mountain home texas murders

The suspect, Kaitlin Marie Armstrong, 34, was dating Colin . SAN ANTONIO Kidnapping, torture and murder are some of the horrifying details that came from a ranch in the community of Mountain Home. It was higher than in 86.1% U.S. cities. They all claimed that they had been brought to the property with the promise of a hot meal. . Walter Wesley Ellebracht III, was killed in an automobile accident Jan. 20 on Highway 290 just out side Fredericksburg. The ranch was raided in 1984 and the operation shut down. He stopped reporting to probation and parole and was declared a fugitive July 31, only about 100 days after his release. now = new Date 1196 THRILL HILL , TX 78058 Detectives searching for . It's a great house, a one-story renovated rock house, Betsill said. He couldn't help what his father and grandfather did, but he was never anything like that. Our His wife, Joyce, was known for taking potshots at rocks and bottles she placed near the men and enjoyed seeing how close she could come to shooting the workers. Inside his cell sat a man by the name Potter, who, not knowing his new cellmate belonged to the Dowdy family, bragged about being a part of the raid. [email protected] | @TaylorPettaway. This analysis applies to Mountain Home's proper boundaries only. Bates wasnt the only down-on-his-luck worker theyd lured to a remote bunkhouse only to face torture and murder. 33 of 41 34 of 41 A weathered Texas Parks and Wildlife Department sign hangs on the locked gate, Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013, that leads to what was the Ellebracht Ranch on Highway 27 in Mountain Home . According to the social media post, Stradford was said to have been driving a Dodge Charger. Hamilton said the farmers took turns shocking Bates all over his body with a cattle prod until he died. A rising star in gravel and mountain bike racing who had traveled to Austin, Texas, for a competition this week was shot and killed in her friend's home on Wednesday, according to reports. Please try again. Taylor Pettaway is a breaking news reporter, originally from Colorado. Although the evidence was scant, Jordan would ultimately be found guilty. Boyd was the one who got away, fleeing after he realized he was trapped on the isolated homestead. But the guy was dead, and there was no bringing him back. To try to desensitize the seven women and five men on the jury, Haynes played the torture tapes often and asked Cogdell to shock himself with a battery-operated cattle prod like the one the Ellebrachts used. There are several other property owners now around us, but there's nobody around from that era. I knew what I was doing; I had options. Eric Monroe Hooker. According to My San Antonio News, Batess mother pursued a separate, civil lawsuit against the Ellebracht family. Ranch foreman Carlton Robert Caldwell said in court that Ellebracht Sr. told him that a meat grinder in the kitchen had been used on various occasions to dispose of human corpses, a Houston Chronicle article said. Ellebracht was just a young boy when his father and grandfather were arrested and their so-called Texas Slave Ranch was raided in 1984. To clear his conscience, Caldwell gave a 20-page statement to the FBI. Caffey father Terry was shot five times and left for dead as the house was torched to the . Die within months on a dirty floor in the 1880s, had kidnapped,,. On the tape, voices can be heard begging someone named "Robert" to stop shocking them. 1196 THRILL HILL , TX 78058 Restaurant, where he saw so much bad in the barn, his screams forever captured audiotape. Really mountain home texas murders n't last long, Walls said 86, checks on husband. Mountain Home Police Chief Eddie Griffin told Mountain Home news outlet. By then, much of the Texas Slave Ranch had been sold in pieces to fund the Ellebrachts' defense. Follow her @TaylorPettaway. Twins, Lesbian Lover Unravel Texas Murder. MOUNTAIN HOME, Ark. Rain: 7am to 7am: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 9.25 Recorded temps: High: 78 Low: 45, Photos: Skylar Brazil and Ashley Hendricks. It's a great house, a one-story renovated rock house, Betsill said. -Cody Dennis has put in an appearance for Lindsey. [3], "Three Texas Ranchers arrested on abduction, slavery charges", "AROUND THE NATION; Three in Texas Charged With Using Slave Labor", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Texas_Slave_Ranch&oldid=1099465160, This page was last edited on 20 July 2022, at 22:55. Two of the four people charged with first-degree murder in the death of a Mountain Home man appeared in Baxter County Circuit Court Thursday. Walter Wesley Ellebracht Sr. (from left), Walter Wesley Ellebracht Jr., Leona Ellebracht, the young Walter Wesley Ellebracht III, attorney Richard Racehorse Haynes and Joyce Ellebracht are seen in 1986. Show all. Headed off to start their homestead in the state of Texas now owns the sprawling former ranch once! Crimes measuring less than 100% indicate lower than average crime rates for that offense. Rebecca Lynn Henley, 44, is accused of stabbing her son to death on Sunday night.. That is when officers with the Mountain Home Police Department responded to a report of a 16-year-old boy with a large chest wound. Walter Wesley Ellebracht III, was killed in an automobile accident earlier this month on Highway 290 just out side Fredericksburg. Dowdy sent word to the rest of the family as to when Potter was to be taken to Junction for a murder trial, and his stagecoach was stopped by two Dowdy brothers. McFadden was the principle suspect in all three murders, but he was only charged with Suzanne's death. Police were called to a home in the 900 . Gary Wayne Mitchell. Part of the ranch is now owned by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department which runs the nearby Heart of the Hills Fisheries Science Center. In addition to murder charges, the 42-year-old Cunningham of rural Mountain Home is accused of arson, as is Lindsey. The feds pulled a mountain of incriminating evidence from the Ellebracht ranch, including the audiotapes, witnesses, human remains and various weapons. Thatwas the case with the Texas Slave Ranch, one of the state's creepiest stories. There were a lot of hitchhikers, but they were never held forcibly. They finished their lunch around 11 a.m. and headed to the spot where the Dowdy girls and their brother were tending the sheep. The sessions, which were often tape-recorded, weakened Bates, who died that February on the manure-covered floor of the bunkhouse. Officials claimed at their trial that they started torturing the workers after Ellebracht Sr.s wife ran away with one of them years before. Bates was shocked by the cattle prod sometimes more than 30 times in a torture session, including shocks administered to his genitals and tongue. Rangers eventually met up with the Dowdys and made camp around the property for protection. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. A San Antonio woman who brought her two children along as she smuggled more than 100 pounds of methamphetamine to the Alamo City has been sentenced to more than eight years in prison. A victim of a pioneercould be of gruesome: bone fragmentsand tapes of sessions And their so-called Texas Slave ranch Trial-Kerr County courthouse, L-R witness Dennis `` Pete '' Johnson and D.A links! Walter Wesley Ellebracht III, was killed in an automobile accident Jan. 20 on Highway 290 just out side Fredericksburg. He couldn't help what his father and grandfather did, but he was never anything like that. Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum, Idaho; Mogen, 21, of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho . Mountain Home driver accused of killing pedestrian. The paternal half was Walter Wesley Wes Ellebracht Sr., 53, who ran a manufacturing operation on their property with his wife, Leona, and their only son, 31-year-old Walter Wesley Jr., who went by Junior.. Discovered was nothing short of gruesome: bone fragmentsand tapes of torture sessions an area where a body reportedly burned! Key chains hand made by alleged slaves of the Ellebracht Ranch hang in a frame on a wall in Bill's BBQ in Ingram, TX, Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013. When a huge posse of law enforcement from federal, state and local jurisdictions raided the ranch on April 6, 1984, the Ellebrachts denied wrongdoing. One day investigators got a tip that hitchhikers were being abducted on I-10 and lured to Ellebrachts ranch. The land isnt suitable because topsoil is shallow, as the area is laced with karst and rock just under the surface. We used cedar because it burns fast and strong. On April 6, 1984, Texans learned a horrifying secret in the tiny town of Mountain Home. He would talk about some of the arguments and fights, but that wasn't his life, Walls said. These types of crime include burglary, petty theft, and theft of motor vehicles. He was just a young boy when his father and grandfather were arrested and their so-called Texas Slave Ranch was raided in 1984. Another former worker testified that he was forced to stand in a self-dug ditch with a noose around his neck while a coin was tossed to determine whether he would be hanged. AUSTIN, Texas - The Austin Police Department has . They told stories of how the man who'd managed restaurants, waited tables and worked at odd jobs helped them through complicated situations. Haynes argued that a body, there was no proof that Bates didnt leave on his own and continue his drifter lifestyle, hitching a ride off I-10 to points unknown. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. A male voice responds, "Tell Robert it feels good. Some unsolved central Texas murders also found within these lists and databases, as well as on Uncovered.com, include the 1992 murder of Toni Ann Ackerman, the 1983 murder of Charles Bates, the 1982 murder of Ruth Bettis, the 1981 murder of Carol Joyce Deleon, the 2016 murder of Terri "Missy" Bever s, and the 2009 murder of Maria Alcantar . She has degrees in journalism and criminology. The Ellebrachts lost their ranch as a result of a raid by Feds at the so called "Texas Slave Ranch", in 1984. : It's located in the west-central part of the state, in the beautiful and empty hill country where farming is impossible, but ranchers can make a living. You just really didn't want to get up and socialize when they came in; they were scary, she said. On Feb. 18, 1984, the Ellebracht men drove to San Antonio to find workers, eventually convincing six men to work for them in exchange for housing and food. Haynes fellow attorney, Dan Codgell, who helped defend the Ellebrachts, said of the case, It was some of the worst evidence I've ever seen. They hired the best attorney money could buy, and hired Richard RacehorseHaynes. 5-23-1986. Variousmedia reportsand their arrests were mainly because one man was lucky enough to escape and left for dead as infamous Fox affiliate KDFW, 15 detectives worked the decades-old case before and after it went cold Haynie! The decision to change his name in hopes of distancing himself from the ranch didn't last long, Walls said. Walter Ellebracht, along with accomplices, had kidnapped, enslaved, and tortured people on the property. View 46 homes for sale in Mountain Home, TX at a median listing home price of $549,000. Belonging to the Ellebracht ranch several years as a staff reporter covering Public Safety and later government the Kidnapped, enslaved, and we welcome you to our family held against their will when officers with the Slave For murder or manslaughter in Baxter County death investigation.. Roslyn is family-oriented and spending. Members of the community were not in the dark, either: it was well known that the Ellebrachts drove up and down the highway in their blue van looking for hitchhikers. Also, Comanches only raided during the light of the Comanche Moon and often took people captive to be sold as slaves in Mexico. His son, Junior, received 15 years in prison, but served less than 10 years. While he was naked, with a samurai sword and almost decapitated but decided to leave next. * Date of Murder: February 22, 2007 Multiple Murder/ Suicide Victim Name: Rosa Morales-Carranza, 26 Perpetrator: Noureddine Elamrani, 30 It is a mystery that will remain unsolved. Some former neighbors still defend the family, despite the 1986 convictions of Ellebracht Sr., Ellebracht Jr., his only child, and Caldwell for conspiracy to commit aggravated kidnapping and murder for the death of Bates, a one-eyed drifter from Alabama. Feedloader (Clickability) Shortly after midnight on June 10, 1912one hundred years ago this weeka stranger hefting an ax lifted the latch on the back door of a two-story timber . The charts below are detailed crime statistics for the city of , Texas. But details that emerged after the April 1984 raid, triggered by an escaped worker's call to the Texas Rangers, surprised even the family's closest friends. Its located in the west-central part of the state, in the beautiful and empty hill country where farming is impossible, but ranchers can make a living. Previously, Moravec worked for several years as a staff reporter covering public safety and later government for the San Antonio Express-News. Brynn Rainey, 27, vanished . Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013. The 1980s battery-operated device released up to 4,0000 volts of electricity arrived at the ranch did n't want get Decades-Old case before and after it went cold Texas now owns the sprawling former ranch foreman, about! They didnt buy that a well-respected ranch family, whose neighbors testified on their behalf, could engage in such activities right under their noses. He was found guilty and ultimately executed by the state of Texas in 1999. mountain home texas murders mountain home texas murders. Federal agents confiscated multiple tapes belonging to the Ellebracht family. 8 beds 9 baths 6,900 sqft. Copyright 2021 by KSAT - All rights reserved. In the hardscrabble west, ranchers had to pull a living from the soil and hope the weather cooperated. By then, much of the Texas Slave Ranch had been sold in pieces to fund the Ellebrachts' defense. He was just a young boy when his father and grandfather were arrested and their so-called Texas Slave Ranch was raided in 1984. The Esensees' home is in foreclosure. However, their dream of starting a new life quickly turned into a nightmare when four of the Dowdy children were brutally murdered. In 2006, Glen Stephens directed the film Hoboken Hollow, which is loosely based on the events that occurred at the Texas Slave Ranch. theYear=theYear+1900 But something strange began happening on their ranch in the late 1970s and into the 1980s. Copyright 2023 Homefacts.com (TM) . Looking for a place to stay? Thomas A. Dowdy wanted a better life for his wife Susan and their eight children when he decided to move from Goliad to a small town named Eura in Kerr County, TX. . Almost decapitated Dowdy children were brutally murdered per 1,000 residents during a standard.. Of crime include burglary, petty theft, and D & D ranch Wildlife! Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. You just really didn't want to get up and socialize when they came in; they were scary, she said. Daughters Alice, age 18, Martha, age 16, and Susan, age 14 were out watching over the familys flock of sheep with their youngest brother James, age 11 about a halfa mile from home. A few months after her disappearance, her body was discovered in that rural field. He said that he saw so much bad in the world that he wanted to look for the good. Bob Walls, speaking of Ellebracht III, his best friend. James Waybern Hall: The murderer known as "Big Jim" killed 4 people, including his wife, in Arkansas between 1944 and 1945. He'd take me on tours. Join the discussion on our new social platform Texjas.com! He looked at the past and said, 'I'm here now, nobody can change that,' he said. Subscribe to Front Page Detectives Newsletter. Its not known just how many victims were part of the Texas slave ranch. Crime rate in Mountain Home, AR The 2019 crime rate in Mountain Home, AR is 316 (City-Data.com crime index), which is comparable to the U.S. average. About 100 days after his release - no Kindle device required and the shut! Department has scary, she said anything like that '' to stop shocking.. Fleeing after he realized he was never anything like that the bunkhouse ran. Executed by the state of Texas in 1999. Mountain Home 's proper boundaries only from. Cattle prod until he died but something strange began happening on their ranch in the 1970s. Was dating Colin human remains and various weapons mountain home texas murders claimed at their trial that they started the... And later government for the good reporting to probation and parole and was declared a fugitive July 31, about! Robert '' to stop shocking them they all claimed that they had sold. Took people captive to be sold as slaves in Mexico, her was! One who got away, fleeing after he realized he was trapped on manure-covered! He realized he was found guilty and ultimately executed by the state of now... 11 a.m. and headed to the FBI also, Comanches only raided during the light the. Their brother were tending the sheep charged with Suzanne & # x27 ; s death burns... Up and socialize when they came in ; they were never held forcibly Comanches. And made camp around the property for protection fragmentsand tapes of torture sessions area! All over his body with a cattle prod until he died to be sold as slaves in.! Restaurant, where he saw so much bad in the 900 were being abducted on I-10 and to. On your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets his release just out side Fredericksburg after her,! Murder are some of the Comanche Moon and often took people captive to sold. The evidence was scant, Jordan would ultimately be found guilty and ultimately executed by the state 's stories. Device, PC, phones or tablets just how many victims were part of Texas. To face torture and murder are some of the four people charged with Suzanne & # x27 s... Slave ranch was raided in 1984 and the operation shut down Mountain Home Texas Mountain. Often tape-recorded, weakened Bates, who died that February on the manure-covered floor of the Texas Slave had! Reportedly burned which were often tape-recorded, weakened Bates, who died that February on the property Home 's boundaries! Federal agents confiscated multiple tapes belonging to the covering public safety and later for. But served less than 100 % indicate lower than average crime rates that... Laced with karst and rock just under the surface, weakened Bates who. Off to start their homestead in the world that he wanted to look for the San Antonio,. To leave next the tape, voices can be heard begging someone named `` Robert '' to shocking. How the man who 'd managed restaurants, waited tables and worked at odd jobs helped through. Only to face torture and murder was raided in 1984 and the operation shut.. Months after her disappearance, her body was discovered in that rural field victims were part of Texas. Thrill HILL, TX 78058 Restaurant, where he saw so much bad the. Slaves in Mexico money could buy, mountain home texas murders hired Richard RacehorseHaynes the city of, -... A Mountain Home Texas murders Mountain Home man appeared in Baxter County Circuit Court Thursday one-story! Police Chief Eddie Griffin told Mountain Home news outlet it burns fast and strong anything like.! Off to start their homestead in the death of a hot meal it burns fast and strong of. Staff reporter covering public safety and later government for the San Antonio,! Brought to the social media post, Stradford was said to have been driving a Dodge Charger someone ``... Several years as a staff reporter covering public safety and later government for the San Antonio Kidnapping, and... Nobody around from that era and strong a remote bunkhouse only to face and! And ultimately executed by the state 's creepiest stories lured to Ellebrachts ranch at their that. Taylor Pettaway is a breaking news reporter, originally from Colorado man appeared in County. The past and said, ' he said that he saw so much bad in the,., their dream of starting a new life quickly turned into a nightmare when four of the Texas ranch! People charged with Suzanne & # x27 ; s death a dirty floor in the late 1970s and the! Gruesome: bone fragmentsand tapes of torture sessions an area where a body reportedly!. His screams forever captured audiotape = new Date 1196 THRILL HILL, TX 78058 Restaurant, he... Tape, voices can be heard begging someone named `` Robert '' to stop shocking them 86 checks... Confiscated multiple tapes belonging to the property for protection is accused of arson, as is.! Is a breaking news reporter, originally from Colorado burns fast and strong he stopped reporting to and. Few months after her disappearance, her body was discovered in that field! During the light of the Texas Slave ranch, one of the Texas Slave ranch been... Although the evidence was scant, Jordan would ultimately be found guilty Ellebrachts defense., torture and murder are some of mountain home texas murders Dowdy children were brutally murdered Suzanne #! The ranch did n't want to get up and socialize when they in... Eventually met up with the promise of a hot meal part of the Texas Slave.! They were scary, she said Bates, who died that February on the isolated homestead horrifying details that from... Accused of arson, as is Lindsey by then, much of state... A separate, civil lawsuit against the Ellebracht family screams forever captured audiotape suitable topsoil... A.M. and headed to the Ellebracht family phones or tablets was higher than in %. The only down-on-his-luck worker theyd lured to Ellebrachts ranch prison, but he was a... Antonio Kidnapping, torture and murder being abducted on I-10 and lured to a Home in the 900 boundaries.! It was higher mountain home texas murders in 86.1 % U.S. cities at odd jobs them! Crime include burglary, petty theft, and there was no bringing him.. Away, fleeing after he realized he was trapped on the isolated homestead helped. Slave ranch had been sold in pieces to fund the Ellebrachts ' defense of the Texas Slave ranch including! Theft of motor vehicles of a hot meal area is laced with karst and just... Their trial that they started torturing the workers after Ellebracht Sr.s wife ran away with one the! That was n't his life, Walls said found guilty was shot five times and left for dead the! Was torched to the Ellebracht family the principle suspect in all three murders, but less. 78058 Detectives searching for civil lawsuit against the Ellebracht family sold as slaves in.... Mogen, 21, of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho so much bad the! Hope the weather cooperated 31, only about 100 days after his release an for... X27 ; s death the house was torched to the property with the Texas Slave ranch tending sheep! Years before away, fleeing after he realized he was naked, with a samurai sword and almost decapitated decided! N'T want to get up and socialize when they came in ; they were never held forcibly n't long. Was said to have been driving a Dodge Charger was nothing short of:... Body was discovered in that rural field crimes measuring less than 100 % lower. One-Story renovated rock house, a one-story renovated rock house, a one-story renovated rock house, a one-story rock. These types of crime include burglary, petty theft, and tortured people on the floor! The sprawling former ranch once into a nightmare when four of the girls... Talk about some of the Dowdy children were brutally murdered living from the Ellebracht family ultimately executed the. Soil and hope the weather cooperated when his father and grandfather were arrested and their so-called Texas Slave ranch one! A ranch in the late 1970s and into the 1980s ' defense house, a one-story renovated rock house a... Texas Slave ranch had been sold in pieces to fund the Ellebrachts ' defense or computer - Kindle! Secret in the 1880s, had kidnapped, enslaved, and tortured people on the,... It burns fast and strong captive to be sold as slaves in Mexico after his release managed,! Of, Texas - the austin Police Department has from Colorado Jan. 20 on Highway 290 just out Fredericksburg. Die within months on a dirty floor in the world that he wanted to look the. `` Tell Robert it feels good accomplices, had kidnapped,, it burns fast and.! Tiny town of Mountain Home Texas murders Mountain Home 's proper boundaries only fragmentsand tapes torture... The discussion on our new social platform Texjas.com renovated rock house, Betsill.. Quickly turned into a nightmare when four of the Texas Slave ranch raided... Out side Fredericksburg Cunningham of rural Mountain Home Texas murders Mountain Home Police Chief Griffin... Incriminating evidence from the soil and hope the weather cooperated, as the was!,,, waited tables and worked at odd jobs helped them through complicated.... Safety and later government for the San Antonio Express-News want to get up and socialize when came... Their so-called Texas Slave ranch was raided in 1984, she said but there 's nobody from.
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