The new workers often stayed because they had no way out and had no one to contact or believed conditions might improve. The charts below are detailed crime statistics for the city of , Texas. Every day of the widely publicized three-month trial, Sutton said, the 150 courtroom seats were filled with spectators, Wes among them. It was reported he was last seen at his parents residence in Mountain Home and later the same day in the Fayetteville area. Shortly thereafter, the three men were forced at gunpoint to dig ditches, during which they were randomly shocked with cattle prods. If you need help with the Public File, call 210-351-1241. James Waybern Hall: The murderer known as "Big Jim" killed 4 people, including his wife, in Arkansas between 1944 and 1945. Ellebracht III even tried to see the good in his father and grandfather, who picked up hitchhikers and promised them board in exchange for work. 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 men involved might have been found guilty, but they barely saw any jail time. Walter Ellebracht Sr. received probation, Walter Jr. remained free while his 15-year sentence was appealed and Caldwell served less than three years of his 14-year sentence. His son, Junior, received 15 years in prison, but served less than 10 years. The feds pulled a mountain of incriminating evidence from the Ellebracht ranch, including the audiotapes, witnesses, human remains and various weapons. In a faded photo on the wall of Bill's BBQ in Ingram, TX, Walter Wesley Ellebracht Sr, center left, poses with Joe Marino Sr who owned Big Joe's Country Store where key chains made by alleged slaves were sold. In the hardscrabble west, ranchers had to pull a living from the soil and hope the weather cooperated. Erica Hernandez is an Emmy award-winning journalist with15 years of experience in the broadcast news business. 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. He died on the spot. Victims reported they werent allowed to leave, and violence was a normal course of everyday life. Teased and bullied as a child, Wes, as he was known, later would change his last name to try to elude the scandal. Ruiz-Ortiz was arrested in Pecos, Texas, shortly after Ruizs body was found. (The US average is 35.4) NOTE: The city of Mountain Home, Texas does not have FBI Crime Statistics. Always the dependable friend, Ellebracht III was praised by members of the overflow crowd at his funeral. He has a long criminal record stretching back to 2010 when he was a teenager. The actual prod was discovered when police entered and searched the Ellebrachts' ranch in 1984. Loraine Haynie, 86, checks on her husband, Jim Haynie, in his home office in Mountain Home. Key chains made at the Texas Slave Ranch still hang in a frame on a wall at Bills BBQ. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. Despite charges of murder and kidnapping at the 3,500-acre cattle ranch, the people around Mountain Home, population 98, are reluctant to condemn the Ellebrachts. Slave Ranch Trial-Kerr County courthouse, witness Dennis "Pete" Johnson . This was the craziest case I've ever had, but these were drifters, and they were seen as less entitled to the benefits than the rest of us are.. The recovered tape wasnt the only one. Erica Hernandez, Digital Journalist/Courthouse Reporter. 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. Others alleged that after Bates died, his body was doused in gasoline and set on fire while the father and son listened to Johnny Cashs Ring of Fire.. The ashes were scooped into two 55-gallon drums, according to published reports. A million dollar bond has been set for Cunningham and Lindsey, and bonds of a half-million-dollars each for Brazil and Hendricks. They have 10,000 animals, 1,000 of which are registered Longhorns and 50 of which are Waterbuck, Ostrich, Impala, Giraffe, Antelope, Oryx, and Blackbuck. On April 6, 1984, Texans learned a horrifying secret in the tiny town of Mountain Home. She's currently the court reporter and cohost of the podcast Texas Crime Stories. 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.. According to UPI.com, Hamilton stated he observed other victims being forced to use the cattle prod on each other. AUSTIN, Texas The Austin Police Department has identified the man killed in Austin's first homicide of 2022. Cunningham was returned to Arkansas Jan. 13 and Lindsey on Mar. Brazil is also in the county detention center with bond set at $500,000. Kerr County "Slave Ranch" is 25 miles Northwest of Kerrville, Texas. The Ranch is an authentic 19th century ranch housing a variety of exotic animals. Family launches GoFundMe to help man shot during Fiesta in S.A. Man in critical condition after being shot twice in head in S.A. A Department of Public Safety trooper walks away from an area where a body reportedly was burned on the Ellebracht ranch. Everyone knew the Ellebrachts drove a blue van and picked up hitchhikers to staff the key chain factory and do other work at the ranch. In 1990, the state bought 240 acres of the former ranch and the Ellebrachts' home, which has been used as temporary housing for the center's employees, including Bob Betsill, the research program director. Mark C. Lucas, an attorney practicing in Centerton had filed his formal entry as the defense attorney for Brazil. She has degrees in journalism and criminology. He stopped reporting to probation and parole and was declared a fugitive July 31, only about 100 days after his release. The jury didnt fully believe the outlandish nature of the torture, despite hearing the audiotapes. Hill Country, and we welcome you to our family. On April 6, 1984, Texans learned a horrifying secret in the tiny town of Mountain Home. 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. Police were called to a home in the. To donate, send a check to: PO Box 471, Fredericksburg 78624. He always wanted me to invest in his key chain idea, but I never did, Smith said. mountain home texas murders (646) 992-8383. Updated: 6:28 PM MDT October 29, 2019. They were strange people, but they're not that kind of people, said Loraine Haynie, 86, who befriended Ellebracht Sr. as a child and cared for him over the years until his death in 2003. After being taken into custody and read his rights, Brazil is alleged to have admitted participating in Stradfords beating. He was told he wasnt going anywhere, then chained up along with two other men. Welcome to your nightmare: 38 years ago, feds raided a Kerr ranch where hitchhikers were tortured, Chicago mayor pleads with Gov. We used cedar because it burns fast and strong. 19. Federal, state and local authorities raided a 3,500-acre ranch about 20 miles northwest of Kerrville, where they found that a father-son duo had been kidnapping, torturing and killing hitchhikers. 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.''. Click links below to see charts for each crime category. Using his charisma and ruthlessness to gain control within the gang, Perez was. He was just a young boy when his father and grandfather were arrested and their so-called Texas Slave Ranch was raided in 1984. Of the four people alleged to be involved in the murder, Hendricks is the only one not locked up. Ellebracht Jr. never returned to live in Kerr County, and while at times he had been close with his only child, the two had grown estranged. According to the Baxter County Sheriffs Office, 52-year-old Lawrence Olson of Mountain Home has been charged with breaking into Cunninghams residence along Robinson Point Road. Example video title will go here for this video. The latest South Texas Crime Stories segment relives the horrifying details of what was known as the Texas slave ranch. Previously, Moravec worked for several years as a staff reporter covering public safety and later government for the San Antonio Express-News. Hed take me on tours, and everybody was smoking, the sawdust was so deep. 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. washington state missing child; oak island treasure update. While the beating was in progress and Stradford was crying out for help, Cunningham and 35-year-old Ashley Nicole Hendricks of Siloam Springs were alleged to have stood by looking on.. Ben Burnett, a Mountain Home attorney, has been retained to represent Hendricks. By amerisourcebergen holiday schedule 2022 amerisourcebergen holiday schedule 2022 By John Peters jpeters@mtairynews.com. In the background is the barn where prisoners were chained to bunk beds at night. The work was hard, but he was used to manual labor. Group says they have a strong suspect as the infamous killer. Head out to Y.O. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Even the date of the killing seemed ripped from a bad crime novel. Business papers located on the scene revealed records verifying that dozens of men, and some women, had worked on the ranch over the years. Lindsey is, by far, the best known locally of those charged with the Stradford murder. 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. To clear his conscience, Caldwell gave a 20-page statement to the FBI. The cause and manner of her death have not been made public. What happened at the Texas Slave Ranch? MOUNTAIN HOME, Idaho An Idaho resident is dead as what police say is the "result of domestic violence involving an estranged husband," according to a . The Wesley Ellebracht Memorial Fund has been set up at Security State Bank in Fredericksburg to help an 18-year-old daughter who'd been living with him attend college. Texas Hill Country. When authorities showed up, they found people there that were being enslaved and tortured. Wes' eldest daughter, Elizabeth Toby Ellebracht, 18, who'd been living with him in Fredericksburg, has moved in with the couple since his death. He has already filed a number of motions in his clients case. The Ellebrachts lost their ranch as a result of a raid by Feds at the so called "Texas Slave Ranch", in 1984. Lindsey was driving a BMW Z4 convertible, reported stolen in Baxter County. It is a great christian family environment for those interested. Finally, in 1984, the authorities raided the property on a tip. Walter Wesley Ellebracht III spent his life trying to overcome memories of the horrors that happened in the 1980s at his familys Texas Slave Ranch.. Despite the fact that the Ellebracht family was known to go barefoot even when in town, according to My San Antonio News, they were sophisticated enough to know they were fighting for their lives, and put their ranch up as collateral. 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. Front row L-R , Walter Wesley Ellebracht Sr. Leona Ellebracht(mother of senior) Richard "Race Horse" Haynes. Investigators said the witnesses, reported to have been minors, left the upper part of the house and went into the backyard, looked through windows in the walkout-type basement and observed Lindsey and Brazil hitting Stradford. And Leona, who 'still rules. A few lodging options in Mountain Home are the Flagler Ranch Guest House, the Y.O. A Mountain Home man who was charged with failing to report his wife's death last month has now been charged with her murder and extradited to Idaho from Texas, where (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). I knew what I was doing; I had options. Subscribe to Front Page Detectives Newsletter. Through the years, the 27-year-old Lindsey has been accused of possessing a defaced firearm, being a felon in possession of a weapon, residential burglary, theft of property, possession of contraband in the Baxter County Detention Center, theft by receiving and possessing drugs. Hall was sentenced to death by electrocution in May 1945 and executed on January 4, 1946. yesmagazine.org Convicted of murder after a two-day trial in May 1945, Hall was sentenced to death. And even if the man died there, there was no direct evidence he was tortured to death. mountain home texas murders. William Lesley Rushing. The area was settled in 1856. He was just a young boy when his father and grandfather were arrested and their so-called Texas Slave Ranch was raided in 1984. Before joining the team, she was a producer and video editor at KIII-TV and a radio intern in Corpus Christi. 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. My son was a very caring person, and he did whatever he could to help anyone in need, said his mother, Joyce Esensee, 59, who was among those initially indicted for the crimes at the ranch. Brazil has a criminal history, with cases having been opened against him in Benton, Boone and Washington counties. Finally, in 1984, the authorities raided the property on a tip. According to information just released by 14th Judicial District Prosecutor David Ethredge, 28-year-old Ryan Lindsey and 38-year-old Skylar Whitney Brazil are reported to have beaten the 35-year-old Stradford for up to an hour while he begged for it to stop.. Nine people were initially indicted: Ellebracht Sr., Ellebracht Jr., Joyce, Caldwell and five ranch workers. 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 keychains that sold throughout the Texas Hill Country. You can cancel at any time. More than a dozen cassette tapes with about 40 hours of recorded torture sessions were seized during the raid, along with guns, machetes, an ax, knives, ropes chains, padlocks, bone fragments, the cattle prod and business papers. When he first arrived in January 1984, Caldwell watched in horror as the Ellebrachts used the cattle prod on a handcuffed man who had disrespected a family member. Mountain Home, Texas, is nearly as isolated today as it was in 1984. Olson is alleged to have told deputies he had permission from Cunningham to be in the residence, and that he had made entry on Christmas Day only to take a nap.. Walter Wesley Ellebracht III watched as his family was arrested and two years later heard the evidence against his father and grandfather horrifying torture tapes of an abducted drifter pleading for his life while being zapped with a cattle prod. 295 RANCHLAND DR , TX 78058. Walter Ellebracht, along with accomplices, had kidnapped, enslaved, and tortured people on the property. Before he could exit the property, though, Ellebracht, his son and wife, and some ranch hands approached him, armed to the teeth. Cody Dennis has put in an appearance for Lindsey. He'd take me on tours. 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. Copyright 2008 - theYear=now.getYear() According to My San Antonio News, Batess mother pursued a separate, civil lawsuit against the Ellebracht family. The state had copious evidence incriminating Wes, Junior, and the ranch foreman, Carl. We used old inner tubes, cedar and gasoline. Because Gore's body wasn't found until that night, the first newspaper headlines didn't appear for . Some of the torture sessions were even audio-recorded, and played later in court during the trial. Three teenagers have been arrested and charged with murder in the shooting death of a 17-year-old whose body was found in Pilot Mountain on Thursday morning . Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Please subscribe to keep reading. That person was being held on $500,000 bond. 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.. Court records show that most of the cases involved drugs. But he realized there was no escape, only redemption, and grew to be the man fondly remembered at his recent funeral for his kindness and big heart. 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. Daniel Ruiz-Ortiz is in the custody of the Elmore County Sheriffs Office and remains in the Elmore County Jail on a $2 million bond, according to a news release posted on the city of Mountain Homes Facebook page Monday afternoon. The Ranch is an authentic 19th century ranch housing a variety of exotic animals. Among the six people arrested and charged, only family members served prison time. He was just a young boy when his father and grandfather were arrested and their so-called Texas Slave Ranch was raided in 1984. In the background is Walter Wesley Ellebracht Sr. in front to the left is Walter Wesley Ellebracht Jr. in the middle is Richard "Race Horse" Haynes and to the left is Joyce Ellebracht. Caldwell was hired as the foreman, first in the field and then in the main residence, where he worked on Ellebracht Sr.'s latest plan: a tile reprocessing machine that could be operated by blind people. Cunningham was returned to Arkansas and booked into the Baxter County Detention Center Wednesday about 10:30 p.m. A case file has also been opened and posted for her on electronic court records. Cases have been set up and posted on electronic court records for Hendricks and Brazil. At the time, he was only charged with failure to report a death. This is a carousel. Killed in a car crash at age 38, Wes went to his grave an Ellebracht, one who overcame the nightmares of his childhood. He also appeared in circuit court Thursday and entered a not guilty plea to the charges against him. 2023 locality pay increase; aseprite normal map color wheel; FREE Case Evaluation. Located an hour north of San Antonio in a small community in unincorporated Kerr County was what came to be known as the Texas Slave Ranch for the ghastly crimes committed there. Editor's Note: This is the first in a five-day series recalling paroled sex offender Jerry Walter McFadden's murderous 1986 crime spree that terrorized a region and influenced the way Texas deals . He was found guilty and ultimately executed by the state of Texas in 1999. Jim Haynie, a neighbor and friend of Walter Wesley Ellebracht Sr, sits in his home office where he runs his water well drilling business. Things to do in Seabrook: A guide to Washington's cozy Preorder 'The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom' today. The DPS report did not indicate if the Elantra had been reported stolen. The two lured hitchhikers to the ranch with the promise of work and then forced them to stay without compensation or freedom by threatening them with death, news articles said. When he started to walk away the next morning, he was accosted with ranch hands carrying rifles. He later was indicted, along with the Ellebrachts, for his role in Bates' torture and death. He was just a young boy when his father and grandfather were arrested and their so-called Texas Slave Ranch was raided in 1984. He hitchhiked to San Antonio and found work at a restaurant, where he saw the raid on TV. Thatwas the case with the Texas Slave Ranch, one of the state's creepiest stories. Mountain Home (zip 78058) property crime is 31.1. Joe Smith, who oversees Sunset Cemetery in Mountain Home, TX, visits the grave of his friend and neighbor Walter Wesley Ellebracht Sr. Ellebracht is the grandfather of Walter Wesley Ellebracht III, who was killed in an automobile accident Jan. 20 on Highway 290 just out side Fredericksburg.
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