Posted 1:54 am Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Families Face Killer In Court
By MALENA OGLES
Staff Writer
HENDERSON - One by one, with unwavering anger and sadness, family members of five murder victims looked their loved ones' killer in the eyes and told him how he destroyed their families one day 24 years ago.
Romeo Pinkerton sat watching them speak Monday afternoon, never reacting, and when the families were finished crying and pleading, he stood from the defendant's chair and walked calmly out of the courtroom led by sheriff's deputies.
"Part of my life died with her," said Opie Hughes' daughter, Myra, in a pre-written statement.
She was 16-years-old when her mother was murdered, a time she said when mother-daughter relationships are important.
Myra Hughes told Pinkerton her last conversation with her mother was an argument, but it ended with Opie Hughes telling her daughter she loved her.
"I would never hear those words again, and I cannot begin to emphasize my sadness and anger," she said.
Her brother, Merle Hughes, said he was 11 when his mom died and his world was turned upside down. Pinkerton had forever changed his life.
"I wanted to be with my friends, but I didn't want to leave my father alone because I was afraid of what would happen to him," he said.
As Pinkerton turned his eyes away from Jack Hughes when he spoke of his former wife, Hughes demanded his wife's murderer look at him.
"You had no right. No one has the right to be the animal that you are," he said.
"Thank you for looking at me. I want you to think of me for the next 100 years," Hughes said.
"When you draw your last breath of life, that's when your punishment will begin," he said.
A sobbing mother, Linda Landers, talked of her son, Monte, a skinny-armed 19-year-old with a memorable laugh.
CLINGING TO MEMORIES
Now, she clings to the memories of her son, because of what Pinkerton did. That is all she has left.
She said she has great memories of holding him, dancing with him and whirling around.
"I will never again feel those skinny arms or hear that laugh. I will never hear him say, 'I love you mom,'" she said, bursting into tears.
Between sobs, she told Pinkerton about the night police told her Monte was murdered. She remembered screaming and falling to the ground because of an unimaginable pain.
For years she tried to shelter her four other children from the hurt Pinkerton had caused her family, but she realized about a year after Monte's death, that she did not die when her son was murdered. Instead, a hole was placed in her heart.
"There isn't a day that goes by I don't remember that laugh, that little curl of hair he had on his head when he was a baby," she said.
"And again, my heart is pulled out by the roots," she said.
Pinkerton never reacted to the crying mother. He sat, with a vacant stare, as if he was looking through her.
One by one, they took the stand, each waiting for the chance to confront their loved ones' killer.
When Kathy Hamilton's brother David Maxwell died, she said her family died too. Her father's health declined, and the family business when into bankruptcy. Years later, her other brother committed suicide.
"Please look at me," she demanded when Pinkerton turned his gaze away.
"You are not only a murderer, but a coward," she said.
Maxwell's wife, Lana Dunkerley, took the stand and spoke in a voice as if she could have been 18 - the age she was when her new husband was killed.
She described herself as a chubby girl who may not have turned everyone's head.
"But David Maxwell loved me," she said, her eyes beginning to tear.
When David Maxwell was murdered, Lana was 18-years-old. They had been married for only a short time. And she remembered the cool, crisp autumn day her husband said he would return home.
"He wasn't supposed to be there," she said of the restaurant.
It got late. He didn't return home when he said, and Lana grew mad.
"I went to bed that night mad," she said.
"When you're 18-years-old and you get married you don't think bad things will happen. It wasn't until I reached in that casket and felt his hand I knew that was my David," she said.
Not long after the death of her husband, Mrs. Dunkerley gave birth to David Maxwell II. She was three months pregnant when Maxwell was murdered.
"God gave me back what you took from me," she said with her eyes fixed on Pinkerton.
Her son, now 23, stood beside her.
Dunkerley's voice softened and she said, "I don't think you're really sorry for what you did, and there isn't any way for me to shame you into it," she said.
With the same calm demeanor as his mother, David Maxwell II took the stand and told Pinkerton he robbed him of the most important thing - memories.
Other families told Pinkerton of the love they felt for the family members he murdered, and how he cut their promising lives short, but Maxwell said he will never know his father or the kind of man he was because of Pinkerton's actions.
"I have nothing. All I have are the stories people tell me and the photos they show me," he said.
"You were facing the death penalty, and you got to say no. You can't stand up and take your punishment like a man. You should be ashamed of yourself for wimping out," he said.
Eyes fixed on Pinkerton, Kimberly Miller, Mary Tyler's daughter, took the stand and told him of the hatred in her heart. From a pre-written statement she said, "I hope you miss everyone you ever loved, if you ever loved anyone."
Her hands still trembling, clasping the paper, she walked directly past Pinkerton, never breaking her gaze as she exited the witness chair.
"I never thought this day would come and I would get to confront the monster of my dreams," said a family member of Joey Johnson.
She described Johnson as a man who loved life, people and his church. He was someone that everyone wanted to be around.
Now, because of Pinkerton, she said the memories of Johnson have been tainted.
"I can't think of him without thinking of you, and I don't want to think of you," she said. "You make me sick."
When the victims' families were done speaking, Judge Clay Gossett remanded Pinkerton to the state's custody.
"May God be with you," Gossett told the families.
As Pinkerton was led out of the courtroom, the families continued to cry, leaning on each other for support.
Staff Writer
HENDERSON - One by one, with unwavering anger and sadness, family members of five murder victims looked their loved ones' killer in the eyes and told him how he destroyed their families one day 24 years ago.
Romeo Pinkerton sat watching them speak Monday afternoon, never reacting, and when the families were finished crying and pleading, he stood from the defendant's chair and walked calmly out of the courtroom led by sheriff's deputies.
"Part of my life died with her," said Opie Hughes' daughter, Myra, in a pre-written statement.
She was 16-years-old when her mother was murdered, a time she said when mother-daughter relationships are important.
Myra Hughes told Pinkerton her last conversation with her mother was an argument, but it ended with Opie Hughes telling her daughter she loved her.
"I would never hear those words again, and I cannot begin to emphasize my sadness and anger," she said.
Her brother, Merle Hughes, said he was 11 when his mom died and his world was turned upside down. Pinkerton had forever changed his life.
"I wanted to be with my friends, but I didn't want to leave my father alone because I was afraid of what would happen to him," he said.
As Pinkerton turned his eyes away from Jack Hughes when he spoke of his former wife, Hughes demanded his wife's murderer look at him.
"You had no right. No one has the right to be the animal that you are," he said.
"Thank you for looking at me. I want you to think of me for the next 100 years," Hughes said.
"When you draw your last breath of life, that's when your punishment will begin," he said.
A sobbing mother, Linda Landers, talked of her son, Monte, a skinny-armed 19-year-old with a memorable laugh.
CLINGING TO MEMORIES
Now, she clings to the memories of her son, because of what Pinkerton did. That is all she has left.
She said she has great memories of holding him, dancing with him and whirling around.
"I will never again feel those skinny arms or hear that laugh. I will never hear him say, 'I love you mom,'" she said, bursting into tears.
Between sobs, she told Pinkerton about the night police told her Monte was murdered. She remembered screaming and falling to the ground because of an unimaginable pain.
For years she tried to shelter her four other children from the hurt Pinkerton had caused her family, but she realized about a year after Monte's death, that she did not die when her son was murdered. Instead, a hole was placed in her heart.
"There isn't a day that goes by I don't remember that laugh, that little curl of hair he had on his head when he was a baby," she said.
"And again, my heart is pulled out by the roots," she said.
Pinkerton never reacted to the crying mother. He sat, with a vacant stare, as if he was looking through her.
One by one, they took the stand, each waiting for the chance to confront their loved ones' killer.
When Kathy Hamilton's brother David Maxwell died, she said her family died too. Her father's health declined, and the family business when into bankruptcy. Years later, her other brother committed suicide.
"Please look at me," she demanded when Pinkerton turned his gaze away.
"You are not only a murderer, but a coward," she said.
Maxwell's wife, Lana Dunkerley, took the stand and spoke in a voice as if she could have been 18 - the age she was when her new husband was killed.
She described herself as a chubby girl who may not have turned everyone's head.
"But David Maxwell loved me," she said, her eyes beginning to tear.
When David Maxwell was murdered, Lana was 18-years-old. They had been married for only a short time. And she remembered the cool, crisp autumn day her husband said he would return home.
"He wasn't supposed to be there," she said of the restaurant.
It got late. He didn't return home when he said, and Lana grew mad.
"I went to bed that night mad," she said.
"When you're 18-years-old and you get married you don't think bad things will happen. It wasn't until I reached in that casket and felt his hand I knew that was my David," she said.
Not long after the death of her husband, Mrs. Dunkerley gave birth to David Maxwell II. She was three months pregnant when Maxwell was murdered.
"God gave me back what you took from me," she said with her eyes fixed on Pinkerton.
Her son, now 23, stood beside her.
Dunkerley's voice softened and she said, "I don't think you're really sorry for what you did, and there isn't any way for me to shame you into it," she said.
With the same calm demeanor as his mother, David Maxwell II took the stand and told Pinkerton he robbed him of the most important thing - memories.
Other families told Pinkerton of the love they felt for the family members he murdered, and how he cut their promising lives short, but Maxwell said he will never know his father or the kind of man he was because of Pinkerton's actions.
"I have nothing. All I have are the stories people tell me and the photos they show me," he said.
"You were facing the death penalty, and you got to say no. You can't stand up and take your punishment like a man. You should be ashamed of yourself for wimping out," he said.
Eyes fixed on Pinkerton, Kimberly Miller, Mary Tyler's daughter, took the stand and told him of the hatred in her heart. From a pre-written statement she said, "I hope you miss everyone you ever loved, if you ever loved anyone."
Her hands still trembling, clasping the paper, she walked directly past Pinkerton, never breaking her gaze as she exited the witness chair.
"I never thought this day would come and I would get to confront the monster of my dreams," said a family member of Joey Johnson.
She described Johnson as a man who loved life, people and his church. He was someone that everyone wanted to be around.
Now, because of Pinkerton, she said the memories of Johnson have been tainted.
"I can't think of him without thinking of you, and I don't want to think of you," she said. "You make me sick."
When the victims' families were done speaking, Judge Clay Gossett remanded Pinkerton to the state's custody.
"May God be with you," Gossett told the families.
As Pinkerton was led out of the courtroom, the families continued to cry, leaning on each other for support.
