theYear=theYear+1900 The sessions, which were often tape-recorded, weakened Bates, who died that February on the manure-covered floor of the bunkhouse. The family would have continued taking men and women from I-10 had authorities not shut down the operation. According to the information filed in the case, Hendricks had a firearm as well as methamphetamine, heroin, ecstasy and fentanyl with her when arrested. The jurors compiled their favorite recipes, called it the Slave Ranch Cookbook, had it printed at the Kerr County Courthouse and sold copies. They also told investigators Lindsey pointed a handgun at Stradford. A leader of the prison-based Mexican Mafia, Robert "Beaver" Perez was linked to more than 15 murders locally. The 1986 trial lasted three months, made national news, featured the celebrated Texas defense attorney Richard "Racehorse" Haynes and resulted in the conviction of ranchers Walter Wesley Ellebracht, 55, Walter Ellebracht Jr., 33, and ranch foreman Carlton Robert Caldwell, 21, on charges of conspiracy to commit aggravated kidnapping but acquitted of murder in the death of Anthony Bates, an Alabama man who worked on the ranch in 1984. Kaitlin Marie Armstrong is being sought in the killing of Anna Moriah Wilson, according to the police, who said both women were romantically involved with the same man. By amerisourcebergen holiday schedule 2022 amerisourcebergen holiday schedule 2022 Previously, Moravec worked for several years as a staff reporter covering public safety and later government for the San Antonio Express-News. 'Texas Slave Ranch' offspring made the best of life. 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. He hadn't seen his second daughter, Alexis Faith Bockemehl, 17, since infancy, but the two girls met at their father's memorial service. Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 15_5 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/605.1.15 (KHTML, like Gecko) GSA/219.0.457350353 Mobile/15E148 Safari/604.1, First United Methodist Church Mountain Home, Gardening in the Ozarks with Vicki Garner, Live in the Boat with Binks Guide Service. SUGAR LAND, Texas (KTRK) -- Investigators with Sugar Land police are searching for a suspect accused of shooting and killing a member of his own family. 100 AVVA Dr LOT 16, TX 78058. 5-23-1986. While the recently released information on the Stradford murder does not spell out exactly what brought the four suspects together or what caused them to lure Stradford to Brazils residence, public records do show that Brazil and Hendricks lived in Siloam Springs at one time. He played on beliefs in the community that even though the Ellebrachts were odd, they didnt seem evil. Investigators added that the couple's children were safe and were found with the suspect, whose name has not been released. Elon Musk? The ranch was raided in 1984 and the operation shut down. mountain home texas murders - prairiegalcookin.com Boyd last remembered a knife held to his throat before he lost consciousness. The land isnt suitable because topsoil is shallow, as the area is laced with karst and rock just under the surface. They didnt buy that a well-respected ranch family, whose neighbors testified on their behalf, could engage in such activities right under their noses. Subscribe to Front Page Detectives Newsletter. According to the probable cause affidavit, during the incident, other people who were upstairs in the residence reported hearing a male asking for help and pleading for the beating to stop.. Sometimes, the smallest towns hide the biggest secrets. In the early 20th Century, the town was known as Eura. Caldwell is still alive and lives in San Antonio. His son, Junior, received 15 years in prison, but served less than 10 years. Always the dependable friend, Ellebracht III was praised by members of the overflow crowd at his funeral. Men held as slaves at the ranch endured a variety of tortures. Anyone with information on the case in encouraged to contact Detective M. Corley at (208) 587-2101. The family-owned ranch started back in 1880 as a program to important exotic species from Africa. He later was indicted, along with the Ellebrachts, for his role in Bates' torture and death. Brazil has had a number of mainly drug-related criminal cases opened on him in Benton and Washington Counties. Sign up to receive breakingFront Page Detectivesnews and exclusive investigations. And the victims were unsavory types whose testimony was suspect. Taylor Pettaway is a breaking news reporter, originally from Colorado. But details that emerged after the April 1984 raid, triggered by an escaped worker's call to the Texas Rangers, surprised even the family's closest friends. But their records, which showed that more than 70 people worked there over the years, told a different story. The torture went on for hours at a time, while Bates, handcuffed to a tree with his hands behind him, was zapped repeatedly on his tongue, genitals and empty eye socket with the cattle prod. He also appeared in circuit court Thursday and entered a not guilty plea to the charges against him. Individuals from all over travel to visit the Y.O. At 32 years old, he found himself accepting a job in the Texas hill country, not far from the town of Kerrville. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. Cunningham was contacted and reported she had not given Olson permission to be in her home. We also run the premiere real-estate site in the hill country at HillCountryRealestate.com. Lindsey was driving a BMW Z4 convertible, reported stolen in Baxter County. Brazil was arrested Dec. 16 last year after he was located at a local motel. 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. 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. 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.. The City of Mountain Home is located in Kerr County in the State of Texas. 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. Christopher Allen Whiteley, a chronic methamphetamine user with a long and violent criminal record, was found dead last December outside Lipan, a town of about 400. One of the slave ranch victims, Mark Allen Hamilton, claimed in a court deposition that even some of the victims participated in the tortureof fellow prisoners. The Chicago mayorslammed Abbott for the inhumane and dangerous effort. Joe Smith, who oversees Sunset Cemetery in Mountain Home, TX, stands near a landscaped section of the cemetery, Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013, where a stream runs through which is fed by a spring on what was the Ellebracht Ranch. 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Ellebracht Sr. received probation, Junior remained free throughout his 15-year sentence due to appeals, and Caldwell served less than three years of his 14-year sentence. He was told he wasnt going anywhere, then chained up along with two other men. Lawyers have begun to formally enter their appearance for the defendants. 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. Mountain Home, TX - Crime Stats & Rates | Homefacts The Ellebracht family and their foreman,Carl Robert Caldwell, went to trial in 1984 accused of running a sadistic ranch where drifters met their end. We used cedar because it burns fast and strong. 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. Copyright 2023 KSAT.com is managed by Graham Digital and published by Graham Media Group, a division of Graham Holdings. One of the victims, Travis Boyd, told investigators they were tortured with cattle prods and chained in the barn at night. I tried to teach him right from wrong.. I totally thought we were screwed. True stories from Mountain Home lay out the chilling details. They needed labor to keep their key-chain factory going. By then, according to court testimony, workers were being held at gunpoint and forced to write their own suicide notes and tie nooses and dig ditches in preparation for their own deaths, or so they were led to believe. Some in Wylie don't know of 1980 ax slaying; others can't forget News Researcher Lauren Brown contributed to this report. 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.. 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. Haynes was a big name who showed up at the Kerrville County Courthouse every day driving a bright yellow Rolls Royce. Three of those being charged list Mountain Home addresses, but the fourth is a resident of Siloam Springs in Northwest Arkansas. Erica Hernandez, Digital Journalist/Courthouse Reporter. Entradas. 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. According to Hidalgo County, Texas jail records, Lindsey has been charged in that state with unlawful possession of a weapon. Most of the information is sealed by court order. Stradfords body was found in a burned-out vehicle just off Old Arkana Road on Dec. 16 last year. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. They offer 3-hour guided tours of the 50,00 acre ranch. Looking for a place to stay? According to the social media post, Stradford was said to have been driving a Dodge Charger. Court records show that most of the cases involved drugs. Updated: 6:28 PM MDT October 29, 2019. Later a witness, Sheri Hamilton, said she saw a torture session involving 27-year-old Anthony Bates. Mountain Home, Texas is an unincorporated community in Kerr County. But, on the other hand, the people running up and down the highway were gullible. Find directions to Mountain Home, browse local businesses, landmarks, get current traffic estimates, road conditions, and more. Todd Steven Brooks. The charts below are detailed crime statistics for the city of , Texas. 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.. Ranch. They're both wonderful girls, and he was a wonderful father, Esensee said. And even if the man died there, there was no direct evidence he was tortured to death. Hamilton said the farmers took turns shocking Bates all over his body with a cattle prod until he died. On April 6, 1984, more than 30 federal, state and local lawmen raided a 3,500-acre (14km2) ranch near the Texas Hill Country town of Mountain Home. It was found Dec. 16 last year off Old Arkana Road south of Mountain Home. Welcome to your nightmare: 38 years ago, feds raided a Kerr ranch where hitchhikers were tortured, Chicago mayor pleads with Gov. UPDATE: Mother, daughter receive concurrent life sentences in 2012 Home; Gal Behind the Blog; . A million dollar bond has been set for Cunningham and Lindsey, and bonds of a half-million-dollars each for Brazil and Hendricks. mountain home texas murders. His criminal history goes back to 2010, when he was a teenager. MOUNTAIN HOME, Idaho The Mountain Home Police Department is investigating a suspicious death that police say may involve an estranged husband who was arrested in Texas. Most Texas billionaires did OK in 2022. Wes' eldest daughter, Elizabeth Toby Ellebracht, 18, who'd been living with him in Fredericksburg, has moved in with the couple since his death. Slave Ranch Trial-Kerr County courthouse, witness Dennis "Pete" Johnson . 259 BROKEN SPUR DRIVE , TX 78058. Finally, in 1984, the authorities raided the property on a tip. 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. Idaho resident found dead in Mountain Home - KIVI It was reported he was last seen at his parents residence in Mountain Home and later the same day in the Fayetteville area. 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. His mother, Sharon Marino, 66, recalls the men always were barefoot and dirty when they came to town. Cunningham is an inmate in the Baxter County jail with bond set at $1 million. If you need help with the Public File, call 210-351-1241. Even the date of the killing seemed ripped from a bad crime novel. On April 6, 1984, Texans learned a horrifying secret in the tiny town of Mountain Home. At one point, he was being supervised while on parole by the Arkansas Community Corrections office in Little Rock. No information is available as to what brought Brazil to this area. 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. 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. They fashioned key chains, and they needed workers. Rain: 7am to 7am: .00 Month: 0.00 Year: 20.21 Recorded temps: High: 63 Low: 45, Ryan Lindsey (left) and Allison Cunningham. According to information provided to KTLO, Classic Hits & The Boot News by the Texas Department of Public Safety in response to a Freedom of Information request, Lindsey and Cunningham were in separate vehicles. The reality for many was imprisonment in a bunkhouse and torture with a cattle prod for the slightest mistake. According to the New York Times, Boyd was informed theyd be digging their own graves that day. AUSTIN, Texas The Austin Police Department has identified the man killed in Austin's first homicide of 2022. 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. The new workers often stayed because they had no way out and had no one to contact or believed conditions might improve. The ranch was raided in 1984 and the operation shut down. Those stories have been around for years, but people and things have moved on.. 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. Ellebracht key chains were selling at a premium, $2. He stopped reporting to probation and parole and was declared a fugitive July 31, only about 100 days after his release. Shortly thereafter, the three men were forced at gunpoint to dig ditches, during which they were randomly shocked with cattle prods. Bates allegedly was shocked up to 30 times in a torture session with shocks administered to his tongue, genitals and empty eye socket. MOUNTAIN HOME Police in Mountain Home are investigating a "suspicious death" after a body was found inside a home in the southwest area of the city. Idaho resident found dead in Mountain Home, 'estranged husband Ben Burnett, a Mountain Home attorney, has been retained to represent Hendricks. In the early 20th Century, the town was known as Eura. 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. March 17, 2023 . Lindsey is also charged in Arkansas with possession of the stolen handgun. 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. A few lodging options in Mountain Home are the Flagler Ranch Guest House, the Y.O. I knew what I was doing; I had options. {{start_at_rate}} {{format_dollars}} {{start_price}} {{format_cents}} {{term}}, {{promotional_format_dollars}}{{promotional_price}}{{promotional_format_cents}} {{term}}, Police: Burley man committed home invasion, rape, other crimes, Man dies after falling into Snake River Canyon, UPS pilot's family files wrongful death lawsuit in Heyburn plane crash, Man who caused fatal crash in Twin Falls agrees to plea deal, 9 inducted into Southern Idaho Livestock Hall of Fame, Man chases would-be burglar from out of Twin Falls clubhouse, police say, Bull market: How a truck ride with a PRCA cowboy set up Jerome's Taylor for success, UPDATE: Idaho Sen. Ron Taylor, missing since this morning, has been found, Charges dropped against man accused of domestic assault, witness intimidation, August crime report: Shootings in Twin Falls, Burley, cold case arrest and more, Instagram mom convicted for fabricating story about kids' kidnapping, King Charles and Queen Camilla's will use thrones recycled from King George VI's coronation, Rare images captured of butterflies taking flight after emerging from chrysalis. At the time, the Mountain Home Police Department said it believed the situation could be a result of domestic violence involving an estranged husband., Did you miss any crime and court news from last month? The Ellebrachts forced him to write a suicide note and told him: Welcome to your nightmare, newspaper articles about the trial said. 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. Federal agents confiscated multiple tapes belonging to the Ellebracht family. Their pool of cheap labor in the surrounding area was small, so they found crews from nearby I-10. She is charged with having simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms on July 19. [2] Among the items seized in the search were human bone fragments and audiotapes of torture sessions in which a cattle prod can be heard as it is used to shock the victim. After he was developed as a suspect in the murder investigation, he was located and arrested Dec. 16 last year. He was just a young boy when his father and grandfather were arrested and their so-called Texas Slave Ranch was raided in 1984. Kerr County "Slave Ranch" is 25 miles Northwest of Kerrville, Texas. 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. Eva Ruth Moravec is a freelance reporter who writes about officer-involved shootings of unarmed individuals in Texas for a grant-funded series published in several Texas newspapers. Group says they have a strong suspect as the infamous killer. They were arrested in south Texas near the U.S./Mexico border about 900 miles south of Mountain Home and have been locked up in the Hidalgo County, Texas jail. 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. He was in court with his client during her appearance on Monday. Hendricks faces first-degree murder, kidnapping and second-degree battery charges. Mountain Home man accused of his wife's murder, extradited from Texas On a lunch break from cutting wood at a friend's home in Stonewall, Ellebracht III was en route to Fredericksburg on Jan. 20 when he either fell asleep or was distracted by a pit bull in his SUV and veered into oncoming traffic. And Leona, who 'still rules. Police say Armstrong shot Ann Moriah Wilson, 25, several times with a 9mm handgun on May 11, shortly after she arrive in town to compete in a mountain bike competition. Roslyn Jimenez is a news producer at KSAT. mountain home texas murders. Copyright 2023 Empire Media Group, Inc. Front Page Detectives is a registered trademark. 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. The victim also has not been publicly identified. $250 Million scam: Man steals millions from company to feed cows that didn't exist. mountain home texas murders - pierrepierrelaw.com Read her complete series atwww.pointofimpacttx.org. Affidavit details apparent love triangle in Vermont native's murder in TX 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. Once they got to the ranch, Boyd decided to only stay the night. Another piece of the former ranch was awarded to Joann Loftis, Bates' mother, who sued the Ellebrachts for her son's wrongful death. Texas Slave Ranch - Horror In The Mountain Home : Texas Murders At The This page is not available in other languages. The story of the Texas torture ranch and the suspects One had escaped and alerted the authorities, triggering the raid. Walter Wesley Ellebracht III, was killed in an automobile accident earlier this month on Highway 290 just out side Fredericksburg. Here's a collection of the crime reports, notable arrests and important court hearings . Ranch for an experience you wont forget! These animals thrive in this area of Texas because of its close habitat to Africa. Law enforcement officials said Bates injured his leg and was unable to work, so he was allegedly tied up, kicked, beaten, starved and shocked with an electric cattle prod until his death, according to a 1986 Houston Chronicle article. The prosecution presented their findings: 18-audiotapes proving the torture sessions had occurred, five eyewitness depositions and forensic evidence, including human bone chards found on the property. now = new Date Brazil attempted to flee but was found hiding in weeds by tracking dogs from the Arkansas Department of Correction. Erica has covered a wide array of stories all over Central and South Texas. day! Ruiz-Ortiz was arrested in Pecos, Texas, shortly after Ruizs body was found. The Ranch is an authentic 19th century ranch housing a variety of exotic animals. Mountain Home mother fatally stabs teenage son | KATV Today, Eura is known as Mountain Home. She is scheduled to appear in Madison County Circuit Court in early March. He was found guilty and ultimately executed by the state of Texas in 1999. Anthony Bates was a one-eyed drifter who hailed from Alabama. All of his crimes were committed in Baxter County, although he had apparently been living in Little Rock for some period in the recent past. Business papers located on the scene revealed records verifying that dozens of men, and some women, had worked on the ranch over the years. Finally, in 1984, the authorities raided the property on a tip. The torture sessions would last up to two hours and were usually supervised or carried out by Junior.