Troubled and Vicious

Have you ever met or known of a person—even a teenager—whom you thought would eventually do something bad, maybe terrible? That’s the key person in this true crime.

A CBS News consultant and clinical police and forensic psychologist reviewed the court documents and said about the man in this case,

“Psychopaths do not just arrive as adults. They demonstrate behavior in their childhoods and especially in their teen years.”

His mother remembers her son as a smart boy who laughed when tickled, but also a boy who acted out, had a temper and was destructive.

A childhood neighbor described him as a devil on a chain. He hurt children, and when they cried, he laughed. The first documented crime occurred when he was 15-year-old. He lured a neighbor into the alley behind their homes, then pulled out a handgun and pointed it at her. He forced her to his home. His parents were not home, and into his bedroom where he tied her up and sexually assaulted her.

The authorities arrested him and charged him as an adult. He pleaded guilty and served 14 years in prison. After serving his sentence, he moved to a different state and became a different person. He became a licensed realtor, opened a real estate agency, had several people working for him—interviewed staff members thought he was a good boss. He also had a pilot’s license, owned a home in town and a 100-acre rural property.

A couple whom he hired to clean houses for his real estate business agreed to do some cleaning at the realtor’s rural property. Once there, he took them hostage. When the 32-year-old man “mouthed off” at the realtor, the realtor shot and killed him in front of his girlfriend. He then chained up the 30-year-old woman in a cargo container where he kept her, fed her, and sexually assaulted her for two months.

Early on, the couple’s family reported them missing. Law enforcement got a location on the women’s phone before the phone went dark. They then had to wait for a warrant. While they waited, they conducted helicopter surveillance and saw nothing unusual.

Armed with the warrant, they went to the property. They heard someone banging on the inside of a cargo unit and forced it open. Finding the missing woman chained inside, they immediately gave her medical attention and continued searching. She informed them that the property owner had murdered her boyfriend.

The authorities arrested the realtor and charged him with kidnapping and the murder of the boyfriend. Once in custody, he also confessed that two years prior, he’d killed and buried on his property a couple in their 20s. He also confessed to killing the employees at a local business that turned into a 14-year unsolved cold case. When he confessed, he knew things about the case that the authorities had kept confidential.

The 46-year-old realtor agreed to a plea deal that gave him seven consecutive life sentences with no possibility of parole but avoided the death penalty. The judge also sentenced him to 60 years in prison for kidnapping and sexual assault. He’ll never leave prison. Could treatment have prevented these crimes? We’ll never know.

The attorney who represented him when he was a teenager described him as a troubled and vicious kid. He tried to get him sentenced to a facility where he’d get mental health treatment. Instead, he went to prison.

There’s an interesting twist in this case. I’ll share it next week.

Source: County Press Release, CBS News, People, NPR, Turner Law Office

All data and information provided is for information and research purposes only and not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, or individual. Criminal cases may have been appealed or verdicts overturned since I researched the case. All information is provided on an as-is basis.