
automobile treads were made by a small
machine. He was sure now that the small

STARTLING

Bx

-. Also in on the mar
“page, right. He hel
- in Elvira alley, pict

roadster which ha:
posite street was tl
be easy to trace,
satisfaction.
While Amacke:
Littlepage reache:
allowed to see the
and Dr. J. A. Wa
“T’l] allow you a fe
said, ‘but I believ:
your questions br
Littlepage agre
operating room.
but his voice cam«
don’t know why
said. “Seemed lik:
I told him I didn
“Did you recog
tlepage asked.
The wounded
“Never saw them
young, both in t
dark complexion
me had‘a mustacl
He could tell n
few minutes Litt
and Watts were
a last desperate
tle hope that the -
survive the shoc]

Se
to the scen
joined Amacker
“Tt stacks up |
dits we've bee:
months,” Amac'!
so far we’ve nev:
Certain that t)
worth-while clu:
tives returned t
aren’t caught 1
Amacker said,
former crimes t
, Capt. Hopki
report. Like Lit
knew they wer

DETECTIVE


lentless manhunt
iacker, below left,
illo streets, above,
trails.

running without
oor when I heard
whizzed by about
four men in it.”
"y 0?”
north but I think
own the street and
town.”
was it?”
d roadster of some
a Ford.”
a telephone and re-
n to headquarters.
1s, chief of the de-
he call. “Radio the
for four men,” Am-
“T believe two men
‘le as lookouts while
the bus.” He added
nen who had halted
> police prowl cars
detective went back
ne.

1 escaped in an auto-
strange, Amacker
saw the car prior to
» one man had seen a
» neighborhood after
witness lived more
im where, the holdup
hid out somewhere
‘ker decided.
round carefully, then
iI|vira alley, a narrow
vergrown with shrub-
he strode to the alley.
iobile showed plainly,
et stubs and the foot-
evidence that this was
Iment.
as disappointed to find
acks was plain enough
could tell that several
about. Moreover, the
were made by a small

sure now that the small

STARTLING

Also in on the manhur

: : Bt ir 1
oy e, right. He helped ‘to prove tha’

Ivira alley, pictured above; 2

“*

roadster which had been seen on the op- :

posite street was the bandit car. It should
be easy to trace, he thought with some
satisfaction. - .

While Amacker worked at the stene,
Littlepage reached the hospital and was
allowed to see the victim. Dr. J. B. Miller
and Dr. J. A. Watts were in attendance.
“T’l allow you a few minutes,” Dr. Miller
said, “but I believe Forbes is dying. Make
your questions brief.”

Littlepage agreed and passed into the
operating room. Forbes was conscious
but his voice came in hoarse whispers. ?L
don’t know why the man shot me,” he
said. “Seemed like it made him mad when
I told him I didn’t have any money.”

“Did you recognize the bandits ?” Lit-
tlepage asked.

The wounded man shook his head.
“Never saw them before. They were real
young, both in their twenties and both
dark complexioned. The one that. shot
me had‘a mustache.”

He could tell nothing more and after a
few minutes Littlepage left. Drs. Miller
and Watts were preparing to operate as
a last desperate chance, but they held lit-
tle hope that the 43-year-old victim would
survive the shock and loss of blood.

] TTTREPAGE drove hurriedly back
to the scene of the holdup and re-
joined Amacker.

“Tt stacks up like the work of the ban-
dits we’ve been trying to catch for
months,” Amacker said dismally. “And
so far we’ve never gotten a clue on them.”

Certain that they could secure no more
worth-while clues at the scene, the detec-
tives returned to headquarters. “If they
aren't caught in the dragnet tonight,”
Amacker said, “we've got a long list of
former crimes to check this one with.”

, Capt. Hopkins listened. grimly to the

report. Like Littlepage and Amacker, he

knew they were up against professional
t

DETECTIVE

criminals. The needless “shooting of
Forbes had climaxed a growing list of
similar crimes. Qn April 18, the driver
of a Guadalupe street bus had been held
" and robbed by two men at the corner
of El Paso and Rosillo streets—the exact
spot where Forbes had faced the deadly
gunmen. On the night of April 19, the
driver of a Prospect street bus had been
held up by three men in the loop of the
Lady of the Lake campus and robbed of
his collections. These and other similar
crimes had baffled the police for months.

“It’s got to stop,” Hopkins said. “These

hoodlums are terrorizing the city and

getting bolder all the time.”

Littlepage and Amacker worked tire-
lessly all night. They got only one lead,
when a beer tavern operator near the
scene of the crime told them of a suspi-
cious incident. :

“Not more than thirty minutes before
that shooting there were two men in here
with a gun,” he said. “Tt was a break-
back thirty-eight Smith and Wesson. One
of the men, a tall, slender fellow with a
mustache showed it to me. I told them
they’d better put that gun away before
they got into trouble. I noticed the pistol
had the’ words ‘American Railroad’
stamped on one side.”

“Do you know where they went ?” Lit-
tlepage asked.

“No, I don’t know a thing about them,
I wouldn’t recognize them if I saw them
again.”

“The man with the mustache fits the
description of the killer,” Littlepage said.
“We've got to get another lead on him.”

But hours of work in the community
failed to bring any more: news of the
suspicious pair. They simply had van-
ished.

A few suspects were rounded up in the
police drive during the night, but only
one of these aroused the detectives’ in-
terest. A deaf mute who had been ar-
rested many times before for vagrancy,

e

had been found by a plainclothesman on a
downtown street, acting suspiciously.
Arrested, the man was searched and
found to be carrying seven pistols.

“The man’s a walking arsenal!” Am-
acker said. “He doesn’t fit the descrip-
tion of the killer, but we’ve got: more
than one man to deal with in this crime.”

The deaf mute refused to give an ac-
count of his actions. He was held in jail
for further investigation.

fied morning the dreaded message
came from the hospital and threw
grim determination into the police force.
George Forbes had failed to withstand
the operation. The bullet had entered his
right side, passed through the body and
lodged in the back. The doctors had re-
moved the bullet, but Forbes had died
without regaining consciousness.

Dr. Miller turned the lethal slug over
to Littlepage and it was immediately sent
to M. T. Gonzaullas, ballistic expert of
the state crime laboratory in Austin.
Along with it, Hopkins sent the seven
guns taken from the deaf mute. “If we
can find out what caliber gun was used
to murder Forbes, we'll crack this case
in short order,” the chief promised.

Amacker and Littlepage worked tire-
lessly, checking the evidence accumu-
lated in the other robbery cases on file.
One thing was certain: The man who
had shot Forbes fitted the description of
the gunman responsible for the last two
unsolved bus robberies. But in each case
there had been more than one man in-
volved. Evidently the thin dark man
with the mustache was the leader of a
desperate gang of thugs who were expert
in outwitting the law. Could they be
stopped before they struck again?

Gonzaullas. promptly reported from
Austin that none of the seven guns ex-
amined was the murder weapon. But one
thing in his report brought swift satis-

43


lose-up shows the
b stealthy stickups
id dismay through
Left to right, they
hose youth saved
son term; the trig-
his telltale mus-
car driver; and the
of the mob.

4 the night as Forbes

creaming with pain.

he two gunmen were

ess. Seconds later the -
- high speed left a thin

i] which way they had

nds of the shot roused
to instant action. A
heard the deadly blast
ont porch of his home.
hing toward the sound
an’s screams, another
ighborhood raced to a

store to report the

reached the bus, pant:

George Forbes, right,
was the victim of the
mob who at midnight
caught him alone in

his bus, shown here.

et
SATE


ie

956

14. Habeas Corpus <500

State habeas court’s failure by over-
sight to consider affidavits filed by peti-
tioner did not infringe upon petitioner’s
constitutional rights, although omission did
affect deference that federal court owed to
state court’s findings on issue of counsel’s
competence.

15. Habeas Corpus <818

Federal habeas court may grant certif-
icate of probable cause only by finding that
there has been substantial showing of deni-
al of petitioner’s federal right. F.R.A.P.
Rule 22(b), 28 U.S.C.A.

16. Habeas Corpus <821

Stay of execution may only be granted
if habeas petitioner has made showing of
likelihood of success on merits, of irrepara-
ble injury in absence of stay, that granting
of stay would not substantially harm other
parties, and that granting stay would serve
public interest.

Karen Zellars, Houston, Tex., for peti-
tioner-appellant.

Robert 8. Walt, Atty. Gen., Dana E. Par-
ker, Asst. Atty. Gen., Enforcement Div.,
Austin, Tex., for respondent-appellee.

Appeal from the United States District
Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Before WILLIAMS, JONES, and
SMITH, Circuit Judges.

EDITH H. JONES, Circuit Judge:

Petitioner Stephen Albert McCoy was
convicted of capital murder and sentenced
to death. The district court denied his peti-
tion for writ of habeas corpus and stay of
execution and declined to hold an evidentia-
ry hearing. Before us are McCoy’s mo-
tions for stay of execution and certificate
of probable cause to appeal, the latter of
which may only be granted if a petitioner
makes a “substantial showing of the denial
of a federal right.” Barefoot v. Estelle,
463 U.S. 880, 893, 103 S.Ct. 3383, 3394, 77
L.Ed.2d 1090 (1983). Finding that McCoy’s
claims are either procedurally barred or

874 FEDERAL REPORTER, 2d SERIES

lack merit, we deny the motions for stay of
execution and certificate of probable cause.

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL |
BACKGROUND

The facts of McCoy’s capital crime come
from his taped confession introduced at his
trial and the testimony of an accomplice to
the crime. On December 31, 1980, Cynthia
Darlene Johnson was in an automobile acci-
dent on a Houston freeway and suffered a
head injury. McCoy, James Paster, and
Gary LeBlanc drove by and asked Johnson
whether she needed help. She responded
that she did not. McCoy, Paster, and Le-
Blanc dropped off the female passengers in
their car and returned to the site of Cyn-
thia Johnson’s accident. McCoy persuaded
her to get into their car. They drove to a
warehouse where McCoy and the others
forced her to perform various sexual acts
with each of them. LeBlanc testified that
McCoy and Paster threatened her with a
gun during the rape. McCoy admitted in
his confession that he and LeBlanc then
held Cynthia Johnson while Paster stran-
gled her with a cord. Paster then drove a
nail up her nostril. They placed her body
in the trunk of the car, picked up their
other female companions and finally dis-
carded Cynthia Johnson’s body.

At the punishment phase of McCoy’s tri-
al, additional portions of McCoy’s taped
confession were introduced in which he de-
scribed his role in two other grisly slay-
ings. On October 25, 1980, he participated
in the contract murder (for $1,000) of Rob-
ert Howard. Although it was Paster who
sneaked up behind Howard and shot him in
the head with a pistol, McCoy admitted that
he was armed with a shotgun at the time.
Sometime in mid-November, McCoy, Paster
and LeBlanc forced Diana Trevino Oliver
into their car, took her to a field and raped
her. McCoy admitted that he stabbed her
several times in the chest. Diana Oliver’s
body was found on November 19, 1980 with
knife and gun wounds. |

On April 19, 1983, McCoy was indicted
for the capital murder of Cynthia Johnson.
On July 26, 1984, after a three day trial,
the jury found McCoy guilty of capital

McCOY v. LYNAUGH

955

Cite as 874 F.2d 954 (5th Cir. 1989)

5. Jury €°105(2)

Prospective juror in trial of defendant
on charges of capital murder was properly
excluded under state law given prospective
juror’s strong feelings against rapists
which might have compelled juror to hold
state to lesser burden of proof than re-
quired by law; juror indicated that she did
not believe she could follow law in case
alleging that death resulted during commis-
sion of aggravated rape.

6. Mental Health <=432

Defendant was legally competent to
stand trial on charge of capital murder
despite defendant’s suicide attempt prior to
trial; physician who examined defendant
found defendant to have rational as well as
factual understanding of proceedings and
to possess ability to consult with attorney
with reasonable degree of rational under-
standing.

7. Habeas Corpus ¢=496 ©
Assuming that hypotheticals used to

distinguish between statutory terms “in-
tentional” and “deliberate” in trial of peti-
tioner for capital murder constituted viola-
tion of due process, petitioner was still not
entitled to habeas relief based upon mere
conclusory allegations; allegedly improper
hypothetical addressed to excluded venire
member did not mislead other prospective

jurors. U.S.C.A. Const.Amends. 5, 14.

8. Habeas Corpus 498

Even if petitioner’s trial counsel ex-
pressly requested instruction to effect that
law of parties may not be considered by
jury in assessing punishment or in answer-
ing special issues in capital case, and that
instruction was erroneously denied by trial
court, such did not amount to constitutional
violation warranting habeas corpus relief
special issues submitted to jury sufficiently
focused on defendant’s personal conduct
and culpability for his crime.

9. Criminal Law ¢641.13(2)

Defendant’s trial counsel was not defi-
cient for failure to object to exclusion of
venire members in capital murder trial; ve-
nire members were properly excluded giv-
en indication by three prospective jurors

that they would, under no circumstances, .

vote for death penalty and statements by
fourth juror that she was biased against
rapists. U.S.C.A. Const.Amend. 6.

10. Criminal Law ¢641.13(5)

Defendant’s trial counsel was not inef-
fective for failure to request hearing to
determine defendant’s competency to stand
trial on capital murder charge; no evidence
of incompetency existed. U.S.C.A. Const.
Amend. 6.

11. Criminal Law €641.13(7)

Defendant’s trial counsel were not in-
effective for failure to investigate and
present mitigation evidence at punishment |
phase of capital murder trial; persons on
list given to defense counsel by defendant
to call to testify on behalf of defendant had
nothing positive to say on behalf of defen-
dant and further, defense counsel were
concerned about opening door to enabling
state to inquire into instances of prior bad
acts of defendant, including beating his
wife and threatening his children. U.S.
C.A. Const.Amend. 6.

12. Criminal Law ¢641.13(7)

Defendant’s trial counsel was not inef-
fective for failure to request instruction on
inapplicability of law of parties in jury’s
consideration of special issues in capital
murder trial nor was appellate counsel inef-
fective for failing to raise trial court’s al-
leged “failure” to so instruct jury; at pun-
ishment phase of trial, jury was asked
whether conduct of defendant that caused
death of deceased was committed deliber-
ately and with reasonable expectation that
death would result, and thus, jury delibera-
tions would not have been different had
jury been instructed-one more time that
they were to consider defendant’s conduct
alone. U.S.C.A. Const.Amend. 6.

13. Constitutional Law <42.1(3)
Defendant had no legal or factual ba-
sis on which to contest constitutionality of
state’s capital sentencing statute on basis
that it failed to adequately guide jury in
application of mitigating evidence, given
fact that no mitigating evidence was of-
fered on defendant’s behalf at punishment
phase of trial.

*« »® SE = ery

954

School, Austin, Tex., amicus curiae, aca-
demic affiliation.

Appeals from the United States District
Court for the Western District of Louisi-
ana, James T. Trimble, Jr., United States
Magistrate.

(Amended Order)

Before CLARK, Chief Judge, and
WISDOM, GEE, RUBIN, REAVLEY,
POLITZ, KING, JOHNSON,
WILLIAMS, GARWOOD, JOLLY,
HIGGINBOTHAM, DAVIS, JONES,
SMITH and DUHE, Circuit Judges.

BY THE COURT:

The defendant-appellant, National Union
Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh has filed
an agreed motion to withdraw and dismiss
its appeal in light of the subject matter of
this appeal having been resolved and set-
tled between the parties on appeal. The
Court having vacated the panel opinion by
granting rehearing en banc, 863-F.2d 345
(5th Cir.1988), the motion to dismiss is
GRANTED, and the appeal is DISMISSED.

w
°o sy NUMBER SYSTEM

Checated ae 2-89

=

Stephen Albert ucor,
Petaiaa speci, )

James A. RCH Difector Pexas
Department of Corrections,
Respondent-—Appellee.

No. 89-2502.

United States Court of Appeals,
Fifth Circuit.
May 22, 1989.

Following conviction of capital murder
and imposition of death sentence, petition
for writ of habeas corpus and stay of exe-
cution was filed. The United States Dis-
trict Court for the Southern District of

Codete,

Aed: Ga

t James a fas fe

874 FEDERAL REPORTER, 2d SERIES io AK | ,

Texas, David Hittner, J., denied petition,
and petitioner appealed. The Court of Ap-

‘peals, Edith H. Jones, Circuit Judge, held

that: (1) four prospective venire members
were properly excluded; (2) petitioner was
not deprived of effective assistance of
counsel; and (8) petitioner had no basis
upon which to contest Texas sentencing
statute’s alleged failure to incorporate miti- -
gating evidence in juror’s sentencing deter-
minations.

Denied.

Jerre 8. Williams, Circuit Judge, filed
specially concurring opinion.

1. Habeas Corpus <313

Federal court is procedurally barred
from considering issues on federal habeas
review of which petitioner failed to object
at time of trial unless petitioner can show
good cause for his noncompliance with
state procedures and actual prejudice re-
sulting from alleged constitutional viola-

‘tion.

2. Habeas Corpus ¢407

Federal habeas petitioner failed to
demonstrate good cause for noncompliance
with state procedures which resulted from
his failure to object to introduction of tape-
recorded confession on ground that it was
altered; ground for objection was not novel
or unknowable and there had been no
change of law since time of trial which
would make claim more meritorious.

3. Habeas Corpus <¢=407

Federal habeas court’s holding on pro-
cedural bar’ is unaffected by grant of stay
of execution by Supreme Court in regard to
case involving almost identical challenge to
sentencing statute.

4. Habeas Corpus ¢—846

Federal courts of appeals in habeas.
proceedings are required to accept findings
of federal district court on contested issue
unless they are clearly erroneous. 28 U.S.
C.A. § 2254(d); Fed.Rules Civ.Proc.Rule
52(a), 28 U.S.C.A.; Rules Governing § 2254
Cases, Rule 11, 28 U.S.C.A. foll. § 2254.

CKected ef

or ed

McCOY v. LYNAUGH

- =,

957

Cite as 874 F.2d 954 (5th Cir. 1989)

murder, and the next day the jury answer-
ed the special issues in the affirmative and
McCoy was sentenced to death. On June
18, 1986, McCoy’s conviction and sentence
were affirmed by the Texas Court of Crimi-
nal Appeals, McCoy v. State, 713 S.W.2d
940 (Tex.Crim.App.1986) (en banc). Certio-
rari was denied by the Supreme Court on
March 23, 1987, McCoy v. Texas, 480 U.S.
940, 107 S.Ct. 1590, 94 L.Ed.2d 779 (1987).

_ The State set McCoy’s execution for June

25, 1987. On June 12, McCoy filed a pro se
application for stay of execution in the
United States District Court for the South-
ern District of Texas.!. The application for
stay was granted by the federal district
court on June 19, 1987. On July 28, 1987,
the district court appointed Karen Zellars
- to represent McCoy and directed McCoy to
file an amended petition within thirty days
(later. extended for an additional sixty
days). On October 29, 1987, the federal
district court granted McCoy’s motion to
dismiss the action without prejudice to al-
low McCoy to raise unexhausted claims in
state court.

On January 27, 1988, McCoy filed his .

first petition for writ of habeas corpus in
state court. That petition was supplement-
ed on January 20, 1989. On February 20,
1989, the state habeas court issued its find-
ings of fact and conclusions of law, recom-
mending denial of the writ. On February
23, the state habeas court scheduled
McCoy’s execution for March 29, 1989. On
March 7, the Texas Court of Criminal ap-
peals denied the writ application, finding
the trial court’s findings and conclusions to
be supported by the record. Ex parte
McCoy, No. 18,092-01 (Tex.Crim.App.
March 7, 1989). McCoy’s motion for re-
hearing was denied on March 10.

On March 23, McCoy filed his second
writ of habeas corpus in state court alleg-
ing that he was incompetent to be exe-
cuted. He concurrently filed a habeas peti-
tion in the federal district court and a re-
quest for stay of execution. Later that
day, the state court modified McCoy’s exe-
cution date for the last time. Currently,
McCoy is scheduled to be executed before

1. McCoy was represented by counsel in his di-

sunrise on May 24, 1989. The federal dis-
trict court dismissed McCoy’s federal habe-
as petition without prejudice once again to
allow him to exhaust his state remedies.
On April 19, McCoy filed a supplemental
habeas petition in state court. On April 27,
the state habeas court issued its factual
findings and legal conclusions, and recom-
mended that the writ be denied. The Court
of Criminal Appeals denied the writ based
on the findings and conclusions of the state
habeas court. Ex parte McCoy, No. 18,-
092-03 (Tex.Crim.App. May 9, 1989).

On May 10, McCoy filed a petition for
writ of habeas corpus in the federal district
court, which comprised the grounds of his
Supplemental Petition filed in state habeas
court, and requested a stay of execution.
At a hearing on May 16, McCoy moved to
amend his federal habeas petition to in-
clude the grounds for relief earlier dis-
missed without. prejudice. The district
court granted the motion. The combined
federal habeas petition raises thirteen
grounds for relief.

On May 19, the district court issued its
factual findings and legal conclusions.
McCoy v. Lynaugh, Civ. Action No. H-89-
912, mem. op. (S.D.Tex. May 19, 1989). In
a thorough and well reasoned opinion, the
district addressed and denied each ground
for relief, relying on procedural default and
denial on the merits. For essentially the
same reasons, we affirm the denial of relief
for the petitioner.

II. CLAIMS PROCEDURALLY
DEFAULTED

The following grounds for relief were
not raised at trial in accordance with Texas’
contemporaneous objection rule and are
procedurally barred in the federal court:

(1) that McCoy was denied due process
by the state’s use of an altered tape-re-
cording of his confession (Ground for
Relief Nine); :

(2) that the Texas Capital Sentencing
Statute is unconstitutional in that it pro-
hibits the informing of the jury that a
sole juror’s negative answer to either of

rect review and certiorari review.

McCOY. v. LYNAUGH

a,

967

Cite as 874 F.2d 954 (5th Cir. 1989) _

Rule 8, Rules Governing § 2254 Cases in
the United States District Courts. We
have held that, “to receive a federal eviden-
tiary hearing, a petitioner must allege facts
that, if proved, would entitle him to relief.”
Wilson v. Butler, 825 F.2d 879, 880 (5th
Cir.1987) (citing Townsend v. Sain, 372
U.S. 298, 312, 83 S.Ct. 745, 756, 9 L.Ed.2d
770 (1963)), cert. denied, —- U.S. ——, 108
S.Ct. 1059, 98 L.Ed.2d 1021 (1988). We
have reviewed the six affidavits submitted
by McCoy, as did the district court, and we
endorse its conclusion that these affidavits
did not meet the standards set forth in
Wilson. McCoy’s burden was to plead

facts establishing a likely denial of consti-.

tutionally effective representation under
Strickland v. Washington. The affidavits
_ material to this issue were those of McCoy
himself, his mother and his sister. James
Paster, McCoy’s co-murderer, furnished an
affidavit, and the other two affidavits con-
cerned procedural details.

McCoy’s affidavit contends that he was
incompetent during trial, depressed and on
drugs. Both McCoy’s mother and sister
say they attended trial, expected to be
called as witnesses, and would have testi-
fied that Stephen was a dutiful son and
brother and loving father. McCoy’s moth-
er, significantly, does not deny that he
threatened his ex-wife, but says that the
ex-wife provoked his anger. Her affidavit
also says that defense counsel believed the
D.A. would “tear her up” over McCoy’s
domestic disputes with his wife. McCoy’s
sister says he loved his two daughters and
denies defense counsel’s statement that she
acknowledged to him her brother’s bad rep-
utation. None of these affidavits raises a
substantial issue as to the ineffectiveness
of McCoy’s counsel. Even if the facts at-
tested by McCoy, his mother and sister are
fully correct, they reflect at most differ-
ences of opinion over the conduct of the
defense. There is no evidence that counsel
failed to discover some critically significant
point or failed to investigate through
McCoy all possible avenues of mitigation.
Counsel’s affidavits reflect that they sub-
poenaed and interviewed every person
named by McCoy as a witness for this
purpose. Holding a hearing would not

have resolved any material conflicts on
competency of counsel, for there were none
under the deferential Strickland standard.

CONCLUSION

[15,16] We may grant a certificate of
probable cause under Fed.R.App.Proc.
22(b) only by finding that there has been a
substantial showing of the denial of a fed-
eral right. Barefoot v. Estelle, 463 U.S.
880, 103 S.Ct. 3383, 77 L.Ed.2d 1090 (1988).
Similarly, a stay of execution may only be
granted if a movant has made a showing
(1) of a likelihood of success on the merits,
(2) of irreparable injury in the absence of a
stay, (8) that the granting of the stay
would not substantially harm other parties,
and (4) that granting the stay would serve
the public interest. Selvage v. Lynaugh,
842 F.2d 89, 91 (5th Cir.1988). The fore-
going discussion demonstrates that McCoy
is not entitled to relief on the merits of his
claims. We can find no basis for granting
a certificate of probable cause nor for issu-
ing a stay of his execution.

Motion for certificate of probable cause
DENIED; stay of execution DENIED.

JERRE S. WILLIAMS, Circuit Judge,
specially concurring:

I concur in the decision of the Court in
this case and in all of the opinion of the
Court except for Part III.

Harris v. Reed, decided just this year by
the United States Supreme Court, estab-
lishes clearly that a procedural bar cannot
apply unless the last state court to consider
the issue (in this case the state habeas
court) clearly and expressly states that its
decision rests on the procedural bar. We
have no such statement here. Thus, I -
would decide the issue considered in Part
III of the opinion on the merits and not
alternatively under the procedural bar.

But more important to me, I stress that I
do not view with alarm as does the majori-
ty opinion that the loss of a procedural bar
by the state poses serious consequences.
This is a capital case. In such a case the
procedural bar rule properly should be ap-
plied only with the utmost strictness be-

. Orr

ole

968

cause a life otherwise can depend upon a
momentary lapse by a defense counsel in
failing to say “I object.”

No matter how many claims of constitu-
tional error are made in a habeas capital
case, the courts can readily consider the
existence of a procedural bar on each one.
They have to consider each on the merits
anyhow if there is no procedural bar.
When a life is at stake, the fact that one or
a few claims may “fall through the cracks”
and reach the merits is a small price to pay
for utter and scrupulous fairness to an
accused under sentence of death.

I repeat, I concur fully in the result and
in the major aspects of the thorough major-
ity opinion. Petitioner has been found
guilty in a fair trial of the horrible heinous
murder of a young innocent victim. The
law authorizes procedural bars to habeas
claims. But we must be sure the bar ex-
ists. In my view the issue of the disqualifi-
cations of the three jurors is an issue that
we reach on the merits in evaluating the
adequacy of representation by counsel. On
the merits, there is no substantial issue and
the disqualifications were in accordance
with law. Our decision to deny a certifi-
cate of probable cause should rest upon
that conclusion.

fe)

aynms

KEY NUMBER SYSTEM

UNITED STATES of America,
Plaintiff—Appellee,

Vv.

Douglas WILLIAMS, a/k/a “Doug,” Bu-
ford Salter, a/k/a “Red,” Ronald K.
May, a/k/a “Ronny,” Buddy LeDoux,
Kenneth Tyler, Larry Wiggins, and Du-
gan Phillips, Defendants—Appellants.

No. 87-2929.

United States Court of Appeals,
Fifth Circuit. °

May 24, 1989.

‘Defendants were convicted in the Unit-
ed States District Court for the Eastern

ee,

874 FEDERAL REPORTER, 2d SERIES

District of Texas, Sam B. Hall, Jr., J., of
obstructing justice and they appealed. The
Court of Appeals, Garwood, Circuit Judge, ©
held that: (1) indictment would be dis-
missed as to defendant who had died while
case was pending on appeal; (2) it was not
improper for prosecutor to call defendants
to testify before grand jury despite knowl-
edge that they had testified falsely about
the matters under investigation when they
gave civil depositions; (3) dismissal of in-
dictment was not required by fact that
prosecutor allegedly falsely informed de-
fendants that they were not targets of the
grand jury; and (4) defendants could be
convicted on the basis of false testimony
given to grand jury.

Affirmed in part and remanded with
instructions in part.

1. Criminal Law <1070

In view of defendant’s death after sub-
mission of case on appeal but while deci-
sion was pending, court would sever defen-
dant’s case from that of the other defen-
dants and remand the case with direction to
vacate the judgment of conviction and sen-
tence and to dismiss the indictment as to
defendant because of his death.

2. Criminal Law ¢36.5

Improper prosecutorial tactics do not
automatically lead to the conclusion that
the prosecutor’s primary or sole intent in
bringing defendants before the grand jury
was to manufacture charges rather than to
investigate crime.

3. Criminal Law €36.5

It was not improper to call defendants
to testify before grand jury, even though
the prosecutor knew they had lied about
the matters under investigation in civil dep-
ositions, where it was not certain that the
defendants would not testify truthfully
when placed under oath before the grand
jury and where the defendants had inti-
mate knowledge of the matters under in-
vestigation.

me ccc ey

966

tive, especially where appellate counsel
must consider their credibility before the
appellate court. In addition, the state au-
thority demonstrates that had counsel
raised the issue on direct appeal, it is at
best highly unlikely that the result of the
appeal would have been different.

IX. OTHER ISSUES

A. Whether Texas capital sentencing
statute 1s unconstitutional because
it fails adequately to guide the jury
in the application of mitigating ev-
idence (Federal Petition, Ground
Seven).

[13] The state habeas court found, and
the record of the punishment phase of the
trial confirms, that no mitigating evidence
was offered on McCoy’s behalf at that
point in trial. Thus, he has no legal or
factual basis on which to contest the Texas
statute’s alleged failure to incorporate miti-
gating evidence in the jury’s sentencing
determinations.

In his argument to the jury during the
punishment phase, defense counsel did ask
them to consider that McCoy’s violent con-
duct was of recent origin and that he was
motivated in part by fear of Paster and
fear for his family’s safety. If such argu-
ment is considered “mitigating,” it does not
run afoul of the concerns expressed by
Justices O’Connor and Blackmun in Frank-
lin v. Lynaugh, — U.S. ——, 108 S.Ct.
2320, 23338, 101 L.Ed.2d 155 (1988) (O’Con-
nor, J., concurring). The fear expressed by
the concurrence was over the possibility
that certain mitigating evidence might not
be relevant to the jury’s determinations in
the two special issues presented to the jury
upon sentencing in a capital case.
however, defense counsel clearly contended
that McCoy’s fear of Paster should lead to
a negative answer on the “deliberateness”
inquiry in the first special issue. Counsel
also suggested to the jury that because
McCoy had not shown any violent tenden-
cies when he was not associated with Past-
er, they should reject a finding of ‘future
dangerousness” included in Special Issue
Two. Such mitigating evidence as there
was in McCoy’s behalf thus bore directly

Here,

_ 874 FEDERAL REPORTER, 2d SERIES

on the special issues and could easily be
considered by the jury.

B. Constitutionality of Texas proce-
dure for post-conviction relief (Fed-
eral Petition, Ground Eight).

[14] Without making any specific cita-
tion to Texas post-conviction procedure,
McCoy contends that the procedure is un-
constitutional on its face and as applied
because he was denied relief without an
evidentiary hearing in the state habeas
court. He avers that his affidavits, filed in
the state court on or about February 20,
1989, the same day the state habeas court
entered its first order denying relief, cre-
ated “disputed issues of material fact
which require a determination of witness
credibility for resolution.”

The federal district court was uncertain
whether the state habeas court actually
considered these affidavits, which were
filed nearly one full year after the petition
for relief in state court. We note that
these affidavits were available to the Texas
Court of Criminal Appeals on review of the
state court’s determination. In any event,
however, because there is no constitutional
right to attack a state conviction collateral-
ly, Pennsylvania v. Finley, 481 U.S. 551,
107 S.Ct. 1990, 1994, 95 L.Ed.2d 539 (1987),
we fail to see how the constitution can be
infringed by the state habeas court’s fail- -
ure by oversight to consider these affida-
vits. The state habeas court’s omission
does affect the deference that federal
courts owe to its findings on the issue of
counsel’s competence.

C. McCoy’s request for an evidentiary
hearing in federal court.

By motion, McCoy requested an eviden-
tiary hearing in the federal district court on
the basis that the state habeas court en-
tered factual findings without considering
affidavits submitted by McCoy and that it
resolved contested factual issues us
affording him a hearing.

The district court properly responded to
this complaint. In a federal habeas pro- ©
ceeding, no evidentiary hearing is required.

Victim’ s'other

Assoctated Press < ee feos
ust dete oe

HUNTSVILLE, Texas, - — A hit
man linked to five killings in the
Houston area drew little sympathy
from one victim's mother as he was

executed by lethal neon early

“Wednesday. Pic? Oe oe
(oe ae
James © ee 44,
lounge singer whose act included -

DALLAS MoRNING NEWS

a’ former:

ae ee

i. as

“Elvis Presley ‘impersonations, ‘Was ©

condemned for the contract killing
of Robert Edward Howard, 38, who
was gunned down Oct. 25, 1980, as
he left a Houston bar. Mr. Howard's
ex-wife was convicted of setting up
the murder.

Mr. Paster algo'w was serving a life

term for the brutal rape and mur-

der of an 18- te’ woman. He had

er secre mge/ ime ee cinee dames ace

pleaded guilty es the slaying of an-
other woman and had confessed to
killing two other women.

“I hope Mrs. Howard can find

peace in this,” Mr. Paster said in his

final words. It was unclear whether
he was referring to the victim’s ex-
wife or the victim’s mother... - |

“He doesn’: deserve to be on this
Earth, x pay M. by Sabres the vice

‘clearly one of
stances,” Texas Attorney General

unsympathetic toward executed killer |

tim’s 74- yeuebid mother, said.

“When you look at this particu:

lar case and this particular individ-

ual, if there was ever a circum.
stance for an individual to warrant
the use of a death penalty, this is
those circum:

Jim Mattox said after watching the
see ation,

THURS, SEPT. 21, (989

686T O02 aequeqdes

Uo (*0D STdueH) sexey fuoTQ0efuT TeUuqeT ‘tt feqtum ‘sewer Syuasyg


white, elec, T

FA TTON 9 Georg

ee , !

BECAUSE OF THIS SHERIFF'S UNYIELDING DE-
TERMINATION AND PERSISTENCY, AN ALMOST
PERFECT MASS MURDER WAS SOLVED

NTI:

ee

“FRIGHTENED BY
THE COMMO.
TION, ‘she had
dashed out of her
bedroom and stood |
there hewildered
--her gingham
dreas held tightly
in her hands.”

4

LAR @ Fh, AP4RL


watinn. Sto tn hn

| N this particular afternoon of December 6th, Deputy Sheriff
O Jess Sweeten, attached to the law enforcement agency of
Henderson County, Texas, with headquarters at Athens,
looked up at the clock and found it was six o'clock, exactly fif-

teen minutes before supper would be served at his home.
He was about to grab his hat and make his exit when he
noticed a letter‘on his desk. The envelope was written in a
pinched feminine hand. It was postmarked Oklahoma City.

He opened it hurriedly.

Pe The letter was terse and to the point. It stated that the writer
i had not heard from her daughter, Mrs. J. W. McGehée, for some
s three weeks, that at last report her address was Care of George
is

Patton, Athens, Texas, and that she feared “something terrible”
had happened to her.
What Deputy Sheriff Sweeten did first was to sigh and breathe
a silent prayer for the arrival of that millennium when people
would refuse to get unduly alarmed over so-called “missin
persons,” all of whom had an annoying way of turning up.
very moment you sent out a three-state teletype message and
‘papers began hinting at “foul play.” Next he proceeded to x ake <
«. inquiries concerning the whereabouts of this George Paj ons Sa
Fifteen minutes later, after having called up to report that
be late for supper, he set out for the Patton place. :
In a half hour he had pulled up in front of a clapboard f¢ rm<'
house. By the time he had climbed out of his car, a middl
aged man, face thick with a white stubble yet peering af:hin
from behind quizzical, luminous eyes, had come on to the | por
to greet him. ye me
“I’m George Patton,” he said, pulling out his pipe.
.. Sweeten introduced himself, He explained his errand.
- “Three weeks is just about right,” Patton came back, in’
his caller to share a seat on the single rickety step. “Ani
tell you the truth I was a little surprised myself. It was Tha
giving Eve, and we were all sitting around having dinner,
McGehees and the kids—seems to me Doyle was four and
ee : ee ae
GEORGE PATTON comforts his young wife knowing
that. the law destin puncture his hole-proof
<3 me : r } 'e me \ i ; ‘ 4 3

a


60

Patton if he was lying again I would “dig
a forty-foot hole and put him in it.”

“No, Jesse,” he said, “I'll just take you :
to them.”
So we started for Athens and _I believe
that was the longest forty-five miles | ever
drove. I was afraid the man would get a
new idea for another yarn. As we drove
through Athens, Patton ducked into, the
bottom of the car and | turned to Hines:
“I believe he’s. playing straight this time.
He acts as if he’s really scared.” :

Patton’s next statement gave more basis
for our belief that we were on the right
track. :

“Jesse, I'll take you right to them if
you'll keep a mob from getting me.”

I EXCHANGED a with Hines.
Then, as we passed the cemetery where
Patton’s mother was buried, on the way
out of Athens, he just broke down and ~
cried.

His girl-wife met us when we drove into .
the farm. He got out of the car and sat
down on the fender. The girl seated her-
self beside him.

“You married a clean man,” he told her,
“but there are four people buried here
and I’ve got to tell how it happened, so
you just go on over to your papa’s.”

Without another glance toward _ her,
Patton got up and walked into the horse
lot. He picked up a rusty, battered
shovel and began beating out the gaps
with a hammer.

“Get to digging!” I curtly ordered him
when he showed no desire to hurry the
thing up.

“Oh, there’s no hurry,” Patton replied.

Then, he walked to the lot gate, sighted
a post a few yards away and took
two steps toward it.

“They’re buried here,” he said calmly,
pointing to the ground at his feet. The
spot was not twenty-five yards from his
back door and it was one of the very
spots we had tested with the four-foot rod
months before.

So, Patton started digging in his own
back yard at about one p.m. that Satur-
day. At five o’clock he was still digging
and there were no bones. He was in no
hurry. He frequently paused to talk with
us, and Hines and | both took short turns
at the shovel.

It was from these scraps of conversation

Master Detective

that | gradually pieced together the tan-
gled story of what happened on that fate-
ful Thanksgiving Eve in 1932

McGehee had ‘only been on the farm a
short time, but it was long enough for
Patton to force his -attentions on Mrs.
McGehee, confirming my belief that he
was a sex maniac. ees Patton said,
McGehee had caught up with him at an
embarrassing moment: and the two of
them got in a violent argument at the
horse lot. Patton picked up a length of
pipe and beat McGehee to death.

Carrie McGehee ran to the aid of her
husband, but one blow from the a
was enough to kill her. Then, to clean the
whole thing up, Patton told how he beat
one of the boys to death with the pipe. The
other child was killed with a large rock.

I still doubted Patton’s story, because
we had not yet found any bones and the
hole was four or five feet deep and twelve
feet across. Patton had repeatedly warned
us we would come across the rock he used
to kill one of the babies before we found
the bodies. He also said McGehee would
be found with a rope around his neck,
used to drag his body to the crude grave.

Suddenly, Patton’s shovel did turn up
a rock and he jubilantly picked it up.

“There it is,’ he shouted. “I told you
they’re buried here!”

Then | asked him: “If you killed one
baby with a rock, where is the pipe you
used on the others?”

“Over there on that chicken coop,” he
replied, pointing off a few yards.

jines walked over there and, sure

enough, there was a three-foot length of

two-inch pipe.

Patton continued digging while | jok-
ingly discussed with Hines the idea that it
might be better to shoot Patton while he
was in the hole, just cover him up and end
the case that way, when suddenly he
pitched up a shoveful of sand in front of
us that contained bones—the bones of a
human hand!

Patton stopped digging and Hines and
I just stared.

For three years, | had been hunting
for just this—really more than three years
—and it was almost impossible to realize
that my search was at last ended; that
George Patton had led us to the grave of
‘his victims.

When I recovered from my surprise,

I made him go on digging and his next
thrust into the sand brought up the under
jaw of McGehee.

That was all I needed. | told Patton
to stop, and Hines and | rushed him back
to the Athens jail. We picked up Doctor
R. E, Henderson and Undertaker_ John
Lehr and drove back to the Patton
farm. Lehr took charge of digging up
the pitiful, but still grisly, bones of an
entire family.

Every shovelful of sand contained bones,
and, under the light of gasoline lanterns,
Lehr dug up and pieced together the
bodies of McGehee, his wife and their two
sons. The blow that killed Carrie McGe-
hee was plainly visible in the skull. Mc-
Gehee’s head was battered almost to
pieces, but his neck had a remnant of rope
around it; his belt was still around the
middle of the body and his feet still wore
boots. One of the little boys had been
wearing overalls the day he was killed and
the rotting cloth was still around the tiny
body; the pockets full of acorns.

Two hours after we had taken Patton
to town, a thousand people were mobbing
the farmyard. There were some drunks
in the crowd and | heard one of them
say:

“Let’s go get that old buzzard!”

Several others took up the cry and
Hines and | ran for our car, drove rapidly
to town, got Patton out of jail and rushed
him to Palestine.

PATION later signed a full confession
of the mass. murder, the most gruesome
case | have ever known. A few months
later, November, 1936, he was tried for
killing Carrie McGehee and given the
death penalty. On July 20th, 1937, he died
in the electric chair at Huntsville Peni-
tentiary. “Thanks for the treatment you've
given me, Sheriff Sweeten,” were his last
words before he was strapped in the chair.

It was more than four years since Pat-
ton beat the life-from the bodies of four
persons;~and more than three of those
four years | had sought the solution of
the strange case. Even though it is all
over, | still have a feeling every now and
then that I ought to go out to George
Patton’s farm and hunt for clues in_ the
McGehees’ disappearance, so many times
had | been there in those four years. It’s
like a habit. that dogs me still.

FEATURE, an outstanding true story in the

spectacular in their methods.

accordingly. What Rathbourne did to escape
detective work the like of which is seldom made

Also included in the big May issue of

In this month’s issue wi
than either Means or Lustig; for Rathbourne, master forger, was a technician, an artist,
he was about as shrewd as any swindler who has ever lived. The Chief of Detectives in, New York knew just how smart he was and laid his plans
detection and what the master sleuths did to trap him—and they succeeded—makes an epic in
known to the public. You will find the complete story in May T. D. M. and it’s a thriller!

DEAD SENORITA—THE MYSTERY OF THE BARRED HOUSE

Not too much can be disclosed here about this inside story. It can be said, however,
a friend of a famous European king. None of the newspapers in the United States has ever disclosed the facts for the reason that they were never
D. M. has now obtained their release and all the facts will be set forth in detail as told by a

given out. They were kept an official secret, but T.
murderer was finally caught is a colorful tale of undercover work.

high police official. How this mystery was solved and how the
TEN MISSING MEN—BEHIND THE SCENES IN TEXAS" BIZARRE BLANTON-KING CASE

There is a ranch in Texas that perhaps not many people know is greater i
itself and a place of mystery. A Texas ranche
before the Blantons and when it was finally decided that the father and son were dead, a public clamor arose demanding the solving of the mystery.
But there were factors that made it extremely difficult—just how difficult will be disclosed in the May TRUE DETECTIVE, This is a “natural” for
detective problem solvers to work on, You will have plenty of opportunity to use your skill in piecing together this crossword puzzle when you have
read this exclusive story on one of the Southwest’s most baffling cases.
TRUE DETECTIVE, a Macfadden publication, will be THE ENIGMA OF WASHINGTON’S
DOOMED BEAUTY; CHICAGO’S MOONLIGHT MURDER MYSTERY; HORROR ON RIVERSIDE DRIVE; MISTRESS OF DEATH—A
Missouri Atrocity; THE CLUE OF THE CRIMSON SAND, and many other gripping feaiures.

THE WORLD'S LEADING DETECTIVE MAGAZINE
TRUE DETECTIVE MYSTERIES

IN THE MAY ISSUE—NOW ON THE NEWS STANDS
MURDERING MONSTER AND EXOTIC DANCER—THE JEAN DE KOVEN HORROR

When lovely Jean De Koven, brilliant and exotic American dancer, vanished from her hotel i
baffled. Even when her aunt, with whom she was traveling, received a note demanding $500 ransom,
Neither could they solve the mystery of her disappearance
the strange case broke with an echo that was heard around
the riddle, unmasked one of the most astounding murder monsters in the history of al

outstanding May issue of T. D. M.

RATHBOURNE'S CHAIN OF CRIME—TRAPPING AMERICA'S ACE SWINDLER

The United States has produced some clever swindlers. Gaston B. Means was one—‘‘Count” Victor Lustig was another. These two were |
ll appear the story of another type of swindler, a more amazing character in many respects |
and a man of infinite patience. This man demonstrated that

when the girl’s travelers checks began to appear in Paris banks. But the day did come when |
the world. Once on the trail, brilliant sleuths speedily cracked the many baffling angles of
1 Europe—and made possible this fascinating, BOOK LENGTH

that the glamorous lady who was its central character was

n size than the entire state of Rhode Island. It is a kingdom in
r named Blanton and his son went hunting on this ranch and disappeared. Others had disappeared

n Paris, the police of France were completely |
authorities were unable to trace the message. |

a Pak

May, 1938

Too Toug!
(Continued fro

trees and brush. Ligh
ered by at intervals. C
ler were standing with
now, peering at the ro
knocked Dunlap dow!
his sprawled figure.
were tense.

At the end of an
over to the farmer, le
ing his face close, to
pered out of the corn

“We're going to «
yours. You're follow:

Dunlap nodded.

ulled him up to a
They walked with h
man stood, parting th
Dunlap saw a parked
yond, and another c:
road, its headlights gr
As it came opposite
it slowed down, then
hidden men watched

Three men climbed
over toward the pa!
whispered :

“It’s Highway Pati
radio car.’

“Some luck!” excla
on!”

OVING cautious!
brush they kept
the men in the road.
ously left their car t
of the parked mach
backs to the hidden
Traxler broke into a
a shadow for the off
of sight behind the
sible. Chapman an
ried Dunlap as the:
at a run.

Traxler reached
door on the side a
and sprang, inside.
Dunlap came tumt
officers whirled. It
ler was already st
leaping down the r

The highway pa
their guns and fire
the running-board |
ordered the driver
tearing down the
the rear tires of th
disable it and forc
But their police ci
one they had com
ler was giving it
soon became appa!
up with it.

Inside the polic:
forward and switc
eyes gleamed as hi

“We're all right
reports coming «
where they’re hun
step ahead of then

Ps

News of the ki
the seizing of the
through the Sout)
of a tropical st
throughout three
police officers of
ing the prompt ¢
The other men
Traxler, Tindol
this time either
down.

Dunlap was lat
road. A state of
Arkansas and Ok!
their deputies, c1i

|

Bobby two when J. Ww up and an-
nounced he was leaving. That very
night, i faet.

“Naturally I was sorry to Jose
such a good tenant so I asked how
come. He told me. Seems like his
folks’ were bothering, him and he
decided he’d go away. There was
nothing a fellow could do but help
them pack and wish them luck. We
had just about collected their be-
longings when I heard a car honk-
ing outside.

““That’s them,’ Carrie cried out.”

“Who’s Carrie?” Sweeten wanted
to know.

“Mrs. McGehee,” Patton came
back, bland and affable. “First thing
I knew J. W. was putting out his
hand to say good-bye. Then with
him toting the suitcases and a few
odds and ends and her with one kid
in her arms and holding the other
by the hand they took off. And I
haven’t heard a word from ’em
since.” ;

“Any idea what might have hap-
pened to them?” Sweeten asked.

“Nope. More than likely they’ve
found them a place in another
county—down in the Rio Grande

country. J. W. always had a hank.

crings for that part of Texas.”

Deputy Sheriff Sweeten paid his
respects and started back toward
his car.

“Let me hear from you just as
soot as you get word from them.”

“Certainly.”

“Good night.”

“Good night.”

That very next morning Sweeten
wrote Mrs. Dan Everts, mother of
Mrs. Carrie McGehee, a letter in
which he expressed the opinion that
her daughter and family were all
right, but added a bostcript urging
that he be notified if no word came
through in the next month or so.

He had just about put the episode
out of his mind, what with running
for sheriff and winning the election,
when he received an unexpected
caller. It was Mrs. John Allen,
mother of J. W. McGehee.

“Something has happened to my
son,” the elderly woman sobbed. “I
haven’t heard a word from him in
over two months.”

Sheriff Sweeten perked up. No
doubt about it now. This matter
was getting serious.

“Tl do every-
thing I can,
m’am,” he told
the woman. “T’ll .
begin right
now.”

Sweeten’s first
move was to
make inquiries
about J. W. Mc-
Gehee. Wasn’t
it possible that
the missing man

So

Pad =
oa

FegeeyS

IN SPITE OF MANY PROTESTS re-
ceived from indignant citizens who re- $
sented the highly respected Patton’s
arrest, Sheriff Schmid of Dallas (left)
and Sheriff Sweeten, of Athens, hold

him in jail for questioning.

had committed come CrIMeOE, Conse
quences of which she was fleeing?
This hypothesis withered in no
time. Those who knew the missing
Man were unanimous in their esti-

mate: he was a quiet man, fiven to
hard work, good deeds and general
good-neighborliness,

Switching his attention to Patton,
he began probing into his life. He
was stymied here in quick order.
Townspeople had nothing but praise
for the’ mild-mannered farmer.

Exactly why, he could not ex-
plain himself. Yet for some strange
reason the image of Patton, calmly
describing. the sudden departure of
his tenants in between puffs of his
old pipe, disturbed him. Was it his
mention of “Carrie,” which he later
amended to “Mrs. McGehee”? Was
it the man’s blandness, his complete
nonchalance? Whatever it was
Sweeten’s next maneuver was a
bold one. Arranging with a neigh-
bor to telephone him the moment
George Patton left his farm,
Sweeten settled down to watchful
waiting.

Four days later, on March 17, as
a matter of record, Oscar Deems put
through: the call. Patton had just
driven off in his wagon bound for
Athens seven miles off. He would
probably be gone until sundown.

Wasting no time, Sweeten de-
scended on the Patton place. Work-
ing as fast as he could, he examined
the three rooms in swift succession.
The kitchen was in order. Ditto the.
front bedroom. It must have been
late afternoon when he made a dis-
covery in the back bedroom. It was
a perforated area directly opposite

ee
THE HOME OF GEORGE PATTON: This

x house received a great deal of attention

from Sheriff Sweeten because the missing

family of four were last seen here alive,


@*<s ma =

se Je Saintes i

cite

ic ae

2d oy
A an sl Sh a ag

“We found all these things buried in
the chicken pen out at your place,”
Sweeten continued. “Surely you don’t
mean to tell us that your cousin was
wearing all these things when he was
shot?”

Patton sat staring straight ahead of
him.

“You admitted burying the shirt,” the
sheriff hammered relentlessly, “now why
don’t you tell us about burying the rest
of these things. Tell us where you buri-
ed the bodies.”

The grizzled rancher said nothing, ap-
parently lost in deep concentration. Fin-
ally he looked up and said very quietly,
“There weren’t any bodies to bury.”

“How’s that?”

“Did you know that you could boil
human flesh right off the bones just the
way you could beef?” Patton asked.

The room was completely silent after
this shocking statement. At length Sweet-
en broke the spell and demanded, “Are
you trying to tell us that’s what you did
with them?”

“Yes,” Patton replied, “I boiled them
for two days and nights. I boiled the
bodies and burned the bones on a big log
fire out back. But I didn’t kill them.”

“Who did?” ,

“A gang of bootleggers,” Patton said,
beginning to tell the story the investi-
gator had already heard from Emmy
Lou.

“Don’t hand me that!” the sheriff
interrupted. “You told Emmy Lou that
the bootleggers carted the bodies away
with them and now you try to tell me
this story about boiling them.”

“So Emmy Lou talked...”

“Yes, and it’s about time you told us
the truth.”

“Yes, I guess I’d better tell you how
it happened,” Patton said, his eyes glued
to the floor. “It was the day before
Thanksgiving. Johnny came home roar-
ing drunk. He started kicking things
around and cursing at Carrie and the
kids. The poor little girl couldn’t do a
thing with him. He just kept cussin’ and
kicking and swatting at the kids. Then
he struck the bigger boy and made his
mouth bleed. Carrie began to whimper
and tried to protect the boy from his
father’s blows. That made Johnny really
mad. He picked up an iron bar lying
near the fireplace and said to Carrie,
‘I’m going to kill you,’ and then he beat
her over the head with the bar. The
kids started to wail and he let loose on
them.”

“What were you doing all this time?”

“Nothing,” the suspect replied. “I
was too stunned to move.’

“Then what happened?”

“Johnny came at me with the club,”
Patton said. “We got into a terrific
fight. Finally I got the club away from
him and hit him on the head with it.
He went down, dead.”

“You killed him in self-defense,”
Sweeten finished for him.

“Yeah, self-defense.”

- “Why didn’t you report this to me
four years ago?” the sheriff demanded.

“Because I figured that you wouldn’t
believe me.”

AMAZING DETECTIVE

Sinister both in appearance and deeds,

“You were right. I don’t believe you.
Johnny never drank. You should have
taken the trouble to find that out before
you told me that wild story. Johnny
loved Carrie and worshipped those kids.”

To this Patton said nothing.

“Tl tell you a story now,” the investi-
gator said, “‘and it will be the truth. First
off, George Patton, everyone knows
what a lecherous eye you have for the
ladies. You had your eye on Carrie for
some time. One day you decided to
have her. You forced yourself on her
and Johnny came home and caught you
at it. You fought and Johnny was killed.
Then you had to kill the others to cover
what you had done. That’s what really

happened, isn’t it?”

George Patton melted like butter on
a hot roll. His eyes grew misty and his
head lolled back and forth. Finally he
emitted a whispered, “Yes.”

Accompanied by the suspect, the in-
vestigators drove out to the ranch and
the spot where the bones and other re-
mains of the bodies were buried was
pointed out. The officers dug and sweat-
ed for several hours. More than six feet
down they came upon their first find—
the crushed skull of a child. All told,
four skulls were found, each similarly
crushed.

“What did you hit them with?” Sweet-
en asked.

“An iron bar. You'll find it over on
the roof of the chicken shed.”

Later that day George Patton signed
a full statement confessing the murders
of Johnny McGehee and his family. In
November of 1936 the grizzled rancher
went on trial on a charge of murder in
the first degree. The jury quickly found
him guilty and sentenced him to death.

On July 20th, 1937, the man who
murdered an entire family and escaped
justice for four years died in the electric
chair at Huntsville Penitentiary. *

Editor’s Note: The name Emmy Lou is
fictitious.

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65


SS SSS es acne _ a

“<A

PEARL, John, hanged at Coleman, Texas, SG a

- Page 3

4
dl

er’

To Mr. Watt Espy, Jr.

Brownwood Public Library

BROWNWOOD, TEXAS 76801
February 6, 1975

We can give you the substance of these articles on Johnson and
Shield, if you wish. We have not included these as we presumed you
wanted photostatic copies of the articles which we cannot provide.

We are including two pages from a& book written by the daughter of
a Texas Ranger which mentions the execution of one John Pearl in
Coleman County, Texas. (This is adjacent to Brownx County).
Dr. T. R. Havins, local historian, said this murder was in Brown County
although Pearl was taken to Coleman for trial. We,can verify this
through files of the Pecan Valley News. These are not in our library
but are in the Howard Payne College library in Brownwood. And of
course these facts can be verified in the District Court records at
Coleman, Texas.

If we cannot find the John Smith case in the files of the Brownwood
Bulletin, we no doubt can find all information you need in the records
af the District Court in Brownwood,

Dr. Havins told us he did not know of any legal hangings in Brownwood
or Brown County, prior to 192k.

We trust this information is of some help to you. We were told by
a local lawyer that a man named Sapet was sentenced fax to death for
murder by a Brown County jury. Do you wish that we search further on
this case? Also we understand that Mr. Joe Weatherby was murdered in
Brownwood in 1920 and his murderer was sentenced in Belton, Texas, and
was executed. We have not verified the execution, but feel sure this
will be in the Bulletin files if you wish this information.

So neorey >

Shs ibis

(Mrs) Geneva C. Dix, Librarian

pe, st ah

lp?

, f uw
- / ff
ait 4


BANISTER WAS THERE 75

Rio Grande reported the Customs Service greatly benefited by
his work.

“I understand that Colonel Moore seeks to be reappointed
to his old position as Special Agent of the Treasury Depart- perce
ment and assigned to duty at El Paso, where he now resides. at
And knowing him as I do, I think there is no man in Texas
better fitted for the place than he is, by experience, habits
and character. He was thoroughly fearless in his work as .
Special Agent and certainly deserves the restoration to the
position he asks. :
“Very respectfully,
“John R. Banister, Special State Ranger.”

Met. ee Ps. ane eS
CB ots Pe pttasigen 8, 29S art ok

Among the Banister documents there is no record whether
the plea made to the Secretary resulted in the appointment
of his friend.

The business of raising, selling and processing cattle was
at that time, as it has continued to be, the greatest industry
of Texas. In the months while Banister was concluding his
work in the Treasury Department, he considered all openings
into future employment. He intended at some time to have
a ranch and cattle of his own, while adding to his Coleman
County farm lands, but for the present he wished to continue
in some phase of law enforcement. This desire, coupled with
his wide acquaintance with ranchmen and his extensive knowl-
edge of brands and herds, led him to apply to the Cattle Rais-
ers’ Association for one of the positions of inspector which
that organization maintained at all important shipping points.
Most of the shipping then was after the cattle had fattened
on the Spring grass, and at other times of the year he would
be at liberty to work as Railroad Officer in interesting cases,
and to take Special Ranger commissions in pursuit of any
troublesome law violator.

His application to the Cattle Raisers was accepted and he
resigned from the Treasury Department and headed homeward.

From 1895 to 1899, he was much of the time on the road.
He inspected shipments of cattle at Fort Worth, Muskogee
and Coffeyville, was a part of the time on Ranger service, and
while at home at Santa Anna was summoned many times by
one law enforcement agency or another to take part in the
solution of cases and the tracing cf the guilty cuss.

An example of this was in the murder of a farmer by his
hired man, one John Pearl, in Coleman County in 1899. The

ae Re oe page Ere Bag Jan 4 ay
my icarew ek o>

a
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Pere ere? |

Fn " (Banahn Wa Hors. | |
gts wy Lore Camalor (Soiree eas
Brink Sth, Adon, odoyre 19708


-

76 BANISTER WAS THERE

o

jail records tell a part. of the pathetic story and the sheriff's

records still more. Pearl was arrested a few day. sfter the
disappearance ‘of the farmer was noted; he claimed that his gee
employer had gone to. Oklahoma, but suspicious neighbors — *
called. officers to investigate. Somebody a few miles away =;
noticed .wagon tracks to a secluded pond of water, the body oe

of the missing man was found weighted with rocks, and the ©
team and wagon tracks were found to be those of the team Pete
and wagon at the dead man’s farm.’ ;

Unable to make bond, Pearl remained in the Coleman jail
through his trial, when he was found guilty of murder, and on
until his execution the following year, the only man ever
hanged there. A gallows was prepared on the second floor
of the jail, and since the space was so small, the sheriff had
cards of admission to the execution printed and given to those
whom he wished to be present. That sent to Banister is among
his papers today, signed by the sheriff.

Fifteen years or so later, Banister was recalling the execu-
tion to Dr. Thomas M. Hays, who also had been present. The
sheriff had had Dr. Hays named official physician for the oc-
casion, the only hanging he ever witnessed. He told Banister
at that time that when the sheriff indicated that he was to
ascertain if the hanged man’s heart had stopped beating, that
he was so nervous that he could scarcely distinguish whether
the pounding pulse he felt were that of the dying man or
his own.

Meanwhiie, the Brownwood shipping pens were grow.ag in
importance in the cattle industry, and Banister asked to be
stationed there to be near his home and the ranch which he
had leased north of Santa Anna. This the Association ar-
ranged for him.

It was constantly within the scope of Banister’s activities
to arrest violators of the law for one offense or another, tak-
ing them to the nearest jail and turning them over to local au-
thorities. At about this time, he was in Santa Anna one night
and questioned and arrested a man wanted for a felony in
Comanche. The last train of the day had already gone; Ban-
ister did not trust the little calaboose in Santa Anna, and he
did not wish to make the nine-mile ride by buggy to Coleman.
The logical thing, it seemed, was to shackle and handcuff the
prisoner to himself for the night, in order to get some sleep.

1Coleman County Jail Records, 1899.


@ HUNTSVILLE, Texas — A federal district judge Monday blocked the’

scheduled execution of a New York man condemned for killing the,

director of a prominent Houston theater almost 11 years ago. Judge Lee.
Rosenthal received the case of Clifford X. Phillips after the Texas Court of.

Criminal Appeals earlier in the da refused to halt the execution. On

Sunday, State District Judge Carl Walker also rejected an appeal filed on
behalf of Mr. Phillips. State attorneys had anticipated a reprieve ard did

PALLAS

MORNING

NEWS

TUC S SEPT. 2)

1993

)


\ office =

P.O. Box 1270 = Nederland, CO 80466-1270 * 303-440-0913 International Secretariat * 1 Easton Street * London WC1X 8DJ England

UA 109/87 Death Penal ty 15 April 1987
USA (Texas): Clifford Phillips

Clifford Phillips, black, aged 53,-is scheduled to be executed on 30 Apri |
1987. He was convicted in 1982 of murder. He has exhausted all available
legal channels and is raising a McCleskey appeal (the murder victim was white).

Background Information

In McCleskey v Kemp the US Supreme Court will rule whether the death penal ty
is racially discriminatory by imposing a disproportionate number of death
sentences on those defendants who are black, or who are accused of crimes
against white victims. Although this is a Georgia case, stays of execution

pending the court's decision have been granted in similar cases in other
states, but not Texas. A study conducted in the late 1970s found that, in

Texas, blacks who killed whites were six times more likely to be sentenced to.

death than whites who had killed whites. The US Supreme Court's decision is
expected very soon.

The last execution in Texas was that of Elisio Moreno on 4 March 1987. Two
executions have taken place so far this year in the USA, both of them in Texas.

As of March 1987 there were 1,874 prisoners under sentence of death in the
USA, 242 of them in Texas (the second largest death row in the country).

Recommended Action: telegrams/telephone calls/express letters/airmail letters:

- urging that Clifford Phillips' death sentence be commuted,

- urging that, as a minimum measure of justice,- his execution be stayed -
pending the US Supreme Court's ruling in McCleskey v. Kemp since stays have
been granted in similar cases arising in other states.

Appeals to: -Salutations-
Mr John Byrd -Dear Sir-
Board of Pardons and Paroles

PO Box 13401

Capitol Station

Austin, TX 78711 (telegrams: Board Pardons Paroles, Austin, TX 78711)
(telephone calls: (512) 459 2716)

The Hon. William Clements -Your Honor-

Governor of Texas

State Capitol

Austin, TX 78711 (telegrams: Governor Clements, Austin, TX 78711)
(telephone calls: (512) 463 2000 or (512) 475 2323)

Appeals may be sent in a personal or professional capacity.
Please send appeals immediately. Please check with the Colorado office

weekdays between 9:00 AM and 6:00 PM Mountain Time if sending appeals after
April 30 1987.

Amnesty International is an independent worldwide movement working for the international protection of human rights. It seeks the release of men and women
detained anywhere because of their beliefs, color, sex, ethnic origin, language or religious creed, provided they have not used or advocated violence. These are
termed prisoners of conscience. It works-for fair and prompt trials for all political prisoners and: works on behalf of such people detained without charge cr
trial. It opposes the death penalty and torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment of all prisoners without reservation.

on
o>
ne

ee

/

vil $ Killer gets stay ot execution |

for victims, not the criminal justice syste ee :
BI TER and FRANK KLIM . ' J ystem
eee hr dash : be ec ~27 The son, vice president of investments for Prudential- b.
Bache Securities in Houston, said Phillips has received more 7
than the automatic appeal to which he was entitled. PS
A federal judge in Houston Wednesday granted a last- He cited Phillips’ previous conviction for killing his re
minute stay of execution to Clifford X. Phillips, convicted in ear-old son and remarked: “The man is not a human being. :* °
the 1982 strangulation of Alley Theater director Iris Siff. e's an animal. He doesn't deserve to live.” i
Phillips, who was to die by lethal injection before sunrise Phillips served part of a nine-year prison sentence in ;
today,won a reprieve by Submitting an eight-page, handwrit- Attica, NY. for the 1969 killing of the boy, whose body was | |
ten petition to U.S. District Judge Gabrielle McDonald. found in a suitcase discarded in a vacant lot. is
He had already chosen a last meal — fish, french fries, “He doesn't deserve the Support of society,” Joseph Siff .-.
peas, bread and milk — and four personal witnesses in said of Phillips. “He doesn't deserve what you and I and the * -
preparation for the execution. rest of society are paying for. ss
_ Phillips claimed attorneys Jim Skelton and Robert Pelton. An assistant to Attorney General Jim Mattox, Bob Walt, >
who persuaded U.S District Judge Norman Black to stay his said if Phillips had filed the appeal any earlier than Tuesday, °
execution previous!. never informed him that the judge the courts would have probably rejected it and let the execu- °
later denied an appeal of his conviction, tion proceed. : ee
| Phillips said the lawyers never discussed Black's decision Walt said the state decided not to immediately appeal the | . ~,
with him or told him of his right to appeal to higher courts, Stay because of the highly technical nature of the appealand >
Skelton said he and Pelton were retained Only toobtaina the fact that the judge's order was handed down just eight |
Stay of execution for Phillips, and that they appealed the hours before the scheduled execution. ee eae
conviction strictly for this purpose. Phillips, 52, spent most of the day reading the Koran, the >.<. ::
. “We told Phillips from the very beginning that our only holy book of the Moslem faith, and meeting with visitors. a ee :
function was to get him a Stay so he can finish a book,” . Phillips has said he was innocent of capital murder be-’ - °\.-
Skelton said. ‘ cause he killed Siff in self-defense after sneaking into ‘thé. elise
Skelton said Black issued the stay one day before Phillips’ theater, where he worked as a security guard, late Jan. 12 or Wat
scheduled execution in August. Skelton said he believes early Jan. 13. eae ae j
Black denied the conviction appeal in January. When Phillips confronted Siff at the theater and demanded , ~~“ os
McDonald ordered the attorneys and Phillips to appear Money, she fought him for about 15 minutes, he told police 4
before Black on Monday for a hearing on the inmate's alle- He said he strangled her with his hands.
gations. ; “I realize it was a pretty gruesome thing I had done,”:
“My reaction is, in a word, it's absurd,” said Joseph Siff, Phillips told police. “In my heart I was only defending
one of Iris Siff's twin sons. “It's the criminal injustice system myself. I felt ] was fighting for my life.” ras :

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4


ALSO WEDNESDAY ...

> TEXAS EXECUTION: Clifford Phillips, 59, was exe-
cuted by injection for the strangulation of Houston theater
manager Iris Siff, slain during a 1982 robbery.

USA Teray

ba WA (ea)


ID IS T43227032 CONSIDII=D acy adIUDGD bY tae Court that the

Sefendant Sam Fhillips is guilty of the offense of Murder as found by

>

toe jury, and that he be punished by death, and that- the State of Texag

do have and recover of the eaid Defendant aa Viet See

all costs in this prosecution expended, for which let execution i squ e;

eee i Poy

’

and wnerteas afterward on to-wit, the 5th day of Secember, 1925,
in the Gourt of Criminal Appeal of ‘he ‘axe of Texae

Yao said judgment of the Dietrict Uourt wag affirmed, ‘the mandate of
3 . te 4 of fy DeAniek bend
said Gourt “having been received ane eiae[noe on file in ee

follons,’ to-wit
ars eae
The State of Zexaa,

wat i ey

To the Dietrict court of” Fort Bond County-G2-m0Gs

Bezore our Court of Criminal Appeale, on the 21 day of Oe tover (a.d.

ee ot

1925. the cause upon Dioeel” to revise ox reverse

am 2hillips eee TR Appellant,

~------- Appellee,
was determined; ana therein our said CUUa? OF CRIMINAL az °2EaLS mgde

me Ry said to 4

ts order in thega words?

a fot t}

"This cause came on to be heara on tne transcript of the record of
the Court below, and the same being in pected, -becauge it is the
Opinion of this Court that there wags no error in the 4udement,

‘it is ordsred, adjudged and decreed by the vourt that the judgment be
in ail things affirmed, and that this decision be Gertified below
ror observance.”
W2SISPCIZ, We aommand you to odserve the Order of our said
Cours of Crizinal appeals in this behalf and in all things $0 have
Obeyed and executed,
the Hon.J.C.ilorriow, Presiding Judse of our gaia Court
ADpealgs, with the <eal thereof annexed, at the City of sustin,

5 day of December A.D. 1925,

Seal) ; Olin W.Finzer,
Clerk.


aS TEXAS STATE PRISON SYSTEM

. >

J. A. HERRING, CHAIRMAN, BOARD OF PRISON COMMISSIONERS
i W. R. DULANEY. FINANCE COMMISSIONER H. W. SAYLE, FARM COMMISSIONER

WARDEN’'S DEPARTMENT

N. L. SPEER. WARDEN

?, ie. cia. ceasaaada daniel ADMINISTRATION HEADQUARTERS:
J. R. HINSON, SECRETARY TO WARDEN HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS

April llth, 1926.

Received of iir. Hagan, Sheriff of Fort Bend County, the
body of Sam Phillips, sentenced to be Hlectrocuted on the
14th day of Lay, 1926 upon a conviction of Lmurder in
Port Bend County, the said Sam Phillips having been tried
in said County and later appea&ieddhis case to the Criminal
Court of Appeals, which affirmed said conviction against -
said Sam Phillips and the said Sam Phillips was sentenced
to death oy electrocution by the District Court of Fort ©
Bend County. Also received from Sheriff Hagan a coset
warrant for the said Sam Phillips,


'

4
ORES

State of Texas. To the Warden of the State Penitentiary at

‘Hunteville,:galxer County, Texas. G3237TNGs::

commanded that whereas, on the 25th day of March

“hillips wag indicted in the Jistries Cours of fort.
nd County, Texas, for the crime-of Murder, and , whereas, on the ©
20th day of April, 2925, he ‘the gaia fan fhillips, was Sie and
laze “ly, tried in tne Dis triat Court of Sort send County, Texas

and was duly and Legally oonvie.ted of said rasa anh quagmeit was

ae)

rendered | against him’ ‘acaordingly, as follows

> 2Ate -
:f

The State of Texas. A i In the District Court

Wae'Moe 4879400 6° Toe of For t Bena ‘County, Texas

Sam Phillipas ee oe March | Tem, “April 20, “1925

r

fnis Day ‘this Gauge wag “galled for trial. "and the State acpeared

ant ae Re } Re Ee

by het District Attorney, and ‘the Defendant San: Phillips, appeared i a

~ mag eA AY

in pergon, in open court, his ‘esniel gleo beings pregent, ‘and tna Sas:
i —
sage eases od San fhillips , sev having been duly arraigned in open aourt,

and Naving pleaded not guilty to the harze contained in os indke tment

i ats 4E og
“7 ra we

herein, both patties announced teaay for trial; thereupon. a jury of

sc0d ang Lawful men, bom ts J.T. Sarneg and eleven others, ‘wete duly

sete

selected, impaneleda ‘ana sworn, who, having heara the indie tment read,

and the Defendant's plea or not guilty thereto, and having heard the

evidence suamitted , and having been auly. charged by the Court, retired

t9 gener as of their verdict, and
affexward was brought into open court 1 by the proper oz “ficer, the
Sefendant ana his counsel being ; ent , and in due form of law return-
ed into open cours the following verdict, which was redeived by whe
vourG and is here now entered woon the minutes of the court, tomwits

310. 4879, The State of Texas Vs. San Lirosety -1Ps-

mn

mY ‘ » : ty

a@ tne Jury fing the defendant guilty as chatg 23 in the indictment and

aggess his puni iehment at deathe

J.T. 2arnes
£0 2emane

TET Tv Srey Seated aK eS Rigten
rad TEy aA dol : i eras Aa


‘dnd Whereas, aftermard, to-wit, on the 6th day of April A.D.
1926 Atatrics Court of Fort Bend County, Texas , (Pronounced
Sectance upon the said San fhillips, in accordance wi th its judgment

aforeasid, which said sentence ig ag follows, to-wit:

POaT BHID COULTY, PECIS, the
6th day of April 4.D* 1926,

On this aay, in the above-enti tled and numbered cause,

again appeared in open court, the partics, the State by her
District Attorney, and the Defendant, Sam Fhillips, Who wag brought
in person before the Cour’, by the cherif?, and was algo accompanied
by hig at tomey, for the purpose of having the eentenae of the jaw.
pronounced upon him in accordance with the verdict ana Judzment hore
tofore, on to-wit, the Z@h day of April 4.D. 1926, “‘renderaa in this”

Court against hin, ona it appearing: to the Court that’ the gaia.
Sam Phillips, havin ng appealed from the said juagment ‘of conviction
of thie court to the court of Cririnal Appeals of Tezas, and that
said Court of Criminal Anpealg has, by ites decision, on the ah
day of Octoder A.D. 1925, affirmed the said judgment of this court,
as ig fully shown by the issuance of its ldandate, which has bean.
duly rec’ived and filed in thie Court by the Clerk of this court;
and the said Mandate having been heard and considered by the Court,
the aerendant, sam ~hiliips, was thereupon cauged to stand up and
Was then aszed by the Voirvt if he haa anytning to say why the sentence
should no& ds pronounced azainst him, to wnich he, the defendant,

answered notinins. Where upon, the Sours, in the presence 9f gaid3
defendant, Sam ~hillips, pronounced sentence uson nim as Tollowg:

t ie considered and ordered by the Gourt that the defendant, Sam

Phillips, who hae been adjudged bo be silty of murder, ana whose
punishment has been assessei by the verdict of tue jury rendered

against him herein at death, be taken by the Sheriff to Hu: $sville,

valker County, Texas, and that there on the 14th day of May 4.D° 1926


~~ EXECUTION ALERTS *

\

ae BLOODBATH PLANNED
& FIVE EXECUTIONS SCHEDULED IN TEXAS DURING AUGUST
WEDNESDAY . ANCUST 7 12:01 CDT : LETHAL INJECTION

MURRIEL CRAWFORD JR.? a Native American (Indian) man, was 17 at the time he
and a white co-defendant were charged with the murder of a white female conven-

ience store clerk during the course of a holdup.

The co-defendant (the actual trigger person) received a 40 year sentence in
a separate trial. Crawford received the death penalty, although he partici-
pated only in the robbery, and did=not.do:the killing.

713-524-6021

There is a possibility that Crawford may receive a stay pending a further
appeal, but this is not certain. In view of the fact taht this year Texas
executed Jesse _de la Rosa (also 17 at the time of his arrest and possibly

not the trigger person) and Doyle Skillern (who even the prosecution acknowl-
edged was not the trigger person), Crawford's situation is serious.

TUESDAY AUGUST 13 12:01 CDT LETHAL INJECTION

ACLU IN HOUSTON:

LARRY SMITH, a 28 year old black man, was convicted in 1978 of a holdup/
murder. The victim was a white man. Smith's co-defendant was tried
separately and received a life sentence. Smith's case was overturned
once ona Witherspoon (jury selection) issue, but he was reconvicted and
resentencedttoc death.

THURSDAY AUGUST 15 12:01 CDT LETHAL INJECTION

LEON RUTHERFORD KING, a 41 year old black man, was convicted in 1979 of
the murder of a white man.. A co-defendant who was a juvenile received
life.

The state*s case was that the two randomly abducted a couple at gun-
point, killed the man and raped the woman. King contended that the man
was killed by a third person over a marijuana deal that had gone sour.
It took the jury 12 hours 6f deliberation. before convicting him.

A mitigating factor in his case is that when his co-defendant wanted to
kill the woman, King prevented him.

ALSO ON THURSDAY AUGUST15 = 12:01 COT LETHAL INJECTION

JAY KELLY PINKERTON, a white man in his early 20's, is scheduled to

be executed for a brutal rape/murder of a 37 year old white woman. He
was arrested in 1979, a year after the crime, and is believed to have
committed a similar crime shortly following the first one. Pinkerton
was 18 or 19 at the time of the crime.

FOR UPDATED INFORMATION ON THESE DATES, CONTACT:

FRIDAY AUGUST 16 £2:01. CDT LETHAL INJECTION

LEONEL HERRARA, a Mexican-American man. No other information available.

_——

& SUGGESTED ACTION FOR ALL ABOVE CASES--
Contact BOARD OF PARDONS AND PAROLE GOV. MARK WHITE
Box 13401 Governor's Office
4 711 Stephen F. Austin Building State Capitol
, Austin, IX 78711 Austin; 74. /8711

» 51 224590-2 700 512-475-4444

PINKERTON = Texas .

EXECUTION ALERT

2 TEXAS TUESDAY NOVEMBER 26 §2207 COT LETHAL INJECTION

JAY KELLY PINKERTON, a 23 year old white man, is scheduled to be executed in Texas on
Novwmvwe e6. He was sentenced to death in 1981 for the 1979 rape/murder of a 37 year old
white woman. He was not arrested for this crime until a year later and is believed to have
committed a second similar one during that period.

Pinkerton was 17 at the time of the crime.

Within the United States, 31 states permit minors.’ to be sentenced to death and 15 states

now have persons awaiting execution for crimes committed while under the age of 18. Of

the 35 people who were juveniles at the time of the crime for which they are on Death Row,

4 were 15 at the time of the crime, 8 were 16, and 23 were 17. Eight are on Death Row in Texas.

-

,texas has been the first state to begin executing persons who were minors (Jesse de la Rosa
and Charles Rumbaugh), but unless there is strong protest, it will not be the last.

SUGGESTED ACTIONS:

Write a letter to your local paper protesting the execution of persons who were minors at
‘the time of their crime. If your state allows minors to be sentenced to death, write to
your local legislators to express your concern. Contact groups in your aree who work
, With juveniles and ask them to express thetr concern on this issue.
ite or phone the governor and Pardon and Parole Board in Texas, asking for a commutation
@ Pinkerton because of his age at the time of the crime:

Gov. Mark White Board of Pardon and Parole
State Capitol Box 13401 / 711 Stephen Austin Bldg.
Austin, Tk 76/44 Austin, TX 78711
512-475-4444 512-459-2700
NEVADA FRIDAY DECEMBER 6 GAS CHAMBER ** SUICIDE EXECUTION*«*

F

" CARROLL EDWARD COLE, a white man in his late 30's or early 40's, has waived his appeals
and is scheduled to be executed in the gas chamber of Nevada on December 6.

Cole has confessed to murdering 12 women and, many years ago, a childhood playmate.

He was sentenced in 1984 for a 1979 murder, pled guilty, and received the death sentence.
He has been determined from the beginning not to fight his sentence.

He has said that he does not want to spend the rest of his life in confinement and that if
he is free, he would kill again.

REMINDER: In cases where a defendand is considering giving up his appeais, ft is important

to be very careful, especially about pre-publicity which could lock a wavering: inmate firmly
to a decision from which there would be no backing down. While that is not the case here--

@:: seems to have been clear from the beginning--please continue to respect’ this policy.

Cole's execution will be the second in Nevada. Jesse’ Bishop was’ executed there on Oct. 22,

Se eae Ge, Sra -— SBS BRO “Wy Kato mu lacod se
ial cn eS ee Ce

~~

PINKE RTON
BE Banca TON, ol ihe 2a executed Texas SHIA,

Texas

’ | earlier. The execution had been sched-

- Half-Hour Before Death,
‘ Texas Convict Is Spared

HUNTSVILLE, Tex., Aug. 15 (AP) —
Reprieved less than a half-hour before
: he was scheduled to be executed, Jay
’ Kelly Pinkerton was returned to his
, death row cell today to await review by -
- the Supreme Court of his death sen-.
-tence for raping and killing awoman. «._.
The 23-year-old convict would have »
been the youngest person in the United
States to be put to death since the Court
restored the death penalty in 1976.
The Court, after considering motions

filed in Mr. Pinkerton’s behalf the’ |

previous day, voted 6 to 2 for a stay of

' execution until it considers an appeal.
Mr. Pinkerton was in a holding cell a
few feet from the chamber where he

was to receive a lethal injection when
’ Warden Jack Pursley told him at 11:43
P.M. of the Court’s action moments

: uled for just past midnight.


a a a eR

HUNTSVILLE, Texas
(AP). fe Jpprentice
| Meat Curio. who
| slashed and
woman more thar
limes Was exeente! 4
her murder Thursasy :
after he bade his Uae
pias ents farewell and asked
Ji= Allah for forgiveness.
{= Jay Kelly Pinkerton,
i» spared from execution
i= three times, lost an ap-
~ peal to the U.S. Su
> preme Court on Wednes-.
. i day and was put to
. ‘is death by injection for
8 the crime committed
i= _ When he was 17.
‘ | | “T want you to know
that ['m at peace with
i Myself and with my
| God,” he said“before the
drugs were injected into
§ i his arm. “I bear Witness
'o Allab. [ask your for.
| BiVveMESS .. and | return
’ unto you.”
Pinkerton's father,
| - Gene, witnessed the OXY
jo cution, showing little
= emotion but gripped an
iz aluminum, rail in the
es death chamber just a
FE p. few feet from his son.
fe. “Say goodbye to |
| 1 Mom,” Pinkerton Said
| hei to his father.
h “Bye, Jay,” his father
oN maid, and he replied, “7
J love you, Dad.”
He said he fe)t dizzy,
yawned and then died
P nine minutes after the

execution began,

“Tl guess its fair to say
we are relieved," Vir.
i Rinia Royer, whose
| daughter. Sarah Donn

Lawrence, was killed
) and mutilated by Pin-
kerton in October 1979
during a burglary at her
Amarillo home, “! know
it's Kind of sad to end
the life of someone that
young, but he got to die
more merciful than his
victims.”

Pinkerton also was

convicted in a similar }
slaving of Sherry Welch, 1
| 4 also of Amarillo. n

P68

weapon. The victim was moved to an
Amarillo mortuary where a more
extensive autopsy would give more
detailed answers.

While the body was being removed,
the detectives continued their search
of the crime scene. Conferring with
the despondent husband they learned
that Sarah Donn’s purse was missing.
Also missing was a 10-inch Bowie knife
that had been hanging from a mahogany
plaque on the den wall. .

Crime technician Carolyn McPhee
Porter was dispatched to the grisly
scene. She took pictures of the young
wife, her head dangling to one side
on the thickly carpeted floor. Tech-
nicians dusting the premises for
fingerprints found a latent print on the
coffee table. Still another latent print
was taken from the mahogany plaque

that once held the Bowie knife.

From there, Officer Porter went to
the mortuary and took pictures of a
bloody palm print on the left cheek of
the victim’s buttock, an invaluable
clue.

Jay Pinkerton smiling on his way
to court. His confidence lapsed
at trial’s end.

From all appearances, Mrs. Law-
rence had put the kids to bed after a
tiring day at the local Halloween
carnival, had taken a shower, and
dressed only in her panties and robe,
was sitting quietly in the solitude of
their den, watching TV, when the
rapist unexpectedly came into the
room.

‘After assessing the situation care-
fully, police theorized that Mrs.
Lawrence tried to fight off her attacker
but was overpowered, raped, then
viciously stabbed to death. From the
position of the body when she was
stabbed, she toppled from the couch
and knocked the coffee table over
when she pitched forward onto the
floor.

Police spent the remainder of the
day questioning neighbors and friends
of the Lawrences in an attempt to come
up with something that would give
them a lead on the killer. Meanwhile
Lt. Keith Ferguson, in command of
the investigation, decided to proceed
on the assumption that the killer was
still in the southwest territory. He
notified a SWAT (Special Weapons
and Tactics) team. Kenneth Brink was
among the SWAT members put on
alert.

Before dawn one morning, Brink
pulled into a 24-hour convenient store
to grab a cup of coffee. He spotted a
man coming out of the store. When
the man saw Brink he took off across
the parking lot at a fast trot. The man
ducked around the corner and Brink
was hot on his heels.

After a hectic chase Brink collared

(continued on next page)

The viciousness of the
murder was extraordinary
and it wasn’t over yet.
Somewhere on the streets
of Amarillo walked a fiend
with a Bowie knife
dripping blood.

15


He packed enough hate
for men twice his age

el
: a
aS
' :
* a :
4
fe

Amarillo.

On the morning of October 26,
1979, a Friday, officers of Amarillo’s
police department were presented with
a case which roused them to their best
efforts.

At 11:30 p.m., a man parked his car
in the driveway of his three-bedroom
suburban community home, and
entered the house to be greeted by the
constant barking of his black cocker
spaniel. He gave the dog an affectionate
pat, then called out to his wife; Sarah
Donn Lawrence, who usually waited

white

lethal ini

by BILL KELLY

brant, agile and unpredictable, ranch people who keep their own counsel and play

awmen in Amarillo, Texas, earn their pay in spades. The local miscreants are vi- i
every hand close to their chest. There are no easy solutions to murder cases in

up for him, to let her know he was
home. Meanwhile, the dog kept
darting back and forth from the master
bedroom to the living room, with a
persistent annoying yelp.

From the den, at the front of the
house, came the blare of the T.V. He
called out to his wife again. When he
reached the doorway of the den he
recoiled in horror as he saw Sarah
Donn sprawled on her back between
a couch and a coffee table. There was
a raw hole in her throat and blood still
flowed profusely.

He stood momentarily frozen, then
suddenly it hit him that the killer may
still be hiding in the house. He ran to
the garage, grabbed a .410 scattergun
that he had used on various hunting
trips, but it was rusted.

In a frenzy, he ran to the master
bedroom to retrieve a .38-caliber Smith
& Wesson he kept in a night table
drawer, but it was empty and he had
no shells for it. He dashed to the closet

Entrance to ‘The Walls,’ near
Huntsville. Here the killer finally
paid the ultimate penalty.

STARTLING DETECTIVE,

Nove, 1987

rf

where he found an old .30-06 rifle. It
was loaded.

After peeking in on the children and
determining that they were okay, he
continued his search for the intruder.
In the master bedroom he noticed that
a window was half-open.

The distraught husband returned to
his wife’s body. He picked up a nearby
robe that she had been wearing when
attacked, and covered her.

At 12:05 the line rang at the sheriff’s
emergency communications center. In
a few minutes patrol deputies began
converging on the working-class
neighborhood. The first patrolman to
arrive quickly determined that the
woman had been raped and murdered
and as a matter of procedure called
for an ambulance.

The bewildered children were taken
to a neighbors house and later picked
up by an aunt.

Homicide investigators arrived,
followed by forensic technicians and
a Randall County justice of the peace.
Amarillo pathologist Jose Diaz
Esquivel arrived and made a cursory
examination. He officially pronounced
the woman dead of 30 stab wounds,
probably made by a sharp, long-bladed


his man and returned him to the police
station in handcuffs. Detectives
learned the man’s name and address.
His name was Jay Kelly Pinkerton, he
was 17 years old, and he lived only a
short distance from the Lawrence
home.

In developing a profile on the
suspect, police learned that he had
been convicted for burglary two
months prior to the Lawrence killing.

The suspect denied flatly that he had
anything to do with the murder of his
neighbor, and after relatives provided
him with an alibi for that evening, he
was released for lack of evidence. The
handsome young man did not look like

-a sadistic killer, but police still

considered him a prime suspect.
Meantime Lieutenant Ferguson de-
cided to continue knocking 6n doors
in an effort to find out if anyone had
at least heard Mrs. Lawrence scream-

ing and, possibly, seen anyone running

from the Lawrence residence. Accord-
ing to one neighbor, the only sound
from the victim’s house on the night
of the murder was the bothersome
barking of the cocker spaniel.

It was obvious the three Lawrence
children had heard nothing since they
slept straight through the ordeal. This
was not surprising, though. The
Lieutenant noted in going through the
house that their bedroom was in an
isolated part of the building. With the
door closed, and with the Bowie knife
being the apparent weapon used inthe
ghastly slaying, there wouldn’t have
been much noise from them to hear.

The investigating team routinely
combed the residential street looking
for clues and the devilish murder
weapon, peering into shrubbery and
trash bins with flashlights. Eventually
it was decided the search would be
called off until daylight.

The next day, two uniformed
officers were posted at the front and
back door of the Lawrence residence
while a lab crew went to work in search
for more physical evidence. Around
11 p.m. plainclothesmen questioned

some of the custodians who had stayed ~

that night to clean up after the
carnival: They had heard no screams.
They hadn’t seen anyone fleeing from
the house across the street.

But then someone came forward
who had a bit to offer. Two high
school youths phoned police to say
that they might have seen the killer.
Around the time of the murder, they
were driving past the Lawrence house

16

when they saw an ‘‘Indian-looking
man’’ approaching the elementery
school from the direction of the
Lawrence home.

His appearance was so out of the
ordinary that they took mental notes:
six feet tall, angular build, dark
complexion, walked with a slouch. He
was dressed in a faded jean jacket and
a checkered flannel shirt.

All police units in the area were
given a description of the suspect and
a composite sketch was made ‘by a
police artist and quickly distributed to
local stores. The result was spont-
aneous: over 1500 tips were looked
into by 50 members -of the homicide
branch. Picking up and questioning
past sex offenders was a long drawn-
out operation involving a great deal
of patience and leg work.

By the end of the week, several
young men had been picked up and
questioned who had partially re-
sembled the description of the Indian-

looking man in the plaid shirt. After

checking the suspects’ fingerprints
however, they were turned loose.
Besides, most of them provided iron-
clad alibis for the night the murder
took place.

On April 9, 1980, residents of
Amarillo were further thrown into
shock by the discovery of a second
body. Immediately, a rumor began
circulating that a fiend was on the
loose and panic-stricken residents
made a rush on hardware stores and
gun dealers for any kind of firearms
they could lay their hands on.

‘“‘In a period of six months we have

-two homicides in an area where we

hadn’t any,’’ Lieutenant Ferguson
said.

The mutilated corpse of comely
Sherry Lynn Welch had been dis-
covered that day. The 25-year-old

FLEW THE

of thefowl. > :
State police are still searching for ss
the jail birds, Se

woman was employed at an Amarillo

. furniture store, and had been in a car

pool with another woman from
Canyon, 18 miles south of Amarillo.
When Sherry Lynn’s driver arrived at
the store she couldn’t find her, so,
after honking the horn and waiting
awhile, she drove back to Canyon.

She drove up to the Welch home to
see if Sherry Lynn’s husband had for
some reason decided to pick her up.
No, the man said, he hadn’t left his
house all day. Instantly, he called his
wife’s boss to see what was going on.

The store proprietor said he didn’t
know of any reason why Mrs. Welch
should not have been on duty when
her friend came to pick her up.

“‘I’ll get right over there,’’ he said.

A few minutes later the proprieter
unlocked the furniture store and
entered. After calling out the woman’s
name and receiving no answer, he
stepped to the back of the store. A
few seconds later he reeled from the
doorway in a near state of collapse.

On the floor, face-down, lay the
naked body of Sherry Lynn Welch. -

Her tattered clothing was scattered
about the room. She was drenched in
blood. The store owner staggered to
the telephone and summoned the
police.

The first officers on the scene were
district patrolmen followed by a
Justice of the Peace who pronounced
the woman dead. On their heels were
the Crimes Against Persons Unit and
technicians from the police laboratory,
including the same pathologist who
had examined Sarah Donn Lawrence.

A preliminary examination of the
25-year-old blonde revealed the
viciousness of the attack on her. She
had been stabbed repeatedly in the
back and shoulders. The pathologist
counted 50 stab wounds.

In response to questions by police,
Mr. Welsh said that he and his wife
were happily married but he admitted
that his wife had lately become
apprehensive about staying in the store
alone. She had talked about the brutal
murder of Mrs. Lawrence, and how
monstruous it was. Considered quite
beautiful, she was a former beauty
pageant queen in her hometown.

The investigation into the two
analogous slayings dragged on for
weeks and months without further
developments. Local police remained
convinced that the killer was still
lurking about the vicinity. But efforts
to locate him were unsuccessful. He

Oe ee et ee se

Rds tard SL ie ae


nies al

aD DERE ge ge ete
hicectibiahidesaieiteientn ene

Se. ee
es

nial

SARE a MBN, Wy dhis SSOM NS AAOER AGA PT cheba aeRO

tere

* ead Abacbel

Judge Noami Harney permitted crime photos
into court over defense protest.

had dropped out of sight.

Then, in August of 1980, Potter
County Deputy Jimmy Boydston was
flicking through the Lawrence file
when he spotted a color photograph
of a bloody palm print on the buttock
of Sarah Donn. Stamped on the back
was: “‘Not identifiable.’’

On a hunch, Boydston mailed an
enlargement to the FBI lab in Wash-
ington, D.C. On Friday, September 26,
1980, some eleven months after the
cruel murder of Sarah Donn, Boydston
received a call from the FBI saying that
the bloody palmprint was absolutely
identifiable.

Microscopic examination of the
bloody palmprint indicated that it
belonged to Jay Kelly Pinkerton, 18,
who had been eliminated as a suspect
shortly after he had been picked up
for questioning on the night of the
Lawrence murder.

An ecstatic Deputy Boydston
immediately notified Amarillo De-
tective Doug Johnson, who in turn
called Randall County Deputy Bill
Eaton, about the latest development.

After talking it over with Randall
County District Attorney Randy
Sherrod, it was decided that there
wasn’t enough evidence to link the two
crimes, although that possibility could
not be eliminated. There were enough
similarities in the cases to indicate that
they might have been committed by
the same man. With this in mind,
Sherrod authorized the issuance of a
first-degree murder warrant for Jay
Kelly Pinkerton.

That afternoon, investigators were
dispatched to an Amarillo luncheon-
nette where Pinkerton was employed
as a short-order cook. He was taken
into custody without trouble and
driven to the Amarillo Police Head-

Texas Attorney General James Mattox
stays execution with just minutes to go.

quarters. A detective advised him of
his rights and asked him if he fully
understood them. The suspect replied
that he did and refused to discuss the
case with them.

Three days later a Randall County
Grand Jury indicted him for the capital
murder of Sarah Donn Lawrence.

Dist. Attorney Randy Sharrod said
the subject was being charged with
murder during a burglary, with intent
to commit rape. Emotions in the
Amarillo area were torn between joy
and grief on the day Judge Naomi
Harney of the 251st State District
Court transferred the trial of Pin-
kerton, now 19 years of age, to Corpus
Christi, a leading port of Texas, about
125 miles southeast of San Antonio.
She alleged that the suspect would not
get a fair trial in Amarillo due to the

(continued on page 47)

17


‘U.S. v. MITCHELL

. : PF ‘ vad * aw

1183

Cite as 876 F.2d 1178 (Sth Cir. 1989)

[5] The defendant’s first contention is

without merit: § 3663(a)(2) states that “[i]f

the court does not order restitution, or
orders only partial restitution . ..
shall state on the record the reasons there-
fore.” The statute does not require that
the court state its reasons if full restitution
is ordered. Further, as we stated in Unit-
ed States v. Patterson, 837 F.2d 182, 183-
184 (5th Cir.1988): —

We are not persuaded that the district
court must spread its findings and con-
clusions on the record in every case in
which full restitution is ordered. The
decision to assign reasons is committed
to the sound discretion of the district
court, guided by this singular inquiry—
absent an assignment of its reasons, does

_ the record contain sufficient data for the
appellate court to perform its mandated
review? If the record provides an ade-
quate basis for that review, the court
need not assign specific reasons for its
decision to order full restitution. If the
record is insufficient, reasons must be
assigned.

In this case the presentence report,
which is a part of the record, sets forth the
specific findings as to each victim’s dam-
ages. Under these circumstances the court

need not make those findings on the

record.

[6] The defendant also contends that

the district court erred in awarding dam-

_ ages for lost income resulting from the
_ theft of the truck. The defendant contends

that restitution for lost income is appropri-

ate only in the case of offenses resulting -

from bodily injury to the victim. 18 U.S.C.
§ 3663(b)(1), cited above, sets forth the res-
titution that may be ordered for crimes
resulting in “damage to or loss or destruc-
tion of property.” This section contains no
authority to order restitution for lost. in-
come. Section 3663(b)(2), by contrast, does
authorize restitution to “reimburse the vic-
tim for income lost.” This section, how-
ever, applies only “‘in the case of an offense
resulting in bodily injury to a victim.”

the court

‘gues that the term ‘“may’”’

‘the way of restitution.
that the goals of the Act may be thwarted

received compensation.”

The government argues that the § 3663
merely provides “‘an illustrative list of what
the court may choose to order when it is
determined that restitution is appropriate —
in any given case.” The government ar-
as used -in
§ 3663(b) (“the court may require that the —
defendant ...”) is permissive as to what
the court may require. In support of this
argument the government also notes that —
§ 3663(d) states that an order of restitution

should be “as fair as possible to. the vic-

”

tim.” Finally, the government notes that
the purpose of the Act, i.e., doing all possi- —
ble to assist victims would be thwarted by _
denying lost compensation. ,

This argument is unpersuasive. The
term “may” as used in § 3663(b) is permis-
sive as to whether the court may require
restitution, not as to what it may require in
Further, the fact -

by denying lost income restitution does not
authorize us to ignore the plain language
of the statute. Congress is clearly capable
of authorizing restitution for lost income
when it chooses to do so. See 18 U.S.C.
§ 3663(b)(2). Despite this fact, it has not
included lost income in the type of restitu- .
tion that may be ordered in property cases
and, unless and until it amends the statute
to include lost income, courts may not or-
der such restitution in property cases.

[7, 8] Finally the defendant contends
that the district court miscalculated the
amount of restitution due each of the vic- |
tims because it failed to take into account
the fact that the victims were reimbursed
for their losses by their insurance compa-
nies. Section 3663(e)(1) of the Act prohibits
the court from imposing restitution “with
respect to a loss for which the victim has
The district court
ordered restitution in the following
amounts: Ms. Catherine Bond—$29,868.47;
Mr. W.C. Pitts—$33,850, and Mr. Richard
Johnston—$9,298.49. The presentence re-
port calculated the victim’s losses as fol- .
lows:

1184
CATHERINE BOND

876 FEDERAL REPORTER, 2d SERIES

Value of truck at time of theft (No reimbursement from

_ insurance—liability insurance only).:
- Value of truck when it was returned.

Amount of Lost Income for 2 months without truck.
Cost to restore truck to , wenng condition after it was

returned.

W.C. PITTS

_ Value of truck at time of theft (Received reimbursement

from insurance company.)

Amount of Lost Income (Truck earned $500 per day—92
days at $500 per day = $46,000 less labor, fuel and over-

- head of $12,150 = $33,850.

RICHARD JOHNSTON

Value of truck at time of theft (Received reimbursement

from insurance company.)

Loss of earnings and cost of leasing truck until reimburse-

ment was made by insurance company.

Attorney Fees—({Mr. Johnston was forced to hire an attor-

ney to collect for stolen truck from insurance company.)

$45,000
25,000 Loss $20,000.00
~ 6,600.00
ey,
TOTAL LOSS $29,868.47
$35,000 $33,850.00
TOTAL LOSS $33,850.00
30,000
$44,019.51
520.00
TOTAL LOSS $44,539.51
$ 9,298.49

It is clear from those calculations that
the court did not order the defendant to
pay restitution for losses for which the
victims had been reimbursed. None-
theless, the defendant’s assertion that the
district court erred in calculating the
amount of restitution is correct. Section
8663(b)(1) limits _restitution in property

cases to return of the property or, if that is -

inadequate, to the value of the property
when stolen less its value when returned.
There is no provision authorizing restitu-
tion for lost income, cost of restoring prop-
erty to its pre-theft condition, or cost of
employing counsel to recover from an in-
surance company. Consequently, the
award of restitution for those losses is
improper. It is also impossible to deter-
mine for what losses Mr. Johnston received
restitution. Consequently, we remand this
case to the district court to allow the court
to recalculate the amount of restitution due
each of the victims. In so doing, we re-
mind the court that 18 U.S.C. § 3663(e)(1)
permits the court to award restitution to
the insurance companies. who compensated
Mr. Pitts and Mr. Johnston for their losses.
We also remind the district court that if it
chooses not to award full restitution, in-

cluding restitution to the insurance compa-

nies, it must state on the record its reasons
for doing so.

The defendant’s conviction is AF-
FIRMED, but its sentence of restitution is
vacated and the case is REMANDED to
the district court for recalculation of the
award of restitution.

a 67)
‘fo. E KEY NUMBER SYSTEM

$
C Kecuted _ ee -2O-§ 7S
re ae
James Emery PASTER, \
| Petitioner—Appellant, S24

a a
earner
aga cee eee tA

James A. LYNAUGH, Director, Texas
Department of Corrections,
Respondent-—Appellee.

No. 88-6087.

United States Court of Appeals,
Fifth Circuit.

June 27, 1989.

Federal habeas petitioner moved for
stay of execution pending appeal from or-

Code fendaf- Stephe, 4. Me Coy

em

iF

PASTER v. LYNAUGH

ss re

1185

Cite as 876 F.2d 1184 (Sth Cir. 1989)

der of the United States. District Court for.

the Southern District of Texas, Sim Lake,
Ill, J., denying petition and motion for evi-

dentiary hearing and for certificate of

probable cause to appeal. The Court of
Appeals, Edith H. Jones, Circuit Judge,

held that: (1) petitioner’s claim regarding

victim impact evidence was procedurally
barred; (2) petitioner was not entitled to
evidentiary hearing; and. (3) petitioner was
not entitled to relief in connection with
claims that he was mistreated at trial and
denied access to legal materials.

Motions denied.

1. Habeas Corpus ¢=407

Supreme Court’s decision in Booth v.
Maryland concerning victim impact evi-
dence did not create sufficiently novel issue
to excuse federal habeas petitioner’s non-
compliance with state procedures, and ha-
beas claim: based on Booth was:procedural-
ly barred.

2. Habeas Corpus ¢=479
Habeas petitioner’s compulsory pro-

cess and effective assistance of counsel,
challenges to state trial court’s refusal to

grant continuance to secure presence of

defense witnesses was frivolous inasmuch —

as petitioner’s attorneys, with petitioner’s

acquiescence, withdrew continuance motion °

same day it was made.

3. Criminal Law ¢=594(1)
State trial court did not abuse its dis-
cretion in refusing to grant continuance to

secure presence of defense witnesses .

where defendant’s attorneys, with defen-
dant’s acquiescence, withdrew motion on
same day it was filed.

4. Criminal Law ¢7641.13(2).

Trial counsel in state murder prosecu-
tion did not render ineffective assistance
when they first moved for continuance to
secure presence of witnesses who would
purportedly corroborate defendant’s con-
tention that he had been under influence of
drugs when he confessed and later decided
to withdraw motion because testimony of
witnesses would be merely cumulative of

defendant’s own. evidence. U.S.C. A. Const.

Amend. 6.

5. Habeas Corpus $745
Habeas petitioner failed to- establish

need for evidentiary hearing in connection

with claim that state trial court erred in
denying motion for continuance to secure

presence of defense witnesses; -although

petitioner contended that witnesses should.
have been permitted to testify, their affida-
vits were in evidence before state habeas
court, and evidence in record of petitioner's
case was sufficient to permit full review of :
his constitutional claims.

6. Habeas Corpus e770

Federal habeas court did not fail to
accord proper weight to state court find-
ings concerning alleged violations of peti-
tioner’s rights with respect to his physical
appearance at trial, access to legal materi-
als, and medical care; although petitioner.
pointed to preliminary findings about possi-
ble mistreatment, he ignored other findings
of state trial and habeas-courts that he was
not improperly treated or that any improp- —
er treatment was halted immediately.

7. Habeas Corpus <818

‘Federal habeas petitioner was not Sate
tled to stay of execution pending appeal or
certificate of probable cause to appeal be-—

cause his claims for relief lacked merit.
F.R.A.P.Rule 22(b), 28 US.C.A.

Stanley G. Schneider, T. Donald Moran,

Houston, Tex., for petitioner-appellant.

Charles A. Palmer, Asst. Atty. Gen.,.Jim
Mattox, Atty. Gen., Austin, Tex., for re-
spondent-appellee.

Appeals from the United States District
Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Before GEE, GARWOOD, and
JONES, Circuit Judges.

EDITH H. JONES, Circuit Judge:

Petitioner James Emery Paster was con-
victed of capital murder and sentenced to
death. The district court denied his peti-
tion for writ of habeas corpus and his mo-

McCOY v. LYNAUGH

ae =,

965

Cite as 874 F.2d 954 (5th Cir. 1989)

not apply in answering the special issues
would be redundant, and the failure of the
trial court to issue such an instruction swa
sponte did not deprive McCoy of due pro-
cess. For this reason, it could not be con-
stitutionally deficient conduct for appellate
counsel to fail to raise the trial court’s
alleged “failure” on direct appeal.

Nevertheless, McCoy argues that trial
counsel were constitutionally ineffective in
failing to request such an instruction. The
state habeas court found that:

(1) “During closing remarks, trial

counsel informed the jury that they (the

jury) must look at the conduct of Appli-
cant in determining the answer to special
issue number one ...” (Finding of Fact
19);

(2) “During closing remarks, the pros-
ecutor pointed out the conduct of the
Applicant that supported a finding of
deliberateness on his (Applicant’s) part,
and did not dispute or undermine trial
counsel’s earlier explanation to the jury
concerning the inapplicability of the law
‘of parties to the punishment special is-
sues.” (Finding of Fact 20); and
- (8) “The evidence adduced at trial con-
cerning Applicant’s conduct is sufficient
to support the jury’s answers to the spe-
cial issues.” (Finding of Fact 21).

Ex parte McCoy, 377288-B. Then, at the
punishment phase of trial, the jury was
asked: “Was the conduct of the defendant,
Stephen Albert McCoy, that caused the
death of the deceased committed deliber-
ately and with a reasonable expectation

that the death of the deceased or another

would result?” (emphasis added) We find
no deficiency in the failure to ask for an
instruction that would have added nothing
to what the jury was forced to consider in
deciding special issue one. :

The federal district court determined
that even if the failure to ask for such an
instruction was constitutionally deficient
performance, that McCoy “can show no
prejudice from their failure to do so.”
McCoy v. Lynaugh, mem. op. at 14. We
agree. Given the instruction from defense
counsel and the narrow focus of the special
issue, McCoy has failed to demonstrate

that the jury deliberations would have been
different had the jury been instructed one
more time that they were to consider
McCoy’s conduct alone. Accordingly, we
deny relief on this ground.

8. Failure of appellate counsel to
raise a claim on direct appeal re-
garding the exclusion of prospective
juror Tucker.

We previously concluded that Tucker
was properly excluded for cause under
state law due to her bias against rapists.
We based our conclusion on the findings of
the state habeas court, which were af-
firmed by the Texas Court of Criminal Ap-
peals. There can be no error in appellate
counsel’s failure to raise this meritless is-
sue on direct appeal. The federal district
court also concluded that there is no proof
that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
would have resolved the issue any differ-
ently had it been raised on direct appeal.
McCoy v.. Lynaugh, mem. op at 15. We
agree. Therefore, there can be no preju-
dice from appellate counsel’s failure to
raise the issue. Since McCoy’s claim fails
under both prongs of Strickland, we deny
relief.

9. Failure of appellate counsel to
raise a claim on direct appeal re-
garding the trial court’s failure to
instruct the jury on their consider-
ation of mitigating evidence.

At the punishment phase of trial, counsel
for McCoy requested instructions concern-
ing the jury’s consideration of mitigating
evidence. The trial court denied the re-
quest for instructions. Yet, the Texas
Court of Criminal Appeals has consistently
rejected the type of claim McCoy now
urges should have been made on direct
appeal. Penry v. State, 691 S.W.2d 636,
654 (Tex.Crim.App.1985); Lackey v. State,
638 S.W.2d 439, 455 (Tex.Crim.App.1982);
Quinones v. State, 592 S.W.2d 933, 947
(Tex.Crim.App.1980).

The foregoing resolves the issue under
both prongs of Strickland. Strickland
does not require appellate counsel to raise
every conceivable issue in order to be effec-

962

sonal conduct and culpability for his crime.
Fhompson v. Lynaugh, 821 F.2d 1054,
1063 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, USS. ,
108 S.Ct. 5, 97 L.Ed.2d 794 (1987); Skillern
v. Estelle, 720 F.2d 839, 847-48 (5th Cir.
1983), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 873, 105 S.Ct.
224, 83 L.Ed.2d 153 (1984). See also Kirk-
patrick v. Blackburn, TTT F.2d 272, 286-88
(5th Cir.1985) (even though co-defendants
are involved, “when a defendant personally
intends to inflict great bodily harm and
succeeds in producing death, his personal
‘involvement and individual culpability is
sufficiently established that the capital sen-
tence is not cruel and unusual’), cert. de-
nied, 476 U.S. 1178, 106 S.Ct. 2907, 90
L.Ed.2d 993 (1986).

INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE
OF COUNSEL

In three separate Grounds for Relief,
McCoy advances nine claims founded in the
sixth amendment right to effective assist-
ance of counsel. All of these claims are
raised for the first time in his habeas peti-
tions.

VIII.

Ground for Relief Five alleges that trial
counsel were ineffective due to their

1. Failure to object to the exclusion of
prospective jurors Tucker, Weaver,
Foley, and Finney;

2. Failure to object to the state’s use of
improper hypotheticals during voir
dire;

3. Failure to request a hearing to deter-
mine McCoy’s competency to stand
trial;

4. Failure to investigate adequately
McCoy’s background for evidence in
mitigation of the death sentence; and

5. Failure to offer available mitigation
evidence at the punishment phase of
the trial.

Ground for Relief Eleven of the Supple-
mental Petition alleges that trial counsel
were ineffective for their

6. Failure to request an instruction on
the inapplicability of the law of the
parties in the jury’s consideration of
the special issues.

874 FEDERAL REPORTER, 2d SERIES»

Ground for Relief Eleven of the Supple-
mental Petition also alleges that appellate —
counsel was ineffective for his

7. Failure to raise a claim on direct

appeal regarding the failure of the
trial court to instruct the jury on the
inapplicability of the law of the par-
ties in their consideration of the spe-
cial issues.

Ground for Relief Six alleges that appel-

late counsel was ineffective for his

8. Failure to raise a claim on direct

‘appeal regarding the exclusion of ve-
nire member Tucker;

9. Failure to raise a claim on direct
appeal regarding the trial court’s
failure to instruct the jury on their
consideration of mitigating evidence.

We review the ineffective assistance of
trial counsel claims based on the familiar
two-prong test of Strickland v. Washing-
ton, 466 U.S. 668, 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 2064,
80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984);

First ... that counsel’s performance was
deficient. This requires showing that
counsel made errors so serious that coun-
sel was not functioning as the ‘counsel’
guaranteed the defendant by the Sixth
Amendment. Second, the defendant
must show that the deficient perform-
ance prejudiced the defense. This re-
quires showing that counsel’s errors
were so serious as to deprive the defen-
dant of a fair trial, a trial whose result is
reliable. Unless a defendant makes both
showings, it cannot be said that the con-
viction or death sentence resulted from a
breakdown in the adversary process that
renders the result unreliable.

In our review, we are mindful that “judicial
scrutiny of counsel’s performance must be
highly deferential,” id. at 689, 104 S.Ct. at
2065, and that we must “indulge a strong
presumption that counsel’s conduct falls
within the wide range of reasonable profes-
sional assistance,” zd. at 689, 104 S.Ct. at
2066.

In reviewing claims of ineffective assist-
ance of appellate counsel, we apply the
Strickland two prong test, except that a
petitioner must demonstrate that, but for
appellate counsel’s constitutionally defi-

McCOY v. LYNAUGH

963

Cite as 874 F.2d 954 (Sth Cir. 1989)

cient performance, the results of his ap-
peal would have been different. Lockhart
v. McCotter, 782 F.2d 1275, 1283 (5th Cir.
1986), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 1030, 107 S.Ct.
878, 98 L.Ed.2d 827 (1987).

1. Failure to object to the exclusion of
prospective jurors Tucker, Weaver,
Foley and Finney.

[9] To determine whether trial counsel
were deficient for their failure to object to
the exclusion of these venire members, we
first examine whether there was a legal
basis for such an objection. In this matter,
we are bound by the state habeas and
federal district courts’ findings since a trial
court’s exclusion of jurors for cause is a
question of fact.

The state habeas court found that Fo-
ley’s objection to the death penalty was “so
strong that she would refuse to participate

in the answering of the two special issues ©

on punishment.” Ex Parte McCoy, No.
377288-A (Findings of Fact 31-33). The
state habeas court found that Finney indi-
cated that “under no circumstances would
she even sit as a juror and vote for the
death penalty.” Jd. (Findings of Fact 36
and 37). The state habeas court also found
that Weaver indicated that ‘‘under no cir-
cumstances could she ever answer the two
special issues ‘yes’ regardless of the evi-
dence.” Jd. (Findings of Fact 40-42). F'i-
nally, the state habeas court found that
“Linda Tucker was excluded because she
was particularly biased against rapists.”
Id. (Finding of Fact 27). The state habeas
court based its conclusion of law that trial
counsel were not ineffective for their fail-
ure to challenge these exclusions on its
separate findings that the exclusion of
Tucker, Foley, Finney, and Weaver was
proper. Jd. (Conclusion of Law 6, sub-
points a, b, c, and d).

We have reviewed the trial transcript
relating to the voir dire of these prospec-
tive jurors and find substantial support in
the record for the findings of the state
habeas court. Therefore, we accord the
presumption of correctness of § 2254(d) to
these findings. In addition, the federal
district court found “that Petitioner has not

demonstrated that trial counsel’s failure to
object constitutes anything other than a
reasoned tactical choice based on counsel’s
assessment that any such objection would
be meritless.” The federal district court
also found that McCoy had “failed to plead
or prove the requisite constitutional preju-
dice under Strickland.” We agree.

We are presented with three facts: (1)
the exclusion of venire members Tucker,
Foley, Finney, and Weaver was proper; (2)
that trial counsel realized this and con-
sciously chose not to raise a meritless chal-
lenge; and (3) that McCoy has failed to
plead or prove any prejudice from the al-
leged deficiency. We therefore deny relief
on this claim.

2. Failure to object to the state’s use of
improper hypotheticals during voir
dire.

We noted earlier that the federal district
court found “no evidence that any ‘improp-
er hypotheticals’ were advanced by the,
State in voir dire.’ McCoy v. Lynaugh,
mem. op. at 11 (emphasis added). As we
stated previously, we agree with the feder-
al district court that the one hypothetical
identified was not improper. There simply
can be. no deficiency, constitutional or oth-
erwise, in failing to object to statements
that either do not exist or are not improper.
Accordingly, we deny relief on this claim.

3. Failure to request a hearing to de-
termine McCoy’s competency to
stand trial.

{10] In addition to finding that McCoy
was legally competent to stand trial, the
state habeas court made the following addi-
tional findings:

(1) “Defense counsel both concurred
with the finding made by Dr. Jerome
Brown, concerning Applicant’s competen-
cy to stand trial.” (Finding of Fact 22);

(2) “Defense counsel reasonably relied
on both the competency evaluation and
their own perceptions of Applicant and
did not request a hearing to determine
Applicant’s competency to stand trial.”
(Finding of Fact 23); and

964

(3) “There was no evidence to support |

a finding that Applicant was incompetent
to stand trial.” (Finding of Fact 24).

Ex parte McCoy, No. 377288-A. In dis-
missing McCoy’s ineffective assistance of
counsel claim, the federal district court
again noted that “there is no evidence to
demonstrate that Petitioner was incompe-
tent.” McCoy v. Lynaugh, mem. op. at 11.
There can be no deficiency in failing to
request a competency hearing where there
is no evidence of incompetency. Nor can
McCoy show that had counsel filed such a
motion that the trial court would have over-
turned its competency ruling and conducted
a hearing.

4. Failure to adequately investigate
McCoy’s background for evidence in
mitigation of the death sentence.

5. Failure to offer available mitiga-
tion evidence at the punishment
phase of the trial.

[11] McCoy contends that trial counsel
rendered ineffective assistance in failing to
adequately investigate his background or
to present available mitigating evidence at
the punishment phase of trial. As exam-
ples, McCoy points out that counsel failed
to introduce his good military service
record and failed to call certain witnesses,
including his mother and sister.

Such examples, in themselves, do not
prove that counsel were ineffective.
have stated that counsel’s decision not to
present mitigating evidence “if based on an
informed and reasoned practical judgment,
is well within the range of practical choices
not to be second-guessed.” Mattheson v.
King, 751 F.2d 1432, 1441 (5th Cir.1985)
(citations omitted).

Responding to this contention, the state
offered affidavits of both of McCoy’s trial
counsel. These affidavits indicate that pri-
or to trial, McCoy gave defense counsel a
list of persons to subpoena to testify on
behalf of McCoy in the punishment phase.
Defense counsel subpoenaed and_inter-
viewed the persons on the list. None of
the persons interviewed by defense counsel
had anything positive to say on behalf of
McCoy; some knew his reputation to be
bad. As a matter of trial strategy, defense

We ©

874 FEDERAL REPORTER, 2d SERIES

counsel did not call witnesses to testify at
the punishment. Defense counsel were
concerned about opening the door to en-
abling the State to inquire into instances of
prior bad acts of McCoy, including beating
his wife and threatening his children.

Based on these facts and its review of all
the affidavits filed in state court, the feder-
al district court found “that counsel’s ac-
tions were a product of trial strategy ...”
McCoy v. Lynaugh, mem. op. at 18.

Almost five years after trial, McCoy ar-
gues that such a trial strategy was not
good enough. Instead, he contends that
certain witnesses should have been called,
and other witnesses should have been inter-
viewed, and certain other evidence should
have been introduced. But as we stated in
King v. Lynaugh: ‘“second-guessing is not
the test for ineffective assistance of coun-
sel.” 868 F.2d at 1405. We again quote
the Supreme Court’s instruction in Strick-
land, 466 U.S. at 691, 104 S.Ct. at 2066,
that:

The reasonableness of counsel’s actions

may be determined or substantially influ-

enced by the defendant’s own statements
or actions. Counsel’s actions are usually
based, quite properly, on informed strate-
gic choices made by the defendant and on
information supplied by the defendant.

In particular, what investigation deci-

sions are reasonable depends critically on

such information.

We conclude that at the very least, counsel
for McCoy conducted their defense “within
the wide range of professional assistance.”
Strickland, 466 U.S. at 689, 104 S.Ct. at
2066.

6. Failure of trial counsel to request
an instruction on the inapplicabili-
ty of the law of the parties in the
jury’s consideration of the special
issues.

7. Failure of appellate counsel to
raise a claim on direct appeal re-
garding the failure of the trial
court to instruct the jury on the
inapplicability of the law of the
parties in their consideration of the
special issues.

[12] _ Previously, we concluded that an
instruction that the law of the parties does

=e

case, on that particular night in Jan-
uary of 1981, Cynthia Johnson left
the home of her Parents and was ney-
er heard from again.

An estimated 100 officers, volun-
teer firemen and friends took part in
a full-scale ground Search of a 15
Square-mile area south of Conroe.
The following day, after reading
about the tragedy in the newspapers,
car loads of teenagers began arriv-
ing from various points of Mont-
gomery County, Grangerland, Willis
and Splendora, Again, no trace was
found of the missing woman.

A month almost to the day from
the time Cynthia Johnson disap-
peared, a couple of young hikers
trudging a rugged stretch of barren
country on the outskirts of Conroe
Spotted a naked body in the grass.
They notified the sheriff’s office in
Conroe.

About an hour later, the deputies
arrived and took away the body. It
was Cynthia Johnson.

Little effort had been made to hide
the body. The victim had been
dragged a few yards off the road and
unceremoniously heaved into a
clump of bushes, A post mortem ex-
amination revealed that she had been
viciously raped, then Strangled.

Meanwhile, investigators an-
nounced that Cynthia Johnson had in
all likelihood been abducted and
Slain by the same person that had
raped and murdered Diane Trevino
Oliver.

“We have uncovered certain evi-
dence that makes us almost positive
that Oliver and Johnson were slain
by the same Person or persons,” a
spokesman for the Conroe Police De-
partment told newsmen. “I am not at
liberty to tell you just what the evi-
dence is.” Almost daily, reports came
in from the National Crime Infor-
mation Center on sex murders around
the United States, and lawmen
Scanned them for some link to the
unsolved cases in Conroe and Chan-
nelview.

They were looking for a man
whom police psychiatrists described
as a “loner” with a Psychopathic per-
sonality who was unable to Carry out
an ordinary sex relationship due to
irrational and sexual immaturity.

Months, and then a year passed
without any related sex Slayings of
young women being reported. Police
knew that it simply could mean that

16

because of the publicity Surrounding
the two cases the killer could have
left the area. That. or maybe bodies
of later victims had thus far, gone
undiscovered. Life—and death—once
gain.

And then, nearly three years after
the murder of Robert Edward
Howard in the Parking lot of a Hous-
ton nightclub, everything started to
come together. Houston police re-
ceived a phone call] from the man
who decided to clean the slate.

The informant, Gary LeBlanc, told
Houston detectives that he, his broth-
er Eddie and an ex-con named James
Emery Paster were hired to kill
Howard for a mere $1,000 by none
other than Howard's wife, Trudy,

Two months after the murder,
Trudy married his brother Eddie
Leblanc, he revealed.

The case that had gone unsolved
for nearly three years came to a head
when Gary LeBlanc, wired with
recording devices, engaged his sis-
ter-in-law in a conversation about the
murder of Robert Howard.

Thereafter, the Suspects were ar-
rested and interrogated Separately and
intensively, And then the other two
unsolved murders came into play. As
homicide investigators listened
dumb-struck, James Emery Paster
voluntarily confessed to helping one
Stephen McCoy rape and murder
both Cynthia Johnson and Diane
Oliver. McCoy was next to be taken
into custody.

Paster was once a Las Vegas and
Atlantic City entertainer who did
Elvis Presley impersonations. But
Persons who knew him off-stage de-
scribed him as “Satan personified”
and “weird.”

Although he had no prior Texas
record, the former rock Musician and
impersonator had received three life
sentences in Alabama in 1982 on
charges of robbery, assault and bur-
glary. California authorities had al-
so been looking for him since 197],
Housed in San Quentin prison, he
made a daring escape and eluded
Posses and trackers who chased him
with savage determination.

All members of this killing team
were eventually convicted.

Paster was convinced of the
Howard murder and Was sentenced
to death.

He also pleaded guilty to the
rape/murder of Diane Oliver. He said

he knocked at her front door and
when she answered, grabbed her and
forced her into his car. He and
Stephen McCoy then drove her out
into the bush where they raped her
and stabbed her to death.

Paster also confessed to the mur-
der of Cynthia Johnson. He said he,
Stephen McCoy, and Gary Leblanc
abducted her as she was walking
along a Houston freeway. Once in-
side the car, they drove her to an
abandoned warehouse, raped her, and
Strangled her.

Prosecutor Hansen Called Paster
“...the worst kind of man, because
you can’t see him coming.” He said
Paster had an engaging Personality
and was extremely talented—man-
nerisms that hid his unpredictable-
ness: “He thought he was Charles
Manson.”

Paster received two life sentences
for those crimes. Stephen McCoy re-
ceived the death sentence for Cyn-
thia Johnson’s death.

Trudy LeBlanc and Eddie LeBlanc
were convicted and given life sen-
tences in 1989 for their part in the
murder of Robert Howard. Gary

_LeBlanc was 8iven a 35-year-sen-

tence in exchange for his testimony
against the others. All three were still
Serving their sentences as of this
writing.

James Emery Paster was scheduled
to die shortly before dawn one April
morning in 1987, but U.S. District
Judge Ross Sterling granted him a
reprieve. Paster’s attorney, Stanley
Schneider, argued before the Texas
Court of Criminal Appeals that his
client had been unable to Participate
in his defense because he had been
fed only bologna sandwiches in jail.
Furthermore, he said, Paster had been
deprived of adequate sleep. The doc-
ument claimed that Paster was awak-
ened every day between 3 and 4 a.m.
to be taken to court.

Stephen McCoy wasn’t so lucky,
On May 24, 1989, he was put to
death in the Huntsville “Walls” Unit
for his Participation in the rape mur-
der of Cynthia Johnson. Before he
died, McCoy said that Johnson and
Oliver were killed because he and
LeBlanc had seen Paster murder
Howard and he wanted to ensure
their loyalty by watching them mur-
der someone.

While awaiting an appeal on Death
Row, Paster and a cellmate attempt-

ed a daring
The convict
placed then
beds. Next.
rate to re)
Sawed away
done, they ;
hair tonic ai
ventilation
After tw
through narr
Unit the twc
correctional
On Mond:
torneys wit
Center solic’
Ted Poe an
Criminal /
Paster’s exe
anti-death pe;
Outside the °
“Reject the j
to Death Roy
Prosecutor
Paster had b
trial and ask:
Criminal App
execution dat.
Early Tues«
Paster’s reque
In a Death |
told reporters
Robert Edwar:
or a beer with
done it. It mad
someone on th.
out of the car.
“It’s not har
shot, twenty fe
Asked why
shrugged and
money to buy s
On Wednesd
James Emery P;
of a large T-bo
blue cheese dres

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t door and
bed her and
r. He and
yve her out
y raped her

o the mur-
He said he,
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After two hours of crawling
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On Monday, September 18th, at-
torneys with the Texas Resource
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Ted Poe and the Texas Court of
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Paster’s execution while a throng of
anti-death penalty protesters gathered
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“Reject the injection,” and “Say no
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Prosecutor Roe Morris denied that
Paster had been deprived of a fair
trial and asked the Texas Court of
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execution date.”

Early Tuesday, the court rejected
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In a Death House interview, Paster
told reporters: “Had I ever known
Robert Edward Howard, had a drink
or a beer with him, I wouldn’t have
done it. It made it easier, like hitting
someone on the highway. I never got
out of the car.

“

shot, twenty feet away, in the head.”

Asked why he did it, Paster
shrugged and said, “I needed the
money to buy speakers.”

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blue cheese dressing, french fries and

watermelon. His attorney, Stanley
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“He was very positive, very up-
beat,” he told reporters. “He and I
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minute reprieve. He was hoping for |

the best but anticipating the worst.”

James Emery Paster climbed up on
the death gurney, breathed deeply,
and muttered, “I hope Mrs. Howard
can find peace in this.” No one knew
what he meant.

The lethal dose of Sodium
Thiopental, Pavulon was adminis-
tered. He took a deep breath and
coughed once.

Paster once told a reporter, “They
haven't come up with a technical
name for me yet, but I think I’m
some kind of schizophrenic, *

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PATTERSON, Jim Bryant, white, ll, electrocuted Texas State Prison (Harris) on Mar, 1h, 1951.

"Before the horror stricken eyes of several hundred Saturday (3-13) afternoon shoppers, a
l\2eyear-old mother of 5 children, was shot to death at Weingarten's Store on Travis between
Texas and Prairie, where she was a waitress. She is Mrs. Nettie Marie Patterson, of 512
Lathrop, who died in front of the soda and ice cream counter after 2 bullets were pumped
into her right side and one into her back. Her former husband, Jimmie Bryant Patterson, 3,
of Mart, was arrested at the scene and charged before Justice™ C. Ragan with mrder and
carrying a pistol. He is in the city jail, held without bail, At the risk of their own
lives, three persons tried to thwart the fatal shooting of this mother of five, Two of
them hurled objects at the man with the gun and another knocked the gun out of his hand, they
said. The grocery store was thrown into a near panic as 6 shots cracked out at 5:20 pemey
sounded above the screams of Mrs, Patterson, One of the shots smashed a 3 inch hole through
the window of the lravis Street entrance, According to witnesses, she was working behind
the soda counter when a man went behind the counter, pointing a .32 calibre revolver at here
She vaulted the counter and was shot as she scrambled behind the other side in a frantic
effort to escape thepistol fire, the witnesses said, El McWhorter, 17, of 390 34 Cochran,
who works at thevegetable counter, hurled a pan at the man as he was firing at Mrs, Patter-
son, The pan struck the soda-water counter. 'The store policeman ran up with his gun drawn
and ordered the man to drop his gun,' the youth said, 'He did so, Then I went and took
hold of Mrs, Patterson, who was lying on her face with blood coming out of her back. She
gasped four times in my arms and then died.'

"Police Sgt, Charles William Boehm, Sr., doirg special duty work at thestore said in a wrie
tten statement that about 5230 p.m, he heard shots that ‘sounded like firecrackers,' ‘Ther
were 6 shots - fired in rapid succession,' he said. He said he was back in the store at the
time and ran through the panic-stricken customers toward the soda-water counter, 'K saw a
man standing behind the cold drink stand, trying to reload a gun, I pulled my pistol and
commanded him to give me his gun, For a moment he hesitated and I told him that if he
didn't hand it over, I'd shoot him, He then threw it towards me and it fell on the floor,
At this time two of the employees jumped over the counter and grabbed him ,', ,Sergeant
Boehm said the man's pistol was empty, but that he had l, loaded shells in his pocket.
"William V, Jones, li7, of 3307 Holman, doorman at the Rice Hotel, was shopping in the
store hear the soda-water counter when he said hhe heard a lady say 'Get away don't do
that!' Jones said he saw a man and woman facing each oter behind the counter, The man
had a gun drawn and was talking to the woman. Jones said the man started shooting at the
woman and 'she ran from behind the counter and he shot at her = four or five times or more, '
She was running toward the south entrance door on Travis near the count er. As she fell to
the floor, the man was relaading the gun, Jones said, ‘I hit the man s hand and knockdd
the pistol from it,' Joms said in his statemen, which conflicted on this point wth that
of Sergeant Boehm, '‘'I then grabbed this man, Sergeant Boehm then came up and told another
man to throw him the gun.' A large crowd jammed Travis Street in front of the store,
Employees guardded the doors to prevent the morbid from entering, Dozens of policemen
converged on the building. Mr. Patterson refused to make a written statement but told
reporters about his marriage with Mrs, Patterson,.

They were separated last June and divorced in November, after 25 years of marriage, he
said, adding that he hadn't seen her since the separation, He had been working as a

night watchman at Reed Roller Bit but after the divorce he became sick and was at Heights
Hospital for 23 days, then went to live with a sister, Mrs, Robinson, in Mar}, he said.
'Threedays ago I left Mart, went to Waco where 1 bought a pistol, spent a night at Marland,
and came to Houston early Saturday morning,' Tears came to his eyes when he spoke of his
five chile ren and he nodded his head when asked if he loved his wife. Mrs, Willie Wade
Sharp, 7311 Boyce, the dead woman s sister, told reporters over the phone that Patterson
had 'threatened his wife's life mahy times,’ She said that Patters@ax was a very heavy
drinker and was particularly 'bad when he went on atear.' Officers found on his person
an almost empty half-pint of whiskey. Seven statements were made to police, several by
store employees. Sam Vaccarella, 29, of 916 Ashland, the vegetable department manager
said he saw a man shoofing at Mrs. Patterson as she jumped over the counter, ‘I picked

up an empty soda-water case and threw it at theman,' he said. 'Tren the officer came up
and told the man to throw out his gun, which he did, Mrs, Patterson was shot twice in the

right side and once in the left side of her back, the shot penetrating the heart."
CHRONICLE, Houston, Texas, 2-26-1950 (Page one, columm three). Photograph, page 17


The tinkle of a jailer’s keys was wedding bells for Eddie
Nichols of Indiana. He married Miss Hazel Reed in the
county jail at Asheville, North. Carolina, then immediately
started serving a thirty-eight-year rap for bank robbery.

the prosecution of Evelyn Frechetti, Dillinger’s sweet-
heart, in St, Paul, is in jail again. This time she’s
booked in Kansas City on a charge of selling narcotics.

2 Ash-blonde Dolores Smart, who was a federal witness in

gun which killed Whittaker’s wife in Los Angeles.
Culver claimed Whittaker hired him to stage a fake hold-
up, during which the older man shot his heavily insured wife.

3 James Culver (left) and Samuel Whittaker examine the

\ dy Oe y {’ | When police questioned George Patton, recluse of Athens,
N © {\ Texas, about the disappearance of Mr. and Mrs. J. W.
x) @ x / Magee and their two children, Patton told them he
.) at. . ,
ae ‘ boiled all the Magees in a huge vat, then burned the remnants.
Cds
SAN Pe

q \ Charged with strangling her illegitimate baby, youthful
LY, Usog A .. ’ Joan Patterson crosses the “Bridge of Sighs” that joins
es r i OO 06 : . The Tombs Prison, New York, with the criminal courts.
be S, Oa O4 _ She said she could remember nothing after the baby was born.
os A &,

\

TA RNR AXKS
f wwe Ge xo \
EO OMe Meee

nk

Ste COL

=

SHERIFF OF HENDERSON
COUNTY, TEXAS,

AS TOLD TO

CAROLYN CRAIG
JESS SWEETEN, YOUNGEST

SHERIFF IN TEXAS, HAS WON A

HIGH PLACE AMONG THE GREAT
LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS
OF THE SOUTHWEST. SINCE TAK-
ING OFFICE FIVE YEARS AGO, HE
HAS SOLVED SIXTEEN MAJOR
CRIMES. SIX FEET, SIX INCHES
TALL, HE WEARS THE TEN-GAL-
LON HAT AND THE HIGH-HEELED
BOOTS OF THE OLD-TIME TEXAS
RANGER, AND CAN OUTSHOOT
ANY SHERIFF IN THE STATE. HE
HOLDS THE TITLE AS CHAMPION
MARKSMAN OF THE TEXAS
SHERIFFS’ ASSOCIATION.

pel 193%)

fs

A
BODIES FOUND HERE

Sheriff Sweeten (left), and State
Ranger Hines (center) watch as
George Patton (right), digs bones of
victims from shallow grave on his farm.

»


|

to move soon to another county. That has been a month ago,
though, and I haven’t heard from them since then.

“Maybe I have no right to feel the way I do, but T know
that something terrible has happened to them. Carrie has
always been good to write to me when they have gone any-
where before. Something’s wrong, Mr. Sweeten. Some-
thing’s happened to that family,” she said, breaking down in
sobs.

For a moment I sat there watching the spasmodic jerks of
the grief-torn mother’s shoulders.

“One month,” I repeated to myself. That wasn’t so long
ago, and yet anything could happen in that space of time. A
family could move a long way; a family could move clear out
of the United States in one short month—a family could
even be murdered. This thought startled me, but I betrayed
none of my emotions in my face.

“Mrs. Everctt,” I said in a soothing tone, “I won’t at-
tempt to ask you any questions now, because I believe that
you are too upset. But tomorrow, I will drive out to your
farm. Then I want every bit of information that you can
give me about your daughter’s family.”

ARLY THE NEXT morning, I set out for Mrs. Everett’s

farm with three of my deputies. For about seven miles

I was able to drive over a paved highway. This took me into

Bethel. There I asked as to the whereabouts of the farm.
A boy in his carly teens offered to show us the place.

“Tt’s about three miles off of the main road,” he told me.
“You'll have to drive pretty careful-like, because the heavy
rains have just about ruined these little side roads.”

He really spoke the truth, too. All that I saw for about
three miles was a cleared strip of ground, filled with chug
holes and rivulets. The crude road had been made by cut-
ting a swath of trees out of the very heavily wooded sec-
tion. After driving for nearly three quarters of an hour
we sighted an unpainted frame house set in a clearing. This
was the Everett home.

When I drove up to the gate, Mrs. Everett came out on
the front porch. I could sce that her eyes were red from
crying.

“Come in, Sheriff,” she said dully. “I’m ready to tell you
as much as I can about Carrie and her husband and kids,
but I’m afraid it won’t be much.”

14

— = oa

Mrs. Everett was right. She
gave mea fairly accurate de-
surdares said he weed in wip- scription of the missing four,
ing out an entire family of but it wouldn’t be enough to help
four after an argument. me. She had but one picture of

McGehee and his wife, and that
was a faded snapshot taken several years before.

With only this scant information I then set to work. I
was looking for a young man, twenty-five years of age, five
fect eleven inches tall, with brown hair, stoop-shouldered and
of slight build; a woman twenty-one years old, tall and
rather thin, with light brown hair; and two children, one a
boy, four, tall for his age, and rather talkative; the other a
girl, two, chubby, with large, blue cyes. I was frankly skep-
tical about my chances of making any headway in the case.

Nevertheless, these descriptions were mailed out imme-
diately to every state in the union. An enlarged photograph
of the snapshot of J. W. and Carrie McGehee was enclosed.
Soon, I knew the picture would adorn police bulletin boards
from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from the Dominion of
Canada to Mexico.

The same day that I went to Mrs. Everett’s place, I also
drove out to the farm where the McGehees had lived for a
few months prior to their disappearance. It was set well
back from the highway and could only be reached by a sandy
lane which, really, was nothing more than a wagon trail.
After driving through the twisting, narrow road for about
twenty minutes I came to the farm.

The place was deserted. It looked as though it hadn’t been
occupied for years. More than half of the window panes
were missing. A door hung on one hinge, and the roof had
completely fallen through in places. For a moment I stopped
to wonder how human beings could have existed in such a
house.

I spread my men out around the shack to look for anything
which might tell us something, and my chief deputy and I
searched every inch of the two rooms in the house. The
family had left absolutely nothing behind to give us a hint
as to their possible whereabouts. Every path leading away
from the house was traced. Even the well, which looked as
though it had been boarded up for a long time, was uncovered
for inspection. Nothing resulted. It was complete failure
for us on that early December day.

MURDER WEAPONS
Bloody pipe and rock which


HE MAN KNELT, stuck the kerosene lamp down

into the gaping black hole, permitted the

dim rays to play in an eerie fashion
over the dank walls for a few moments,
then got to his feet.

“They’re human bones all right,”
he said. His voice trailed off,
swallowed up in the silence.

Three men stood there in
the dusk that afternoon in
March. Behind them
the giant trees were |
outlined like skeletons
against the sky. Be-
fore them was the
big, jagged hole °
in the barren sand.

It was the climac-
tic moment in the
Strangest trail I had
ever followed. Four years be-
fore, a fiend had flung into that horrible
grave four mangled bodies—the corpses of a
man and woman, the tiny, blood-stained bodies
of two children. For four years the victims had
lain there, undisturbed. For nearly four years
I had moved heaven and earth, looking for a
murderer—without even being sure that mur-
der had been committed. Now, at last, I had the
evidence !

The case, one of the strangest, most
bafling, and most atrocious in the his-
tory of Texas crime, first came to my at- :

tention in a strangely unsensational manner. , very busy and had hardly noticed the
On a dreary day in December, 1932, I new quietness, but suddenly I heard my

was working in my office in the county door open and close very softly. Because of the way in
courthouse. I had stayed in nearly all which that door opened and closed I looked up.
day, signing prisoners’ transfers, checking Standing just inside the door, which leads into the main
legal documents—doing work that I had office, was a small, withered woman. My first glance took in
had to neglect recently. The wind had 4 person of medium height, with a pair of anxious eyes, and
been blowing unceasing- hands which showed the marks of many years of hard work.

GRUESOME REMAINS

This skull, little left but bone and
hair, was identified as the once
smiling head of Mrs. McGehee.

ly since morning, but Gripping the door knob, the woman leaned toward me and
it died down toward asked in a trembling voice, “Are you Sheriff Sweeten?”
the middle of the “Yes, ma’m,” I replied, hurriedly getting to my feet.

afternoon. Iwas “Can I be of any help?”
“Mr. Sweeten,” she said, almost in a whisper, “you are the
only one who can help me. 1 have something to tell yor »
Mr. Sweeten, something I know you ought to kno.,.°
Can you spare just a short time, just a few min-
utes? It won’t take long,” she finished in a
pleading voice.
“Certainly,” I said, motioning her to
the chair that was placed near my
desk.
Once she got started, she
talked without hesitation.
“My name is Mrs. Dan
Everett and I live on a farm
close to Bethel,” she said.
(Bethel is a small com-
munity seven miles from
Athens.) “My daughter,
Carrie Everett McGehee,
her husband, and two chil-
dren disappeared in” the
carly part of November. I
didn’t think much about it
at the time, because Carrie
had told me before that she
and J. W. and the two kids,
Bobbie and Doyle, were going


hed

Everett was right. She
ne a fairly accurate de-
mn ot the missing four,
vouldn’t be enough to help
he had but one picture of
ee and his wife, and that
| years before.
n I then set to work. I
aty-tive years of age, five
vair, stoop-shouldered and
-one years old, tall and
- and two children, one a
rer talkative; the other a
yes. I was frankly skep-
ny headway in the case.
were mailed out imme-
An enlarged photograph
e MeGehee was enclosed.
rn police bulletin boards
d from the Dominion of

-s. Everett’s place, I also
!eGehees had lived for a
arance. It was set well
ily be reached by a sandy
ore than a wagon trail.
. narrow road for about

| as though it hadn’t been
Jf of the window panes
> hinge, and the roof had

For a moment I stopped
| have existed in such a

ack to look for anything
my chief deputy and I
oms in the house. The
dehind to give us a hint
“very path leading away
he well, which looked as
‘ong time, was uncovered
It was complete failure

During the next few months I visited every person living
within a radius of ten miles of the McGehee farm. They all
seemed willing enough to co-operate, but none of them gave
me a clue as to the whereabouts of the McGehee family ex-
cept one man.

RAN ACROss this man in February, 1933, three months after

I began my search for the missing family. This per-
son, whose name I do not think it is necessary to mention
in this story, told me of seeing young McGehee with a
middle-aged farmer named Patton, shortly before his dis-
appearance.

“I passed McGehee and Patton,” he said, “riding in a
wagon one day early in November. They were headed in
the direction of Athens and seemed in no particular hurry.
They appeared to be on very good terms, because just before
I passed them in my car, McGehee laughed very loudly at
something Patton said. I remember that incident quite dis-
tinctly. And that’s the last time that I ever saw J. W.
McGehee.”

You can imagine my feeling of elation. At last I had
something to work on. I had been grasping at thin air for
so long. It had been
three months since
Mrs. Everett had
come to me and until
now nothing had de-
veloped.

On February 9,
1933, the day after
the name of George
Patton entered the
case, I ordered three
of my deputies to
bring the fifty-two-
year-old farmer
from -his Bethel
farm into Athens
for questioning. In
the meantime, I
checked up on_ his
past life as much as
possible.

ONCE A MAN
The skull and part of the
bone fragments of J. W.
McGehee, dug up after
being buried years.

From one of his neighbors I learned that George was a
hermit-like bachelor, a good man who attended to his own
affairs, and expected everyone else to tend to theirs, He had
never had any sort of trouble with any of his acquaintances.

That afternoon George Patton walked into my office be-
tween my deputies. As I turned away from the reports
which I was scanning and looked at him, I saw an elderly
man of average height. When I glanced at his face, my gaze
was caught and held by a pair of steely-blue eyes sunken
in their sockets and’ overshadowed by heavy gray eye-
brows. His jaw was slightly square and was finished off
by a very sharp pointed chin. Although these facial charac-
teristics were not unusual, |, nevertheless, tried to impress
that face upon my memory.

I motioned for him to sit in the chair by my desk, for I
wished for him to feel that I was asking for his help, rather
than trying to force it from him.

“Patton,” I said, “I want to ask you a few questions about
the McGehce family. I won’t detain you long, and I know
that you can help me if you will. I’ve been told,” I con-
tinued, “that you were with J. W. McGchee early in Novem-
ber of 1932. That was a short time before the family
disappeared. Is that
true?”

The old farmer
cleared his throat,
shifted around in his
chair, and answered
in a steady voice:
“Yes, that’s so. I
was with McGehee
at that time; in fact,
he and his family
lived with me for
three weeks,”

Mentally, that
statement nearly
floored me, but T re-
fused to show it in
my face because I
wanted to hear the
rest of his story
without interruption.

GRAVE FOR FAMILY
Patton's farm (below).
Spot where bodies were
found is directly to the
left of center building.

15


do when naming the day
rm. That was important.
| if I was able to prove
hat then? What would I
er might be lying about
If I was able to prove
link Patton with the dis-
and his family.
nsible for the disappear-

ance of the McGehees, evidence must be produced. That evi-
dence, I knew only too well, would have to be more than
circumstantial. Only by being able to produce the persons
or bodies of the missing family, would I have anything
more than circumstantial evidence.

|e BODIES? Bopres? That word fairly sang in my brain.
If I was going to search for bodies of the McGehee
family, where would I naturally look first? Where had the
family been seen for the last time, alive? George Patton’s
farm, of course, Then, there’s where I would begin my
search.

“Wait a minute! Be careful, Jess,”

lieve that somewhere on, or near this farm, Patton, is the
McGehee family’s grave.”

Whether my statement “hit home,” I never knew, because
not a muscle in the Bethel farmer’s face quivered at what I
had said. Instead, he replied very coolly: “The farm is
yours to dig on, but I’m afraid you'll be disappointed !”

For a moment I had feelings of doubt. Had I been mis-
taken in my judgment, or was this man I suspected a superb
actor? The law usually leaves little to question, however,
and so I ordered my mcn to begin digging.

Two were assigned to the corn field, another to the barn
yard and shed. I started in on the ground directly around
the shack. Qucer, I realize, it seems to
anyone that hears me tell how we dug

I told myself. “You haven't been able
to prove a thing against Patton. His
story, as far as you are concerned, is a
good one. You’ve been able to find
nothing wrong with it, except maybe
that he hesitated too long in naming
the date that the family left his place.
Yet that date alone may be reason
enough to question Patton’s inno-

TRUTH ... STRANGER
THAN FICTION

Month after month, these pages
sparkle with thrilling mystery

up a better part of that farm, but for
some reason I believed that I was on
a real trail at last, and I was just des-
perate enough to dig up every inch of
Patton’s land.

For several days the digging con-
tinued. Every part of the farm was
methodically covered. Most of the

cence.” tales: tales in which plots, char- times Patton stayed around and

“Elton,” I instructed my chicf dep-
uty later in my office, “get two more
men. We're going to the George Pat-
ton farm. Bring some shovels with
you, because they're going to be
needed before the afternoon is over.”

“What's up, Jess?” “ie asked, looking
at me with a puzzled expression on his

face.
“T’m going to look for some graves,
Elton,” T answered. “I've hunted for

months for four people, but I believe
that I should have been looking for
their burial place instead. George Pat-
ton’s farm is as logical a place as any
to begin that hunt. If there are human
bodies anywhere on his land, we'll
find them. It’s just a hunch I have,
but maybe it’ll be a good one.” in

“You think Patton had anything to
do with the disappearance of the Mc-
Gchees, Jess?”

“Maybe,” T answered. “That's what

acters, fascinating solutions are
frequently so strange as to be
almost unbelievable. Yet every
single word in every single story
holds fast to actual fact, fact
sworn to in official police records
and by our expert corps of
writers and true crime investiga-
tors. I¥ you're looking for the
truth behind the startling crime
news of the day—truth stranger
than fiction—you'll find it pre-
sented best, most entertainingly

REAL DETECTIVE

watched us. On several occasions he
even brought us water, saying that he
didn’t want us to overwork ourselves
on /iis account.

After a weck I ordered my men to
quit. It was a fruitless search we had
made. Other angles ‘n the case had
been neglected too long.

“Corley,” I told my deputy, “we’re
going to let Patton alone for awhile,
but never take your eyes off of him for
a second. I’ve still got a hunch!”

I* THE NEXT few weeks we worked
almost without stopping for meals
or sleep. Yet no clucs turned up as
to the whercabouts of the mystery
family or their fate. Reports, it was
true, came to me from every part of
the nation. The letters I had sent out
were bringing amazing results.

A dragnet had been spread over the
entire United States. City policemen
and small town constables alike were

I intend to find out. [Hf he’s guilty, we
can’t prove it, though, unless the
bodies are produced. Hence the digging party.”

When we drove up in the front yard of Patton’s shack,
he came out at once. He seemed not at all surprised to see us.

“How do you do, Mr. Sweeten?” he greeted me evenly.
“And what is your reason for visiting me this time of the
day?”

“Something I believe will interest you tremendously, Pat-
ton,” I answered him.

T had no way of reading the farmer’s face, because he
concealed his thoughts well. But just for a moment he looked
at us all as an animal at bay would, and then turning to me,
he smiled and said: “Sheriff Sweeten, I don’t know what
you're here for, but I’ll be glad to help you in any way that
I can, What is it you want?”

For what seemed a full minute to me there was a com-
plete silence. I wanted the full significance of my next
words to sink in.

“T’m still searching for the McGehee family,” I shot at
him. “For a year now, l’ve been trying to find them without
any success. Lately things have happened which have con-
vinced me that I’ve been hunting persons who are dead.
Somewhere those dead people are bound to be buried. And
there’s a reason for their being dead. I have reason to be-

schooled in the brief descriptions, and
were ordered to report immediately any such group of per-
sons coming under their observation.

From Kansas about two weeks after I had opened my
investigation, I received word that the family had been seen
in that state a short time before. This I checked on and
found to be the work of a crank. Others wrote me that four
such people had been seen in various towns and cities in
Texas, but always the reports proved utterly without basis.
From time to time throughout the years of my hunt, I re-
ceived many such letters.

The family scemed to have vanished - into thin air.
Had people imagined that they had seen the family or had
the McGehees really been in the numerous places mentioned
within the space of almost two years? The case was no
more confusing when it first came to me than it was after
two years had passed.

Apparently, my men and T were powerless to do any-
thing. We had never been quite sure whether we were look-
ing for dead or living people. If these people were alive,
why hadn’t they been heard from; or, if they were dead,
was it from natural causes, or had they perished at some
unknown hand, as we had speculated early in the investiga-
tion? It was of vital importance (Continued on page 82)

17

Re


“Around the first of November, BRIDE AND FAMILY
J. W. came to me,” he continued, — Patton's girl wife (extreme
“and asked me to Ict him and his left) and her family. She
‘ ‘ , : married a man old
wife and two kids live with me enough to be: her father.
until he could get his corn separ-
ated. Because I felt sorry for him
I let the four move in with me, although there wasn’t even
enough beds for all of us. During the time that they were
with me, McGehce drank quite a bit, but never got quarrel-
some. On about November nineteenth or twentieth, Carric,
his wife, told me they were going to leave and move to
another county.

“Early the next morning they did Icave, and that’s the
last I’ve ever seen or heard of them.”

“How did they leave?” I shot at him.

“They started out on foot,” was the reply. “However,
McGehee told me that he had a cousin that he thought
would help them to get into Athens. From there on they
were going to hitch rides on the highway.”

“And they didn’t tell you their exact destination, Patton?”

“No.”

With no reason for holding him longer, I allowed Pat-
ton to go, but not without putting him down on my mental
list for future reference. I was to think of those eyes many
times later on, and the way in which they seemed to look
straight through you.

“Patton’s story sounds all right,” I told my deputies, “but
I’m going to test it out anyway. Elton, check up with our
first informant and find out what the approximate date was
that he saw McGehee with Patton. Tell him that it is all
important that he remember the exact date if possible.”

Within two hours he reported back to me that the man was
not positive about it, but that he placed the time around
November seventh or eighth. This
date, I admitted, fitted in with Pat-
ton’s tale perfectly, because he said
that the family had come to live — ont pedal fa
with him around the beginning of most efficient Texas sheriff.

SPECTACULAR

16

the month. Yet he had hesitated when naming the day
that the McGehees had left his farm. That was important.
Why had Patton hesitated? And if I was able to prove
that he had lied about that date what then? What would I
gain by it? Only that the farmer might be lying about
other things he said had happened. If 1 was able to prove
that, I might possibly be able to link Patton with the dis-
appearance of the young farmer and his family.

To prove that Patton was responsible for the disappear-


“Doctor” Emerson Gilbert, sought immun-
ity through legal twists, Dunninger sug-
gested that he produce a sample seance to
prove his psychic skill. The magistrate
agreed with the suggestion; the medium
eagerly seized the chance. But when he
considered the test conditions that Dun-
ninger intended to impose, the self-styled
doctor began to doubt his own prowess.
He had placed himself in a dilemma,

through his acceptance of Dunninger’s
terms. He could not retreat to his former
pleas; nor did he dare to go through with
the seance. The result was a plea of guilty,
and the forced retirement of “Doctor” Gil-
bert from his practice of medical medium-
ship. He was found guilty and given a
suspended sentence upon his promise to
leave town.

Dunninger’s files show many records

MASS MURDER IN TEXAS

that these questions be answered.

Certainly the disappearing of the four
was unnatural. Patton had not been able
to give even one reason for their leaving
his home so suddenly. He had claimed
that they had given him none. All the
facts in the case pointed toward one thing,
an untimely fate for the young couple and
their children.

It was February, 1936. The longer the
case carried over, the less chance I would
have of bringing the murderer to justice,
if a murderer was what I had to look for.
Taking this chance, on February twenty-
third, I gave my men this order:

“From now on, we're looking for a mur-
derer. And there’s going to be no let up
until we find that person and place him in
the Henderson County jail.”

After I had informed my officers thus, I
listed my probable suspects. Mrs. Dan
Everett? It was not natural for a person
to do away with their own flesh and blood.
But then, never is murder a natural thing.
Some relative of McGehee’s?

What about the cousin of McGehee that
Patton had referred to? Did such a per-
son exist, or had he been a figment of the
wily farmer’s imagination? Of the score
or more cousins that my men had already
questioned, apparently none knew anything
about the disappearance of J. W. McGehee
and his family. If such a cousin existed
could he, if found, clear up the mystery
of the missing McGchees?

What of George Patton? His story was
a perfect one, but the vagueness of it in
some places still required investigation.

What about the possibility of enemies?
Did J. W. McGehee have any who would
carry their hate as far as inflicting bodily
harm? Mrs. Dan Everett alone could tell
me this.

Again I drove to her farm, this time
with something definite to ask.

“Mr. Sweeten,” she said, “J. W. never
had one enemy that I know anything about.
He didn’t have time to make enemies, be-
cause he was always too busy trying to
feed Carrie and the kids.”

“Did your son-in-law ever express a hate
for anyone?”

“No,” she answered. “Never did he say
that he hated anyone; in fact, he was easy
to make friends with and always had a lot
of them. I don’t think I ever heard him
say an unkind word about any of them.
It wasn’t in his nature.”

So young McGehee had no enemies.
Rather unusual, I thought, but possible,
maybe. Again I checked what I already
knew. The family had announced inten-
tions of moving out of the county, but in-
stead of doing so, they had gone to George
Patton’s farm and lived with him for three
wecks.

Then, according to Patton, they had left
his place telling him, as they had others,
that they were going to move to another
county. They were supposed to have
sought the help of a cousin of McGehce’s
to get into Athens, but all the young farm-
er’s known relatives denied any knowledge
of the act.

Supposing the family did get into

82

Athens, where did they go from there?
They had been falsely reported in innu-
merable places at the same time. The fam-
ily supposedly had no enemies. There were
too many contradictory statements. I was
dizzy from thinking of the case.

JS yeuers THE ANGLES that we had already
worked on, there was always one which
would be open for speculation. That was
the possibility that the young farmer had
destroyed his family and himself, out of
despondency. This, my men and I, had
always been inclined to discredit.

In spite of the many contradictions that
entered into the story we pieced together,
1 believed that all pointed in one general
direction.

Patton, I was almost sure, could account
for the extended absence of the McGehee
family. How was I to prove it, though?
This man had already exhibited his ability
to remain calm under fire of questioning.
This time I must handle him differently,
if I was to succeed in my purpose.

But how could I handle George Patton
differently? I had already used every
method known to men of the law to ex-
tract information from him. He _ had
passed every grueling test without even the
slightest change in his story or, without
any sign of emotional strain, Tow could
you break a man like this one down?

For several days I pondered as to what
my tactics would be. Finally, though, on
February 26th, I hit upon a plan. Slight
though my chances would be in making
my plan work, I was willing to try it.
Psychology was to be my weapon. I was
going to employ a method which was
usually scoffed at by men of my profession.

On the afternoon of the 26th, two of
my deputy officers and I drove to the Pat-
ton farm. We found the old farmer work-
ing in the barn when we arrived.

When he saw who it was, he dropped
the hoc he was filing and walked casually
up to us.

“Patton,” I said, “I’m going to dig some
more on this farm. I’m convinced that the
bodies of four people are somewhere on
this farm. I failed almost three years ago,
but I’ll not fail again.”

Without giving him time to answer, I
motioned to the men to begin digging.

“Start in the barn lot, men,” I told them.
“Dig up every foot of ground in it. If
you don’t find anything there, move out
into the corn field. I’ll work on the front
yard.”

For an hour and a half we worked
steadily. Patton did not watch us as he
had before, but went into the house and
didn’t come out at anytime while we were
digging. After a time, I yelled to my
officers in the field to quit and come up to
the house. When I did this, the old farmer
came out of his shack and walked up to
me about the same time that the men did.

For a moment everything was tense.
Patton stood about seven. feet from me,
staring straight into my eyes as_ was char-
acteristic of him, and waiting—I felt sure
—to hear every word that I was going to
say. My men looked directly at me and

such as these. As a psychic detective, he
has played his full part in curbing the
psychic racket whenever it has invaded
the province of the law.

Today, while you think of it, send $3.00 for
24 months’ subscription to Real Detective.
You'll save $3.00 from the newsstand cost
of the coming 24 issues if you do. See
coupon, page 87.

From page 17

never once glanced in the farmer’s direc-
tion.

“Men,” I finally said. “I guess we'll
have to quit. Unless we can find the bodies,
we will never have a case. Even if the
bodies were to be partially destroyed be-
fore we found them, we might not have
enough evidence to convict a person.”

Patton’s face was like a mask, as though
he hadn’t ‘heard what I had said. I won-
dered if my words had penetrated that illit-
erate, but clever mind. If they did, he
gave no hint of it. Psychology might con-
quer and again, it might not. Time, alone,
could tell. Four years had taught my co-
officers and myself patience. But this was
to be the supreme test of it.

N TuEspAy, MARCH THIRD, I called one
of my most trusted deputies into my
office and gave him these orders.

“Watch Patton closely and report his
activities to me every day. If he intends
to pull anything, he’ll do it now. We've
given him sufficient warning. If he’s guilty,
he'll try to protect himself. The minute
something breaks, let me know.”

Late that afternoon my scout reported by
telephone that Patton had not been home
all day.

“I believe, Jess,” he said, “that he walked
over to one of his neighbors. I saw his
wife walking around in the yard several
times today.”

“Wife,” I said in a stunned tone. “When
did Patton marry? Why have we never
seen her on our trips to his farm?”

“The most I could learn, Jess,” answered
my deputy, “was that he married in 1934,
and that he married a girl about fourteen
years old.”

“Watch her then,” I ordered nervously.
“And call me again tomorrow !”

The next day I heard nothing in spite
of my order. I tried to take things easy,
because for the past two weeks I had given
my entire time to the case and had allowed
my other duties to go. But I was prepared
to act immediately on any report that my
deputy might make.

Early on the morning of March fifth,
my phone rang. I answered it and the
voice of my scout officer came over the
wire. What he told me blasted the lid off
one of the most fiendish slaughters of
human flesh that I have ever heard of in
my years of experience as an officer.

“Jess,” he said excitedly, “Patton made

a trip to his barn lot at about five o’clock
this morning. It wasn’t quite daylight and
I could hardly see him without letting him
know that I was around. I wouldn’t have
thought much about his going down to the
lot so early, if he hadn’t had a shovel with
him. He walked as though counting off
steps until he reached a spot near to the
gate of the fence that surrounds his barn.
Then he started walking in a semi-circle
fashion, all the time pushing his shovel
down in the earth. After walking around
this particular spot for about five minutes,
he walked back to the house.”

“Good work,” I said hurriedly. “Now
hop back to town. I’m going to get a
warrant for Patton’s arrest. If we're

wrong, there’s 1:
Late that sa:

deputies, State

drove to the Be

Patton. He off:

as though his ar

been expecting
was baffled at !
man in his) pos
sooner or later,
farmer.
Strange, it m
try to make th:
place that he ha
ing with a sho
what he had to
For six days :
the accused slay
questions which
his will and wh
broken a man of
The old man
delight in match

power .against c

it was sort of a

hold ‘out the |

wracking grind-

Finally, on M
after I. had jail:
word to me that
statement. I su:

a newspaperman

Patton brought i

When he came
amazingly differ
dealt with heret:
ered with a bear
and he appeared
er. All his assu
him. When I
almost collapsed

“Well, Patton’

“Sweeten,” he
“Tl tell you an:
but for God's’ sa.

“Dig what up?

the excitement I
“Dig up the
killed four year:
from my house,”
that spot is and |
that you want m
you will allozwe mi
wise you'll neve
buried. In that «
thing on me. Is i

Although I hi
criminals, I foun
words, This man
think of what m
pose of his victir

“Agreed,” I an

It was Saturd:
when we finally
that the slayer p
ing place of the
murder.

“All right, Pa
digging!”

It was almost
use lamps and fl
down to the bar
our lamps up h
light for the gri:

At my commat
with an alarmin;
gan digging in t
tinued for fifteen
tion. Within th
on the ground |
fragmentary ren
Bobbie, and Do,

At Eleven a.m
Patton made a
three typewritten
that he talked |
santly.

“When we ate
lated Patton, “I t.


ective, he
irbing the
s invaded

1 $3.00 for
Detective.
sstand cost

i do. See

ym page 17
ier’s direc-

guess we'll
| the bodies,
“ven if the
stroyed be-.
it not have
verson.”
:, as though
id. I won-
ed that illit-
iey did, he
might con-
Time, alone,
wht my co-
3ut this was

I called one
ties into my
rs.

| report his
f he intends
row. We've
f he’s guilty,
The minute

t reported by
t been home

iat he walked
I saw his
yard several

tone. “When
ive we never
arm ?”

ss,” answered
rried in 1934,
bout fourteen

-ed nervously.
ar

thing in spite
e things easy,
ks I had given
id had allowed
| was prepared
-eport that my

March fifth,
‘ed it and the
came over the
sted the lid off
slaughters of
er heard of in
in officer.
“Patton made
wut five o'clock
te daylight and
cout letting him
| wouldn't have
‘ng down to the
da shovel with
ch counting off
pot near to the
-ounds his barn.
in a semi-circle
hing his shovel
walking around
ut five minutes,

se.

irriedly. “Now
going to get a
rest. If we're

wrong, there’s nothing to lose.”

Late that same afternoon two of my
deputies, State Ranger Dan Hines and L
drove to the Bethel farm to arrest George
Patton. He offered no resistance and acted
as though his arrest was just what he had
been expecting for some time. Again I
was baffled at his attitude. The average
man in his position usually gets panicky
sooner or later, but not this East Texas
farmer. .

Strange, it may seem, that we did not
try to make the old farmer show us the
place that he had marked early that morn-
ing with a shovel, but I wanted to hear
what he had to say in explanation first.

For six days following his second arrest,
the accused slayer withstood a barrage of
questions which were concocted to break
his will and which would have completely
broken a man of ordinary stamina.

The old man seemed to take a peculiar
delight in matching his will and reasoning
power against ours. I began to feel that
it was sort of a contest to sce who would
hold out the longest under the nerve-
wracking grind—Patton or the law.

Finally, on March 10th, almost a week

after I had jailed him, the prisoner sent
word to me that he was ready to make a
statement. I summoned my deputies and
a newspaperman as witnesses, and ordered
Patton brought into my office.
- When he came out of his cell he looked
amazingly different from the man I had
dealt with heretofore. His face was cov-
ered with a beard of several days’ growth
and he appeared to be several pounds light-
er. All his assurance seemed to have left
him. When I offered him a chair, he
almost collapsed into it.

“Well, Patton?”

“Sweeten,” he mumbled incoherently,
“I'll tell you anything you want to know,
but for God’s'sake let me dig them up!”

“Dig what up?” I asked, not able to keep
the excitement I felt out of my voice.

“Dig up the McGehee family that I
killed four years ago and buried 200 feet
from my house,” he replied. I know where
that spot is and I’ll show it to you any time
that you want me to, on the condition that
you will allow me to dig them up! Other-
wise you'll never know where they are
buried. In that case you could never pin a
thing on me. Is it an agreement?”

Although I had met up with hardened
criminals, I found myself shaken by those
words. This man was a fiend! I dreaded to
think of what means he had used to dis-
pose of his victims.

“Agreed,” I answered.

It was Saturday afternoon, March 14th,
when we finally stood looking at the spot
that the slayer pointed to as the final rest-
ing place of the victims of a quadruple
murder.

“All right, Patton,” I ordered. “Start
digging!”

It was almost dark and we had had to
use lamps and flashlights to find our way
down to the barn lot. We all now held
our lamps up high so as to allow more
light for the grizzled farmer to dig.

At my command he grabbed a spade and
with an alarming amount of strength be-
gan digging in the sandy soil. This con-
tinued for fifteen minutes without interrup-
tion. Within thirty more minutes, there
on the ground before our eyes, lay the
fragmentary remains of J. W.; Carrie,
Bobbie, and Doyle McGehee.

At Eleven a.m. on March 16th, George
Patton made a statement which covered
three typewritten pages. During the time
that he talked he smoked almost inces-
santly.

“When we ate supper that night,” re-
lated Patton, “I told him (McGehee) I be-

lieved that we would go and turn the cows
and the yearlings and the mules out. We
got up and started out and smoked a cig-
arette as we were going. I fastened up
my chickens and went in the hall of the
barn to turn my mules out, and I said to
him: ‘I wish you would finish shelling this
corn and pay me what you owe. (Mc-
Gehee had borrowed twenty dollars from
me about two weeks before.) He said he
wasn’t going to do a ‘G—D— thing, and
right then he struck me with his fist, and
I dodged it and we had it around and
around.”

Q. How long did your struggle continue, Pat-
ton? A. About fifteen minutes I should say.
We were rolling on the floor. McGehee had his
knee stuck in my stomach and was trying to
gouge out my eyes with his fingers. The pain
was awful. In running my hands over the floor
to try to find something to defend myself with,
I touched 2 piece of lead pipe. Getting a firm
grip on it, I hit him squarely over the left tem-
ple with all the strength that I had left. He
groaned just once and crumpled.

Q. Did it kill him immediately? A. Yes, I
think so. He didn’t move anymore, But 1
didn’t notice because I had Carrie McGehee to
think about. She had run between us while we
were fighting and one of us, I don’t know which,
hit her. Anyway, I knew that I’d better get rid
of her if her husband was dead. I hit her about
three times on the head and face with the same
pipe that I had used on MeGehee. She never
made a sound,

Q. What did you do about the two children?
A.. I hated to kill the little ones, but I knew
that I didn’t have any other choice. One of
them, the little girl I believe, I picked up by
the feet and hit her head against a big rock in
the yard. (The rock was discovered in the same
crude grave that contained the bones of the
family.) The boy, though, was too big to do
that way, so I choked him to death.

Q. What happened then?

[* ANSWERING THIS question the prisoner
gave a nauseatingly gruesome account of
how he disposed of the four battered bodies
by placing them in a huge oil vat which
he used for boiling meat. He cooked them
until the flesh was separated from the
bones, he said.

“Then,” he said, “I took their clothes
and other belongings and burned them. I
afterwards buried what bones were left
about 200 feet from the house, on the
edge of my corn field.”

I have never been able to understand
what prompted Patton to tell such a story,
especially after the remains of the Mc-
Gehees had already been exhumed with
parts of clothing still clinging to them. I
immediately discounted it as being con-
ceived by the distorted mind of a fiend
who fancied himself to be an actor as well
as the perpetrator of what amounted to a
massacre.

After the fragmentary evidence had been
completely recovered from the shallow
grave, it was placed in a strong box and
brought into Athens. There the remains
were positively identified by Mrs. Dan Ev-
erctt and relatives of McGehee. That iden-
tification, together with Patton’s admission
of guilt, was enough to convict him with-
out delay, I thought.

Our job was almost finished now. One
thing more, though, that I wished to do
immediately. That was to obtain a quick
indictment against Patton. Through his
own efforts, that had been made possible.

These circumstances gave me reason to
believe that I would be able to get a speedy
indictment. However, I was doomed to
disappointment for the law stepped in and
impeded its own action. :

Patton’s lawyer asked for a change of
venue on the grounds that the jurors would
be prejudiced because they all lived in the
county and were well acquainted with the
facts of the mass slaying. The trial was
postponed until November 16, 1936, and
was due to be held in Ellis county, adjoin-
ing Llenderson county.

On that date the case was called before

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83


By She
: Henderson County, Texas
As told to WILLIAM A. PAYNE

[|

relatives became worried over the disappearance of the Mc-
McGehee was an im-

Gehees. And I believed Patton, too.
ulsive fellow, likely to leave a farm on a moment’s notice

if he saw another he liked better.
trie McGehee’s mother, who lived in

mn, haga Mrs. Dan Everts, Ca
ver table of the Oklahoma, called m attention to the strange disappearance

when she wrote she ad not heard from her daughter in three
_W. McGehee, weeks.
ee weeks in his | was not Sheriff at that time, December, 1932, having been
aking little in- elected a few weeks before Thanksgiving, but 1 went out to
McGehee chil- George Patton’s farm after receiving Mrs. Everts’ letter.

th Patton and we exchanged a

ough as Patton
ked him about

d eaten at the ts. Then, | casually as
ven miles south- the McGehees.
He answered m. question readily enough and told me the

ing I have already related.

: broke into the story of their leavi
ten and Patton No one could have told a straighter story So, | went
. back to town and wrote Mrs. Everts I be ieved the Mc-
McGehee. Gehees were all right.
before the disappearance was called to

| had taken office
ss attention again. rs. John Allen, McGehee’s mother,
who

lived in an adjoining county, came to my Office in Janu-
ary. She said she was sure something had happened to her

son and his family. -

ce to his wife.

1g.

us leaving, but
> decided to get
fellows out there

of Athens) and
je McGehee and her

, job for us on a | (Above, right) Mrs. Carri

rica. After we've | younger son, Bobby—victims of a fiend ’

, Oklahoma.” od
@

y belongings, saw
shut and the car
atton’s Si
s sight and J. W. McGehee (left circle), brutally beaten
S.

to death by the murdering Ananias. His son,
ed his dreadful fate

weeks later when | Doyle (right), who shar


46 Master Detective

I scoffed at her fears, but decided to do some investigating,
anyway. | asked around town and in the Patton farm
neighborhood, seeking information on some crime which
might have caused the man to leave suddenly, thinking Mc-
Gehee might have gotten into trouble. But I learned noth-
ing.

The Everts and Allens naturally suspected Patton had
done away with the whole McGehee family. They were so
positive in their suspicion, | had to suspect the man. In-
quiries around Athens resulted only in praise for Patton. |
was somewhat disheartened by this turn of events, but I
wanted to look over his house. ;

I arranged with Oscar Deems, one of Patton’s neighbors, to
let me know when he thought the farmer was going to be
away from his house a few hours.

All this had taken time and it was the middle of March,
1933, when Deems called to say Patton had driven off in his
wagon past Deems’ house.

| rushed out to the Patton farm, found the door unlocked
and stepped inside. There was little in the plain, bare shack
to hinder a rapid, though close inspection. The kitchen re-
vealed nothing and neither did the front bedroom.

I was in the second bedroom when suddenly | saw a bat-
tered, pitted place in the wall. There were dull gleams in
the holes and | began to dig with my knife. [ was rewarded
with three leaden pellets.

An instant’s glance showed they were bird shot. I car-
ried them to the window for a better look and gasped at
what the sunlight revealed on the three pellets—faint traces
of red on each of them.

I was positive I had found the key to the McGehees’ dis-
appearance. The red couldn’t be anything but blood, |
reasoned, gathered by the pellets as they passed through
human flesh.

Believing Patton could not know of my discovery, | drove
back to Athens and next morning journeyed to Dallas,
eighty miles northwest of Athens, to show Doctor Landon C.
Moore, a laboratory chemist, the pellets. He examined the
shot carefully and told me the red might be human blood—
only an analysis could tell—but his fee would. be $50.

And that $50 put an end to that clue. Henderson
County could not stand the expense. I did not have the
money personally and neither did the McGehee relatives.

The next logical step was to arrest George Patton, and ar-
rest him I did on March 2st, 1933. My first question, after
he had been put in jail, was about the hole
in his shack.

“1 shot a cat a few months ago,” was his
calm reply.

I knew Patton was lying, because the
hole was five feet from the floor. Then, I
became more bold.

“What time was it when you shot the
cat?” I asked.

“About one o’clock in the morning.”

“Do you mean to tell me you just raised
up in the dark and blasted away?”

“No,” Patton replied, laughing, “I struck
a match, seen the cat and let her go.”

I went to the jail office for an unloaded
shotgun and told Patton when I returned:
“Show me how you did it.”

Patton raised the gun to his shoulder;
then turned loose with his left hand to
strike a match, and held the tiny blaze
right over the gun barrel.

“That’s how I done her,” he said.

“You know that’s a lie, George,” | scoffed.
“You never could have seen beyond the end
of the gun barrel.”

I knew Patton was lying, but no amount
of questioning could shake his story, and
to this day I don’t know the truth about
that bullet hole.

Jt was Sunday when I| found the bullet
hole and Tuesday when I arrested Patton.
However, it was Friday before | began ques-
tioning him. I had had him in jail four
days and Athens folks were criticizing me
for arresting him. I hadn’t even questioned
him about the McGehees, but | intended to

do so. 1 quietly left Athens with Patton in my car and
headed for Dallas.

Dallas County Sheriff Smoot Schmid called in several of
his deputies to help when | told him what I wanted. We
began questioning Patton in relays, never giving him a
moment's rest, all Friday night and all day Saturday.

At the end of twenty-four hours, Patton was as fresh as
when we began, but Schmid and his deputies were so ex-
hausted they gave up. I was all in, too.

There seemed nothing more to be accomplished, so |
loaded Patton back into the car and drove to Athens. |
called my three deputies and instructed them to keep up
the questioning while I slept a few hours.

I returned to the jail to find Patton still going strong. |
took up the questioning while my deputies slept, and con-
tinued through the night and Sunday morning.

Patton had been getting more and more irritable. His
quiet replies had given way to occasional snarls and he
screamed his answers several times. All this time, he had
stuck to his story that the McGehees “had just left.”

Then, suddenly, he broke, screaming like an animal, curs-
ing me and yelling:

“1 didn’t do it; I didn’t do it. Why can’t you leave me
alone? You're driving me crazy.”

He jumped for a corner and crouched there like a jungle
beast. Then, he started for me, rage and murder in his dis-
torted face. I hated to hit the old man, but I had no gun,
I slapped him hard. He fell back on the floor and lay still,
completely knocked out.

I LAID him on the cell bed and he came around in a few
minutes, lying there just staring at me.

| didn’t have the heart to question Patton any more, so
I left him lying there. Next day, I turned him loose when
he had made $1,000 bond. I was confident he knew some-
thing about the McGehees’ disappearance and [| wanted to
have some hold on him.

I put a watch over his house for a week or so, then,
hoping to turn up something, but the deputy reported Pat-
ton never made a false move. Patton seldom left the house,
and when he did it was only for short intervals, without any
effort to conceal his movements. I was definitely at the end
of the rope.

Then, in July, George Dennis, who lived near Patton,
came to me with the story of a new and unidentified grave

(Above) In these crude meat-cooking vats a scene of incredible horror
was perpetrated. (Center) Macaber evidence of murder, these human
bones were discovered by the Sheriff and his aides after a three-year search

in a negro cemete

When questions am
turn up any one who |
hotter. I collected a
I really expected to fi
wy surprise when ou:

e hoisted the box t
knocked off the top.

Inside was the boc
dirty towel. I grab
sightless eyes of a de

As quickly as possi
in the hole and shov:
second clue. .

It was September
trail again. One of
neighbor, W. B. Jen!
tress from the suspec

That was the hot
rested Patton again. —

Jenkins admitted |
a year before, but hi
Frost,” a small tow:
in the afternoon whe
and the mattress.

I found the secon
the.mattress to a t!
but it was midnight
of bed té ask him ¢
been sleeping on th
bed, but I bought t
back for Athens wit

I just knew I hac
he had spilled the |
the mattress, and t

But Patton had a
pletely out of my :

“Yes,” he said, *
but it’s the one Bil

Then I remembe:
stable, had been sh

by a man he had w
own bed, and bled

I was not going t
began questioning

(Above) A deput
of the McGehee f


the Ellis county court. For two days the
Kast Texas slayer’s lawyer challenged the
rights of many of the men called for jury
service. Finally, however, on November
18th, the jury was completed and the trial
began.

The trial was brief but one of the most
bitterly fought in the history of Texas.
Hot tongue lashings were waged between
the defense and state before a crowd so
large that part of the people were forced
to sit or stand in the aisles. There was
a feeling of tenseness throughout the
courtroom.

Only one person seemed undisturbed by
the proceedings. That person was George
Patton. Throughout the trial there was
an air of total indifference about him. Only
once did he show any emotion, that being
when he tried to console his girl wife who
became hysterical.

After fifteen hours of deliberation, Pat-
ton was found guilty. On November 20th,
the Fast Texas quadruple slayer was sen-
tenced to die in the electric chair in the
State penitentiary at Huntsville, Texas, for
“the most dastardly crime ever committed
in Texas.”

NORTH DAKOTA MYSTERY

but now it was. not there. He frowned,
and bent over to examine the window.

As he did so’a revolver cracked sharply
from somewhere. A_ .38-caliber bullet
caught him in the forehead and spun him
around. His arms flailed the air gro-
tesquely, and his flashlight went spinning
out of his grasp. It landed on the drive-
way several feet away, but miraculously,
the tiny bulb did not break.

Sneezby reeled crazily, then pitched for-
ward on his face and lay still. His life
had been snuffed out. But not the light
of his flash. In the darkness it blinked
out a shocking message of murder, unsuc-
cessfully for a time, and then—

A’ Potice HeEapguarters in City Hall,
two blocks away, jovial, towering,
more-than-250-pound Chief Peter G. Tim-
boe yawned, wiped the perspiration from
his forehead, and settled his big frame
comfortably in his office chair.

The clock on the wall showed him that
it was within a few minutes of one o’clock,
and he was glad of it.

It gets cold in Devils Lake in the winter
time, with the thermometer tumbling way
below zero. And it is hot in summer,
blistering hot. This had been such a day,
and what’s more it had been Primary Day,
as well. Such days invariably mean a busy
one for the police, and in Devils Lake it
was no exception.

The night had been a busy one, too, for
just down the corridor from Timboe’s
office, the election board was located, and
all evening long he had been besieged with
telephone calls from citizens secking to
know the results of the day’s balloting.

Now, with the time well past midnight
and the majority of the town abed, he be-
lieved he could relax and cool off. But
Fate had already decreed there was to be
no rest for Timboe that night.

He had scarcely sprawled himself in the
chair when his telephone rang again.

Languidly, he reached for it.

“You'd think this was an information
bureau instead of Police Headquarters,” he
grinned, as he lifted the receiver.

He believed the call was still another
inquiry about the primary results.

An instant later he knew he was mis-
taken.

VER THE WIRE came the excited voice of
Howard Egan, a fellow-townsman.
“Chief,” he cried, “Charlie Sneezby’s
been murdered. I saw a light down the
Post Office driveway and went down to in-

vestigate. It was his flash—”

Timboe didn’t wait to hear any more.
No longer was there anything languid and
slow-moving about the big man. He was
all action, and moved with the ease and
speed of a man half his weight. The merry
twinkle in his eyes was gone, replaced by
a hard, determined glint. A like expression
showed at the corners of his mouth.

Sinister death had challenged him. It

84

had wantonly snuffed out the life of one
of his men. And he accepted the chal-
lenge.

Hurrying to the Post Office, he found
Sneezby’s body sprawled on the driveway
near the window, the bullet hole in his
forehead. Quickly, too, he saw that the
officer’s service revolver was still in his
shoulder holster. The fact puzzled him,
and he frowned.

“That’s strange,” he told Dr. G. J. Me-
Intosh, who was engaged in a preliminary
examination of the body. “I don’t get it.”

McIntosh offered no explanation. In-
stead, he said: “He’s been dead about an
hour, I’d say. The bullet penetrated his
brain and appears to be lodged in the back
of his skull. I’ll have the body removed
to the hospital and make a post-mortem
examination.”

“Do that,” Timboe said, grimly. “Probe
out the bullet. It may help a lot.” He
stood up. “I’ve got to find out what this
is all about, and get the rat who did it!”
He snapped out the last words fiercely, and
strode over to the basement window.

He found the screen slashed and the
aw partly raised. A policeman joined

im.

“The basement door’s been jimmied,
Chief,” he said.

Preece NODDED, AS though he had ex-
pected as much. “I’m getting the pic-
ture,” he declared. “It’s all very plain.
Come on, let’s see what else we cah find.”

Under the hedge along the east side of
the building they discovered an oxygen
tank, a presto-light tank, and a large black
tarpaulin, some fifteen feet square.

“Yes, it’s all very plain,” Timboe de-
clared again, appraising the find. “They
planned to rob the Post Office vaults by
means of a ‘torch job,’ but Sneezby sur-
prised ’em before they had their plant set
up.”

He paused, and scowled darkly.

“But it doesn’t explain why he still had
his revolver in his holster when he was
killed,” he went on, grimly. ‘He didn’t
have any idea a robbery was being at-
tempted. That’s certain enough. Perhaps
he saw their light and thought it was a
Post Office light that had been left burn-
ing. It’s about the only explanation I can
think of.”

But it was who had killed Sneezby that
concerned Timboe more at the moment.
He turned to one of the officers beside him,
“Get down to headquarters,” he instructed,
“and report this to the Post Office Inspec-
tion Service at Minneapolis,” and then to
the others, “Come 6n, we’re rounding up
every suspicious character in town.”

N A TOWN THE size of Devils Lake, with
slightly more than 5,000 inhabitants, sus-
picious characters are easily spotted and
there are few places for a criminal to hide-
out. One such place was a rooming house
of unsavory reputation, conducted by a

On the day after receiving his death sen-
tence, Patton was interviewed in his cell
by a reporter. When asked how he felt
the fifty-five year old killer replied in a
flat tone:

“I’m not worried over my sentence and
don’t think I’ll ever be put to death by the
state. They got the wrong man!”

Get Real Detective for the next 24 months
for $3.00 less. Here’s how. Send only
$3.00 for 2 years’ subscription. Bought
from the newsstands, 24 issues cost you
$6.00. See coupon, page 87. .

From page 25

Mrs. Aagodt Boregson.

Timboe knew the place well. On sev-
eral occasions he had picked up fugitives
there for minor offenses, and now he
clamped down on the place again. He
routed out three men who were strangers
in Devils Lake. They were an ugly-look-
ing trio, and gave their names as George
Nolan, Adolph Shutte and Jack Spiesman.

“Where were you all evening?” Timboe
demanded.

“Right here, playing cards,” Nolan an-
swered, acting as the spokesman.

“Oh yeah,” the Chief taunted, “that’s a
likely story. Primary night, with all the
town out, and you stay here in this hot,
stuffy place playing cards. You'll have to
think of a better one than that.”

“Have your own way, copper, but we
were here, from right after dinner. The
game just broke up about twenty minutes
ago.

Timboe scowled. He started to speak
again, but the Boregson woman interrupted

im.

“That's right,” she said. “The four of
us played together.” She nodded toward
the three suspects. ‘We played steadily
from seven o’clock on. None of them have
left the house since then.”

Timboe’s scowl deepened.

“I’m taking you in just the same,” he
announced. “I’m arresting you for va-
grancy.”

Nolan swore.

“Listen, copper,” he growled, “you can’t
pin a murder rap on me, or on these two
guys either. We're in the clear.”

B’? Unitep States Post Office Inspec-
tor E. H. Schriver, who arrived in
Devils Lake with the dawn, was not at all
sure.

While nothing had been stolen from the
Post Office, Sneezby had been killed on
Government property. That made the case
a vital concern of the Post Office Inspec-
tion Service. It was up to Schriver to ap-
prehend the murderers.

His eyes narrowed when Timboe in-
formed him of the arrests he had made.

“One of them is Nolan, eh?” he re-
marked, grimly. “ ‘Goldie’ Nolan, eh?
Well, that’s certainly something.”

“You know him?”

“Well, rather. He got out of Leaven-
worth about a year ago. Was sent up for
two years for robbing the Post Office at
Oberon. And you say you picked them
up in a place run by a woman named
Boregson ?”

“That right?” Timboe’s expression was
quizzical.

Schriver didn’t seem to notice it.

“She’s a stout woman with light hair,
isn’t she?” he asked.

“Why, yes.”

“And she hasn’t lived here so long, say
a year or eighteen months?” he continued.

“Little over a year, I’d say.”

“It’s the same woman, alright,” the In-

be

spector declared.
lan, was mixed ur
robbery, and wa
stolen Governme
a quantity of sta
fice, concealed
room. She lived
“It certainly |.
the rats,” Timbo
’em right togethe:
_Schriver frown
simple as that.
and attempted
an’s earmarks.
thing, evidence
United States Po:
ice has built its e:
ting the sort of «
court—the kind th

ND, THERE w.
Nothing to p
the alibis of the
fastly to their st
cards all evening.

an backed them u;

Questioning
learned only that

Lake from Mino

murder, and prior

working with a r

North Dakota.

The big, black 1
and presto-lite tan
by the Inspector.
markings whatever
clue. The oxygen
a label which show
erty of the Linde
of Long Island C
municating with t¢:
that the tank had
Parmenter, a gara
North Dakota, on °

Eagerly, he seize
for Hickson, he rez
where Nolan had_:
ing.

But the only lig
to throw on the ca
that his garage hz
the night of June 17
ing outfit, including
near the murder sc

“T think I know
“Two fellows drove
noon and stopped :
rough-looking guys.
busy at the time, :
themselves. They
and swore at me. |
at night and robbed

His theory was .
ever, for he was una
description of eithe
automobile they had

0, THE CASE rev:
been on the nigh
Nolan, Shutte and
tenced to a thirty-d:
Lake jail for vagra:
Timboe concerned
drab, yet important,
countless persons an:
merable fruitless clu

Bit by bit, howe,
curred which drew t:
mystery.

From nearby Minn
mation that two men
had camped in the b
for several days prior
were identified as
Charles Edwards. B
ords.

There appeared to
tween them and the
but Schriver, alert fo

¥ ” oe
nm renee wae er “gion OF

ial

a or ert
i sea
1 er 4 i Pe eh Se

sy
ee

Sheriff Jess Sweeten (above), co-author, whose per-
severance through three years of baffling investigation,
beset with misleading clues, resulted in the solution
of the grisly crime. (Top) From this house of horror,
the ill-fated McGehee family mysteriously vanished

44

Lk

T was Thanksgiving Eve, and George Patton, 51-year-old
East Texas farmer, was talking at the supper table of the
turkey that would be served next day.

Patton hardly noticed that Carrie and J. W. McGehee,
young tenants who had lived with him three weeks in his
bare, weather-beaten three-room shack, were taking little in-
terest in his comments. The eyes of the two McGehee chil-
dren, Doyle, four, and Bobby, two, sparkled though as Patton
told of the many Thanksgiving turkeys he had eaten at the
home of his parents in Athens, a small town seven miles south-
east of his farm.

Suddenly, the raucous horn of an automobile broke into the
little tableau. McGehee raised his head to listen and Patton
stopped talking. The hom sounded again.

“Guess I’d better see what they want,” said McGehee.

Ten minutes later, he returned and spoke to his wife.
“They’ve come, Carrie.”

“Who’s come?” asked Patton.

McGehee drew a long breath before replying.

“Pat, I’ve not said anything to you about us leaving, but
we just can’t get alone Se our folks, so we decided to get
away where they can’t bother us. Those two fellows out there
will take us to Palestine (thirty miles south of Athens) and
we'll take a train there to Galveston. I got a job for us ona
boat so we can work our way to South America. After we've
been gone a month, you can write our folks in Oklahoma.”

Patton helped the McGehees pack their few belongings, saw
them walk out of the door, heard the car door shut and the car
drive away—taking the McGehees out of Patton’s sight and
the sight of everyone else.

That was the story Patton told me a few weeks later when

jase be R205 ve

[May 193° .

relatives became
Gehees. And |

pulsive fellow, |
if he saw anothe:

Mrs. Dan Eve
Oklahoma, calle
when she wrote ;
weeks.

I was not Sher
elected a few wi
George Patton’s

I sat on the s
few ordinary co
the McGehees.

He answered
sty of their le:

Oo one coulc
back to town ;
Gehees were all

I had taken «
my attention a
who lived in an
ary. She said :
son and his fat

(Above, right) h
younger son, E

J. W. McGehee
to death by the:
Doyle (right), \


vy car and

| several of
anted. We
ing him a
irday.

as fresh as
vere SO e@X-

shed, so I
Athens. |
to keep up

» strong. |
t, and con-

table. His
rls and he
me, he had
left.”

uimal, curs-

u leave me

ke a jungle

in his dis-
iad no gun,
ad lay still,

id in a few

ly More, so
loose when
knew some-
wanted to

or so, then,
ported Pat-
t the house,
vithout any
‘at the end

ear Patton,
tified grave

i

; |

edible horror }

these human F
e-year search

Murdering

in a negro cemetery not far from Patton’s farm.

When questions among negroes in that district failed to
turn up any one who knew of the new grave, the tip seemed
hotter. 1 collected a posse and we went to the cemetery.
| really expected to find the McGehees, so you can imagine
=i surprise when our spades uncovered a single pine box.
We hoisted the box to the surface.. | grabbed a shovel and
knocked off the top.

Inside was the body‘of a man, his face covered with a
dirty towel. I grabbed the towel off the face—and the
sightless eyes of a dead negro stared at us!

As quickly as possible, we re-covered the box, dropped it
in the hole and shoveled in the sand. And that ended the
second clue.

It was September before a new clue set me hot on the
trail again. One of Patton’s neighbors told me another
neighbor, W. B. Jenkins, had bought a bloodstained mat-
tress from the suspect.

That was the hottest tip of all and | immediately ar-
rested Patton again. Then | started out to get that mattress.

Jenkins admitted buying a stained mattress from Patton
a year before, but he had “sold it to a man who lived near
Frost,” a small town fifty miles from Athens. It was late
in the afternoon when I learned this, but I headed for Frost
and the mattress.

I found the second buyer easily enough, but he had sold
the mattress to a third. This man also lived near Frost,
but it was midnight when | found his house. I] got him out
of bed to ask him about the mattress, only to find he had
been sleeping on the bloodstained affair. It was his only
bed, but I bought the mattress then and there and headed
back for Athens with my prize.

| just knew I had Patton then. I could almost see how
he had spilled the blood of the McGehees as they slept on
the mattress, and then disposed of their bodies.

But Patton had an answer ready that took the wind com-
pletely out of my sails.

“Yes,” he said, “I sold that mattress to Willie Jenkins,
but it’s the one Bill died on last year.”

Then I remembered. Bill Patton, an Athens deputy con-
stable, had been shot down on the front steps of his home
by a man he had warned to leave town. Bill was laid on his
own bed, and bled to death.

| was not going to give up without a struggle though, and
began questioning Patton more the next day. Then, | was

eG

we
camnien rns No" he .
poe 3 me a Pang

(Above) A deputy sheriff is pictured as he digs for
of the McGehee family.

hii 4 case.

the scattered remains
The killer’s wife is seen at the edge of the grave

AT

called to the telephone. [t was Mrs. Bill Patton, who had
heard about the mattress development, and had made the
200-mile trip from Houston to help Patton. She wanted to
come to the jail to see the mattress.

“Yes,” she said, and tears came into her eyes, “that’s the
one on which -Bill died. 1 asked George to sell it for me
and he did.” .

And that ended another chance to break the case—but
before I had released Patton there came another tip.

Tom Russell, an Athens man, came to me with a strange
story. Russell, who lived near the old Patton home, had
seen George drive his wagon into the yard of a vacant
house a few months before, about dusk.

Ananias!

ATTON stopped at the well and threw a lot of boxes

and bundles into it. Russell had thought nothing of the
incident then, but with the publicity of the McGehees’ dis-
appearance it had assumed more importance with him.
There was only one difficulty—since that time the old well
had been filled in, the house torn down and a new house
built over the well.

Here was more disappointment. However, 1 decided to
question Patton a bit about the well and the boxes he threw
into if.

“There never was no well there,” was his sullen answer.

| knew better than that; had positive proof of the exist-
ence of the well, so | went on: “What about those boxes
you threw in that well last winter?”

“I tell you I don’t know nothing about no well or no
boxes,” Patton replied. ;

And all through several hours questioning, he stuck to
the same story. However, it was the second time I had
proved: Patton a liar, and that seemed to be something,
little though it was.

My next move was to organize a posse to give Patton's
place a complete going over while he was held in jail. The
Athens folks had _—S over their animosity toward me and
I had little trouble getting together a group of seventy-five
men. We went completely over the farm. There was hardly a
square foot that we didn’t either dig in or at least drive
down a four-foot rod, hoping the rod would strike some-
thing that would make digging worth while. We didn’t find
a thing; not a solitary clue.

I had told

We spent several days going over the place.
Patton | was going over his farm, and when I] returned to
the jail to release him, he made one of
the strangest remarks; one that made me
more determined than ever to break the

“1 never did so much praying in all my
life, Jesse, as I did while you were out to
my farm,” he said. That was the remark.
Patton always called me Jesse whenever he
had occasion to use my name.

Well, I knew if Patton had done some
praying, that grizzled old fellow had some-
thing to pray about. But | still had not
one solitary thing against him except a
lie or two, and that wasn’t worth any-
thing without the corpus delicti. And it
wasn’t to be many weeks before I was fo
feel the pinch of this lack again.

I had turned Patton loose after the posse
had searched his place, and it was almost
a year before | arrested the farmer again
—and this time it was to put the posse on
the trail.

There was no reason to believe the posse
would find anything more than it did the
first time, but 1 wanted something to do
and didn’t have anything else in view.

For some reason, the posse had not paid
much attention to the sandy fields Patton
called his farm, digging and poking mostly
in the fence corners, along the fences, about
the farmyard and in the woods surround-
ing the cleared farm. But this time, | gave
specific orders that the fields, amounting
to about twenty-five acres, be given a
thorough going over.

And did we get results in a hurry! Our


AB

-over: the shirt while

search was only a few hours old when one of the men, walk-
ing along a sandy furrow, kicked at a bulge in the bedded-
up row.

The blow uncovered a corner of an earth-stained gunny

- sack, and the man’s shouted exclamation brought me and a

half-dozen others running to where he was standing, staring
at what he had found.

A quick glance and I took in the exposed corner of the
gunny sack. While the others stood still in amazement, |
fell to my knees and began to dig feverishly with my hands.

The sand gave way easily enough
and I soon exposed a bulging
gunny sack, rotted from its long
burial, apparently, in the damp
earth. But I was disappointed in
one sense. I half expected to find
the body, if not of Carrie or J. W.
McGehee, at least of one of the
pabies. The sack was filled with
something soft, something | knew
could not be the body of child or
adult, Still, the sack was better
than nothing.

I RAMMED my hand into it and
began pulling out clothing—
shirts, trousers, dresses. By this
time, our shouts had attracted the
others and they were laying out the
garments on the sand as I pulled
them from the sack.

I had just about reached the bot-
tom when I came to the prize of
them all. I pulled out an old blue
work shirt that was stiff
with dried . blood! |
didn’t need the report
of any chemist to tell
me the red stain that
spread over the entire
upper half of the shirt
was human blood which,
I knew, had poured

J. W. McGehee was
wearing it.

The gunny sack find
had inspired some of
the other members of
the posse and they be-
gan running up and
down the rows hunting _.
clues that might lead to my"
further discoveries. One
of them was successful.
But his find was not
buried in the sand;. it
was under a_ small
clump of bushes —
sprouts that had grown
up around a stump left
in the field.

I turned when he
shouted from the stump,
twenty-five yards across
the field, and saw him bend down, then fall to his knees.

I immediately ran over to the stump and got there in
time to see the posseman pulling a rotting, weather-stained
child’s coat from its hiding place. 1 helped him in pulling
back the bushes and we discovered a small pair of shoes,
some stockings and a child’s shirt or two and some trousers
to match.

There was nothing else there, and, with this pitiful little
collection of clothes, we walked back to where the others
were laid out on the sand, gathered up all the garments and
went back to town.

I now had almost the best proof in the world that some,
if not all, of the McGehees had been killed, but I had no
bodies to show for it. And without the bodies, the best I
could hope for was a confession from George Patton, the
man who I was certain was the killer of an entire family.

questioned by Sheriff Sweeten.

“J didn’t do it; I didn’t do it. Why can’t you leave me alone?
this strange man (above), when
In this cabin lived Alice Lorine
Hawley, before she became the wife of the lust-crazed slayer

You're driving me crazy,” cried

Master Detective

[ have questioned many persons in the course of my years
as a peace officer, but | have never seen any one who could
have the answers ready as quickly as Patton. This time was
no exception.

“They couldn’t take all those clothes with them when
they went,” he told me, still.sticking to his story, “so they
left them at my house. They laid around there a while and
then I had to get rid of them. I just buried them.”

Patton couldn’t explain the bloodstained shirt, but
through all the questioning that followed he remained
steadfast in his denial of knowing
what had happened to the tenant
family. There was no confession,
no corpus delicti, so, since | still
had Patton under $1,000 bond, |
turned him loose again.

For want of something better to
do, however, I did take the shirt to
Dallas and let Doctor Moore look
it over. Without an analysis, he
said he was certain the blood was
human. He said blood would last
a long time after it had dried, as it
apparently had done on this shirt,
which, I knew, had been buried
two years. :

Then there came an interruption
in the hunt for the bodies of the
McGehees, and for more than a
year George Patton was almost
free from any molestation.

An elderly couple, well thought
of and moderately fixed with
worldly goods, were slain and their
bodies burned with
their home just outside
Athens.

It took us_ several
months to identify and
trap the three negroes
who did the killing and
set fire to the house
after robbing the old
couple. It took me
longer to solve the case
than I had first ex-
pected; otherwise |
doubt if I would have
taken that much _ time
off from the Patton
case, especially since an
event occurred late in
1935 that made me
more determined than
ever to break the case
somehow.

I had gone home one
afternoon in October,
1935, and was reading
the paper when sudden-
ly an item under a
small heading on the
front page caught my
eye. It read:

George Patton, Henderson County farmer who lives near
Athens, has been united in marriage to Alice Lorine Hawley,
who is sixteen years of age.

ig? exclamation of anger brought my wife running from
the kitchen to the front room.

“What’s the matter?” she asked.

“Matter? Matter?” I shouted. “Look what this old fool,
George Patton has done now. Gone and married a little
sixteen-year-old girl. I'll break that old rascal now if it’s the
last thing I do.”

The Hawley girl had lived with her father and three
brothers only a short distance from Patton’s farm, and |
wondered what manner of courtship the 55-year-old grizzled
farmer had used in winning her hand. Patton’s marriage,
the first for him, gave me some basis for stories | had been
hearing about him. (Continued on page 58)

PI,

WO me
ous, 1!
elderly.
Arch S'

Way
vania, and 01
had pooled t
some food, an
gry. He ask
and the young
“Give me
money back.”
“T ain't got
cried the you
ing the packa
“You got ti
can't have the
At that the
picked up a
man. The la
ach, groaned.
A. passer-b
quarrel. He
“Let the old {
The young
pocket, whipy
flashed it in |
treated. Ther
the old one,
neck and san]
The old mz
trying to get
infuriated his
his victim m
snarled: “Dai
At‘ten-thir!
10th, 1936,
ward V. Sca
received a fla
Station.
“Man in .
from stab wi
The officer
whose name
placed unde:
uttering a Ww
Undeterrec
assault. He
its way amo
“John Hus
By discree
“9319 Hal
Immediate
that it was
the officers |
and that he
For forty-
Williams di
Bluestone J
According
was institut
came to lig
robbery an
were on file
The phot
Way, and t!
fied Willian
When an


—o

58

The youth looked up with frightened
eyes, and nodded.

“Sure—I won't say anythin t

_The man snarled: “You Better not,
kid!” ~ :

With that he turned and left the apart-
ment. When a woman came out of the
kitchen to say that dinner was ready, he
had already left the building.

“What happened to Texas?” demanded
the woman.

The boy shrugged. “I don’t know. |
guess he got sick all of a sudden.”

Keeping his knowledge to himself, the
youth said nothing further regarding the
incident.

BU he resolved to keep his eye on
Texas’ whereabouts.

The next day he paid a visit to the
shop where the latter was employed as a
porter, and found that he was still at work
there.

By discreet inquiries he learned that
Texas had told the shop foreman that he
intended to leave on the fifteenth of the
month.

That night, the boy sent a letter to the
Pittsburgh police department. It ‘read
as follows: ;

Dear Sirs: I was looking in a MAS-
TER DETECTIVE Magazine and saw a
picture of a man that is wanted in
Pittsburgh:for murder. He goes under
the. name of Frank Texas here. He
has high cheek bones, and is pigeon-
toed. ‘He has woolly hair and a scar
on his temple. When I found his
picture, I let him see it and he got

There were reports that he used to take
women out to his lonely farm and spend
a night, two nights or sometimes a week.
The marriage practically confirmed my
suspicions that | was dealing with a sex
maniac, and there began to form in my
mind a motive for Patton wanting to
wipe out the McGehees, a lack which had
puzzled me considerably.

However, it was the next March, 1936,
before | could take all the time necessary
to bring the Patton case to a successful
finish or end it in failure,

A shortage of deputies had hindered
my investigation from the start, and when
1 got ready to arrest Patton for the fourth
time I was still short. The case naturally
had been given wide publicity and most
Texas peace officers were familiar with
my troubles. So, it was an easy matter
to get the assistance of a Texas Ranger.

John Gregory answered my call to
Ranger headquarters at Tyler, forty-five
miles away, in the adjoining county. To-
gether, we drove out to Patton's farm on
Saturday afternoon, March 7th. When
we drove into the Patton farm, we saw
the old man back of the barn bending
over a plow. We drove our car out to
him.

When we stopped, Patton straightened
up and walked over to the car.

“What are you doing, George?” | asked.

“Getting ready to put in a little spring
corn,” he replied. :

“George,” | told him, “it’ll be a long
time before you'll plant any corn. I’m ar-
resting you for the murder of the Mc-
Gehees—all four of them.”

Master Detective

Pittsburgh Killer

(Continued from page 49)

very angry and tore it up. He moved
away from the neighborhood, but I
have seen him since and he is work-
ing at the same place. He is plan-
ning on leaving September 15th. I will
keep on the lookout if you think you
are interested.

Immediately on receipt of this letter,
the Pittsburgh authorities communicated
with Chief of Police George J. Matowitz,
of Cleveland, requesting him to contact
the writer of the letter and. ascertain if
the information was correct.

To Captain Ernest Clement, of the
Third Precinct, went the assignment of
checking the letter, and he sent two de-
tectives to locate the youth.

Within a few hours they found him and
he repeated his story.

“Can you find this man now?” they
asked.

' “Yes,” replied the youth. “I know,

where he moved to.”

The officers got into their squad car
and the boy directed them to 2433 East
55th Street. It was a shabby, run-down
a: ager ogg of cheap rooming houses.

hen the car drew near the house, the
youth said that he would go in first and
signal the officers if the wanted man was
inside.

The detectives ranged themselves at the
door, and the boy entered the building.

He walked casually as if there was
nothing more on his mind than a social
call, but his pulse pounded as he realized
the importance of his mission. He went
into the rear apartment, knocked on the
door and waited. A few moments later

Murdering Ananias!
(Continued from page 48)

“What do you mean?” he almost
snarled, his piercing eyes flashing defiance.

“1 mean I’m going to keep you in every
jail in the whole United States if necessary
to make you tell me where the bodies of
those four people are.”

He: backed off a little bit from the car
as | spoke again.

“Anyway. you take it, you’re through.
If you don’t tell me where they are, I'll
hold you till you do; and if you do tell
me where you hid those bodies, you'll go
to the electric chair.”

“I ain’t going. Where’s your warrant?”
he demanded.

1 told him I didn’t have a warrant.

“And | ain’t going until I talk with a

lawyer, either,” he said. He turned and .

started running for the house. .

When Patton had backed off from the
auto at first, | opened the car door be-
cause he was acting more strangely. than
| had ever seen him act before. So, when
he started running toward the house, a
hundred yards away, | jumped out of the
car and took after him.

1 knew Patton owned an old _single-
barreled shotgun, but I was carrying my
usual two pistols, so I did not fear him.

Patton ran as fast as his legs would
carry him, but even with his head start,
I was not a yard behind him when he
went through the door of his house. He
glanced at the gun as he heard my foot
hit the door sill, and then stopped in the
middle of the room.

“1 wanted to kill you, Jesse,” he told me
calmly, “but I’ll go with you. Just re-
member, | never harmed J. W. and _ his

it was opened by Texas himself.

The youth managed a smile. “Lucy
wants you to come over for a party to-
night,” he said, mentioning the name of
a mutual friend.

Texas frowned, and shook his head.
“Tell her thanks, but I can’t make it.”

“Okay,” said the boy. “I'll tell her.”

He took off his hat, and wiped his hand
across his brow. At this, the front door
opened, The two detectives who had been
waiting for this prearranged _ signal,
stepped inside. They made straight, for
Texas, and before that astonished indi-
vidual could say a word, he found him-
self gripped by the officers of the law.

One look at his face told them that he
was the fugitive whose photograph ap-
peared in Master Dertective’s Line-Up.

“What are you doing?” he began to
splutter, as the officers led him away.

“They want you for murder in Pitts-
burgh,” they told him. “We're seeing
that you get there safe and sound.”

Still protesting, the suspect was sped to
Headquarters, where his __ fingerprints
checked with the classification published
in Master Detective. Faced with this
incontrovertible evidence, the man ad-
mitted his identity as John Williams.

Taken back to Pittsburgh, the fugitive
was found guilty of murder and on De-
cember 13th, 1937, was sentenced to life
imprisonment in Western Penitentiary.
Like scores before him, months of free-
dom had come to an abrupt end through
the medium of Master Detective’s Line-
Up. To the alert and courageous young
reader went the magazine’s check for one
hundred dollars.

folks.”

He asked me if he could change clothes
and | gave him permission to put on a
clean “jumper” and trousers. He talked
to me rather pitifully as he changed. He
didn’t need to tell me his girl-wife was to
be a mother soon. | already had noticed
her condition. She cried as he tried to
reassure her when we left the shack.

Gregory and | took Patton directly to
Tyler that Saturday night and put -him
in jail. The next morning, Sheriff Tom
Sacks, of Tyler, and Rangers Dan Hines
and Dan Odom, stationed at the Tyler
Ranger station, joined us in putting Pat-
ton through the most merciless question-
ing of the many he had experienced.

With five to work on him, the ques-
tioning could be made more intense,
and for twenty hours he sweated as we
fired question after question at him, all to
no avail. He always said the McGehees
“just left;”. the answer I had been hearing
over three years and that was driving me
almost insane. .

Then, Monday morning, Gregory and
the other Rangers were called off on other
cases and Sheriff Sacks had some. duties
to attend to, leaving me alone with Pat-
ton, and he was just as fresh as he was
the morning before, when we began ques-
tioning him. ‘

I struggled through Monday alone and
then on through Tuesday also, but I was
near the exhaustion point while Patton
was still eoegenaie. every question quicker
than it was asked.

In desperation, | called Ranger Captain

aT Jae

May, 1938

T. M. McCormick a
back to help me.
sleep in more than f
Hines returned to h
Tuesday night.  \
along about midnig!
denly said:
“Did you know t
man flesh off bones
I was speechless,
swer the sudden que
mouth must have fl
to meet Dan Hines
ton’s meat-cooking
a half-dozen times,
nected them with tl
Patton was doing 1
“What do you mt
1 had recovered su!
prise to speak.
“Why, | cooked 1
nights, boiling the
bones up complete
built in the horse
calmly as you Pp
everything, clothes
a trace of the McG
| just couldn’t b
solution to the dis
Gehees after all t
questioning, but |
you make a stater
“Sure!” was his

PUT in a hurr

ney Miles Sm
drove to Tyler in
Patton’s statemen

From the very
shake my head.
true. It was the
thing I had ever
you might expect
of a man like Pa’

McGehee, relat:
home drunk on t
1932 with a club

“I’m going to
Patton — said
“You've been. cr

Carrie McGehe
er baby, Bobby.
her husband sw
and the club th
the child, Patton
ped Bobby and |
child, and again
mother and mi
child and crushi:
his wife to deat

Patton had.
nothing, he said
killed. Then he
and McGehee |
but Patton won
death.

Patton, reasor
tell the Sheriff.
off the bones of
fight and burne

As he signed
ton had lied a
sized man, abou
and ‘weighing
McGehee was |
weighed 180 pc

“You can ta
to Athens,” |
worth a dime.
it. Dan Hines
him yet.”

And we were
despite his pr:
just exactly w!
newed questio!

Another day
had rolled a
startled us al
twenty-four h:

“Vil tell yo
suddenly. “if

mself,
smile.
or a party to-
g the name of

“Lucy

ook his head.
n’t make it.”
I'll tell -her.”
wiped his hand
the front door
s who had been
‘anged _ signal,
Je straight for
stonished indi-
he found him-
> of the law.
{ them that he
hotograph ap-
e's Line-Up.
-he began to
iim away.
irder in Pitts-
“We're seeing
4d sound.”
ct was sped to
fingerprints
tion published
ced with this
the man ad-
Williams.
1, the fugitive
r and on De-
‘tenced to life
Penitentiary.
onths of free-
‘tend through
rEcTIVE’s Line-
rageous young
check for one

change clothes
to put on a
s. He talked
changed. He
rl-wife was to
v had noticed
s he tried to
e shack.

mn directly to
and put -him
Sheriff Tom
rs Dan Hines
at the Tyler
putting Pat-
less question-
erienced.

im, the ques-
more intense,
veated as we
at him, all to
he McGehees
been hearing
as driving me

Gregory and
1 off on other
some duties
me with Pat-
sh as he was
2 began ques-

ay alone and
so, but I was
while Patton
‘stion quicker

inger Captain

May, 1938

T. M. McCormick and he sent Dan Hines
back to help me. Patton had had no
sleep in more than forty-eight hours when
Hines returned to help me question him
Tuesday night. We were going strong
along about midnight, when Patton sud-
denly said:

“Did you know that you can boil hu-
man flesh off bones easier than beef?”

| was speechless, and powerless to an-
swer the sudden question, and | know my
mouth must have flopped open as | turned
to meet Dan Hines’ gaze. | had seen Pat-
ton’s meat-cooking vats behind his house
a half-dozen times, but | had never con-
nected them with the McGehees, and here
Patton was doing it himself.

“What do you mean?” | demanded when

| had recovered sufficiently from my sur-

prise to speak.

“Why, | cooked them two days and two
nights, boiling the bodies and burning the
bones up completely on_a big log fire |
built in the horse lot,” Patton replied as
calmly as you please. “I burned up
everything, clothes and all. There wasn’t
a trace of the McGehees left on the place.”

I just couldn’t believe that here was the
solution to the disappearance of the Mc-
Gehees after all these weary months of
questioning, but I asked anyway: “Will
you make a statement to that e ect?”

“Sure!” was his reply.

PUT in a hurry call to County Attor-

ney Miles Smith in Athens, and he
drove to Tyler in less than an hour to take
Patton’s statement. :

From the very first sentence, | began to
shake my head. This story couldn’t be
true. It was the wildest, most fantastic
thing I had ever heard, and just the kind
you might expect from the twisted brain
of a man like Patton.

McGehee, related the suspect, had_come
home drunk on that Phssissaiv iss Eve in
1932 with a club in his hand.

“I’m going to kill you, you ——- —~!”
Patton said McGehee told his wife.
“You've been crooking me long enough.”

Carrie McGehee was holding the young-
er baby, Bobby, two, in her arms when
her husband swung at her. She dodged
and the club thudded into the brain of
the child, Patton said. The mother drop-
ped Bobby and _picked_up Doyle, the older
child, and again McGehee swung at the
mother and missed, hitting the second
child and crushing its skull. He then beat
his wife to death. :

Patton’ had been. standing by doing
nothing, he said, until the three had been
killed. Then he picked up a club and he
and McGehee had “one hell of a fight,”
but Patton won out, beating McGehee to
death.

Patton reasoned he couldn't afford to
tell the Sheriff, so he just boiled the flesh
off the bones of the victims of this strange
fight and burned bones and flesh.

As he signed the statement, I knew Pat-
ton had lied again. He was a. medium-
sized man, about five feet, eight inches tall
and weighing 145 pounds, while | knew
McGehee was more than six feet tall and
weighed 180 peunds.

“You can take that statement on back
to Athens.” I told Smith, “but it’s not
worth a dime. Patton’s lied and | know
it. Dan Hines and I aren't through with
him yet.” pe . .

And we weren’t. We lit into him again
despite his protests that he had told us
just exactly what happened. And our re-
newed: questioning bore fruit.
~ “Another day had gone by and midnight
had rolled around again when Patton
startled us almost as. much as he had
twenty-four hours. earlier.

“Iii tell you what happened,” he said
suddenly, “if you promise not to let those

Master Detective

men get me.” ;

I wasn’t stunned this time and | asked
him quickly: “What. men?” :

“Those men who killed J. W. and Carrie
and the kids.”

I thought it was just another yarn of
the old man’s and | didn’t bother to take
down the story he told. It was even more
fantastic than the one he told the night
before.

Two men drove up to the Patton house
the night the McGehees disappeared, and
went out to the lot to talk with J. W.,
Patton said. They began arguing and
Carrie McGehee ran. out to the lot with
the two children following her. “In the
fight that followed, the fove McGehees
were killed,” said this modern Ananias.

The two strangers, bootleggers, Patton
called them, knew he had seen the fight
and ordered him into the car after they
had put the bodies in the back. Patton’s
face was covered up and the men drove
an hour before stopping and ordering him
out to dig a grave.

“I kept looking up and saw the limbs
of a great big tree. | think I can find
that place,” Patton said, when telling how
the two men had driven another hour
after burying the four bodies and kicking
him out of the car near his farm.

Taking a gamble, Hines and | decided
we'd let Patton show us the tree and
grave. We drove to Athens and Patton
directed us out past his place and on about
three miles west, when he said:

“Gentlemen, the tree’s right up there.”

Patton had pointed. up a ravine and we
got out of the car. I‘held on to the man’s
“jumper” tail, because | was afraid he
might try to escape since | had no hand-
cuffs on him. But he led us right up the
ravine, looking from side to side and up
in the sky. It was dark, but presently
Patton pointed to a big tree on the slope
leading from the ravine. :

We had brought along shovels, but |
still felt as if Patton was lying again, so
I told him:

“Just put up a stick where you think
sie grave was dug and we'll come back
ater.”

He did so and we went back to Athens.
I looked at my watch. It was three o'clock
Thursday morning. Patton was put in the
Athens jail and later that morning | took’
a couple of negro prisoners with shovels
out to our tree. hey dug until after-
noon all around the tree without a trace
of bones, so | took them back to the jail
and confronted Patton myself.

“George, you’ve lied to us again,” I told
him, but he was still vigorous in his
denials.

“TPAKE me out there,” he said, “and I'll
show you.”

I did. But he was no more successful
than the negroes. He dug a hole eight
feet deep, but there were no bones and
it was getting dark again.

“Get on out of that hole, George,” |
told him wearily. “We'll just have to go
back to Tyler.”

When Hines and | took him back to
Athens and on to Tyler, Patton seemed
completely broken, but Hines and | were
just as ‘tired. We just couldn’t go on,
so we slept and Patton slept, too. It was
Saturday morning before we questioned
him again, and he looked so fresh I was
afraid all our work of a week had gone
for nothing.

But we had not questioned Patton five
minutes before he said: :

“Jesse, is your car out front?”

At my affirmative answer, Patton put
on his battered, sweat-stained black felt
hat and stood before us.

“Then, I'll take you to them,” he said.

This was no new story and | warned

59

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located who would talk—and_ did.
From them officers learned that Pat-
ton had been host to any number of
females out on his farm—overnight
guests, week end guests and in some
cases longer than that.

And all this added up to the in-
evitable motive: the eternal triangle,
involving the woman Patton had first
called Carrie, her husband and him-
self. Either through guile or force,
Patton had probably seduced her, Mc-
Gehee had learned of it and had called
Patton’s hand, and the satyr had dis-
patched first him and then the rest
of the family. :

For the fourth time Sweeten de-
scended on the Patton farm, this time
alone but armed with a warrant for
Patton’s arrest. This time he was sure
of himself. So much so that when he
confronted Patton out in the fields
in the midst of some spring plowing
he made a clear issue of it:

“I arrest you for the murder of J.
W. McGehee and his entire family,”
the Sheriff of Henderson County said,
quietly but gravely.

Like a snake Patton whirled and
streaked toward ‘the farmhouse. Two
strides behind him came the youthful
sheriff of. Henderson County. By: a
stroke of luck he managed to get his
foot between the door .and the jamb
before Patton could close it.

“Throw up your hands or I'll kill
you,” Sweeten said.

’ Patton complied.

Inside the house the young peace
officer caught a glimpse of the doom
he had averted. A shotgun stood in
the corner—cocked and loaded. He
was about to clap the handcuffs on
Patton, when a dark-haired girl sud-
denly entered from the bedroom.
Frightened by the commotion, she. had
dashed out, almost undressed, In her
bewilderment at the strange sight that
met her eyes, she stood there with her
gingham dress tightly clutched in her
hands. One look was enough: a re-
cent bride, she was on the verge of
becoming a mother. She wept bitterly.
as Sweeten marched his prisoner out
ahead of him. | ok

“I'll be back, honey,” Patton said
reassuringly..

* Sweeten kept his silence. ;

This time George Patton was placed
in the cell reserved for ap oka
characters. And this time Sheriff
Sweeten gave him no time to com-

ose himself but turned the heat on
immediately. All that day deputies
uizzed the suspect relentlessly. All

e next day. On the following morn-
ing Sweeten, himself, took over. It
was no use. Patton stuck to his story.
The McGehees had driven off and he

shad never heard from them

again. :

man was a marvel. for fifty

hours he had undergone the “treat-
ment.” Would he never weaken? Or
was Sweeten betting on the wrong

. horse?’

He. was on the verge of calling it
quits when Patton yelled out:’

: thd the love of God will you let
up?’ aie
Sweeten was ready for him.

_. “Will you tell us how you did it?”

“Sure.”

By telephone the county attorney
was summoned. Then Sweeten said:
“Start talking, George Patton.”

And talk he did. But the “confes-

‘ sion” was out of this world. As he re-

lated it, McGehee had come home that
fateful Thanksgiving Eve roaring

‘drunk, armed with a club. Hurling an

oath at her “for two-timing me as
long as I could stand it,” he fell upon

46

NATJONAL DETECTIVE CASES

her with the club. Thanks to his bad
aim, he swung at her and missed,
striking the child she held in her
arms instead. Again he swung. And
again he missed. This time he struck
four-year-old Doyle. Now raving
mad, he attacked his wife, raining
blows upon her until she collapsed.

Sweeten refused to hear the climax
from Patton’s mouth.

“T suppose you then fought it out
with him and killed him in self de-
fense?” he asked.

“That’s right,” the farmer returned.

“You: damned _iiar,” Sweeten
snapped. :

It seemed a hopeless situation. Still
what else was there to do? He’d try
once more. Twenty-four additional
hours of grilling and then he’d give

up.

That night four deputies tackled
Patton. Withéut a let-up they bom-
barded him with questions. But the
suspect did not wither. Morning and
he was going strong. Sweeten, him-
self, took over. He gave himself until
midnight.

“Noon, and all Patton wanted was
a sandwich. He actually seemed eager
to cooperate and took the ordeal as a
matter of course. By dinner time he
was begging for a glass of water and
nothing more. Eight ...nine...
ten... eleven,... eleven-thirty. Pat-
ton was still hanging on, smiling at his
inquisitor. Would he never break?
Or was Sweeten to surrender and
wash his hands of the affair?

At one minute to midnight he
sighed, leaned back and sputtered:

“Take me out there and Ill show
you where the bodies are buried. Only

you’ve got to promise to protect me.

from the mob.’

Incredulous, Sweeten promised.

At sun-up,: officers and prisoner
swooped down on the Patton farm.
Without a word the grizzled farmer
a em to a slope of a ravine and
said: ’

“That’s where they are.”

Sweeten handed him:a shovel. “Get
to digging,” he. ordered.

By noon he had dug a hole four feet
deep, six feet long and three feet wide.

_And no sign of the bodies, even as
his girl-wife looked on bewildered.
Now and then Patton paused to

cajole her with his “Don’t worry,’

honey. Everything will be all right,”
Unquestionable emotion gleamed’ in
the eyes of the girl soon to give birth
to a child from this half-man, half-
animal digging away nonchalantly.

One more hour and Sweeten was
about to order him to get the devil out
of that hole and stop his eternal lying
when Patton tossed out a large rock.

“That’s the rock I used to kill one
of the kids,” he said without any trace
of remorse.

Sweeten looked down in the hole.
There it was, at last—the outline of a
woman’s body.

An hour later and all that was left
of the McGehee family, chiefly a mass
of bones, was laid out on the ravine
ledge for the coroner to examine. It
was a sight gruesome enough to make
hardened deputies wince. But not
Patton. He lit his pipe and inquired.
casually:

“When are you aiming to start
back, Sheriff?”

Sheriff Jess Sweeten bundled his
prisoner in his automobile and made
a swift dash for Palestine. When the
news leaked out in Athens that Patton
had slaughtered a whole family, mob
temper was certain to flare up.

In the Palestine jail the Henderson
County officer whose unflagging ener-
gies had cracked a sensational quad-
ruple murder summoned a stenog-
rapher to Patton’s cell.

“Start talking and fast,” he ordered.

Patton obeyed.

His confession was revolting. As
Sweeten had deduced, the old satyr
had forced his attentions on Mrs. Mc-
Gehee, Either through threat of vio-
lence on Patton’s part or fear of her
husband’s reactions, she kept it a
secret. Until, according to Patton, the
husband discovered them in an em-
barrassing position. The inevitable
happened. McGehee remonstrated and
Patton killed him, beating his brains
out with a section of pipe.. When his
wife ran to her spouse’s aid, Patton
disposed of her likewise. The children
he killed with the rock, smashing in
their skulls.

On the 16th of November George
Patton was tried for his crime. A
jury of farmers wasted no time in
settling. the death penalty on him.
His girl-wife heard the verdict and
sobbed pitifully.

Eight months later, on July 20th,
1937, George Patton paid for his crime
by riding the thunderbolt, as the
prisoners call it, to hell.. Not a single
occupant of a cell at Huntsville peni-
tentiary, not even a member of Death
Row also scheduled to take the ride,
uttered a word of regret. :

The remorseless corn-fed Casanova
had been sped to his just doom.

ON THE NEWSSTANDS NOW!

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Exposing one of the most vicious blackmail rackets

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| ,

THE BIG NAMES INVOLVED LOOK LIKE A PAGE FROM,
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COMPLETE DETECTIVE CASES

“Facts from Official Files”’ 3

D

ne tte NE POH

Ara


pes yy

the head of the bed. His sixth sense

told him these tiny holes had been

made by birdshot. Deftly he cut
into the soft wood with his knife.
He was right, of course. Three pel-
lets gave mute but eloquent evi-
dence of the fact. Putting them to

the light, he noticed something that ©

made him start. The pellets were
red-stained. And there could be
only one conclusion: Blood!

Back in his office, he scrutinized
the tiny pellets and wondered what

- next. Was the red. coloring he

thought he detected actually pres-
ent? And if.it was, what means
was there for establishing that the
dye was human blood? He had
fretted with the dilemma for three
hours and was pulling into the
driveway of his home when the in-
spiration came to him. Dr. Moore
could tell him. Why, hadn’t he
thought of him before?’ |

At noon the next day he was
closeted with Dr. Landon C.-Moore,
celebrated chemist and toxicologist
‘whose chemical analysis of evidence
submitted by county prosecutors all
over Texas had sent more than one
murderer to the electric chair at
Huntsville. Dr. Moore took one look
at the pellets and ee
made this an-
nouncement:

“The substance*
is probably human
blood. Of course,
the only way this
could be - estab-
lished beyond rea-
‘sonable doubt is
to subject the pel-
lets to involved
laboratory tests.” °

Sweeten had
heard enough. Re-
turning immedi-
ately to Athens he
swore out a war-
rant for the arrest
of George Patton.
(Cont’d on p. 44)

“DIGGING FOR THE BODIES of

" OT. UNLIKE A MISER gloating over
his gold hoard the old man stood there ~
gazing—enraptured—at his sleeping

the McGehee family, Deputy in
center is shown holding the iron
pipe. used in,the murder of an

entire family. .

° i aS

young wile.” Loe

y


‘

Se |e Se Ta se Con “ SANT Ee ee TE

“FROM AUTHENTIC DETECTIVE CASES”

' he did. In fact, he had been sleeping united effort on the part of 75 men There could be no denial of innu-~
on it when the officers crashed in on © and nothing to show for it. Backin his cence by Patton this time, Sweeten
him. On the spot Sweeten made adeal office. Sheriff Sweeten gave orders felt sure. These clothes had belonged
with the man, took over the mattress that Patton be promptly released. to the McGehees. Else why had good
and headed back toward Athens. A year passed and the case became clothes been buried—and on Patton’s

Late that afternoon he had Patton a Texas sensation. Where were the place? ‘
brought to his office again. It was McGehees, the pagers ‘began asking Face to face with Patton once more,
the same Patton, bland and courteous. in editorials? nd almost one year Sweeten confronted him with the evi-

Had he sold a mattress to W. B. to the day after the posse had dence, To his astonishment, Patton
Jenkins? Certainly he had. The stains combed Patton’s place a committee of quick] admitted that the clothes be-
on the mattress, of course, were wine Athens townspeople waited on Sheriff longed to the McGehees

stains, Sweeten had added sarcasti- Sweeten and demanded action. The “They couldn’t take all those clothes .
cally. To his amazement Patton shook vanishing of four people off the face with them when they agentes he ..
his head. ; of the earth was giving not ony the explained, “so they just left them be-
“They were blood stains. I sold the town but the whole county a lack hind. They laid around for a spell

mattress for Mrs. Bill Patton. That’s eye. The McGehees were dead—mur- until I got tired of seeing them—
the mattress her husband bled to dered—and ro doubt about it. And they gave me the willies—so I just
death on.” somewhere their bodies. were buried. buried them.” ay
. Now Sweeten seemed stymied for Sweeten’s answer was to assemble a Concerning the bloody shirt he vol-
fair. As he well knew, Deputy Con- gigantic posse. Once more he raided unteered no information. es
stable Bill Patton had been shot down the Patton place. This time. he, gave “The McGehees went away on
in front of his home by a man he had_ orders that the entire farm, including Thanksgiving Eve like I told you,”
ordered out of town. The one thing the sandy acres used for planting, was he said emphatically. “Clothes are
clothes, but you don’t see any bodies
lying around, do you?”

‘Only too well did Sweeten realize
the truth of the farmer’s statement. ~
- For the third time he released his sus-
pect. And before he went home to
‘dinner that night he reached a con-
clusion or two concerning the case,
none of them very encouraging. pi

For one thing, he.told, himself, the —
only thing tying Patton to the dis-

pearance of the four McGehees was
a batch of clothing, at least one item
blood-stained. Too, what about mo-
tive? That was the real dilemma. If —
he could somehow get at that possibly
he could crack the case. Robbery ‘was
out. The McGehees had nothing to ~
steal. Revenge likewise. A careful
check into the habits of McGehee con~
vinced him that the missing tenant of
George Patton was not the kind to
give grievance to anyone. By nature
gentle, it was unlikely that he had
even provoked an attack by Patton
who had then erased the entire fam-
ily—if he had. There was nothing to
do but wait. Someday, somehow he
would get that vital bit of information
that would pull the house of cards
down over Patton, if he were the arch
.demon behind the strange case.
‘Three months later he was listenin
to the radio and reading the loca

aper when a small headline caught

is eye: :

IN COURT with his young wife. George Patton does not seem particularly concerned about ( apie mmeg pend Lp: e os ae
i i his fate which the jury is deciding for him, : ps ‘ rd

nf : arias ‘ The brief account went on to say
left was to get hold of Mrs. Bill Patton,: to be gone over inch by inch. that George Patton, 55, had married
the man’s widow, and see whether ac- At exactly noon, one of the bo the sixteen-year-old ‘daughter of a
counts jibed. But long before he was . sheriffs busy scrutinizing a freshly- neighbor. .
able to communicate with her, the plowed cotton patch called out to his weeten shook his head. It didn’t

’ woman arrived in town from her home _ boss. Sweeten came on the double. make sense, an attractive: sixteen-~.

ij in Houston, 214 miles away. She had There exposed to “view was a burlap year-old girl marrying & grizzled

heard of George Patton’s predicament bag half rotted away from its con- farmer. What power. could he have

and had hurried to Athens. tact with the damp earth. exerted to annex a rl-bride? What
Sweeten produced the mattress. What Sweeten expected to find as physical charms? urely not that:
“Was this yours—the one on which he thrust his hand into the opening of white stubble which he rarely shaved,

Bill bled to death?” the Sheriff asked. the sph, te himself was undecided Nor that graying half-bald head ‘of
The woman’s eyes began to glisten. about. ould it be the head of one his. Or was it his eyes, those luminous, ©
“Yes,” she sobbed. “That’s the one. of the missing people? Or some dis- leaping eyes that had fascinated the.

L asked George to sell it for me.” carded trash. The answer was 300n girl? ; :
Thoroughly disgusted, Sweeten was forthcoming: what the bag contained Suddenly an idea took hold of him. il

on the verge of ordering his Nemesis was a pile of clothing—shirts, dresses The man was a satyr. Of course, he a

released again when he decided to and trousers. The prize find was a was. He jumped up out of his chair

make one more effort. Rounding up a__ blue denim work shirt. It was caked and returned to his office to work

posse of local citizens, he led the men with blood! out plans.

to the Patton farm and gave instruc- News of this discovery sent a wave The next morning he set out on a

tions that the place be given a minute of enthusiasm over the posse. One delicate mission. His object was to

going over, even to the point of prob- hour later came the second lead. A find out what (if any) sort of a repu-

ing with a four-foot iron bar every posseman examining a clump of tation George Patton enjoyed as a

square foot of the land for a distance bushes came across a child’s coat, half- rural Casanova. Naturally it would

of 100 yards in all directions, on the buried in the sand. Digging with his take ingenuity and discretion, this

faint hope that the bar might hit a hands, he unearthed an entire child’s latest move.

fresh grave. wardrobe—shoes, stockings, trousers Three days of prying netted some
It was no use. Twelve hours of and even a baby’s bonnet. startling information. Women were
45


ee ee

Tlinois, and quickly convicted,

Of course, George Bradley, the
brains of the outfit, went into hiding
as soon as things got hot. I was the
first person he ditched. Instead of the
diamonds and furs I was supposed to
get, I had gotten kisses, and you can’t
put those on your back on a cold
morning. :

HIS is December, 1940, and

neither the police nor myself have
seen him since, .If it’ll make it any
easier for someone else to spot him,
let me say that the middle finger of
his left hand is amputated. Look for
a guy with the: smoothest line in: the

world, and a missing finger, and you’

have my oné-time boy friend.

He, himself drove out to the farm
to serve it.

If he expected an
indignation from

protest or even
atton, he was

quickly disillusioned. f ;
“You’re making a big mistake
Sheriff,” Patton said calmly. “But i

guess you'll have to find that out for
yourself.” : :
. With Patton lodged in a cell, Sweet-
en plotted his campaign. It was now
Tuesday. For three days he would let
Patton stew in his own juices. Then
he would put the screws to him and...
On Friday he had Patton brought
to his office convoyed by armed depu-

ties who stood guard outside. He -

plunged without any lead-up into the
matter of the stained pellets. -
Patton smiled: “I could have told
you about that without all this fuss,”
he said. “I took a pot shot at a cat
that used to prowl around the place.”
The man’s calmness nettled Sheriff
Sweeten. He was all too sure of him-
self, this George Patton.. For the time
being Sweeten decided not to demand
an explanation as to what a cat would
be doing five feet up off the ground in
view of the fact that not a single piece
of furniture was located directly un-
der the riddled area. The wiser course
seemed to be to leave Patton to his
own devices for a while longer without
e much as a mention of the McGe-
ees. :
But Sheriff Sweeten had not reck-

- oned with one important item: the

Athens citizenry. A day or two and
there were rumblings of dissatisfac-
tion over Patton’s arrest. Another day
and the young sheriff was receiving

rotests. Stealing a page from the

exas Rangers, he es his prison-
er out of town quietly and headed for
the Dallas County Jail, the precinct of
Sheriff R: A. Schmid. :

The Dallas law enforcement official
heard the story and made a diagnosis.
They would give Patton the “treat-
ment” and sweat the story out of him
if there was a story to be sweated out.
Which is what took place. Two dep-
uties who between them had broken
twenty-four murder suspects were as-
signed _to the job: They started in
early Friday morning. By Saturday
night they gave up.

This man of yours is either one of .

the most cunning criminals in Texas
or as innocent as you and I are,”

44 CO,

NATIONAL DETECTIVE CASES

Even with him out of the picture
he might be operating somewhere
else, probably is—the fake betting
racket went on as strong as ever.
There are always plenty of suckers
for a good finder.: The climax was
reachéd at the Presidential race be-
tween Roosevelt and Willkie.

The firm of C. Woodruff Valentine
down in New York’s financial district
decided to become one hundred per-
centers. Money just flowed in. Finders
worked overtime.

A blonde, working for another one
hundred percenter, got a wealthy
manufacturer into a hotel session, and
persuaded him to put up a substantial
certified check, and told him she had:
a place that would cover it for fifteen

CORN-FED

(Continued fr

Sheriff. Schmid said, just before’
Sweeten departed for Athens with his
manacled suspect.
Bound for home Sweeten wondered
if he wasn’t barking up the wrong
tree. What if Patton had told all he
knew? It was possible, Sweeten ad-
mitted. But if Patton were eliminated
as a suspect, where on eattlf-was he to
begin to unravel the mystery con-
nected with the vanishing from the
earth of an entire family now missing
almost four months? It was this ques-
tion which determined his course.
Back in Athens he clapped Patton into
a cell, assigned two of his deputies to
question him without a let-up and
checked in at home for the first night’s ©
a in three days.
orning he was back at his office to
hear the report. It-was discouraging. |
Patton had survived the ordeal better |
than the deputies. He even greeted
the Sheriff politely, without the slight-
est trace of animosity. There was
nothing left to do but to turn his sus-

Broo loose, after having him post a

1000 bond.

But that wasn’t all.

In addition, he pleowa a guard
around the Patton place, a guard that
was to keep its presence secret but

‘was to report on every movement of

the farmer. Nightly as he heard the
reports he found himself wondering

- whether he wasn’t out on a wild goose

chase. Patton’s actions were regular
and anything but furtive, He seldom
left the house. When he did, it was to
complete a chore and then to return
promptly. en

After a week Sweeten called off his
men, .

April, May, June. No word from the
McGehees. And not a false move out

-of Patton. He came to town every

other Saturday, bought his supplies
and drove back again.

Summer passed. But the spectre of
the imperturbable -George Patton
would not leave him.

On the 8th of September he received
a tip that sent his hopes soaring again.
A farmer reported the accidental dis-
covery of a new and _ unidentified
grave not far from Patton’s farm.
Rounding up.a quartet of his deputies,
he set out for the place described. He
found it without difficulty. A half
hour of feverish digging and a pine
box lay exposed. Sheriff Sweeten

thousand dollars of Willlcie money

Everybody knows what happened.
The day after the election, both hun-
dred percenters disappeared. The
cops were so sore they went out after
them like they meant business. |
think they meant it, too, so I figured
that this was my cue to get out of the
racket.

What my next will be, I don’t know.
Pll never go back to taxi dancing,
and I never did fancy the life of a
red light Rosie. :

One thing is certain—I tried to play
the game the wrong way, and I
wound up empty handed. Now I’m
giving it a whirl on the right side of

-the fence.. Wish me luck because I'll

need every bit of it.

ASANOVA

m. page 13)
i

1

himself, began to pry loose the nailed-

down cover. Was this the end of the
trail, he wondered? Three minutes
later he had the answer to his ques-
tion, when he removed a white cloth
that covered the head of a male
corpse.

A negro’s face stared up ‘at him,
grim and terrible, as if to mock for
disturbing the peace of the dead.

Disconsolately the party turned
back. ;

For two months Sheriff Sweeten
concentrated. all his efforts toward
obtaining a lead that would put the
mysterious disappearance of the Mc-
Gehees at Patton’s door. It was futile.
By the middle of September he was
ready to give up when he stumbled
upon another hot tip. One of Patton’s
neighbors passed on the word that
another neighbor, W. B. Jenkins, had
bought a stained mattress from the
former suspect.

“Yd say they were blood stains,”
the informer had added ominously.

Summoning a pair of his deputies,
Sweeten took out for the Jenkins
farm to get hold of the mattress. Once
he had appropriated the mattress, ex-
pense or no expense; he -would take
it to Dallas and have Dr. Landon C.
Moore analyze it in order to determine
without the least shadow ofa doubt
that the stains came from blood—
human blood. Then he would confront
Patton with Landon’s report and .. .

At the Jenkins farm he réceived his
first setback. Jenkins admitted having
purchased a mattress from Patton but
went:on to say that he had sold it to
a citizen of ost, some sixty miles
away. Post: haste the Athens officer
and his deputies set out for the small
community of Frost. Seventy-five
minutes later they were talking to the
second buyer. ;

Yes, he had bought such a mattress.
But he was no longer the owner. He
had sold it to a third man. Sweeten:
felt sure this next buyer would tu
out to be a resident of some tow
several hundred miles away. To his
surprise Purchaser Number Three
lived a few miles on the other side of
the village.

It took a couple of hours roaming

up and down country roads before.

they located the buyer, rousing him
out of bed. Did he still own the mat-
tress, Sweeten wanted to know? Yes,


-~

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Penney shook his head. “No. The guy
who reported the Buiek stolen.”

McCord, flanked by Thompson and Price,
looked astonished, “You mean Anderson?”

“That’s right, He’s the smart guy who
figured this one out.” Penney sneered. “A
big-time operator Big dough, he said.” He
snorted. “A lousy hundred and_ forty
bucks.”

McCord picked up the phone and called
Louisville police and asked them. to pick
up Anderson right away. He sent Hoskins
and Sellers off in a patrol car to make the
transfer of the new suspect to Lexington.

Then Penney went on, his story express-
ing disgust and contempt for his confeder-
ates, but not one shred of remorse for his
crime, “I met Anderson on the night of
September twenty-seventh and we went
out and had a few drinks. I told him I
needed dough—I wanted to pull a job. Then
he mentioned something we’d discussed
once before—knocking off the Lexington
Club.” The tall, thin crook laughed sardoni-
cally. “Big deal. So I said okay and then he
told me he had a man out there—Skeeter
Baxter.”

McCord pounded his desk, but didn’t say
anything, and Penney went on.

“Skeeter fingered the job, telling us when
the time was right. So on that Sunday
morning we drove up, parked the car in the
drive and went to the window Baxter had
fixed so Mrs. Miley couldn’t lock it, He
wasn’t with us-—we agreed he had to set up
a ood alibi—so Anderson and I] went in
together. Then we get upstairs and the dope
knocks over a lamp and the lady, Mrs.
Miley, comes out in her nightgown and so
] got to slug her so she won’t scream and
my gun goes off by accident.”

“Three shots is no accident,” McCord
said.

Penney swallowed, his face turning
whiter than ever. “And then this Miss

Miley she comes out and surprises Boh,
She's like a demon and [ think we'll never
get away. He’s still got her teethmarks on
his leg. I get the cash box but she won't
let go of him, And so he lets her have it.”

In a matter of hours, Anderson was
brought in to be subjected to the same ver-
bal inquisition, as was Baxter. After Pen-
ney’s story, which was later checked on and
corroborated as to mecting places and as-
sociations, it did the other two no yood to
deny their complicity. In Louisville, to
clinch matters, a .32 pistol purchase was
traced to a man who had sold the gun to
Anderson,

And in his closet at home, a brown jacket
was found—missing one button, the button
the police had.

Baxter had fired no shots, he had par-
ticipated in no violence. He had merely
planted the kiss of death on the two women
who had befriended him.

On December 12th, 1941, Penney’s trial
was over. Charged with murder in the first
degree, his efforts to get mercy for his con-
fession to the state failed, and he was sen-
tenced to death in the electric chair. On
December 16th, Anderson received the
same sentence,

Later that same day, after he had thrown

‘himself gibbering and crying on the mercy

of the court, Skeeter Baxter, who said, “I
didn’t do nothin’. I only told them where
the money was,” was also given the death
penalty.

Robert Anderson, Tom Penney and Ray-
mond Baxter were electrocuted at the Ken-
tucky State Penitentiary at Eddyville on
February 23rd, 1943.

Epitor’s Norte:
The names Danny Witter, Ed Farrell
and Amos Morgan are fictitious.

MYSTERY OF THE MISSING FAMILY

(Continued from page 53)

without trace, and already the trail was
three months old.

He questioned farmers,  storckcepers,
bootleggers. From = all reports McGehee
had been in no trouble that would have
forced him to flee the county. Insistently,
his thoughts went back to the Patton farm.

He went back there in person three
weeks later when the Rangers reported
that they had been unable to turn up
hide or hair of the McGchce family.

At the farm he got a break. Patton was
out and he had a few minutes alone with
the sultry Sally Lou. He questioned her
adroitly. She was not too bright. Surely not
bright enough to lie convincingly, and
when he had finished with her he was
reasonably sure that she knew nothing
about the missing family.

With the woman trailing behind him, he
started on a tour of the house. Sparsely
furnished with broken-down furniture, the
rooms told him litthe until he came to the
second bedroom at the rear of the house.
The bed here was made, as opposed to the
one in the other bedroom which was a
shambles of sheets and blankets. But this
detail was not the thing that interested
the sheriff. He was interested in the pat-
tern of buckshot that punctured the wall
alongside the bed.

He was diligently prying out a few pel-
lets with his jack-knife when a deep voice
drawled from the doorway: “Looking for
something, Sheriff?”

Sweeten turned. George Patton was
lounging in the doorway, his hand tight
around the barrel of his shotgun.

“Yeah,” Sweeten answered, matching
drawl for drawl. He hefted three flattened
buckshot in the palm of his hand. “Mind
telling me how these got in your wall?”

Patton shifted his quid of cut plug. “Not
at all, Sheriff,” he said without changing
expression. “Shot at a cat one night. Missed
him.”

“The shot are waist high. What’ was the
cat doing, climbing up the wall?”

“Reckon he was.”

“Was this the room the McGehees slept
in?”

Patton nodded.

“George,” said Sweeten sharply. “Did
you kill the McGehees, here in this room?”

Patton did not bat an eye. “Not so fast,
Sheriff,” he said. “Who says anybod
killed the McGehees? You got the bodies?”

“No.”

Patton hefted up the shotgun and made
a great show of examining the stock. “Then
I reckon, Sheriff, I got to ask you to go.”

“That’s okay by me, George,” replied
Sweeten evenly. “But you’re going with
me.”

Patton raised his eyes from the gun and
glanced sharply at the sheriff. Then he
shrugged and turned to Sally Lou, who
was hovering behind him. “You heard what
the sheriff said, honey. Go fetch me a
clean pair of jumpers.”

George Patton’s arrest took place on
March 21st, 1933. Sweeten threw him into
a cell, saw that he was well-supplied with
cut plug and then let him stew while he
and a hastily assembled posse returned to
the Patton farm. They started to dig. They

|
|

dug for three «
body. They did
And in his ce
Patton content:
and ate like a
loose the follo:
body, he had
hold Patton o1
fired at a cat, a
Gehees had dro
ly, for some a:
Other work
for the next fev.
back of his m:
rounding the «
Gehee family.
suspicions, unfo
to go on.
However, alo:
neighbors came
ranted investiga
grave had appe
etery not far fr:
had been no d:
as far as the s!
“How far is
ton’s place?” a
“No more th:
The sheriff
got shovels?”
“IT can get th
For the sec
literally dug it
fresh, unmark:
presented no »
and sandy; the
too deep. A few
to expose the |
cleared of deb:
tension, insert
between box ai
The nails prot
souls as they
pine. The lid «
wrench but Sw:
place again alm:
ing down at th
Gehee, as he |
stared at an apc:
died more than :
tery attendant,
duced proper c:
Hastily the li
shut again and
Dejected, Sweei
He was angry a!
himself for hav
A swift chec!
revealed that s!
her son. A call
Tyler also prove
heavily and pit:
work piled high
But he was :
The hottest one
tember, when
ton’s ambled in:
“Sheriff,” bey:
preliminaries, *
did away with |
“Yes,” snappc:
T can’t prove it
The man scr:
long minute.
been on my mi
he said) ato last
“What's that’
“Along about
disappeared, I
Patton. It was
Sweeten jump
you tell me thi:
“Well, a thins:
ful lot of think:
right after I b
George I sold it
Sweeten did
then on questio:
Frost in record |
without too mi

_—~

Patton stopped dead in his tracks is he
caught sight of the sheriff's advancing
figure. He said something beneath his
breath to the girl and she hurried into the
house and closed the door behind her.

“What happened to Sally Lou?” asked
Sweeten.

“She’s gone,” said Patton sourly.

Sweeten jerked his thumb at the closed
door. “Who wie. that?”

“My bride—lnia May. We're just coming
home from the minister’s.”

“You mean you married that youny
girl?” said Swectcn incredulously. “Why,
she’s no more than sixteen.”

“She’s old enough,” said Patton with a
smirk. “Any law against it?” Then he
grinned crooke ly. “As you can see, Sher-
iff, I ain’t got time to stand here and gossip
with you—on my wedding day. I got other
things to do. So if you got something to
say, you better say it quick.”

“Suits me, George,” replied Sweeten. He
took the shirt {rom behind his back and
dangled it under Patton’s nose.

“Where did you get that?” demanded the
farmer harshly.

“Your game cock dug it up for me in
the chicken run. It’s covered with blood.
Whose shirt is it, George?”

Patton shook his head disdainfully. “Still
think I killed the McGehees, don’t you?”
he said bitterly. “After all these years.
Well, think again. That’s the shirt my
cousin was wearing when he was shot.”

“Why did you bury it?”

“Didn't want it around the house.”

Sweeten shook his head. “You've lied
once too often, (:corge, and you’ve trapped
yourself. Your cousin was never shot in
that shirt. There's no bullet hole in it.” He
started for his car.

“Where are vou voing?” called Patton.

“I’m going to find out just who was wear-
ing that shirt when it got splashed with
blood. Then Pin comings back for you.”

“PH be waittos said Patton, and headed
for the house cod his bride.

The bloodst:ined work shirt was size
14% and it did not take Sweeten long to
establish that if could not have been worn
hy Patton’s cousin. For he had been a big
man, standing well over six feet, and ac-
cording to his wife had taken a size 17.
But the 14% shirt could have heen worn
by Johnny MeCichee, sinee his mother said
that was his size.

Now that he was in possession of the
first tangible |it of evidence he had been
able to uncover in four years, Sweelen
worked swiftly. With the aid of ithe
Rangers he located Sally Lou McGaw,

who had returned home to her folks in

Oklahoma after having been supplanted in
Patton’s affections by his child bride.
Though Sally Lou’s feelings had been
hurt, she was reluctant to talk ane it} was
only with the ereatest difliculty that the
officers dragged her story from her. When
she had finished, they did not believe it.
Not that Sally toou was lying, but Sweeten
felt sure that !’atton had lied to her.
According {© Sally Lou, Patton had
mentioned the MeCGehee family only once,
and then when be was drunk, He had told
her how late oie afternoon two men in a
truck had stopped at the house, asking for
Johnny MeGehee. According to Patton
they hand been hootleypsers. Johny tae
vone out to talk with them and for some
reason a fight had started. The men had
shot Johnny and when Carrie McGehee had
rushed out of the house, followed by her
two children, (he bootleggers had turned
their guns on her and the youngsters.
Dumping the four bodies in their truck,
The story was too wild and fantastic to

m_ be believed. “I3ut why didn’t George come

to me?” askc«! Sweeten.
“T asked him that,” said Sally Lou. “He

0 said he didn’t want to get mixed up with

the law or any murdering bootlegger.”

“Well, he’s mixed up with it now,’
growled Sweeten. “Four years late.”

Sweeten and the Rangers hurried back
to Athens and late on the afternoon of
March 7th, 1936, George Patton was ar-
rested and hustled to the Ranger barracks
at Tyler. Once he was safely behind bars,
Sweeten, accompanied by Rangers John
Greyory and Dan Hines, returned to the
desolate farm. There, armed with shovels,
they started to dig in the chicken pen,
watched over by the sad and forlorn eyes
of Patton’s young bride.

It was 11 o’clock that night before they
returned to Tyler. Patton was hustled
from his cell and the grilling began. Aided
by Ranger Captain T. M. McCormick,
Sweeten laid his cards on the table.
“George,” he began, “I’m formally charg-
ing you with the murder of the McGehee
family.”

“You got proof?” asked Patton sul-
lenly.

“T think so.”

“You got the bodies?”

“No,” admitted Sweeten. “But before
we’re through I think you'll take us to
them.” From the drawer of the desk at
which he was seated he took the blood-
stained shirt. “Now, how about this shirt?”

“I already told you it was my cousin’s.”

“No, it’s too small. He wore a size seven-
teen.” Sweeten reached in the drawer
again and, item by item, carefully lined
up on the table a pair of baby shoes, a
child’s jumper, a broken toy and a wom-
an’s slip. They were all bloodstained.

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“Fsven if the shirt was your cousin's,” he
continued slowly, “you don’t mean to tell
me he was wearing these baby shoes—
this woman’s slip~when he was shot?”

Patton blinked at the accusing items.

“All this stuff belonged to the Mc-
Gehees,” continued Sweeten remorseless-
ly. “They were buried in the chicken pen.
They're all bloody like the shirt. And
you’ve already admitted you buried that.
You’ve gone that far—you might as well
tell us where you buried the bodies.”

Patton stared at the floor for a long
moment in silence. “There weren’t no
bodies to bury,” he said at last. “Did you
know you can boil duman Mesh off bones
easier than beef?”

There was stunned silence in the room
at the shocking statement. “Are you try-
ings to tell ous that’s what you did) with
them?” said Swecten,

Patton nodded. “Cooked them for two
days and nights, boiling the bodies and
burning up the bones on a big log fire I
built in the horse Jot. But 1 didi’t) kill
them.”

“Then who did?”

“A couple of fellows — bootlegyers, they
were.”

“Don’t give me that,” said Sweeten. “Ac-
cording to the story you told Sally Lou,
the hootleggers carted off the bodies with

them, Now you tell us you boiled the flesh
off them and burned the bones. George,
you’re lying. There weren’t any bootleg-
gers. I'm going to keep at you till you tell
the truth, if it takes all summer.”

“So you spoke to Sally Lou?”

“Ves.”

“Well, then, I guess I’d better give you
the rights of it. It came about this way.”
Patton gazed at the floor as if trying: to
recall every detail of the affair. “It was
the day before Thanksgiving and Johnny
came home from town roaring: drunk. He
had a big club in his hand. As soon as he
stepped in the house I saw he was nasty.
He turned on Carrie and said: ‘I’m going
to kill you.’ Then he swung at her. Carrie
was carrying one of the kids in her arms
and the club bashed in the tike’s head.
Screaming, she dropped the kid and picked
up the other one just as Johnny swung
again. That’s how he killed the second
one. Then he went after Carrie and beat
her to death.”

“What were you doing all this time?”

“Nothing, till he came after me. Then
we had a hell of a fight. And finally I took
the club away from him and killed him.”

“In self defense?”

“Thats what it was.” Patton said.

“Why didn’t you come to me with the
facts?”

“Well, I'll tell you, Sheriff,’ said Pat-
ton calmly. “T figured you wouldn't believe
me.

“You figured right,” snapped Sweeten.
“T don't believe you now. Johnny McGehee
wasn't a drinking man. He was in love
with his wife and kids and she was in love
with him. Now I'll tell you a story and it
will be the truth. You’d had vour eye on
Carrie for some time. Johnny came home
that day and caught you forcing yourself
on his wife. He jumped you and you killed
him. Then to cover up, you had to kill
Carrie and the kids. Isn't that what hap-
pened?”

For the first time Patton wilted, as if he
realized the hopelessness of his position,
“It’s close enough,” he muttered. “Take
me out to my place and I'll show you
where I buried them.”

Dawn was just breaking when Sweeten,
a squad of Rangers and the prisoner arrived
at the farm. Patton woke up his wife. He
was strangely gentle. “Honey, he said.
“There are four bodies buried here and I
got to tell how it happened. so you better
run over to your Pa’s.”

Without another word he left the house,
walked to the rear, stepped off 20 paces
and stopped, pointing dramatically to the
phone al “Dig here, Sheriff,” he said. “Dig
deep.

The officers dug. They sweated. They
dug and sweated for hours. They were six
feet down in a trench 10 feet long by 3 feet
wide before they made their first find. It
was the crushed skull of a child.

All told, the remains of four bodies were
removed from the grave the four bodies
of the MeGehee family--and the skull of
each was crushed. Sweeten turned to Pat-
ton, who was sitting on the ground by the
side of the trench. “What did vou hit them
with?” he asked.

“An iron pipe. It’s over there on the roof
of the chicken house.”

Later that day Patton signed a detailed
confession anda few months alterward, in
November, he went on trial for the murder
of Carrie McGehee. The verdict was swift
and sure: guilty. The following year, on
July 20th, 1937, the man who had mur-
dered an entire family died in the electric
chair at Huntsville Penitentiary.

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dug for three days. They did not find a
body. They did not find a thing.

And in his cell at the county jail George
Patton contentedly chawed his tobacco
and ate like a hoy. Sweeten turned him
loose the following Saturday. Without a
body, he had not a thing in the world to
hold Patton on. The farmer could have
fired at a cat, and it was possible the Mc-
Gehees had dropped out of sight purpose-
ly, for some as yet undisclosed reason.

Other work occupied Sheriff Sweeten
for the next few months, But always in the
back of his mind was the mystery sur-
rounding the disappearance of the Mc-
Gehee family. And his suspicions. But
suspicions, unfortunately, were not enough
to go on.

However, along in July one of Patton’s
neighbors came in with a story that war-
ranted investigation, A new and unmarked
grave had appeared overnight in a cem-
etery not far from the Patton farm. There
had been no deaths in the neighborhood
as far as the sheriff knew; no funerals.

“How far is this cemetery from Pat-
ton’s place?” asked Swecten.

“No more than half a mile.”

The sheriff reached for his hat.
got shovels?” .

“Lean yet them,” said) the farmer.

For the second time Sheriff Sweeten
literally dug into the McGehee case. The
fresh, unmarked grave in the cemetery
presented no problem. The soil was loose
and sandy; the coflin had not been planted
too deep. A few minutes shoveling sufficed
to expose the lid and when it had been
cleared of debris, Sweeten, with mounting
tension, inserted the edge of his shovel
between box and lid and pried upward.

The nails protested like the wails of lost
souls as they were forced from the soft
pine. The lid) caine off with a grinding,
wrench but Sweeten let it drop back into
place again almost at once. Instead of gaz-
ing down at the skeleton ot Johnny Mc-
Gehee, as he had half-expected, he had
stared at an aged tramp who could not have
died more than 24 hours before. The ceme-
tery attendant, found at his home, pro-
duced proper credentials for the burial.

Hastily the lid of the coffin was nailed
shut again and the shallow grave filled.
Dejected, Sweeten returned to his office.
He was angry at the false tip and angry at
himself for having fallen for it.

A swift check with McGehee’s mother
revealed that she had had no word from
her son. A call to the Ranger barracks at
Tyler also proved negative. Sweeten sighed
heavily and pitched into the accumulated
work piled high on his desk.

But he was not yet through with tips.
The hottest one of all came along in Sep-
tember, when another neighbor of Pat-
ton’s ambled into his office.

“Sheriff,” began the farmer without any
preliminaries, “you still think somebody
did away with the McGehees?”

“Yes,” snapped Sweeten. “I think it, but
I can’t prove it.”

The man scratched at his back for a
long minute. “There’s something that’s
been on my mind for over a year, now,”
he said at last.

“What's that?”

“You

“Along about the time the MeGehces
disappeared, I bought a mattress from
Patton. It was soaked with bleod.”

Sweeten jumped to his feet. “Why didn’t
you tell me this before?”

“Well, a thing like that takes a power-
ful lot of thinking: over. You see, Sheriff,
right after I bought the mattress from
George I sold it to a fellow over in Frost.”

Sweeten did not waste any more time
then on questions. He drove the 50 miles to
Frost in record time, located the purchieser
without too much trouble only to finned

that he, in turn, had sold the mattress to
a third person.

By the time Sweeten located this man
it was midnight. But his efforts had not
been in-vain, He got the mattress, and it
was bloodstained. Paying the man for the
bedding, Sweeten stowed it in his car and
headed back for Athens.

Early the following morning he yanked
another man out of his hed—George Pat-
ton. Without saying a word he hustled
Patton into his car and drove swiftly to
the county jail. There he confronted the
farmer with what he thought to be the
bloody evidence of murder.

Patton glanced at the mattress briefly.
“Where did you diz that up, Sheriff?” he
asked.

“You recognize it?”

“Reckon I do. That’s the same mattress
I sold last year.”

“The same mattress the McGehees were
sleeping on when you killed them,” ‘charged
Sweeten.

Patton was patient. “No, Sheriff. You
have no call to say that.” .

“Then whose blood is it?”

“That’s my cousin’s blood. You remem-
ber him, don’t you? He was a constable
here in town, a couple of years back. Got
shot down by a_bootley#er, right on my
doorstep. Crawled into the house and died
—on that mattress.”

Sweeten was completely deflated. Now
that it had been recalled to his mind, he
remembered the case very well. “Okay,
George,” he said wearily. “You can go. But
when are you going to tell me what you
did with the McGehees?”

Patton looked at him narrowly. “One of
these days,” he said, “you'll find out the
truth and leave me alone.”

The sheriff did not yet around to findings
the truth over the next two years, nor did
he find the MecGehces, alive or dead. The
case lay dormant until late October, 1935,
when it came to life again.

It came about casually enough. Return-
ing from some business that had to do
with an illicit still up in_ the hills, the
sheriff passed the Patton farm and on a
hunch decided to turn in. He had nothing
at all in mind ono new clue, no new
evidence in the McGehee case. He just
thought that it might be wise to drop in
on Patton and Sally Lou, if that young lady
was still sharing her “linsman’s” bed and
board.

To his disappointment he found neither
at home. But in the chicken run, sur-
rounded by his unconcerned flock, a
rooster was worrying with beak and claws
what appeared to be a blue rag that was
half-buried in the mire. Sweeten watched
the cock amusedly for a moment, then the
smile faded from his lips. What a moment
before had appeared to be a faded blue
rag now took on the form of a shirt sleeve.

Entering the pen, he fought off the game
cock, then snatching up a pitch fork he
dug into the ground until the entire shirt
was exposed. Gingerly he picked it up. It
was a shirt, no doubt about that—a man’s
blue denim work shirt. The fabric was
rotten, the buttons discolored and it was
encrusted with dirt. Sweeten’s eyes nar-
rowed, Beneath the dirt was a large, rusty
brown stain. It could have been blood.
And standing there in the chicken pen
with the game cock making pugnacious
passes at him, Sweeten was sure that it
was blood.

The sound of a wheezy old car pulling
up before the house stirred him to action.
Concealing the shirt behind his back, he
walked around the corner of the house
just in time to see Patton climb out of a
battered old Ford. Following him was a
shapely yours, sink carrying a large brown
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nL LUN 5 George, white, electrocuted Tex:

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FAMILY FOUR
IN THE
COOKING POT

,

The McGehee family’s killer chuckled as he made a
stew. Now, murder would be hard to prove.

@ ISOLATION is a way of living
in the wide, open spaces of Texas. Thus
nobody at first missed Johnny McGehee
when he and Carrie and the two kids
disappeared from sight. It wasn’t until
three months later that J ohnny’s mother
confided she was worried by their disap-
pearance. Fortunately, her confidant
was Sheriff Jess Sweeten of Henderson
County, Texas.

Sheriff Sweeten went out to the Patton
ranch, where Johnny McGehee used to
live with his family when George Patton
took him on as a hired hand. The coun-
ty car rolled to a stop in front of a
ramshackle, tumble-down wooden farm-
house. Sweeten got out and ambled up
to the porch. Patton had seen the clouds
of dust kicked up from the bone-dry,
dusty road from way off and was wait-
ing, leaning against a porch post.

“Howdy, George,” the sheriff drawl-
ed, putting one foot on the porch and
taking out his packet of Bull Durham.

Patton, a hard-bitten man in his early
fifties, just nodded. A week’s growth
of stubble sprouted from his jaw work-
ing steadily on a plug of tobacco. A
double-barreled shotgun stood leaning
against the post next to Patton’s leg.
Sweeten noticed a furtive watcher peek-
ing out from behind a tattered curtain
at the kitchen window.

The sheriff lit a wooden match with
a horny fingernail and filled his lungs
with smoke. Then he got down to busi-
ness.

“Say, what ever became of Johnny
McGehee?” he asked. “Used to work
for you didn’t ne?”

“He just up and left,” Patton said
curtly.

“When was that?”

60

by Clint McQuilligan

Police unearth buried remains of four.

on 7-30-1937.

“Day before Thanksgiving.”

“Lit out kinda sudden didn’t he?”

“Reckon so . . . say why all the ques-
tions? Anything happen to Johnny or his
family?”

“That’s what I’m aimin’ to find out,”
the sheriff said. “His family over in Hen-
derson is starting to worry about him.”

“Well, like I told you,” Patton drawl-
ed, “he just up and lit out on me. Left
me short handed.”

The sheriff looked at the furtive
watcher behind the curtain out of the
corner of his eye, trying not to let on
that he’d noticed anything.

“Did Johnny ever say anything to you
about going away?” Sweeten asked.

“Nope.”

“Did he ever let on that he had any-
thing on his mind? Some kind of trou-
ble he was in?”

“Nope, Johnny didn’t talk much.”

The sheriff noticed the curtain at the
window flutter again. Finally he came
right out and asked, “Say, George, who’s
that behind the window watching us?”

“You don’t miss a thing, do you,
Sheriff?” Patton said.

The grizzled rancher turned toward
the window and called out, “Emmy Lou.
Come on out here. The sheriff wants
to have a word with you.”

An unkempt, pretty woman about 30
years old ambled out onto the porch.
Sweeten asked her a number of ques-
tions and learned that the woman was
calling herself Patton’s “cousin.” It was
apparent that she knew nothing about
Johnny McGehee or his family. Sweet-
en nodded and the rancher sent the girl
back to the house.

“Nice little number I picked up on a
trip to Oklahoma,” George Patton said
sheepishly. “She keeps house for me.”

Sheriff Sweeten winked and then said,
“Well, George, if you or your ‘cousin’
should happen to hear from Johnny or
Carrie you be sure and let me know
right away.”

Sweeten departed. All through the .

seven mile drive back to his office in
Athens the sheriff felt a vague uneasi-
ness, apparently an outgrowth of his
visit to the Patton place. -

OHNNY McGehee’s mother had
waited over an hour for the sheriff
to return and was in his office when he
arrived. The neat, gray-haired little
woman was in an obvious state of alarm.
This only heightened the feeling of un-
easiness Sweeten himself felt. Every-
thing about Johnny’s disappearance
seemed odd. And although there was
nothing he could put his finger on,
Sweeten was disturbed by his talk with
George Patton. For one thing he couldn’t
understand why the rancher referred
to a girl he had just picked up as his
“cousin.” ipa
“Well, Ma’am,” he began, “I didn’t
find out much. Johnny just took it into
his head to move on. According to
Patton, some fellows came by in a
truck and Johnny asked them for a lift.
Then they packed and him and Carrie
and the kids got into the truck and rode
off. Said they were going to Mobile.
AMAZING DETECTIVE

'\ APRIL, 1963

ahdes etitnt Siw SS eS

1 a He A saa aa valine ase
Sv Sadar i Wale: Rl

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and several.pairs of dancers’ warmup
socks.

Of great interest to the detectives was
a report that over a period of a month a
number of the actors and actresses had
received strange, cryptic notes in their
backstage mailboxes. They appeared to
be threats with such messages as
“Break two legs,” “Watch sandbags,”
“Real bullets.” The messages had been
signed “King Arthur.” 4

The bizarre notes had been the sub-
ject of much conversation but no one had
been able to figure out why the veiled
threats were being made and what re-
ference there was to the signature
“King Arthur.”

“We thought at first that maybe it
was some kind of a joke or prank,” one of
the actors said. “But they were getting
to the point that we’ve started to feel
edgy about them.”

Questioned as to whether the notes
might have been left by some disgrun-
tled person who may have been rejected
for a part in one of the plays, no one had,
an answer. Nor could they think how
the notes might be linked to the slaying
of Iris Siff.

“Man, we’ve been talking about these
crazy messages for a month,” one said.
“We just haven’t got any answers.”

Detectives checking the office and re-
ception room with personnel closely as-
sociated with Mrs. Siff discovered the
slain woman’s purse, a fur coat and a
television set was missing.

It immediately raised the question as
to what kind of a thief would steal a fur
coat and a television set while leaving a
large diamond ring, gold bracelets and

T

\

an expensive watch on the victim. Or
leave without ransacking desk and

cabinet drawers that might contain’

cash. y

One possible answer was that
burglary hadn’t been the motive for the
murder. The killer had simply grabbed
things to make it appear to be a theft.

A short time later the theory was
given some substance when the lab
technicians going over the large desk in
the inner office found a slip of paper
with the words “I had enough.”

The message was in longhand and
unsigned. It definitely was not the writ-
ing of Mrs. Siff.

Associates of Mrs. Siff at the theater
and relatives were questioned about the
note. She hadn’t mentioned to any of
them that she had been threatened or
was having trouble with anyone.

“But dealing with actors, actresses,

stage hands and other help, who °

knows?” one of Mrs. Siff's associates
said. “And unless it was real serious,
Iris would have taken care of it herself.”

The note found on Mrs. Siff's desk did
not appear to be in the same handwrit-
ing as the cryptic messages left in the
backstage mailboxes, nor had it been
signed “King Arthur.” It was turned
over to the police handwriting expert for
a check against personal correspon-
dence in Mrs. Siff’s office and the thea-
ter personnel file.

A new, strange facet in the case sur-
faced at seven o’clock in the evening.
The uniformed division notified
homicide detectives that Mrs. Siffs car
had been found.

Actually, it had been sighted at six

Detectives searching victim's desk found cryptic note reading: “I had enough”
16 Official Detective

si

_

\

o’clock that morning by a motorist driv-
ing past Barnston and Creston Streets.
The vehicle had been on fire and the fire
department was called.

The blaze was confined to the front '

seat of the car and was quickly extin-
guished. A report on the fire was made
to the police. Patrol officers checking
the car found that it had no license
plates. The car was left on the street and
a request made for a check with the
motor vehicle registration bureau on
the car’s serial numbers to locate the
registered owner.

The vehicle was impounded and
turned over to lab technicians to be
examined for fingerprints and physical
evidence.

Detectives canvassed the area where
the car had been abandoned. They were
unable to locate anyone who could recall
having seen anyone in the vehicle or
around it at the time the fire was set.

It raised the question of why the killer
had taken Mrs. Siffs car—along with
the obvious question of how he knew it
was Mrs. Siff's car—and then abandon
it and set it on fire within a few hours.

Two possible answers to the questions
were that the killer lived somewhere
near the area where the car had been
abandoned and that the fire had been
set to destroy any fingerprints. -

At mid-morning Thursday the inves-
tigators met to coordinate and evaluate
the evidence collected the previous day.
Present at the meeting were Cecil
Wingo from the Harris County Medical
Examiner’s office and his assistant, J.
C. Thomason; Assistant District Attor-
ney Bill Eggleston and his office chief
investigator, Don Stricklin, with
Homicide Detectives Steve Garza,
Ruben Anderson, Larry Webber and
Guy Mason.

Wingo gave a report on the prelimi-
nary post mortem examination, exp-
laining that the pathologists would
need at least another week to evaluate
the various findings. He stated that
death had occurred sometime between
midnight and four o’clock in the morn-

ing.

This fitted with the known facts that
Mrs. Siff had been seen backstage at the
theater at midnight and her car was
missing from the parking lot at four
o’clock in the morning. f

Death was due, he said, from as-
phyxia caused by manual and ligature
strangulation. He explained it meant
the victim had been grabbed around the

throat by the hands of the killer and
throttled and then some kind of a cord,

.about the size of a telephone cord, had

been used to finish strangling her.
The information fitted a theory that
Mrs. Siff might have been seated at her
desk and was taken completely by sur-
prise, very possibly by someone she
knew. As she fell_over, the killer
had finished the job using a long cord to

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EY

and the Alley Guild, a
- to raise funds for a new

. the role of liaison officer
ts as they designed and

structure, which would
t acting company of 100
40-week season.

fa set of books “On Stage
Iris used the instruction
School at Theater and it
y numerous other insti-
‘aining of young actors.
th of Nina Vance in Feb-
is was placed in charge of
operation, management
th an office on the fourth
ey Theatre complex.
»wing the murder of Iris
etectives with the Harris
cal Examiner’s inves-
epresentatives from the
iey’s office went into a
luate the evidence that
cted.

that there were perhaps
dossible motives for the
le of evidence, some

everything they had ap-
cradict iself. No one had
iat it would be a tough,
ise to solve.

found at 7:20 a.m. lying
1 the floor of a conference
joined her office on the
of the building. It was
t that she might have suf-
> attack until someone

c
NG

4

noticed the bruise marks on her throat,
across the bridge of her nose and on one
eyelid. .

She was wearing a beige skirt and a
tan sweater. There was a large diamond
ring on her finger, an expensive wrist
watch and gold bracelets on her arm.
Her underclothes were intact and there
was no evidence of a sexual assault.

There were no visible signs of a strug-
gle either in the reception- conference
room or her spacious inner office.

‘ Investigators noted that a large work
desk in the office held numerous sheets
of papers and files, scattered as if they
had been worked on, with a partially
empty package of cheese chips, a slice of
bread spread with jelly by a plastic knife
that lay on top of it and a nearly full cup
of cold coffee.

On a nearby smaller table an electric
foffee maker was still brewing.

Detectives learned that Mrs. Siff had
last been seen shortly before midnight
backstage with the cast that had com-
pleted a preview performance of
“Elephant Man” that was scheduled to
open on Thursday.

Theater personnel said it wasn’t un-
usual for Mrs. Siff to work in her office
until dawn. This was confirmed when
the detectives contacted the family.
They had not been concerned when she
hadn’t returned home from the theater.

Two security guards had been on duty
during the night.

One manned the lobby to the build-
ing, where the glass front doors were
locked. He checked anyone entering or
leaving the building after closing hours.
He was unable to recall that anyone had
entered or left the building after mid-
night. :

A second guard made the rounds of
the parking lot, theater area and the
first two floors of the complex. Stairway
doors to the two top floors were locked at
closing time and could only be opened
from the inside for escape in the event of
a fire. He recalled seeing Mrs. Siffs car
in its assigned space when he checked

‘the parking lot at two o’clock in the

morning and noted it wasn’t there at

-four o’clock.

An alert went out for the vehicle. It
was a black 1973 Lincoln Continental
with Texas plates PYH 4382.

As the lab technicians began their
work to preserve physical evidence on
film, dust for fingerprints and make
diagrams of the scene, homicide detec-
tives questioned the personnel.

They learned there had been a series
of petty thefts from the dressing rooms
and property room in the theater. Two
weeks earlier a burglary had been re-
ported backstage. A pair of sewing
machines had been taken from ward-
robe and left near a door, indicating
the thief might have been frightened
away before the machines could be re-
moved. All that was ‘missing was a wig

Citizens of Houston reacted with shock and grief to the murder of Iris Siff,
managing director of the renowned Alley Theatre. Mrs. Siff, 57, was found in
conference room, strangled to death. There seemed no apparent motive for the
slaying. She had not been robbed, and there were no signs of ponent assault

It made no sense at all
when you looked
for a motive in the
murder of Iris Siff,
beloved and highly
‘respected managing
director of the world
famous theatrical company

ee

Official Detective 15

a


ee EI mR

Mexico City, but that he and the sailor
had parted friends and he had even
“forced 1,000 pesos on me.”

“Was that before or after you fired a
shot into the floor?” Fogel asked dead-
panned.

“Long after,” Abbott replied.

In disputing the allegations of vio-
lence, Abbott insisted that many of the
incidents in the book were “‘fic-
tionalized.”

Mailer took the stand briefly, de-
scribed his friendship with Abbott and
his role in helping secure Abbott’s re-
lease from prison.

Afterward, at a stormy press confer;
ence, the novelist admitted that he and

others had made mistakes in their spon- -

sorship of Abbott, but that he still be-
lieved that the writer was worth saving.
Asked if he felt remorse for the slay-

ing, Mailer said, “It’s a hideous waste,
it’s a horror.”

But when pressed, he said: “I can’t
give you my blood, but you can have my
psychic blood. It’s something Abbott’s
friends are going to have to live with for

‘the rest of their lives.”

Nevertheless, he said he hoped that if
Abbott were found guilty, he would not
get the maximum sentence.

“It would destroy him,” said Mailer.
But he admitted that Abbott was “not
ready to live quietly in New York soci-
ety” and that a jail term would be ap-
propriate. But he did ask for leniency.

“Culture is worth a little risk,” Mailer
told reporters. “A major sentence would
destroy Abbott. Adan has already been

destroyed. At least let Abbott become a.

writer ... It is far too easy to say send
him away forever.”

So, after two days on the stand, Jack
Abbott stepped down. His demeanor
had ranged from bitter remorse over the
death of Adan to anger and arrogance.
He had reacted with deep rage when
Fogel asked him about his access to
weapons while in prison.

“How do you think I’m sitting here
alive?” Abbott shouted, his face flushed.

At conclusion of the day’s testimony,
Judge Lang told both sides that he
would add a count of first-degree man-
slaughter “under extreme emotional
disturbance” to the charge of second-
degree murder for the jury’s considera-
tion.

Actually, in his charge to the jury on
January 20th, Judge Lang added
another possible finding of second de-
gree manslaughter to the four possible
verdicts, including innocent.

In his summation, Defense Attorney
Fisher said: “Abbott didn’t murder him
(Adan). He never even meant to harm
him.”

He rehashed the prison life of the de-
fendant and noted he had been
brutalized since he was nine years old.

“He went from the belly of his mother
to the belly of the beast,” Fisher said.

“14 Official Detective

Fogel ariued differchtly. Declared
the prosecutor:

“This was a cold and calcylated mur-
der. Mr. Abbott likes killing. He likes
the idea of killing.”

He said the defendant compared >

murder to sex (in his book) and said of
killing, “That’s how he (Abbott) gets his
kicks.”

At 1:20 p.m. on January 20th thejury
of seven men and five women got the
case. They pondered, broke for supper
and retired at 10 p.m. At 5:33 p.m. the
next day, after 15 hours of deliberation,
the panel returned its verdict.

Asked its finding on murder in the
second degree, with a penalty of 25
years of life, jury foreman Giuseppe
Marazia said: “Not guilty.”

To manslaughter one, with a
maximum of 12% years to life, Marazia,

an upholsterer, said: “Yes, guilty.”

It was January 22nd. And Jack Henry
Abbott was 38 years old. Before the ver-
dict, Mailer and some of his friends pre-
sented him with a birthday cake, choco-
late, his favorite.. Two of the jurors
shouted, “Happy birthday, Jack Henry
Abbott.” One apparently sincere, the
other obviously sarcastic.

The deliberations had been difficult.
“We were at each other’s throats,” one
juror said later. For more than half the
time of deliberation the panel was split
about 50-50 over whether to convict of
Abbott of intentional murder. That
failed, the apparent saver for the defen-
dant the compassion of some jurors over
the hellish childhood and early young
life he had endured.

Mailer said it was a “fair decision.”
Adan’s family was stricken by it. His
mother, Laura ste aa broke down in
tears.

“The verdict was ridiculous,” cried
Henry Howard. His cheeks sunken, his
silver goatee jutting out, looking for all
the world like an Old Testament pro-.
phet, Adan’s father-in-law told repor-
ters hotly:

“I’ve never been for vengeance. I
never wanted him (Abbott) to get the
chair. I wanted to see him put away,
forever, where he ‘can’t hurt anyone.

“Put him on an island. Give him a _

typewriter. But don’t let this guy walk
the streets again!”

Whether he does will be largely up to
Judge Lang, who ordered pre-
sentencing psychiatric tests on Abbott
and set February 24th for sentencing.
On that date, however, the Manhattan
District Attorney’s office petitioned the
judge to find Abbott a “persistent vio-
lent felon,” which, under New York
State law, would make a minimum of 10
years to life in prison mandatory.

Defense Attorney Fisher notified the
court that he would oppose any such
attempt.

So, pending a further hearing, his en-
tire future in the balance, Jack Henry
Abbott was returned to his jail cell, one
that he has requested, solitary con-
finement in the Brooklyn House of De-
tention. That he will be returned to the
Belly of the Beast is not a question. All
that remains to be answered is, for how
long? tok

EDITOR’S NOTE:

Elsie Sadan and Roberta Lester are
not the real names of the persons so
named in the foregoing story. Fictiti-
ous names have been used because
there is no reason for public interest
in the identities of these persons.

True-Life Strangling ...

that Phillips and a young woman who
had been living with him had left hur-
riedly the previous day.

Known as Abdulah Bashir, a black
Muslim name he had assumed, detec-
tives learned he had borrowed $50 from
a friend, telling him it was urgent that
he leave town immediately.

“I figured he had cop trouble,” the
friend said. “He’s got a coke-habit and
he didn’t have no money. I figured
maybe he’d knocked over a service sta-
tion, or something and the cops had him
spotted. i

Investigators learned that Phillips
had relatives in Buffalo, New York, and
Los Angeles, California. Authorities in
both locations were asked to watch for
Phillips in the event he contacted rela-
tives.

Meanwhile, Arnold Byers passed the

- polygraph test and was released.

To establish a holding charge and a

(from page 18)

fugitive warrant, District Attorney
John B. Holmes filed a complaint
against Clifford X. Phillips, alias Ab-
dula Bashir, for felony arson in setting
fire to an abandoned building.

‘Early Tuesday evening, February
9th, Los Angeles police called head-
quarters in Houston. The call was taken
by Lieutenant Mason.

“We've got your man and his girl
friend,” the LAPD detective said. “She’s
given us a statement saying she was
with him when he set the fire in the
building.”

“What about Phillips?” Mason asked.

There was a long pause and then the
jocular voice of the LAPD detective said,
“We've got that wrapped up for you, too.
He’s confessed to the murder and says
he’ll waive extradition. How come you
Texas guys get so lucky?”

“T guess it’s because we sweat a lot,”
Mason replied. “And we’ve sweated this

> one out real good.”

Returned to Hous
granted an interview to
the Houston Post news
he allegedly admitted s]
and said that he felt no
crime.

“It was either her or
die,” he was quoted as :

Phillips, according t
count, said he inte
burglarize Mrs. Siff’s of!
tered the building, usin;
he had gained as a sec!
said he needed money
and to buy food and dr
and his girlfriend.

Mrs. Siff was typing 2
he arrived, Phillips wa
ing. “I reached my han
and clicked the light of
moaey. That’s all I w
knew it, the woman w:

Mrs. Siff screamed a
and then kicked him, t’
reported. “I started ho
and choking her so she
all I wanted was mon
don’t know what happ:
fear came over me...
mine.”

Phillips was quoted :
feared that either Mrs.
would kill him and ie
phone cord andchok J
didn’t give me no kind«
fought. After she went
lieved inside. I didn’t fe
though I'd done an awf!
because she struggled
ally fighting for my li!

Phillips concluded t!
cording to the news ac:
“In those few seconds j
her... her inner spirit
so great in that momen
to live... and her will
was great strength ..
admiration for her.”

District Attorney }
the state’s case to a gr
ruary 17th. Phillips’ g
for 30 minutes. The }
indictment alleging P
Mrs. Siff with his han

At a preliminary
charge, Clifford Phil
held without privileg

ing further legal proc:

Under the law Phil
the presumption of inn
time as he may be judg

EDITOR'S !

Arnold Byers is not

' the person so named
story. A fictitious nan
because there is no r
interest in the identit


a telephone on the desk. Unexplained _
was why the killer would have dragged -

the body out to the reception room.

“That would go along with the note on
her desk,” Garza said. “Somebody had a
beef. They came in to see her, argued,
the guy lost his head and choked her.”

Mason agreed. “I don’t see it as a
burglary,” he said. “The guy doesn’t
take a diamond ring and doesn’t ran-
sack the office. A fur coat and a televi-
sion set isn’t an office burglar’s kind of
loot.”

“We getting anywhere with that
note?” Anderson asked.

“Not yet. But Queen in handwriting’s
working on it,” Webber said. “He tells
me it’s a big, bold scrawl type of hand-
writing and should be easy to spot for a
comparison.”

The investigators turned their atten-
tion to the burned car. Why it had been
taken—why it had been abandoned so
quickly—and why the license plates
had been removed were questions with-
out answers.

The television set, fur coat and Mrs.
Siffs purse had not been found in the
vehicle. The killer apparently had gone
somewhere to dispose of the articles be-
fore abandoning the car and setting it
on fire.

“That isn’t a pro operation, either,”
Mason commented. “A smart burglar
would have taken that car half-way ac-
ross the state before dropping it and he
wouldn’t have left it on a busy street and
set fire to it so that it would be certain to
cause attention.”

“Who are we looking for?” Stricklin
asked.

“Right now, I’d say somebody Mrs.
Siff knew with some kind of a beef,
either personal or something to do with
her work at the theater,’ Mason re-
sponded.

Eggleston laughed. “That narrows it
right down to a couple of thousand, or
maybe more, suspects.”

While the conference was in progress,
a clerk came to the room and signaled
Garza. He told him there was a tele-
phone call and it was important. Garza
took the call and returned in a few mi-
nutes.

“Bingo!” he announced on his return.

“What’s up?” he was asked.

“That was Queen,” Garza said, refer-
ring to the department handwriting ex-
pert. He said that Queen, checking the
writing on the note found on Mrs. Siffs
desk with applications in the theater
personnel file, had come up with a
match.

He identified the writing as that of
Arnold Byers, 28, from Albany, Oregon,
who had been hired six months earlier
as a maintenance man.

Byers had stated in his application
that he did not have a criminal record. A
call to Oregon proved the statement to

be false. Byers had been arrested, con-:

18 Official Detective

Sey

All-out probe into murder of beloved
theatrical director centered on a
discharged employe, Clifford Phillips

victed and sentenced to'a five year term
in the Oregon State penitentiary on a
charge of having burglarized an office
building where he had been employed.
He had been paroled after serving 10
months of his sentence:

“Do we bring him in?” Garza asked,
after receiving the information.

Eggleston cautioned, “You may be
able to prove he wrote the note but
that’s no proof that he killed Mrs. Siff.”

It was agreed that Byers would have
to be questioned about the note. And
since he was a suspect in the slaying, he
would have to be advised of his legal
rights that he could rernain silent and
be represented by an attorney. If he de-
nied writing the note or chose to not
make a statement, the investigators felt
they would probably be on the right
track.

“You'll have forty-eight hours after
you pick him up,” Eggleston warned.
“That’s two days to wrap it up or turn
him loose.”

Byers was brought in for questioning.
He waived his right to remain silent and
admitted he had written the note. He
said Mrs. Siff had criticized work he had
been doing on some stage construction.

“She bugged me about a half-dozen
times until I’d had it,” Byers said. “I
wrote that on a piece of paper and
handed it to her and told her to make out
my time because I was quitting. But,
hell, that was a week ago.’

Byers claimed that Mrs. Siff had cal-
led him into her office and talked to him.

She had asked him not to quit and he»

had stayed on. “She told me that she was

¥ . py ercccnaney
- - —
’ ; , ‘ { \.
x : : i
7 }

‘sorry for giving me a hard time,” Byers

said. “She seemed to be a real nice lady.”

Insisting that he knew nothing about
the murder, Byers offered an alibi for
the time of the slaying as having been
with a woman friend.

Asked if he would voluntarily submit
to a polygraph examination, Byers ag-
reed to take the Jie detector test, saying,
“You guys are barking up the wrong
tree. I got nothing to hide.”

A new lead developed late in the day.

What appeared to be an arson fire had
been set in an ababandoned meat mar-
ket not far from where Mrs. Siffs car
had been abandoned and burned. After
the blaze was extinguished, firemen
discovered a partially burned fur coat,

television set and a woman’s purse in

the rubble.

The articles were identified as those
taken from Mrs. Siffs office.

Investigators reasoned that the killer
had put the loot into the abandoned
building and then drove Mrs. Siffs car
on to where it had been set on fire. Fear-
ful that the loot might be found, he had
set the second fire. .

“Which makes less sense all the
time,” Garza said, after the articles had
been identified. “Why take the stuff and
the victim’s car only to dump them a
couple of hours later?”

“Unless burglary wasn’t the bee”
Mason reasoned. “We had that hunch
from the start when he didn’t take the
diamond ring and other valuable
things.”

The fire apparently took Byers off the
hook, as he had been in custody at the
time it was set in the building. Unless,
as one investigator pointed out, he had
an accomplice.

Detectives Webber and Anderson
came in with a new lead. They had been
checking the theater personnel file and
came across the name of Clifford Phil-
lips. The 47-year-old man had been
hired as a security guard but had been
discharged in December when Mrs. Siff
found him sleeping on the job.

Checking out the man, the detectives
learned he had come from Buffalo, New
York, where he had worked as a painter.

Phillips had a police record. He had

been convicted in New York in 1969 ona
manslaughter charge for the death of
his three-year-old son.

The conviction had been reversed on
an appeal. He was convicted at a second
trial and sent to the Attica State prison
in 1972. He had been released in 1976

- and was still on parole.

Attempting to locate Phillips for
questioning, the detectives learned he
had been living in an apartment only a
few blocks from where Mrs. Siffs car
had been abandoned and the arson fire
started in a building. The apartment
was barren when the detectives checked
‘it. They learned from other residents

nM (Continued on page 74)

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‘The ‘State of Texas : In Justice Court | Precinct No. 1, Fort

“Bend County, Texas, ittine Bo fore Chas.

S

Sar Phillips 3 q pO Teene as an Exarining Court.

On this the 25th day of October, 1924, came a use be heard the abov -
yled anc numbered cause, the defendant being sent in person
ote after having had the corplaint read and hier ad hin plea of «0 ~
__..-:., guilty_and requested that the saatement_made before the District.

Attorney . be introduced here and are a part hereof. Ph

ok JPlanagan haine sworn “testified for the State’ as: ‘follows: see
T-an-tie- manager—of— east Ttins athe decnoace, Thee
ratcle. “convicts onthe farm, . SamiPhiilips, the defendant: was in my
ee ea reste was-first—reportedthat—Jesste Davis
“3% "a convict’trustie was, killed down on the side of the leading to
> Sugarland-avout~one third “of the way “Yeading from the nain gate
to the highway and Sugarland. This was on Wednesday of the 15th
day of” October. 1924. I went ‘down and- exarined the poagter™ the.
_. dead man and found that he had been hit with a blunt instrument
both in the front and back part of the head. I ran the dogs arter
__.-.____ the. perpetrator_of the crinebut they run both ways..but_could_not
trace hir with the dogs and couldnt locate the man that did it. =:
—---—-This.defendantu.after-.-two-.days confessed. to me.that -he-had-killed-——
Davis and told where the money was and also the instrument was -whic. h
he used. We got the mone; off hir.:- He said he threw-thebahk-away ——-——
that he got off Davis. He had other money dut we did not find any
of -the~ cther-roney:———— There~ gotten off this: defencan it” the 5
knife that. belcnged to Davis. ,
“This happened in Fort Bend

subscribed before me  esth a of Oct. “4S 24,

ROMINA TS eT Lek LE 2


tee

5
Pa
ay mi

COURT OF FoHu BEND.-

PESTS es

Alleged confession and nts of defendian

aed

wh th sufficient certa

re
ins

rinciple is not submitted to the

4th. | 2
The c erroneously instructs the jury =

€2.

apes
Cee

pe

é- the

nity: the: tu

me

AX “ae? Yeo ¢ a ERS ee
$th.a. flat‘ piece of Yaron,”
allege, and ‘the court-s0 etibmits

s i “a :

ee

¥;

Sage heed fo = Geen.
t ust be-inferred.

Che a


be

ats qQuarte

pe
ct G4)

“sworn testified for hile State as folios:

ne convicts on the Imperial State Farm: I know _

and Jessie Davis. We were all thee trusties.

before Ravis .as killed_I. counted the mone; he had. for
wl4.10, seven one dollar bills, three half dol iars
and--41--dimes. - He had the dines in-a li:tle bank.

9 SF's ‘oO
W fu ct WD by te

Toy: Baty. being sworn: testified for. hke State as follows:

a4 E-ar-a—conviet—on—the—Imper tel -SteteParn.——I-am-a—trustie.
sab -Knew'Sam>Phillips:and Jessie. pavis. I am Corral boy and Sam:
<Putltipas—on-the-morning nat debate Hata Hed nce cregene te era
“this mules out. I knew that Jessie pavis had a box of snuff the
RENT an > 4 4 0 , that ne was Killéd and that Sar Purllins™ Toeked-tt—-up-ta—
iccker cy the corral the rorning that Davis was killed. I knew

was Bavyis's bottle of snuff because I had-séen it the nizht Before
: ; pag fa . “ Sle 6 See ae ties ve

~ Solan Jeffreys beinz sworn testified for the State as follows
am a convict on.the Inperial State rare, I am a trustie on “the
c, - 1: “Sax PAillips and Jassie avis. I went to Sugarland —
tre 3 j that Davis was killed and left ny vagon out in the fixx
haulin= corm to Sugarland, Sar Phil: ips was behind me
“hoe. sqguad.bnt to the fisia and I didnt_know_that an iythi
ntil Ed jones told me that Jessie Davis had been xilled
me.on.out.in the field. and asked: ne if Livanted_to -siuare
He and I shot-dice in his wagon. and I won seventy
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who was in Hous--": {Ziven before the final ay were -erton's -mother sas 1
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Amarillo bore when he was 17 years. Pinkerton averted death in August merely attempts to gain
old. Lawrence, 30, was stabbed more _just 26 minutes ‘before he was to be condemned man. -
fhan $0 times and her throat was “taken into the death chamber. . “The execution was °
© mlashed. «:- “Another stay was granted in Novem- “Texas and seventh in th:
= 9. mas convicted of Senet 20 beeen: Selate Sia achat year.)

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Texan is put to death

for mutilation-slaying

fo Ld As Ss —-

United Press International

HUNTSVILLE, Texas — An
apprentice butcher who spent his
last hours fighting for a court order
that would spare his life calmly
recited a prayer and was executed
early Thursday for the murder,
rape and mutilation of an Amarillo
housewife.

Jay Kelly Pinkerton, 24, became
the youngest person executed since
the Supreme Court lifted a ban on
capital punishment in 1976.

Pinkerton, who was under two
death sentences, was pronounced
dead at 12:25 a.m. after being given
a combination of lethal drugs. He
was the third person put to death
for crimes committed as a minor
since executions resumed in 1977.

Pinkerton was 17 when he broke
into Sarah Donn Lawrence’s home
in 1979, raped her and stabbed her
more than 30 times while her
children slept in nearby bedrooms.
Her throat was slashed, and she was
sexually abused and mutilated after
her death.

“That man is an animal,” said
the victim’s aunt,"June Morgan of
New Waverly, who waited at the
prison for word Pinkerton had been
executed. “It should have been
done a long time ago. Maybe it will
be over for her (Lawrence’s) babies
and her mother.”

As Pinkerton lay strapped to a
gurney awaiting execution, he said
to his father, Gene, “Be strong for
me. I want you to know I’m at peace
with myself and with my God. Say

£6

Crime/Courts “

goodbye to Mom. Just keep your
spirits up for me.”

Pinkerton, who converted to the
Islamic faith in prison, recited a
prayer to Allah- before prison offi-
cials gave a signal to administer the
deadly drugs.

Pinkerton was the 57th person
executed in the United States in the
last decade and the 13th in Texas
since the state resumed executions |
in 1982.

The Supreme Court rejected
Pinkerton’s appeals twice Wednes-
day, including a final appeal writ-
ten by Pinkerton from a death-
house holding cell.

In Pinkerton’s first appeal with
the high court Wednesday, three
justices supported a stay of execu-
tion, citing Pinkerton’s age at the
time of the crime.

“This court has not yet consid-
ered whether imposition of the
death penalty for a minor’s crimes
is so antagonistic to civilized no-
tions of morality as to transgress
the bounds imposed by the Consti-
tution,” Justice Thurgood Marshall
said.

Pinkerton, who maintained his
innocence, also was sentenced to die
for the 1980 rape-slaying of Ama-
rillo beauty queen Sherry Lynn
Welch.


Texas ‘Executes Man

For: Fatal Stabbings

SF |
Of Two ‘Women “ och

eat! TNS: S-IS-FC
Huntsville, Texas A PS: 22... 1]

Jay Kelly. Pinkerton; convicted
of stabbing two. women to death, i
was executed by lethal injection last
night. ee ae A

Plakdetin. 4, ‘was pronounbed :
dead at 10:25 p.m.:PDT at the Texas
Department of Corrections unit out-
side Huntsville, hours after the Su-
preme:Court had refused: i mock
the execution on appeal. «. a

* Pinkerton, a former eenuds
meat ‘butter, was sentenced to death
for the 1979 murder‘of Sarah Donn ||
Lawrence, 30, of Amarillo, who was
stabbed more than 30 times and
raped during a burglary ‘of her
home, He also had been convicted
of the murder of Sherry “Lynn
Welch, 25, of Amarillo, ‘who was
_ stabbed while working in’ ‘a furni-
ture store in 1980.  Assoctated Press

3.

‘(v= —.

| iets “Adu Cryer

24, executed /

HUNTSVILLE, Texas — Jay |

Kelly Pinkerton, 24, who killed
and mutilated two women when
he was a teenager, was executed
by injection today.

The Supreme Court yesterday
rejected two frantic appeals by
Pinkerton. Gov. Mark White also

- refused to intervene.

In his’ final appeal, Pinkerton

claimed that he received ineffec-

tive counsel and that a fingerprint

.. Witness.lied at his trial..The earli-
_ er appeal claimed that the jury
to determine |

was not . asked
whether. Sarah Donn Lawrence’s
slaying was a justifiable homicide.

- Pinkerton was the youngest per-
son put to death since executions

5~ly~

resumed in 1977.

An apprentice butcher who
spent his last hours fighting for a
court order that would spare his life
calmly: recited a prayer and was
executed Thursday in the Hunts-

' ‘ville, Tex., prison for the murder,
rape and mutilation ofan Amarillo
housewife. Jay Kelly Pinkerton,
~who was under two death sentenc-
es, Was pronounced ‘dead at 12:25.
a.m. after being given a combina-
tion of lethal drugs. His father,
‘Gene, witnessed the execution.
Pinkerton was 17 when he broke
into Sarah Donn Lawrence’s home
in'1979, raped her and stabbed her

. ‘more than 30 times with a bowie |
‘knife. wr Pig? ard Times |
' -(6-Gé Pj 2, |

|

val


~ # San Jose Mercury News.

WI TIMES Thurs S15- Fo
Killer Works on Appeals —

As Execution Nears /9 //

HUNTSVILLE, Tex., May 14 (AP) A
convicted killer worked on legal briefs
today while the United States Supreme
Court considered whether his execu-
tion, scheduled early Thursday, should
be stayed a fourth time.

The execution of the killer, Jay Kelly -
Pinkerton, was stayed in August just 26
minutes before he was to be taken into
the death chamber. Another stay was
granted in November, 10 hours before
his:scheduled death.

Mr. Pinkerton, 24 years old, was sen-
tenced to death for stabbing Sarah
Donn Lawrence to death in 1979. He
was also convicted in the death of an-
other Amarillo woman, Sherry Welch.
A series of state and Federal courts
have rejected Mr. Pinkerton’s appeals.

10A Thursday, May 15, 1986

m vo iy

Texas executes.
man convicted —

of two killings

zs HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) ||
' — Jay Kelly Pinkerton, con- |
‘victed of the stabbing deaths |
‘of.two women, was executed ||
‘by «injection early today,
hours after an appeal carried
by his mother was rejected by
federal judges.
"- Pinkerton, 24, was ‘pro-.
‘nounced dead at 12:25 a.m.
‘CDT, said Assistant Attorney .
General Monroe Clayton. —
] ..' The U.S. Supreme Court
refused Wednesday, afternoon
to block the execution, and
| upheld that ruling after a sec-
| ‘ond. appeal several hours
‘later..;

; "Pinkerton, . _who was an
\  Naatice meat cutter, was
‘sentenced to death for the
} fatal stabbings of two Ama-
1 -rillo women in 1979 and 1980,
| .He denied killing Sarah Donn
| Lawrence and Sherry Welch.
‘| .°.Lawrence, 30, was raped
‘| and stabbed more than 50
times during a burglary of
her home. Welch, 25, was
stabbed while working in an
furniture store.


i in:

vot Rewsten

Presiding Judge Naomi Harney overruled defense counsel’s objections to court-
room display of enlarged color photographs of the bloodied, mutilated victim

search the area for footprints and other
clues, including a possible weapon, but
because of the darkness the search was
limited until the next day.

The sleuths questioned a clean-up
crew that had stayed behind at the
school after the carnival ended. The
workers said they had gone home about
10:30 p.m. and had neither seen nor
heard anything in the area of the Lawr-
ence home.

Questioning members of the Lawr-
ence family the following day, the detec-
tives were able to narrow the time when
the slayer struck. Officers learned from
the oldest son of the victim that he had
stayed awake and ' watched television
until 11:00 p.m.

The boy’s room was in direct view of
the living room, officers realized, when
they noted the location of the boy’s bed
and the design of the house. The young
lad said he went to sleep but was
awakened by the barking dog. He said
he quieted the dog and then he went
back to sleep.

From the pathologist officers learned
that Mrs. Lawrence had been stabbed as
many as 20 times with a long sharp in-
strument. No weapon was found by in-
vestigators.

There was no evidence of forced entry
into the house. An open window in the

32 True Detective

master“bedroom had a small amount of
debris around it, indicating that some-
one might have used the window for
entry or exit.

Police issued an appeal through the
news media to the public to report any-
thing they had seen on the night of the
brutal killing. The newspaper plea re-
sulted in the first substantial evidence.

A teenage couple got in touch with
Amarillo police to report that they had
driven past the Lawrence home about
the time of the homicide. They said they
realized when they read about the crime
in the newspaper that they may have
seen a suspect.

The couple said they had seen an
“Indian-looking man” cross the street
toward the elementary school. She
seemed to come from the alley at the
side of the Lawrence house, they said.

Willingly questioned under hypnosis,
the two teenagers were able to recall
that the man they had seen was about
six feet tall, of slender build, having
high cheek bones and a dark complex-
ion. He was wearing a jean jacket or an
army jacket, and a blue or red flannel
shirt.

An artist made sketches from the de-
scriptions given by the two youths and
the composite drawings were released
by the newspapers and television.

After the sketches were made public
the police were deluged with calls from
the public. More than 1,300 tips were
checked out by as many as 50 officers.
Several past offenders were rounded up
and grilled extensively, but officers met
a dead end at every turn.

One alert officer nabbed a 17-year-old
man when he caught him trespassing at
an Amarillo business. The teenager
slightly resembled the artist sketch of
the Indian-looking man seen running
near the crime scene.

The youth also had a record and had
been placed on probation for a burglary
charge just a month prior to the Lawr-
ence slaying. When police checked the
suspect’s fingerprints, however, they
found no evidence to place him at the
scene of the crime. The youth also hada
good alibi for the night the crime occur-
red.

Then on April 9, 1980, citizens of
Amarillo were shocked again, and
sharply reminded of the grisly Lawr-
ence slaying.

Just six months after the death of
Mrs. Lawrence similar crime was com-
mitted in broad daylight in a busy
Amarillo shopping center.

“It looks like we have a maniac on the
loose in the city,” remarked the Potter
County Justice of Peace as he left the
scene of the crime. “No one in their right
mind would do a thing like this.” The
justice of peace had just pronounced
Sherry Lynn Welch of Canyon dead at
the scene of a brutal murder.

Mrs. Welch was working at an
Amarillo furniture store, and was shar-
ing rides with another woman from Ca-
nyon, located 18 miles south of
Amarillo. The other woman was the
driver that day and when she came to
the store to pick Mrs. Welch up the store
was already closed, but Sherry was
nowhere in sight.

The puzzled friend decided her rider
had left early or had other transporta-
tion, so after waiting a short while, she
drove on to Canyon. She saw Sherry’s
husband working in the yard as she
came near his house. She stopped to exp-
lain why Sherry wasn’t with her.

The man became alarmed and, fear-
ing something might have happened to
his wife, he rushed into the house to call
his wife’s boss.

The store owner told the worried hus-
band he would go to the store and check
on Sherry’s whereabouts. At about 7:00
p.m. the furniture-store owner arrived
at his store, unlocked the front door and
went inside. the sight he saw when he
reached the back of the store was shock-
ing and sickening.

Sprawled face-down on the floor of the
storage room was the nude figure of
Sherry Lynn Welch. Her clothing was
scattered around the room. The young
woman’s body was covered with blood.

Rushing forward, the store owner cal-

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if
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evidence that Miss Bennett put up a
ferocious struggle for her life.

Carpenter gave his correct name and
address at the Marin hospital, saying he
had been bitten by a dog, while hiking.
~ vas little more than two hours after

young accountant with the long
brown hair was savagely slain.

The suspected killer had multiple
lacerations with ground-in dirt on both
hands. The wounds were cleaned and a
tetanus shot administered to Car-
penter. He was told to see Dr. E. S. Kil-
gore, a San Francisco specialist in hand
injuries, the next day. Dr. Kilgore
treated Carpenter for injuries to his
right index finger and left thumb.

Dr. Kilgore said, “There is no way
medically to determine whether cuts
were made by human teeth rather than
dog’s teeth.”

Because acquaintances of Carpenter
had a history of disappearing and wind-
ing up dead, the authorities concen-
trated on missing person cases.

Daly City police checked on the dis-
appearance of Anna Kelly Menjivar, a
student and part-time teller at the Con-
tinental Savings and Loan Assocation,
who vanished from sight on December
28, 1980. The officers learned that Car-
penter banked at the attractive
brunette’s branch, and had given her
small presents on occasion.

Her family and friends said Car-
penter was quite friendly with the 17-

ir-old bank employe. He told them he
ved her like a daughter.”

At first, Daly City police had listed
the young Mercy High School student as
a runaway. However, with the arrest of
Carpenter for the Ellen Marie Hansen
murder, the investigators decided to
take another look at the case.

Then, with the discovery of the body
of Heather Scaggs, the Daly City police
redoubled their efforts. They searched
Mount San Bruno and talked to
neighbors, students, teachers and fel-
low employes of Miss Menjivar.

A relative of the missing girl feared
the worst: “I’m very scared,” she said,
after the body of Miss Scaggs was disco-
vered. “She liked him very much and
she was so young that she would have
trusted him on anything.”

On Sunday, June 14th, two hikers
found a jawbone on a wooded hillside in
the vicinity of Castle Rock State Park
near Santa Cruz.

The hikers turned in the jawbone to
the Santa Cruz County Sheriffs office.
Accompanied by sheriffs deputies, the
hikers led officers to the area where
they had made their grisly find.

Sheriffs deputies and Explorer Sc-
“ts combed the heavily wooded area

it off Skyline Boulevard, a half mile
uulth of Highway 9. They turned up the
remainder of a skull, half of her skele-
ton and several articles of clothing.

Once again, dental records assisted in

56 True Detective

identification of the skeletal remains.
Santa Cruz investigators identified the
remains as those of Anna Kelly Men-
jivar through her dental x-ray charts.

Charges have not been filed in Miss
Menjivar’s death, pending further in-
vestigation.

On June 8th ina tightly guarded and
crowded Santa Cruz courtroom, bearded
trailside murder suspect David Joseph
Carpenter, 51, stood before Santa Cruz
Superior Court Judge William M. Kel-
say.

The judge, acknowledging Car-
penter’s obvious stuttering problem,
permitted the balding ex-convict to
shake his head each time a charge
against him was read. The convicted sex
offender shook his head from side to side
to indicate that he was not guilty of the
murders of Ellen Marie Hansen and

- Heather Scaggs.

The pudgy defendant also shook his
head to deny special allegations of
committing multiple murders, lying in
wait, and murder during a rape—
charges that upon conviction could
bring the death penalty. ~

He sat mutely at the defense table,
now and then tugging at his beard or
rubbing his throat. Dressed in a faded

orange prison jumpsuit, he was not
handcuffed or shackled during his court
appearance.

Judge Kelsay set a later date for a
preliminary hearing.

Meanwhile, in Marin County, Dis-
trict Attorney Jerry Herman an-
nounced that he had filed additional
charges against Carpenter on Jun 31st
in Marin County Municipal Court—>
including five counts of murder, two of
forcible rape and one of attempted rape.
So, added to the Santa Cruz cases, Car-
penter now faces seven murder charges
in California.

David Joseph Carpenter, of course, is
presumed to be innocent of the crimes
with which he is charged pending a pos-
sible contrary determination by a jury
of his peers after due process. ooo

EDITOR’S NOTE:

Art Chipman, Alvin Darde,
Danielle Bestor, Bill Revier and Be-
tsie Vorest are not the real names of
the persons so named in the foregoing
story. Fictitious names have been
used because there is no reason for
public interest in the identities of

these persons.

Most Hideous Murder
In Texas History

(Continued from page 33)

of death was a stab wound to the neck
below the larynx.

“The victim died of asphyxia, either
because her windpipe was cut and then
misaligned so that she could not get air
into her lungs, or because there was an

‘actual obstruction of the windpipe,

perhaps the knife blade,” the
pathologist said.

The doctor pointed out the wounds on
Mrs. Lawrence’s body in the series of
enlarged color photographs taken be-
fore the autopsy. He said there were
more than 30 wounds, several of them
superficial v-shaped wounds on the
upper torso, which were probably meant
to scare or torture her.

The next witness called by the state
was ajail inmate who shared the adjoin-
ing cell to Pinkerton in Randall County
Jail. He testified that Pinkerton brag-
ged that he stabbed to death, mutilated
and sexually abused Sarah Donn Lawr-
ence.

“Jay’s a hard man to follow,” the in-
mate testified. “Sometimes he seems
nice, but when he would start telling
about the killing, he seemed kind of
crazy.”

Two Amarillo police officers testified
that they went to the home of Pinkerton
in Amarillo a few hours after the slay-

ing, and talked to a woman identified as

Pinkerton’s mother. Although the offic-
ers asked to enter the house, the mother
did not admit them, they testified.

The officers said after they talked to
Pinkerton’s mother, they circled the
area and spotted a youth who was
naked to the waist. When the man saw
the officers he started running from
them. The officers chased him for two .
blocks and one of them caught the sus-
pect as he tried to get over a tall picket
fence.

“He appeared clean, as if he had just
come out of a shower, just finished ba-
thing,” Amarillo Police Investigator
Dennis Henley testified.

Henley identified the suspect as Pin-
kerton and then said there were minor
cuts and abrasions on the youth’s hands
and arms.

Defense attorneys brought out that
the two officers also visited the home of
another suspect the night of the crime,
where they found pictures of nude
women. Testimony showed that the fi-
gures in the pictures had been cut with
scissors in the genitalia area.

FBI fingerprint specialist Peter J.
Belcastro of Washington, D.C., gave the
key testimony in the Jay Pinkerton
trial on Friday, May 29th. The ex-
pert told the court that “there are in
excess of twelve points of comparison
between the fingerprint taken from the
coffee table and of known prints of Pin-
kerton’s.”

The witness said of the photograph of '

the palm print in blood taken from the

victim’s leg, “it offers in excess of 7

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led the police and an ambulance. He saw
that his employe was dead.

Arriving at the store, police secured
the death scene and summoned the
same pathologist who had examined the
body of Mrs. Lawrence. He found that
the pretty blonde 25-year-old housewife
and store clerk had been stabbed about
20 times in the bavx. Some of the
wounds were two inches wide. A later
examination would reveal that she had
been raped, too.

After a Justice of the Peace arrived to
pronounce the woman dead, the officers
who had swarmed to the emergency call
surrounded the store in the shopping
center and questioned all shop owners
and their employes. No one could re-
member seeing or hearing anyone sus-
picious in the area at the time of the
crime.

The victim’s husband told police that
his wife had expressed fear at being left
alone“at the store. “She had talked
about the Sarah Lawrence killing,” the
husband said. “We talked about how
awful it was.”

His wife had been a farm girl who
moved to Canyon after her marriage.
She was a former beauty pageant queen
in her hometown.

Months passed with no breaks in
either of the city’s two similar slayings.
Officers spent many hours on and off
duty seeking leads and examining evi-
dence in the two cases.

In August, 1980, ten months after
Sarah Lawrence’s murder, Potter
County Deputy Jimmy Boydston and
other officers were going over the files of
the two similar cases. Boydston picked
up a photo of what investigators
thought might be a bloody palmprint
seen on the thigh of Sarah Lawrence.

Technicians had photographed the
blotch and when experts at a crime lab
had examined the print, they had given
an opinion that the print was not identi-
fiable.

Scrutinizing the print closely, officers
decided to send the photo to the FBI lab
in Washington, D.C. A color enlarge-
ment of the photo was mailed.

On Friday, September 26, 1980, the
Amarillo investigators received a real
shocker. A telephone call came from the
FBI in Washington saying that the
bloody partial palm print that had been
sent had been positively identified!

The print was undeniably that of Jay
Kelly Pinkerton, 18, the FBI agent
said—the Amarillo youth that had been
picked up and questioned on the night of
the Lawrence slaying.

Deputy Boydston lost no time in con-
tacting Amarillo Detective Doug
Johnson and Randall County Deputy
Bill Eaton. He told them the details of
the FBI report.

The information was taken to Ran-
dall County District Attorney Randy
Sherrod. He verified the fingerprint

MME
Dist. Attorney Randy Sherrod, after

checking fingerprint evidence, issued
capital murder warrant for Pinkerton

finding by telephoning the FBI experts
in Washington. Then Sherrod au-
thorized the issuance of a capital mur-
der warrant for Pinkerton.

In a short time Pinkerton was taken
into custody at an Amarillo restaurant
where he was employed. He was
brought to the Amarillo Police Station.
The young suspect was advised of his
rights and an attorney representing
him arrived at the station. The lawyer
advised Pinkerton not to discuss the
case with officers.

The accused man was taken before a
Randall County Justice of the Peace,
who denied bond. Just three days after
the FBI fingeprint report was received
by Amarillo officers, Pinkerton was in-
dicted for capital murder when the
Randall County Grand Jury met in a
special session.

The capital charge against Pinkerton
alleged that Sarah Lawrence was killed
during the commission of a burglary,
with intent to commit rape.

In an uncontested change of venue
hearing, Judge Naomi Harney of 251st
State District Court moved the trial of
Pinkerton, now 19 years old, to Corpus
Christi due to the widespread publicity
in the case and the reaction of Amarillo
residents to the multiple-wound slay-
ing.

On Monday, May 18, 1981, selection
of a jury began in Corpus Christi. On
Tuesday of the following week the
twelfth juror was chosen and testimony
began before the sequestered panel of
seven men and five women.

Judge Harney viewed some vid-

eotapes taken at the crime scene and -

during the autopsy, but she ruled the
tapes were inadmissible as evidence by
the state.

On Tuesday, May 16th, the first wit-
ness called by the state was the husband
of the slain woman. The man said he
talked to his wife before he came home
from work on the night of October 26,

1979, about 9:30 p.m.

Questioned by the district attorney,
the husband related how he came home,
heard the dog barking before he went in
the house and found his wife dead with
blood oozing from the fresh wounds.

The witness testified that a Bowie
knife with a long blade that hung on a
wall plaque, and also his wife’s purse
were missing. The purse was not on the
chair where she always left it, he told
the jury.

“Tf Sarah didn’t have her purse in
her hand, it was in the chair,” he said

The witness told the court how he
searched through the house for the at-
tacker, and found no one, but found the
window open in the master bedroom.

On Wednesday, the trial was delayed
at mid-afternoon because some state
witnesses had not arrived at Corpus
from Amarillo.

When court reconvened the next day
the defense attorneys objected to the
five enlarged color photographs of the
death scene that were on display in the
courtroom, behind the witness chair.
The protesting attorney called the
exhibits “inflammatory and prejudicial
aspects.” Judge Harney allowed the
photos to remain in place, however.

Former Amarillo police identification
officer Carolyn McPhee Porter was cal-
led by the state to testify. She presented
a latent fingerprint card that showed
the print she lifted from the coffee table
next to Mrs. Lawrence’s body.

Mrs. Porter also identified a color
print as the. photograph she took. She
testified that particular photo was one
she had taken of a bloody palmprint on
the left leg of the slaying victim. She
told the court that she went to the fun-
eral home where Mrs. Lawrence was
taken, to take the photograph.

During cross-examination, the de-
fense emphasized that a number of
people handled the body of the victim en
route to the funeral home, and that the
corpse may have been left unguarded
for several hours.

On the second day of testimony, two
officers from the Amarillo Police De-
partment SWAT team testified. Edward
Smith, investigator training officer, re-
lated he saw footprints in the alley that
were made “by the same type of shoe,
approximately the same size as the ten-
nis shoes Pinkerton was wearing the
night the SWAT officer caught him and
brought him into the police headquar-
ters.” This was about 2:30 a.m. on Oc-
tober 27,-1979, the morning after the
slaying had occurred.

The defense countered with the tes-
timony that the victim’s husband was
also wearing tennis shoes, a pullover
shirt and blue jeans the night of the
crime.

Amarillo pathologist Jose Diaz-
Esquivel testified that the actual cause

(Continued on page 56)

True Detective 33


twenty-four points of comparison.”

The FBI expert told the jurors that at
first he could not get a match on the
_ palmprint photographed on Mrs. Lawr-
ence’s leg, nor from the fingerprint
taken from the coffee table.

The witness said that later, when he
saw the original color photograph of the
print then he realized the print had
been left in blood. “After the fingerprint
had been reversed,” Belcastro said,
“then I could match the resulting pat-
tern to Pinkerton’s prints.”

The defense team alleged that there
were at least two other men who might
have killed Mrs. Lawrence.

A former girlfriend of one of the other
two suspects was called by the defense.
The young witness from Amarillo tes-
tified that her former live-in companion
came home in a bloody green army jac-
ket the night of the Lawrence slaying.

She told the court that the next day
her boyfriend wanted the jacket thrown
away. The witness said that when she
first saw the composite drawing of the
possible suspect on the front page of the
Amarillo newspaper she told her com-
panion, “Hey, this looks a lot like you,”
and she said her boyfriend agreed with
her.

The young witness told the court that
her boyfriend had left their house when
he got mad at her at about 6:45 p.m. on
the night of the slaying and came home
after it had happened.

The defense called Dr. John Randall,
director of Nuclear Science Center,
Texas A&M University at Lubbock. He
testified that he examined and com-
pared one unknown hair sample with
hair samples belonging to both the vic-
tim and the defendant. He found that
the unknown hair sample was not from
either of them.

Testimony was completed and on
Saturday, just five days after the trial
began, the jury started deliberation. In
3 hours and 24 minutes the jurors
reached a verdict.

The seven men and five women found
Jay Kelly Pinkerton guilty of capital
murder at 4:22 p.m. A recess was called
until 9:00 p.m. and the jury returned to
hear 8 to 10 witnesses from the state as
the punishment phase of the trial
began.

The jurors went into a secret session
again and in an hour and two minutes
they returned to bring the verdict of the
death penalty.

Appeal of the death sentence is au-
tomatic under Texas law and on Satur-
day, June 27th, Pinkerton went before
Judge Harney to request a new trial. It
was refused.

Pinkerton awaits death by lethal
injection while on death row in
Huntsville, Texas.

At the time of this writing the Sherry
Lynn Welch murder has not been sol-
ved. oe

58 True Detective

Ohio’s Case of the
“Phantom Gunman”

(Continued from page 18)

act of robbery is forced to kill the
homeowner to cover his tracks. A dead
witness can’t talk.

But a forensic pathologist would
quickly disagree with this premise. In-
deed, a corpse does talk. Not lit-
erally, of course. But a cadaver on
the autopsy table invariably offers the
coroner mute testimony about his de-
mise, information that would startle
most laymen. Physical evidence, fre-
quently microscopic in nature, can often
answer typical coroner questions, such
as: How were you killed? When did it
happen? And most important of all;
Who was the person who killed you?

Not surprising to homicide detec-
tives, the coroner often gets his or her
answers. For instance, the corpse may
bear the killer’s fingerprints. The hands
of the victims, carefully bagged in plas-
tic containers, may ultimately reveal
such trace evidence as hair, blood, skin
tissue or thread fibers belonging to the
attacker. In sex crimes, semen stains
with a unique alkalinity measure may
provide the pathologist with valuable
evidentiary material. The stray pubic
hair which might have been left on the
victim’s genitals can tell the pathologist
some general characteristics about the
killer’s age, race and sex. Stomach
tents can pinpoint the time of death.

I. the case of Lawrence Bates, resting
on a slab in the Cuyahoga County Mor-
gue, his autopsy amounted to more than
simply certifying the cause and approx-
imate time of his death. Nothing is quite
that simple at the Cuyahoga County
Morgue, nationally known for its excel-
lence and thoroughness in forensic in-
vestigations. The slugs in Bates’ corpse.
for instance, would be removed from his
body with extreme care. Forceps and
other metallic surgical instruments
must not be used in retrieving bullet
slugs from the corpse, for they might
mar the soft lead surface of the slug.
Instead, the pathologist, having located
the slug’s must remove the materials
with his gloved hands. And since every
firearm leaves its unique “Autograph”
on a bullet, nothing must be allowed to
mar or contaminate these gun-barrel
tracings. :

The degree of powder residue on the
clothing and body of Lawrence Bates
helped pinpoint at what distance the
firearm was triggered. Entrance and
exit wounds were studied. The angle of
the entrance, its possible deflection
amid bone and musculature, enable the
pathologist to reconstruct the slaying.
And since two.guns had been found in

Bates’ bedroom, detectives
foundly interested in wh
might have fired the fatal t

Ultimately it was deter
these guns had not fired the
killed Lawrence Bates. Bats
shot at fairly close range, cé
slugs in the thoracic cavity
the arm. As reported, he hz
shortly before midnight; hi.
been quick.

With still little to go on.
detectives took to the stre«
more information. Their
were compounded by the da
ing seige of inner-city crir
larly homicide. Senior citiz
less because of their age,
slashed and beaten and r
ever-increasing regularity.
ers were being shot to deat
and -dime robberies. Th
domestic strife led to shc
stabbings, and on a more }
level, some resulted in dec
emasculation. Here in the j
was everywhere; in fact, ev
tives were trying to solve t
the Bates killing, a 10-year
stabbed in the breast |
10-year-old girl—on a sch
riding still another schoc
year-old girl charged that t
two of them 10 years old,
raped her in the back seat «
physical examination bc
charge.

“It’s crazy,” remarked a |}
tective, preferring anonym
most hopeless.” Gloomy :
fighting to contain his fru
said, “The thing is, you spe)
on the homicide, and may]
up empty. And you get bac
fice, and now there’s anoth
or maybe two or three. Ina
the backlog builds, so your
dozen.” Yet no one gives u|
in the neighborhood of the
ing, Cleveland homicide i
quizzed other tenants. At tl
smallest scrap of informati
helpful. But again, no one
offer.

Was this a randoin killin
wondered. If so, the case we
a limbo that was hopeless '
and run killings, lacking
ness, can be frustratin
investigators.

Plainclothesmen hit the
the neighborhood of the
thers was little static. Bat
wasted, but nobody was ti
it. Yet patience and persi
times reap their own rewé

Bits and bits were slowly
the Cleveland detectives,
formation, if it was valid
light on the investigation.
tectives learned that thi
Winnie Lee Bates marriag


22a tiepeeamaae

wi:

a

_

me - Snaring: Texas’ Killer Quartet

\

[Continued from page 45]

<

Within an hour Porter had recovered

the weapon. To avoid arousing the wait-
ress’ suspicions he told her that he was
checking stolen property. “Then he hur-
ried to headquarters with the gun.

+ ~Littlepage and Amacker looked at Por-

 ter’s find. “That’s the same caliber gun
that killed Forbes!” Littlepage‘exclaimed.
He turned the weapon in his hands, Im-
printed on the stock were the words,
“American Railroad Special.”

“This must be the gun that Agripino
Casillos and his pal had on the murder
night,” Amacker said. “They used an old
trick to put it on ice for a while.”

The detectives lost no time, after the
astounding discovery, in driving to Aus-
tin. At the state crime laboratory they

- turned the pistol over to Gonzaullas.

Gonzaullas fired one’ bullet from the
.38, then compared it with the death slug.
He worked quietly whiJe the detectives
waited. After a short time he said, “This
is the murder gun.: Thfre isn’t a doubt.”

had been recovered.

‘ Back in San Antonje’the detective team
went directly to ingeae where the pistol

rte

HE waitress shook her head at their
* questions. “I can’t tell you who the

man was,” she said. “He left the pistol’

with me because he said he was broke. He
promised to come back and redeem it, and
I’m afraid he’ll be mad when he finds I
let it get away.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Amacker
soothed. “When did he leave it here?”

“T believe it was on the sixteenth,” she
said.

Asked to describe the owner of the
gun, she hesitated. “There were two men
came in together,” she said finally. “The
man who had the gun was tall, real dark
and had a mustache. He smiled and joked
all the time. The other one was a lot
younger and he was a little guy.”

Outside,-the detectives talked it over:
“Unless the killer knows -we’re on his
trail he’ll be back for that gun,” Little-
page reasoned. “The ‘little guy’ could be
either Gallegos or Casillos. But no use
tipping our hand by arresting them. Be-
sides, they won't talk.”

“We'd better keep this place under sur-
veillance,” Amacker decided, “and see
what happens.” ;

Two days passed while they kept watch

on the beer stand but no one came to’

talk” with the waitress about the gun.
Then, late one afternoon, the detectives
saw a man enter and walk directly to the
waitress. The officers tensed as they saw
that the man was small and quite young.
As they watched, the suspect talked out
of the side’of his mouth to the girl, ges-
turing angrily while she continued to
shake her -head. ;
“That’s our man,” Littlepage whis-
pered hoarsely, “but it isn’t the killer.”
When the youth emerged from the tav-

ern and started hurriedly down the street, -

Amacker and Littlepage fell into step
behind him. Block after block they trailed
the man. Finally he headed straight for 2
dry goods store and ducked inside.
_ The officers were astounded. “I be-
lieve your hunch was right,” Amacker
said. “Gallegos is into this up to his ears.
Who else could this ‘man have gone in
there to see?” ‘

They waited in tense silence and after
a few minutes the suspect came out and

headed south. At a discreet distance, the
officers followed.

When the hurrying man at last turned
in at the gate of a tumbledown house on a
crowded street, Amacker gasped. “Isn’t
that the house where Polanco lives?”

Littlepage nodded. “Do you’ suppose
he’s in this after all?” -

Like a flash the real crime picture un-
reeled before the detectives. ‘“Polanco’s

alibi was a phony,” Littlepage snapped...

“He picked the night of the lodge meet-
ing to pull the robbery so his neighbors
would remember that he was at home.
But he slipped out long enough to pull
this job.”

“Gallegos, Casillos and this bird we’ve
been following make up the rest of the
gang,” Amacker added. “Polanco was
afraid he’d be spotted if he went back after
that pistol, so he sent his stooge.”

Grimly the officers followed their
quarry. They knocked at the closed door,
and the youth they had trailed met them
brazenly.

. “What are you doing here?” Amacker
demanded.

“I—I came to see my friend,” was the
stammering reply.

“To tell him you couldn’t find the gun,”
Littlepage supplied. “Polanco is going to
be sore at you about that.”

The tanned face of the youthful sus-
pect suddenly paled. “I don’t know what
you're talking about,” he blurted. “Po-
lanco isn’t here.”

That much was true. Polanco had dis-
appeared. The prisoner, who gave his
name as Daniel Acosta, swore that he did
not know where Polanco had gone. He
denied all knowledge of the bus murder
—until he reached headquarters. Once
inside the jail, his attitude changed. “Po-
lanco will kill me,” he wailed. “He beat
me up once, and he promised he'd do it
again. Besides,” he added quickly, “I
don’t know anything.”

“Maybe I can refresh your memory,”
Littlepage snapped. “You went to that
cafe to get fhe gun that was used to kill
Forbes. You and Polanco ditched it while
the heat was on. When you couldn’t get
it, you went by the store to tell Gallegos
to keep quiet. You rushed over here to
warn Polanco, but he had already beat it.
You’re in a bad spot, Acosta.”

“I guess you're right,” the prisoner
mumbled, “I might as well tell you.”

In a voice charged‘with fear, he de-

tailed the murder of the bus driver. “Po-

lanco got us all together that night,” he
said. -“Gallegos, Casillos and me. We
drove around looking for a bus to hold up,
one that didn’t have any passengers.
When we saw Forbes’ bus coming, we
parked in Elvira alley. Polanco and Casil-
los got on the bus, leaving Gallegos and
me in the car. Polanco had a thirty-eight
and Casillos had a thirty-two automatic.
A few minutes later I heard a shot. Some-
body screamed and they came running
back. Polanco told us he had to shoot a
man and for us to keep our mouths shut.”

Gallegos was arrested as he worked
behind the counter of the dry goods store.
After seeing Acosta’s confession he read-
ily made a statement. He maintained that
he had remained in the automobile and
took no part in the robbery.

While Sergt. P..R. Halloran was tak-
ing down the statements of the two pris-
oners, Littlepage and Amacker were
searching for Polanco,

The hunt occupied the police force
throughout the day. It was 2 a. m. when
Littlepage and Amacker trailed Polanco
to a beer tavern on the west edge of town.

Polanco took his arrest lightly and
never lost his smiling assurance. When
told that Acosta and Gallegos had con-
fessed, he laughed. “Those guys don’t
know what they’re talking about. I tell
you, I was at home that night, attending
a lodge meeting.”

“That was a good alibi, Polanco,” Lit-
tlepage said, “but it fell through. We've
got the gun you used to kill Forbes. We
know it’s yours. You might as well sing.”

Still Polanco remained smilingly de-
fiant. He was quickly identified by the
pawnshop clerk, and by the bartender
who had seen him with the murder
weapon on the fatal night. He smilingly
dismissed this evidence as untrue. :

“We've got an ace in the hole,” Am-
acker said at last. “He thinks he’s safe as
long as it’s only Acosta and Gallegos ‘who
talk. They stayed in the car. They didn’t
actually see the shooting. But wait until
he faces Casillos.”

Agripino Casillos was at work on the
ranch when the detectives arrested him.
At first defiant, he wilted quickly when

told that two of his accomplices had con-.

fessed.

Jesse Polanco’s assurance vanished
when he saw Casillos’ statement admit-
ting his part in the fatal robbery. The
gunman’s last hope of upholding his alibi
was gone.

“T guess you got the goods on me,” he
shrugged. “I shot Forbes. He made a
move backward, and I thought he was
reaching for a gun. So I let him have it.”

“THE four prisoners also signed sworn
statements admitting the holdup rob-
beries of bus drivers on April 18 and 19.

When the confessions were in, the crim-
inal district court of San Antonio. pre-
pared for trial. On Oct. 6, 1936, Agripino
Casillos was sentenced to life imprison-
ment. On the same date, Frank Gallegos

drew a sentence of 20 years in prison. °

Daniel Acosta, 15-year-old pawn of the
others, was ordered confined to the state
juvenile training school in Gatesville un-
til he reaches 21. :

Jesse Polanco, instigator of the plot,
and trigger man of the murderous mob,
also was tried in October, 1936. On the
stand he refuted his own statement, de-
nied knowing the other defendants, or
that he had ever owned a pistol. During
the trial, armed deputies guarded; the
state’s chief witness, youthful Daniel
Acosta, after word reached the court that
Polanco’s friends planned to murder
Acosta if he testified against the de-
fendant. .

In a sensational trial before a packed
courtroom, Polanco at last heard the jury
sentence him to death in the electric chair.

His attorneys immediately appealed.
The case was reversed by _the higher
court and remanded for a new trial.\.In
July, 1937, Polanco again cast his fate
before a jury. Again he heard the grim
pronouncement: “We, the jury, find the
defendant guilty, and assess his punish-
ment at death.”

This time there was no appeal. On
Aug. 19, 1938, Jesse Polanco died for his
crime in the state’s electric chair at
Huntsville.

a os,

T
47121

Now, at 1:
family—all
entire fami
children, g

[ee

29280, N4

Complete with give-away mustache and confident smirk, the
triggerman of the quartet is pictured here manacled and on
his, way to the courtroom. The verdict staggered him.

4

faction to the investigators. A test had
shown that the death bullet had been fired
from a .38 pistol.

“Now,” exclaimed Capt. Hopkins, “we
have something to work on.”

“Right,” agreed Littlepage. “This lets
the deaf mute out, but two men were seen
with a thirty-eight on the night of the
murder, and not far fromthe scene. Looks
like that’s our best bet.”

The bartender could give the defectives
no more information about the gun car-
rier, but he did name several. customers
who had been in the place at the time
the men showed the gun. These custom-
ers were ferreted out, one by one.

After a whole day’s search, however,
Amacker and Littlepage wearily returned
to headquarters with no news. None of
the men questioned had ever seen the
pair with the gun before or since.

“The pawnshops and gun records are
the next best bet,” Hopkins told the de-
tectives. “Hurry it. These bus drivers
are scared and I don’t blame them.”

ANGHHER discouraging day checking
pawnshops seemed as fruitless, as
other leads, until the detectives neared
the end of their list. THen suddenly they
were confronted with unexpected news.

A pawnbroker’s clerk recalled that he
had traded a .38 pistol to a man in ex-
change for a .32, several months before.
The loan company’s records showed that
the purchaser of the .38 was “J. Polanco,”
with no address.

Littlepage reached for a directory. A
dozen Polancos were listed. Littlepage
ran his finger down the page and paused
at the only name with the initial “J.”
“Jesse Polanco,” he read. “Do you sup-
pose that’s our man?”

“T don’t know,” the clerk said. “He
was a stranger to me.”

“Tt’s worth trying,” Amacker decided.

He and Amacker drove determinedly
to the address listed, a house far on the
south side of town. At their knock a tall,
slender man came to the door.. The de-
tectives noted instantly that he was very
dark, and wore a short, clipped mustache.
He greeted them without surprise.

The officers told him the purpose of
the official visit. “I guess there’s some
mistake,” Polanco said. “I never owned
a gun in my life.” He said that he was
a pecan sheller by trade and spent most
of his time at work.

“Where were you on the night of the
fourteenth ?” Amacker asked.

“IT was at home that night. We had
company.”

“What makes you so certain it was that
particular night?” Littlepage cut in.

“Because,” Polanco grinned, “we
have a sort of lodge meeting at our house
every Thursday night. All the heads of
families in the neighborhood meet and
discuss the community welfare. When
any of the neighbors get sick, we make:
up a pot of money for them.”

Littlepage and Amacker were not con-

44

vinced. They searched the house, but
found no incriminating evidence. When
Polanco’s sister and several neighbors
corroborated his story of the lodge meet-
ing, the detectives dismissed him. “I
guess that lets Polanco out,” Amacker
said. “We've got to start all over
again.”

The case had completely bogged down.
Every clue to the strange midnight crime
had faded. As days passed and no new
evidence was unearthed, the press
screamed for action. Calls were received
hourly by the police from citizens who
demanded or begged for action. It was
not safe riding the busses late at night,
citizens complained. No one knew this
better than the police, and their efforts
were redoubled.

Tirelessly the chief of detectives di-
rected his operatives engaged in comb-
ing the town. for clues. Amacker and
Littlepage kept watch on the beer parlor
where the two mysterious gun owners had
appeared. “It looks like our only chance,”
the chief agreed.

They had kept watch on the place for
days without result, when late one night
Amacker was surprised to see a strange
face behind the bar. The day bartender
had just gone off duty. Amacker ques-
tioned the new man.

“This is my regular shift,” explained
the bartender, “but I’ve been off for a
few days.”

“Were you on duty the night of the
fourteenth ?” Amacker asked.

TT

“Yes. That was the last night I worked
before I laid off.”

Thoroughly interested now, Amacker
asked, “Did you see a man brandishing a
thirty-eight pistol in here that night?”

“Sure did. I was just coming on duty
when the day man told the guy to put the
gun away.”

“Did you know him?”

“No, but I knew the man with him,
Agripino Casillos. He works for a friend
of mine on a ranch about eighteen miles
from town.”

“Do you know any of Casillos’
friends?”

“Oh, he comes in with different crowds.
Frank Gallegos is with him pretty often.
He'works in a dry goods store.”

A MACE rushed to the telephone
and called Littlepage, who was off
duty. ‘‘We’re getting some place now,” he
announced. ‘Meet me here in ten minutes.
If I’m right, we’ve struck a hot trail.”

The officers wasted no time in getting
to the ranch designated by the bartender.
“He’s over in the hill country today,
gathering up some cattle,” the ranch man-
ager said. ““He won't be in for a couple
of days.”

Disappointed, the detectives searched
Casillos’ room. The search turned up a
.32 automatic pistol, and nothing else.
“That’s not the murder weapon, but it
makes it look bad for Casillos,’”” Amacker
remarked.

STARTLING

The ranch m:
tify police if tl
suspicious move
“Tl keep an ey
ised. “He hasn
the ranch unle
town.”

Amacker an
back to San A
Gallegos at wo
store. Instantly
legos did not f
the gunman. |]
something.

Gallegos was
tioning, and cla
ing about the b
know Casillos,”
I wasn’t with hi:
fourteenth and |

“You'll have t
him.

Gallegos outli
the murder nig!
work.

“If his alibi h
another water h:
bled as the two
turned to head

“T believe he

DETECTIVE


; the last night I worked

terested now, Amacker
see a man brandishing a
1 in here that night?”
vas just coming on duty
n told the guy to put the

v him?”

iew the man with him,
3. He works for a friend
ich about eighteen miles

iow any of Casillos’

in with different crowds.
is with him pretty often.
ry goods store.”

-ushed to the telephone
Littlepage, who was off
‘ting some place now,” he
et me here in ten minutes.
ve struck a hot trail.”

vasted no time in getting
ignated by the bartender.
the hill country today.
ne cattle,” the ranch man-
won't be in for a couple

the detectives searched
The search turned up a
pistol, and nothing else.
> murder weapon, but it
id for Casillos,” Amacker

STARTLING

The ranch manager agreed to no-
tify police if the suspect made any
suspicious moves or attempted flight.
“I'll keep an eye on him,” he prom-
ised. “He hasn’t any way to leave
the ranch unless I take him into
town.”

Amacker and Littlepage drove
back to San Antonio. They found
Gallegos at work in the dry goods
store. Instantly they saw that Gal-
legos did not fit the description of
the gunman. But he might know
something.

Gallegos was calm under ques-
tioning, and claimed to know noth-
ing about the bus murder. “Sure, I
know Casillos,” he said easily, “but
I wasn’t with him on the night of the
fourteenth and I can prove it.”

“You'll have to,” Amacker warned
him.

Gallegos outlined his activities on
the murder night, and went back to
work.

“If his alibi holds up, we’ve made
another water haul,” Amacker grum-
bled as the two officers wearily re-
turned to headquarters.

“I believe he’s lying,’ Littlepage

DETECTIVE

said. “But he’s got tfat alibi fixed. We
haven’t a thing on him.”

“If we could only trace that gun,” Am- §
acker sighed.
As if the detective’s words were pro- i

phetic, a clue was abruptly revealed in
another part of town.

In making his regular rounds, Juvenile a
Officer Andres Porter encountered a | ;
youth who seemed suspiciously nervous. i
Porter questioned him closely. “Mr. Por- 1

ter,” the young man finally confessed,
“I’m worried. My sister has a gun and
I can’t get it away from her.”

The astonished juvenile officer listened
to the story. The girl, a waitress in a
beer tavern, had taken a pistol as pay-
ment for 50 cents worth of beer, and was t
holding it for the owner. hi

“Why does that scare you?” Porter f
asked the brother. }

“I didn’t like the man’s looks who gave Hh
it to her. And I’m afraid she'll get into if
trouble.” he

[Continued on page 82] i

The mob leader was arrested at his home,
above left, after determined sleuthing had
proved that the .38 revolver, left, was the
murder weapon and that he had used it.

Pe, M. T. ‘Gonzaullas; ‘holdi photograph, _,

: was he state ballistics expert td tied rae ;

'.38 in with the crime, Stan is Assist-
-ant District Attorney Paul Kilday.

, soe tease 45

ln,
AE

«