History – Crime Behind the Pine Curtain

Robbery spree ends with arrests

ByValerie Reddell October 10, 2019 0 Comments

March 10, 1978, a pair of bank robbers kidnapped John A. Gaylord, above left, hostage at his home and forced him to go to the bank and take money from the vault. FBI agents eventually arrested Mickey Clark at a Houston motel. He was charged with kidnapping and bank robbery, as well as several earlier robberies in Livingston. Raymond Herman Hicks of Galveston was arrested and charged with...

33 Who killed Billy Mac Fleming?

ByValerie Reddell September 25, 2019 0 Comments

Billy Mac FlemingBilly Mac Fleming was a teacher/coach at Hull-Daisetta school district until his disappearance on April 12, 1985. Dick DeGuerin, left, and Hurley Fontenot, are swarmed by reporters after a Polk County jury found Fontenot not guilty in 1986. John Martin, the 2nd 9th District Judge, holds up his hands in mock surrender when confronted by reporters. Hurley Fontenot Opinions...

30 Livingston burns

ByValerie Reddell August 20, 2019 0 Comments

Downtown Livingston circa 1902. The courthouse is shown on the left behind the drug store. Ben Lewis photo A battle between prohibitionists and imbibers led to the fiery destruction of downtown Livingston in 1902. Residents rallied to keep commerce going and rebuild the small railroad town.

Crime Behind the Pine Curtain

‘Drag Queen’ gets life for murder of girlfriend

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‘Drag Queen’ gets life for murder of girlfriend

Apr 14, 2019 • 36:11

By Valerie Reddell Dramatization written by Tim Martin The year was late 1984 or early 1985. It was evening and Brandi West, a well know female impersonator was performing at one of the many night clubs in the Montrose area of Houston that catered to the gay community. That same…
Lillian Knox Part 1

Apr 8, 2019 • 49:11

Humanitarian or Murderer? An 85-year-old murder that still hangs unsolved in East Texas. In 1922, Lillian Marshall Knox ran one of the largest East Texas Lumber companies of the time that she was basically famous for. Mrs. Knox died in 1966 with several tragedies attached to her name such as…
14 Murder of Ray Howell

Apr 14, 2019 • 32:17

On On Oct. 5, 2010, a Texas Forest Service aircraft spotted a fire off FM 2500 and dispatched firefighters. Arriving crews found a burning car with a deceased person inside. Once the fire was out, investigators started down a path that led them into a incomprehensible story of a man…
1 The Duct Tape Murder

Apr 14, 2019 • 38:12

Editor’s note: This article includes details of a violent crime and is not intended for young or sensitive readers. Murder victim found floating in lake, wrapped in duct tape By Valerie Reddell When officials found a body floating in a boat stall at Summerlin’s Marina on Kickapoo Creek on June…
3 Surviving Murder

Apr 14, 2019 • 1:18:53

On Oct. 25, 1979, Pamela Moseley Carpenter was sexually assaulted and murdered in Livingston, Texas. It was a day that changed her entire community and begin a journey through the criminal justice system that would last until 2008.
2 Drag Queen Murder

Apr 14, 2019 • 36:11
5 Never Forgotton

Apr 14, 2019 • 45:00

Colleagues determined to find Harris County deputy’s killer after 45 years After serving as a Polk County Deputy for several years, Edd Williams earned a job with the Harris County Sheriff’s Department. Just a few months later, he was shot dead while working an extra job.
6. Shot to Pieces

Apr 14, 2019 •
4 The Shootist

Apr 14, 2019 • 50:56
7. This isn't self-inflicted

Apr 14, 2019 • 1:05:07

Sanders gets 75 years for wife’s murder LIVINGSTON — After hearing two days of testimony about how Del Ray Sanders, 50, spent Valentine’s weekend in 2009 repeatedly beating his wife, even after she was dead, a Polk County sentenced the 50-year-old Holiday Lakes resident to life in prison. A month…