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. According to the information filed in the case, Hendricks had a firearm as well as methamphetamine, heroin, ecstasy and fentanyl with her when arrested. One worker, Anthony Bates, died after being tortured with the cattle prod. The men involved might have been found guilty, but they barely saw any jail time. Olson is in the Baxter County Detention Center with bond set at $25,000. See pricing and listing details of Mountain Home real estate for sale. He was just a young boy when his father and grandfather were arrested and their so-called Texas Slave Ranch was raided in 1984. Home. Benton County tax records show her to be the owner of the property. Investigators added that the couple's children were safe and were found with the suspect, whose name has not been released. Find directions to Mountain Home, browse local businesses, landmarks, get current traffic estimates, road conditions, and more. At least one man was presumed dead. Even the date of the killing seemed ripped from a bad crime novel. No information is available as to what brought Brazil to this area. Slave Ranch Trial-Kerr County courthouse, witness Dennis "Pete" Johnson . They hired the best attorney money could buy, and hired Richard RacehorseHaynes. It was a way to take out frustration, but there was no premeditated murder.. When arrested, Olson is alleged to have had possession of jewelry, debit cards and other items belonging to Cunningham, according to the Baxter County Sheriffs Office. On the tape, Bates could be heard pleading with someone named Robert to stop. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. You just really didn't want to get up and socialize when they came in; they were scary, she said. 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. Walter Wesley Ellebracht III, the son of Jr and Joyce, was killed in an automobile accident Jan. 20 on Highway 290 just out side Fredericksburg. She won, receiving nearly half the ranch, about 1,300 acres, which was then valued at $1.7 million. He looked at the past and said, 'I'm here now, nobody can change that,' he said. 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.. Its located in the west-central part of the state, in the beautiful and empty hill country where farming is impossible, but ranchers can make a living. 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.. Eric Monroe Hooker. After that first brush with the law, he had other criminal charges brought against him in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017 and last year. 5-23-1986. Slavery charges shock Texas hill country - UPI Archives Mountain Home Police were investigating a stabbing death that involved a mother and son Sunday night. Murder victim Cody Stradford was alleged to have loudly begged two men to stop hitting him during a violent, and ultimately deadly, encounter at a Mountain Home residence on Dec.4 last year. Through the years, Lindsey has been charged with 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. 'Texas Slave Ranch' offspring made the best of life. 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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. I totally thought we were screwed. A few lodging options in Mountain Home are the Flagler Ranch Guest House, the Y.O. Homicides - 2007 - NCCADV Boyd arrived at the ranch after hitchhiking, but he wasnt the only traveler picked up by Wes and Junior that day. 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. She graduated from Del Mar College with an Associate's degree in political science and liberal arts. UPDATE: Mother, daughter receive concurrent life sentences in 2012 Loraine Haynie, 86, checks on her husband, Jim Haynie, in his home office in Mountain Home. 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. In the early 20th Century, the town was known as Eura. He said that he saw so much bad in the world that he wanted to look for the good.. Authorities say a Hood County man was killed by a cougar. Texas On the tapes were agonizing screams, laughter, taunts, the buzzes of a cattle prod and the foulest of obscenities, an article in the Houston Chronicle said. 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. Bates was hitchhiking through the vast open spaces of west Texas when he was lucky enough to get a ride and a job offer. Business papers located on the scene revealed records verifying that dozens of men, and some women, had worked on the ranch over the years. He was rearrested Aug. 19 and charged with theft by receiving stemming from an allegation he was in possession of a motorcycle reported stolen in Mountain Home in early July. 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. 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. 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. Copyright 2023 Empire Media Group, Inc. Front Page Detectives is a registered trademark. According to the probable cause affidavit in the gun case, the weapon is the one that was in Lindseys possession when he was arrested in Texas. washington state missing child; oak island treasure update. And the victims were unsavory types whose testimony was suspect. Mystery of Star Cyclist's Murder Deepens as Police Seek Suspect Lindsey is also charged in Arkansas with possession of the stolen handgun. 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. In 1878, the family packed up their belongings and headed off to start their homestead in the hills of the Texas Hill Country. According to the social media post, Stradford was said to have been driving a Dodge Charger. But the guy was dead, and there was no bringing him back. Elevation: 1,909 ft In the 1970s and 80s, the Ellebrachts recruited the men knowing they wouldnt be missed, and wouldnt be believed. A Town in Terror Part II: Hawkins mourns three young victims, as law Raid and trial [ edit] Members of the community were not in the dark, either: it was well known that the Ellebrachts drove up and down the highway in their blue van looking for hitchhikers. Mark C. Lucas, an attorney practicing in Centerton had filed his formal entry as the defense attorney for Brazil. Few details were available Tuesday evening, but police said the death appeared to be the "result of domestic violence involving an estranged husband.". A book was written about the ranch, The True Story of the Texas Slave Ranch How a Degenerate Ranching Family Got Away With Murder.[3]. Walter Wesley EllebrachtSr. and his extended family had lived in Mountain Home, TX,for generations, and they were known as decent folk. Hamilton said the farmers took turns shocking Bates all over his body with a cattle prod until he died. Front row L-R , Walter Wesley Ellebracht Sr. Leona Ellebracht(mother of senior) Richard "Race Horse" Haynes. The sparks came from an electric cattle prod used by the torturer. 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. Bates was shocked by the cattle prod sometimes more than 30 times in a torture session, including shocks administered to his genitals and tongue. She is also the only one of the four to list an address outside this area. Erica has covered a wide array of stories all over Central and South Texas. The raid on the ranch revealed charred human bone fragments around the property and audiotapes of the torture sessions conducted by the Ellebracht family. Hendricks was arrested at a home along South Mt. The ranch hosts controlled hunting programs, a kids summer camp, and on site lodging and cabins. Hendricks also is charged with possession of methamphetamine, heroin, ecstasy and fentanyl with the purpose to deliver, according to Madison County court records. There were a lot of hitchhikers, but they were never held forcibly. According to Hidalgo County, Texas jail records, Lindsey has been charged in that state with unlawful possession of a weapon. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, no jury trials have been held for some time and will not be allowed to resume until next month. The ranchers were later arrested on multiple charges including aggravated kidnapping and murder in Bates death. Carlton Robert Caldwell speaks in his home in San Antonio, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013, about his involvement of conspiracy in 1984, to commit aggravated kidnapping in connection with what has been called "The Texas Slave Ranch" owned by Walter Wesley Ellebracht and his family near Mountain Home, TX. The home had apparently been entered Dec. 23 last year and then again on Christmas Day. Kerr County Sheriff Cliff Greeson inspects the pit whree slaves cooked their meals on a ranch about 25 miles West of Kerrville. Mountain Home, TX Map & Directions - MapQuest Anyone with information on the case in encouraged to contact Detective M. Corley at (208) 587-2101. According to criminal information filed in the case, Hendricks was alleged to have had the drugs and weapon in Madison County on July 19. According to investigators, officers found the body inside a home in southwest Mountain Home while investigating a missing person's case. places to stay, tourism, events, lodging, and we feature Texas Hill Country info Besides the torture tapes, also entered into evidence was one worker's poem, titled The Shack, and other recordings of the Ellebrachts putting workers on trial in the bunkhouse. 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 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. The three victims, two adults and one teenager . SAN ANTONIO - Kidnapping, torture and murder are some of the horrifying.
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