Sunday, July 21, 2013

Criminal Activity....too close to home.

Long before I became a police officer I drove a school bus for the local school district.  While employed there I met a mother and daughter.  The mother also drove a school bus and like me she'd bring her child along when she worked.  It was through this mother that I met her husband that was a police officer with the City of Killeen.  Once I began working for the City he and I became great friends.  As people change and things happen in life he and his wife were divorced.  Being away from his daughter was very tough on him.  He was always talking about his little girl and he was such a proud father.  His little girl grew up, graduated from high school and got married.  Her father was so proud of her that she married a God fearing young man and together they were missionaries for their church.  Shortly after her marriage she came to town to see her father for Father's Day.  She and her husband were at a mall on the northeast side of town when they were carjacked.  The young male that wanted their car was armed with a gun and he had jumped in to the backseat of their car and threatened them if they didn't just drive him where he wanted to go.  This did not bring attention of any bystanders as one might think it would.
So they drove him where he directed them to go and he stopped and picked up another young male.  When there were 2 males they decided that the young couple should not be driving any longer so they ordered them to get in to the trunk of the car.  The couple complied and entered the trunk.
The armed suspects drove around town committing offenses and firing gun shots sporadically.
As evening approached the car was getting low on fuel.  The suspects drove out to a deserted roadway that paralleled the boundaries of the Ft. Hood military reservation.  When they arrived at a spot in the road that was away from civilization they stopped the car and opened the trunk.  The young couple was hot and dehydrating fast from the heat.  The suspects demanded money for gas.  The young woman told them they had no cash.  Both she and her husband began to quote scriptures from the Bible as they plead for them to be let go. The young woman told the suspects that God loved them and they would be forgiven for their sins. The suspects became agitated with the pleadings and when they would not stop the recitation of scriptures they shot and killed them both.  The young couple was left in the trunk of the car and the suspects ran off leaving them.
Although the car was in an isolated location the sound of the shots resonated in the area and it brought others to investigate the reason for them.
The discovery of these two young people in the trunk of this car was horrendous to those of us that recognized the female as the daughter of a fellow officer.  His pain was our pain.
Diligently we worked this case and we did make the arrests of the two killers.  It was through the confession of one of them that we discovered why they were killed and how they had begged for their lives.  The killer was sentenced to death and the accomplice is serving life in prison.
Knowing the strong faith of these two missionaries, I am confident that they are in the arms of Jesus awaiting the day they welcome the rest of us home. 

In the neighborhood on the south side of town where my son and I lived there were mostly homeowners but there was one house that was a rental.  This house was directly across the street from our house.  Most of our neighbors were retirees so there were not many kids for my son to play with.  As renters moved in and out of this house there were none that had youngsters my son's age. 
Just before the start of a new school year a young single mother and her son moved in to the house.  He was the same age as my son and they would become fast friends.  They'd walk to school together and they became almost inseparable.  We even knew the parents of the mother so it was like an extended family.  After about a year the mother's boyfriend came to live there too.
The young boy had related to my son that this man scared him.  He didn't really think this guy liked him very well and he couldn't understand why.  Within 30 days of the boyfriend being in the home we began to hear loud arguments between the adults.  We could hear crying and screaming from the mother and see her as she'd leave the house and drive away.  I started to be concerned about her son.  My son wanted desperately to go over and get his friend but it was just not safe at this time.  A few short minutes later the police showed up at the house with the mom.
The adult male came outside and they all stood in the yard talking.  The mother went in to the house to get her son and within a minute of her entering the house she let out a bloodcurdling scream.  One officer ran in to the home and he found her in her son's room.  The child was dead and his throat had been cut from ear to ear.  He had bled to death.  The boyfriend had killed the young boy because he was jealous of him.
Stunned is not quite the word to describe the loss of this young boy.  This was a senseless killing and the man that did it showed absolutley no remorse for his actions. Both my son and I mourned for the loss of his young friend but we also know that he is in the arms of Christ.  Knowing this is our salavation that one day we shall meet again.