Ups & Downs In The KFC Murder Trial
Kenneth Dean
They sat quietly in the courtroom day after day. They listened to testimony that at times was hard for anyone to hear. They had waited 24 years for justice and the capital murder trial of Romeo Pinkerton was the beginning of an end - an end to the nightmare, which left them all with so many questions about the night their loved ones were killed.
One family member would later say she saw the "monsters" of her dreams - the monsters who stole her brother's life.
Pinkerton entered guilty pleas for his admitted role in the kidnappings and slayings of Mary Tyler, 37; Opie Ann Hughes, 39; Joey Johnson, 20; David Maxwell, 20; and Monte Landers, 19, taken from a Kilgore Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant Sept. 23, 1983. He was sentenced to five life terms in prison Monday by State District Judge Clay Gossett.
As an observer of the trial, there were feelings of profound sadness for the families as they listened to prosecutors describe the murder scene, how each victim was shot, how their bodies were positioned and then how they were identified in a morgue in Dallas.
There were feelings of anger as Pinkerton sat with a nonchalant attitude and failed to show any indication he was sorry for his actions.
I listened to the evidence the state presented to a jury of 15 men and women who were chosen to decide Pinkerton's fate.
The first day of opening arguments, the state surprised with information that Hughes had not tried to run from her captors, but was sexually assaulted. Hughes' body was found alone, while the other four victims were lying side by side. Her former husband and daughters cried when Texas Attorney General Prosecutor Lisa Tanner told the jury that semen stains were found in Hughes' clothing.
The first day I gave to the prosecution and, had I been a juror, I would have found Pinkerton guilty.
The next day, the defense team - consisting of Tyler attorney Jeff Haas and Gilmer attorney David Griffith - went to work on dismantling the state's case. A case even Tanner said had holes. For the next few days, Haas and Griffith tore at the key pieces of evidence in the case - a blood-splattered box and a bloody napkin. Evidence that only one law enforcement officer said was in the restaurant the day after the murders. No one else saw the box or napkin, and there were no photographs of either item being in the business.
Days two through four, I would have voted for an acquittal in the case and felt justified by the fact the defense had created a wall of doubt.
The Friday ending the first week, Tanner produced a Department of Public Safety Lab document that showed the box and napkin had been in the state's possession since Oct. 4, 1983.
Tanner continued with additional evidence and ended the week with a grand slam. The day went to the prosecution.
During the next week, the defense again poked holes in the case, but the state's witness, who described Pinkerton making a finger pulling a trigger on a gun gesture, seemed to seal the deal. Gossett would then recess the case early on Friday of the second week and told jurors they would not be back until Tuesday. As a journalist, this piqued my interest as to why and a few quick calls and a tip later I had a strong suspicion there was a deal in the works.
The state would not even be able to rest before Pinkerton would choose to enter his guilty pleas earlier this week in the Rusk County Courthouse. By pleading guilty, Pinkerton told the families of the five victims that he was there when they were killed.
The courtroom was filled with an emotional charge and it was difficult to choke back the tears as each family was represented during victim's impact statements.
Pinkerton again sat as if he didn't care what was being said, but one family member told Pinkerton to look at him while he spoke.
"When you draw your last breath of life, that's when your punishment will begin," Jack Hughes (Opie's former husband) said.
A shackled Pinkerton was then led from the courtroom back to the Rusk County Jail by half a dozen lawmen.
The families hugged each other, then the prosecutors and investigators. Some left the courthouse and others spoke with members of the media about the trial and the guilty plea.
One family member would say that until he saw the witness make the gesture of the handgun, he would have had to acquit Pinkerton if he was on the jury.
The families made their way to their homes scattered across the country, and Pinkerton was transported to a Texas Department of Criminal Justice unit where he began to serve his sentences.
A mountain of evidence and 50,000 documents in the case many thought would never be solved has been placed back in storage.
The prosecution is taking a few days of rest before marching forward with a second defendant. The defense attorneys will attempt to adjust to a life they had before their involvement in the notorious Texas murder case.
For the families, they wait for the trial of Pinkerton's cousin, Darnell Hartsfield, which has yet to be scheduled. Their emotions will be stirred once again, but, as several family members have stated, there is now light at the end of the long, dark tunnel they have been in for a quarter of a century.
One family member would later say she saw the "monsters" of her dreams - the monsters who stole her brother's life.
Pinkerton entered guilty pleas for his admitted role in the kidnappings and slayings of Mary Tyler, 37; Opie Ann Hughes, 39; Joey Johnson, 20; David Maxwell, 20; and Monte Landers, 19, taken from a Kilgore Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant Sept. 23, 1983. He was sentenced to five life terms in prison Monday by State District Judge Clay Gossett.
As an observer of the trial, there were feelings of profound sadness for the families as they listened to prosecutors describe the murder scene, how each victim was shot, how their bodies were positioned and then how they were identified in a morgue in Dallas.
There were feelings of anger as Pinkerton sat with a nonchalant attitude and failed to show any indication he was sorry for his actions.
I listened to the evidence the state presented to a jury of 15 men and women who were chosen to decide Pinkerton's fate.
The first day of opening arguments, the state surprised with information that Hughes had not tried to run from her captors, but was sexually assaulted. Hughes' body was found alone, while the other four victims were lying side by side. Her former husband and daughters cried when Texas Attorney General Prosecutor Lisa Tanner told the jury that semen stains were found in Hughes' clothing.
The first day I gave to the prosecution and, had I been a juror, I would have found Pinkerton guilty.
The next day, the defense team - consisting of Tyler attorney Jeff Haas and Gilmer attorney David Griffith - went to work on dismantling the state's case. A case even Tanner said had holes. For the next few days, Haas and Griffith tore at the key pieces of evidence in the case - a blood-splattered box and a bloody napkin. Evidence that only one law enforcement officer said was in the restaurant the day after the murders. No one else saw the box or napkin, and there were no photographs of either item being in the business.
Days two through four, I would have voted for an acquittal in the case and felt justified by the fact the defense had created a wall of doubt.
The Friday ending the first week, Tanner produced a Department of Public Safety Lab document that showed the box and napkin had been in the state's possession since Oct. 4, 1983.
Tanner continued with additional evidence and ended the week with a grand slam. The day went to the prosecution.
During the next week, the defense again poked holes in the case, but the state's witness, who described Pinkerton making a finger pulling a trigger on a gun gesture, seemed to seal the deal. Gossett would then recess the case early on Friday of the second week and told jurors they would not be back until Tuesday. As a journalist, this piqued my interest as to why and a few quick calls and a tip later I had a strong suspicion there was a deal in the works.
The state would not even be able to rest before Pinkerton would choose to enter his guilty pleas earlier this week in the Rusk County Courthouse. By pleading guilty, Pinkerton told the families of the five victims that he was there when they were killed.
The courtroom was filled with an emotional charge and it was difficult to choke back the tears as each family was represented during victim's impact statements.
Pinkerton again sat as if he didn't care what was being said, but one family member told Pinkerton to look at him while he spoke.
"When you draw your last breath of life, that's when your punishment will begin," Jack Hughes (Opie's former husband) said.
A shackled Pinkerton was then led from the courtroom back to the Rusk County Jail by half a dozen lawmen.
The families hugged each other, then the prosecutors and investigators. Some left the courthouse and others spoke with members of the media about the trial and the guilty plea.
One family member would say that until he saw the witness make the gesture of the handgun, he would have had to acquit Pinkerton if he was on the jury.
The families made their way to their homes scattered across the country, and Pinkerton was transported to a Texas Department of Criminal Justice unit where he began to serve his sentences.
A mountain of evidence and 50,000 documents in the case many thought would never be solved has been placed back in storage.
The prosecution is taking a few days of rest before marching forward with a second defendant. The defense attorneys will attempt to adjust to a life they had before their involvement in the notorious Texas murder case.
For the families, they wait for the trial of Pinkerton's cousin, Darnell Hartsfield, which has yet to be scheduled. Their emotions will be stirred once again, but, as several family members have stated, there is now light at the end of the long, dark tunnel they have been in for a quarter of a century.
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