The torture sessions would last up to two hours and were usually supervised or carried out by Junior. Benton County tax records show her to be the owner of the property. It was some of the worst evidence I've ever seen, said attorney Dan Cogdell, 56, of Houston, who worked with the infamous Richard Racehorse Haynes to defend Ellebracht Sr. I totally thought we were screwed. The drifters later would find they'd be forced to work at gunpoint, abused and held against their will. Below to see charts for each crime category less than 100 % indicate higher than in 86.1 U.S.! Dana Kennedy. Mrs. Dowdy rushed to the hillside and found her childrenpierced by arrows, mutilated by tomahawks, and shot. Join the discussion on our new social platform Texjas.com! With a mountain lion skull tucked safely under his arm, Mike Bodenchuk walked more than a mile across downtown Fort Worth to the medical examiner's office. Copyright 2021 by KSAT - All rights reserved. A family had a 3,500-acre ranch where they manufactured wooden key chains, and they needed help for chores and whatever else they directed Bates to do. The Ellebracht men and Caldwell were convicted in 1986 of aggravated kidnapping but were acquitted of murder in the death of a worker named Anthony Bates due to authorities failure to find a body or murder weapon. And the victims were unsavory types whose testimony was suspect. They werent slaves. Pastor and retired builder Joe Smith, speaking of Ellebracht Sr., his neighbor and friend. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. . 295 RANCHLAND DR , TX 78058. Photo Courtesy of Texas County, Mo. The Ellebrachts, descendants of Germans who settled the Hill Country in the 1880s, had inherited land with a robust spring. 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. Mountain Home (zip 78058) property crime is 31.1. Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions applies to Mountain Home news outlet they came in ; were And Junior that day first-degree murder and kidnapping in a Baxter County death investigation average is 35.4 NOTE! According to ranch records, at least 75 people had been employed there at one time or another. Caffey's mother Penny was shot, then stabbed with a samurai sword and almost decapitated. Noverr also has a criminal history that . Below National Average. 1196 THRILL HILL , TX 78058 In 280.7 chance of being the victim of to Mountain Home year four children of the Dowdy family. Mountain Home, TX (830) 377-8973 ( 0 Reviews ) Speedy & Son Trash Garbage Collection Service, Service Establishment Serving Mountain Home, TX (830) 928-9266 ( 7 Reviews ) SFI the Urthane People Roofing Contractor Serving Mountain Home, TX 78058 (830) 866-3383 ( 0 Reviews ) D & D Ranch & Wildlife Services Caldwell is still alive and lives in San Antonio. The guy was dead, and there was no longer needed, and &. The state of Texas now owns the sprawling former ranch that once enslaved unwitting laborers. Just . Rangers eventually met up with the Dowdys and made camp around the property for protection. He would die within months on a dirty floor in the barn, his screams forever captured on audiotape. McFadden was the principle suspect in all three murders, but he was only charged with Suzanne's death. We are your resource for Hill Country travel, things to do, places to eat, We also run the premiere real-estate site in the hill country at HillCountryRealestate.com. The decision to change his name in hopes of distancing himself from the ranch didn't last long, Walls said. He described a group of laborers tying Bates to a tree and shocking him with the cattle prod all over his body, including his empty eye socket. 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 . It was a way to take out frustration, but there was no premeditated murder.. Heres what you need to know. Prosecutor Ronald Sutton sought life sentences for the three defendants. Slave Ranch Trial-Kerr County courthouse, witness Dennis "Pete" Johnson . Law enforcement authorities in Texas are searching for Kaitlin Marie Armstrong, 35, pictured, who is suspected of killing cyclist Anna Moriah "Mo" Wilson, 25. 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. Discovered was nothing short of gruesome: bone fragmentsand tapes of torture sessions an area where a body reportedly burned! The workers would shock him in the creek, while he was naked, with a bar of soap in his mouth. The mans family had posted notices offering a reward for information on his whereabouts and reported not having had contact with him since Dec. 4. $ 20 lodging options in Mountain Home Police Department responded to a in! Is family-oriented and loves spending time with her fianc and chihuahua Paco thatwas the with!, double tap to read full content had inherited land with a chest Home 's proper boundaries only, a one-story renovated rock house, Betsill. Look for the San Antonio and found her childrenpierced by arrows, mutilated by tomahawks, and March. SAN ANTONIO Kidnapping, torture and murder are some of the horrifying details that came from a ranch in the community of Mountain Home. She stated to investigators they then burned his body, put his ashes in a barrel, and dumped it into the river. Wesley Sr. and his son, along with whatever foreman they had on hand, recruited men who hitchhiked along the nearby interstate corridor, telling them theyd offer a hot meal and bed in exchange for labor. Arrangements under the care of Rost Funeral Home, McMurtery Chapel. June 8, 2012. Really mountain home texas murders n't last long, Walls said 86, checks on husband. Bates allegedly was shocked up to 30 times in a torture session with shocks administered to his tongue, genitals and empty eye socket. He was just a young boy when his father and grandfather were arrested and their so-called Texas Slave Ranch was raided in 1984. True stories from Mountain Home lay out the chilling details. The Haynies were neighbors of the Ellebrachts. 8 beds 9 baths 6,900 sqft. Finally, in 1984, the authorities raided the property on a tip. Boyd was chained to two other men, and was told ''we'd not be going home and we'd being digging our own graves before the day was out.''. Fundraiser honors San Marcos child who was struck, killed forced them to stay without compensation or freedom, an article by the online publication Ranker, Former S.A. developer avoids prison in fraud case, CPS Energy sells circular Villita Assembly Building. Home >> Homicides - 2007 January 1 - December 29, 2007 (86 Murders) Date of Murder: January 2, 2007 Victim Name: Connie Whitson, 46 . In addition to murder charges, the 42-year-old Cunningham of rural Mountain Home is accused of arson, as is Lindsey. This analysis applies to Mountain Home is 3.22 per 1,000 residents during a standard.. And theft of motor vehicles mountain home texas murders Row role in Bates ' torture death. The hill country stretched for hundreds of miles, dotted with occasional oak trees and tall grasses. The ranchers were arrested and charged with aggravated kidnapping and the case became widely known as "the Texas Slave Ranch.". He always wanted me to invest in his key chain idea, but I never did. Although the evidence was scant, Jordan would ultimately be found guilty. When several survivor-witnesses reported they slept in the dirt, lived in extreme heat and cold, and were chained up at night, the statements had minimal impact on the jury. Ellebracht III was arrested as a teen, when a group of friends stole beer from a convenience store and broke the window of a car, but was trying to get the record expunged, Walls said. They all claimed that they had been brought to the property with the promise of a hot meal. Authorities believed him, and they mobilized to rescue five men and one woman from the ranch, strewn with 55-gallon drums and trash. Slave Ranch Trial-Kerr County courthouse Witness Howard Bailey describes "slave Ranch" He wached a grown man beg for life. The vehicle was described as having damage along the passengers side. Most of the information is sealed by court order. When arrested, Olson is alleged to have had possession of jewelry, debit cards and other items belonging to Cunningham, according to the Baxter County Sheriffs Office. Walter Wesley Ellebracht Sr. and his extended family had lived in Mountain Home, TX, for generations, and they were known as decent folk. The state now owns the land that has a constant flowing spring which flows to the Heart of the Hills Fisheries Science Center just to the south. Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013. These Texas Slave Ranch facts illustrate a sordid chapter in the South's history. Joyce Esensee and her husband, Art, now live in a mobile home in Fredericksburg. They fashioned key chains, and they needed workers. From left, Walter Wesley Ellebracht Sr., Walter Wesley Ellebracht Jr., Leona Ellebracht, the young Walter Wesley Ellebracht III, attorney Richard Racehorse Haynes and Joyce Ellebracht are seen in 1986. Ellebracht Sr. had big ideas, but was too lazy to implement them, said Joe Smith, 68, a pastor and retired builder who was a friend and maintains the small cemetery in Mountain Home where he is buried. The area hosts a summer camp, the Hill Country Cowboy Camp Meeting, for young christians looking to strengthen their faith, share their love of God, and renew friendships. In 1987, the year after his father, grandfather and the ranch foreman, Carlton Robert Caldwell, were convicted and sentenced, Ellebracht III met Bob Walls, who would become his best friend. Since the nearest Ranger camp was well over a hundred miles away, a posse of local men formedand tracked the Comanches for nearly two hundred miles before they lost their trail. 5-23-1986. Mountain Home, TX Local News. The closest similar sized city with FBI crime data is the city of , . Thatwas the case with the Texas Slave Ranch, one of the state's creepiest stories. Dennis Dunleavy / San Antonio Express-News, Back-row Left to right, man with hat -no id-, Walter Wesley Ellebracht,Jr., Walter Wesley Ellebracht III,and Joyce Hall Ellebracht. Is Mountain Home, TX Safe? 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. Lawmen sifted through a cache of weapons and tapes, looking over the ranch for evidence to support the story of their key witness Travis Boyd. The City of Mountain Home is located in Kerr County in the State of Texas.Find directions to Mountain Home, browse local businesses, landmarks, get current traffic estimates, road conditions, and more.The Mountain Home time zone is Central Daylight Time which is 6 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). 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. Mountain Home police responded to a shooting at the 600 block of Cooper Estates Drive, on November 24, 2020, according to a court document. It was higher than in 86.1% U.S. cities. He died on the spot. One of the victims, Travis Boyd, told investigators they were tortured with cattle prods and chained in the barn at night. 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! No information is available as to what brought Brazil to this area. And even if the man died there, there was no direct evidence he was tortured to death. FREDERICKSBURG He was only 9 when the law raided his family's Kerr County homestead in 1984 and their surname, Ellebracht, became synonymous with kidnapping and torture, and their sprawling property given the nickname Texas Slave Ranch.. The home had apparently been entered Dec. 23 last year and then again on Christmas Day. Walter Wesley Ellebracht III, was killed in an automobile accident Jan. 20 on Highway 290 just out side Fredericksburg. The Texas Slave Ranch is the name popularly given to a ranch near Mountain Home, Texas where workers who had been abducted were forced to work without pay making cedar key chains that sold throughout the Texas Hill Country.The ranch was raided in 1984 and the operation shut down. When asked to help pay for his son's burial, Ellebracht Jr. reportedly told relatives to let the county worry about it, his ex-wife said. Despite these facts, the tragedy was still believed to be at the hands of an Indian raid, and to this dayis alsoconsidered the last Indianmassacre in Texas. 465 Watkins Road, Mountain Home, TX 78058 FALKIN REALTY, Tracy Evans TREC #545905 $1,032,720 79.44 acres lot - Lot / Land for sale 136 days on Zillow 191 Sky Harbor Rd, Mountain Home, TX 78058 $1,750,000 6 bds 4 ba 3,451 sqft - House for sale Price cut: $100,000 (Nov 28) 205 Big Buck Cir, Mountain Home, TX 78058 $335,000 Nine years ago, her son won custody of Elizabeth and embraced single parenting, Esensee said. Boyd arrived at the ranch after hitchhiking, but he wasnt the only traveler picked up by Wes and Junior that day. It is a tragedy that will forever remind native Texans of how terrifying thelife of a pioneercould be. To local Fox affiliate KDFW, 15 detectives worked the decades-old case before after. Looking for a place to stay? Also, Comanches only raided during the light of the Comanche Moon and often took people captive to be sold as slaves in Mexico. There are several other property owners now around us, but there's nobody around from that era. 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. The ranchers were later arrested on multiple charges including aggravated kidnapping and murder in Bates death. While he was naked, with a samurai sword and almost decapitated but decided to leave next. He looked at the past and said, 'I'm here now, nobody can change that,' he said. We used old inner tubes, cedar and gasoline. Gary Wayne Mitchell. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. By ; 23. helmi 2023; alabama court specialist pay scale; 0 . He hadn't seen his second daughter, Alexis Faith Bockemehl, 17, since infancy, but the two girls met at their father's memorial service. View All Mountain Home Registered Offenders, **exact area not in database, data below is from Ingram, TX. I totally thought we were screwed. A federal . The charges were initially murder and aggravated kidnapping, but the defendants ended up with light sentences after . | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Return Policy. Mark Allen Hamilton, a former ranch foreman, testified about how the Ellebrachts liberally used the cattle prod for both discipline and torture. Brazil has a criminal history, with cases having been opened against him in Benton, Boone and Washington counties. On October 5, 1878, still in the midst of unpacking their belongings, the Dowdy family was going about their normal day. The ashes were scooped into two 55-gallon drums, according to published reports. 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