Bonnie quit her job at the telephone company, and she and Connie moved into the Harkey house. Watching through a pair of binoculars, hed stare, for hours at a time, at the orchards that werent his. They thought the whole county should still revolve around them. It bothered Bonnie that we didnt have any money growing up, recalled her sister, Wilma Cook. Scanner chatter is a rich source of gossip in this tiny Central Texas city of 3,099, and ears perked up that Sunday as paramedics and law enforcement officers rushed four miles west of town to Harkeyville, where a 1927 red-brick house sat among three hundred acres of pecan orchards. House in Roubaix, Hauts-de-France, France Contact. Leave them blank to get signed up. 2012-2023, 2paragraphs Productions, LLC. Bonnie Chapman, the 24-year-old daughter of Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" Chapman is going through another unbearable family tragedy.. Less than five years after the death of her mother and Dog's . He did odd jobs, helped out around the farm, and went into town to buy groceries for Bonnie, who had started to grow feeble. Except there was one wrinkle. Second of all, if I thought somebody needed killing that bad, I would take care of it myself., Investigators, however, had reasons to be suspicious. The newlyweds moved into an apartment in town; Bruce went to class and worked at a Texaco station. FULL EPISODE: Queen of the County And where was Bonnie? One of Bruce Harkeys attorneys, Richard Davis, said their testimony was not credible, and he said no evidence linked Bruce Harkey to the killings. After reconstructing Bonnies movements that morning, the search team was stumped. The animals died from smoke inhalation. Season 10 Episode 10 - Videos 1:13 Preview Texas Double Murder Was "Epic Tale Of Greed" 1:46 Preview He just had a meltdown. Bruce looked forward to the day when hed take care of the orchards himself. Nobody else did that after the seventies., Perhaps it was Rileys work ethic and stature that first caught the attention of Bonnie Sawyer Compton. His silver hair was closely shorn, per regulations, and he wore wire-frame glasses and flimsy terry-cloth slippers. Premature loss of nuts For many years, lack of pollination causes the greatest loss of nuts. One of those girls was Judi Bishop, one year older and from Goldthwaite, a town 22 miles north. Bonnie let the baby die because he was a threat to her, because he was the firstborn male heir to Harkey Farms, he told me. Lillian, meanwhile, kept Bonnie occupied in the wood-paneled living room, their conversation and the TV muffling the sounds of Karens struggle. March 2023 Reader Quiz: What Did You Learn? The grisly crime shocked the rural community of Harkeyville named for the pecan-farming family in San Saba County, about 100 miles northwest of Austin. Bonnie Harkey was still living on the farm, and her guardian believed she deserved more than the $44,000 the brothers were offering from the sale of the land, McAfee said. That summer the couple left San Saba and moved to Lubbock,where, like his siblings, Bruce enrolled at Texas Tech. FULL EPISODE: Queen of the County [The doctor] had given us explicit instructions not to feed this baby and put him down with nobody around. (Bonnies niece Teresa contests this view. To comfort her, the sheriff handed her a cup of water, and her lawyer whispered, You are making out better than anyone else in this, by far. She received 45 years. Bonnie Harkey was reported missing on March 26, 2012, after Johnsons body was found at Harkeys home. They have also lived in Caryville, TN and Statesville, NC. The Harkey family owns hundreds of acres of walnut farmland in Central Texas. He explained their animosity. Riley would tell her something wasnt right, and she would say it was, and theyd get in a big fuss over it.. Rencontre avec Vincent Huguet (EDHEC Master 1998) co-fondateur et co-CEO de Malt. I think part of their attitude goes back to being a Harkey, said Teresa Cook, Bonnies niece. Bruce Harkey in the visitors room at the Byrd Unit, in Huntsville, in September 2014. How much money can you make off a pecan tree? He called Sheriff Brown. And I said, Forwhat? Despite his protestations, he was arrested two days later, for criminal solicitation of capital murder, an allegation he pronounced absolutely and totally ludicrous. He vociferously contested Carls version of events. The Johnsons and the Harkeys became great friends, going out to dinner and traveling to gospel concerts in Marble Falls and Burnet. Bruce claimed hed been framed in the federal case, but many around town distrusted him, suspecting something was amiss in the Harkey family. We support the Constitution, Smaller Govt, and Individual Liberty. Surgical assistant in periodontal practice. mostly concerned himself with fire ants, which can hamper the grafting process and damage expensive irrigation equipment. Where is Harkeyville Texas? Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Connie N Harkey. How many pecan trees do you need to produce pecans. He tried to have me killed. He sped down U.S. 190 in his white truck, passing neatly tended rows of pecan trees and the cattle auction barn, then crossed the San Saba River and rumbled down the caliche road to the two-story house. Thats when hed settled on Carl. She, like the three hundred other assembled mourners, was still reeling from the shock of her friends violent end. Pressley and his girlfriend, Lillian King, face charges in San Saba and Leon counties. House in Roubaix, Hauts-de-France, France Contact. Though Connie became her temporary guardian, more instability ensued. But when one of the owners couldnt get the blessing of his stepmothers guardian to sell it, authorities said, he decided to kill for it. There was bunch disease and stem end blight and fungal twig dieback. In a heartbreaking letter to the Texas Department of Public Safety to contest the revocation of her license, she wrote, in shaky cursive: I really dont know what caused someone to report that I am incapable of operating an automobile. It also uncovered a dark tale of family, greed, and hate. An agent for Hollywood movie star Tommy Lee Jones made a tentative unsigned offer of $574,000 for the family-owned orchard back in May 2011, Burnet County District Attorney Sonny McAfee said. She also wrote large checks to foreign telephone scammers. As a boy, Carl had suffered from ADHD and often butted heads with his mother; as a young man, hed developed a love for motorcycles and meth, which had worn his bottom teeth down to little yellow stubs. When Bonnie Harkey, the 85-year-old matriarch of a prominent San Saba family, was brutally murdered in 2012, her death spelled the end of a legendary pecan dynasty. Why are pecans more expensive than other nuts? The jury took one hour to find him guilty. And he paid another family member to do it. How many years will a pecan tree produce? We must not let death steal the memories of her joy in life! Pastor Crosby exhorted the crowd. What is the average price of pecans per pound? Wearing his thin, light-blue coveralls, Riley dispensed tips on everything from soil drainage and fertilization techniques to how many grazing sheep to allow in the groves and how to stave off pecan scab, a type of fungus that looks like a horticultural syphilis. Jump to: Biography Memories Family Tree Followers Connie Harkey's Biography Mesa, Az. Join Facebook to connect with Bonnie Harkey and others you may know. A portrait of Bonnie used in her obituary. Family members have fought a long battle in court over who would inherit those lands after the death of Bonnie Harkey. Meanwhile, KXAN has found that it is not the first time Bruce Harkey has been accused of soliciting murder. We uncovered a 2003 case in which there is evidence he tried to have his ex-wife killed. KXAN located Harkeys ex-wife, whom we are identifying only as Kami. She has been in hiding with their child since before her marriage ended.. They would laugh at her and criticize her food, her sister continued. If Riley represented security, Bonnie, for her part, embodied the kind of feminine presence that was missing from the Harkey household. Recounting the scary incident, Bonnie shared that she and her . This idea consumed him. They were separated immediately for questioning, and it wasnt long before Carl admitted that they had taken Bonnie for a drive in his car. Bruce Harkey, 62, was convicted Tuesday of the murder-for-hire plot that led to the 2012 deaths of his stepmother, Bonnie Harkey, and her housekeeper, Karen Johnson. The investigation into the murder of Bonnie Harkey and her caretaker broadens as lawmen look for a motive in the familys history.April 24, 2015. I know things are crazy right now, but I might have some information about where Bonnie Harkey is, the friend told the dispatcher. His late father left the family estate in Bonnies control, but Bruce was set to inherit a large portion of the estate upon his stepmothers death. Bonnie was ill, after all; they would have come into their inheritance soon enough. The home that sits amidst a 300-acre pecan farm, alongside actor Tommy Lee Jones' colossal cattle ranch property. I thought Bruce was my best friend. Investigators focus on one of Bonnies stepsons, Bruce Harkey, as the mastermind behind the plot to kill Bonnie Harkey. She was very good to everybody she knew too good to these people who took advantage of her, said Donna Bush., According to police, one Sunday back in the early spring while Bonnie was at church, her adopted grandson, Carl Pressley, sneaked into her home. I do drive slowly more times than I should because I would not want to hurt anyone. Carl would show up with a pickup full of pecans, and we bought them. San Saba County As for Carl, he was like a bad penny who kept turning up. She was a super sweet lady who would do anything for anybody, Boyd said. Because of that, Bonnie did pretty much everything she could to alienate me. He was convinced she had caused Erics death. Invisible to a farmer, the devastating fungus would stealthily invade through the roots, withering the leaves in an instant and killing the tree seemingly overnight. At Bonnies invitation, the young family stayed out on the farm for several days as they got the hang of new parenthood. But Bruce, now a convicted felon, had trouble finding work. You get rid of that kid or Im going back to Waco, he claims she told Riley. As volunteers combed the property, chief deputy Bill Price returned to the sheriffs office to work the phones. Our world has changed, and many people in it have become motivated by greed and grown up with a sense of entitlement, she wrote in theNews & Staron April 5. He rekindled a romance with a high school girlfriend, Jennifer Karnes, whom he persuaded to move to Lubbock and marry him, but she grew unbearably homesick and their union lasted only three months. But thats not all Carl Pressley told investigators. The Harkeys had long been one of San Sabas most prominent families, and their property sat next door to a stretch of pastureland owned by another notable native son, the actor Tommy Lee Jones. A local lawyer by the name of Dick Miller stepped in on Bonnies behalf, asking his law partner, Darrel Spinks, to get involved. Get rid of Bonnie this weekend, Carl said Bruce told him. That December, she won second place for her pie and cookie entries in the San Saba County Pecan Food Show; the next year she was on the front page of theNews & Starholding a plaque for her champion pecans. She got confused at church, showing up at the wrong Sunday school class one week. If you fill out the first name, last name, or agree to terms fields, you will NOT be added to the newsletter list. Friendly beer nerd. According to Carl, he approached another potential hit man about killing Bonnie and Spinks but found the $10,000 asking price too steep. The co-worker and Bruces boss became so alarmed that they alerted the authorities, and a Texas Ranger and an ATF special agent began to record Bruces conversations. IE 11 is not supported. ), Bruce, Carl, and Lillian were sent away to separate county jails, where they remained until Bruces trial this past April. For Bruce, however, the farm remained a source of tension. He said he would kill me and they would never implicate him, Kami told KXAN. It was very true. But his narcissism did little to endear him to the residents of San Saba. One major source of tension was their blended family. But when Brown arrived at the house, hefound a puzzling scene. They still handpicked all their pecans way up into the eighties and nineties. And then there was cotton root rot, the most pernicious of diseases, which could kill a tree from the inside. Bonnie Harkey owned the walnut farm and had given 94 acres of it to a grandson, Carl Wade Pressley. Top: The foyer where Karen Johnson was found dead. For almost three years after her death, the house remained exactly as Bonnie left it. That weekend turned out to be when the murders happened. Theres an epic tale of greed and betrayal in the heart of Texas. He knew the house well; since the early sixties, generations of San Sabans had attended the church suppers and cookouts hosted there by Bonnie Harkey, the familys matriarch. There would also, of course, be the payout from the estate. One time she wrote about sports. Lived in Riverdale IL | Milwaukee WI. View Details. I made my way down U.S. 190, passing Harkey Pecan Farms and its rows of trees. The entire county mourned Bonnie's death, killed by her stepson. Riley, meanwhile, focused on the familys holdings outdoors, tending as always to his pecan trees. There were weevils and caterpillars and webworms. Bruce, meanwhile, was shuttled back and forth a few times to live with his mother in Nevada (one move, when he was fourteen, was announced in theNews & Starwith the headline Bruce Goes West). How many acres do you need for a pecan orchard? In the days before the murders, hed proclaimed to everyone he encounteredat the San Saba Printing Company, at the Corner Caf, at J&Js Tractor Companythat he planned to spend the weekend at Johns house, in Fort Worth, playing golf. The baby seemed healthy, but shortly after his delivery the couple learned that his epiglottis was not fully formed, which meant that after feedings Eric had to be held or laid on his stomach so that he wouldnt choke on spit-up. John and Bruce reached out, and after some negotiation through an intermediary, Jones put down a $541,822.50 offer on the orchard. Outdoorsy types can enjoy hunting, fishing, hiking, and swimming. He needed an address to satisfy probation requirements, so he sent letter after letter to Bonnie, begging her to let him live on the Harkey farm. He paused, then gave a heavy sigh. Her ex-husband, a traveling salesman, had left her for another woman, and Bonnie had moved from Ocee to the city with their daughter, fourteen-year-old Connie. The daughter of Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" Chapman and the late Beth Chapman told ET Thursday that she lost her home in a fire. When Bonnie and Karen got home, he texted Lillian, who was to come back and ring the doorbell, serving as a distraction while he tiptoed into Bonnies bedroom. They set up a sting operation, in which an informant provided Bruce with an illegal silencer and federal agents then arrested him, charging him with possession of a firearm in connection with a crime of violence. Two years after the murders of Bonnie Harkey, 85, and her caretaker, Karen Johnson, the last two suspects involved in their deaths have been sentenced. Bruce Harkey, they say, felt pressure from years of past-due child support. For almost three years after her death, the house remained exactly as Bonnie left it. Oops, this content can't be loadedbecause you're having connectivity problems, By Associated Press - Wednesday, April 30, 2014. Whether Bonnie was the instigator or not, it is true that those years were unstable for Bruce. As I got out to read the inscription, the propertys owner, a mustachioed 74-year-old named Larry Hibler, rode up to me on an ATV. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. (Farming is gambling, and I didnt think that was the most prudent thing to do with an eighty-four-year-olds money, when she might need it for hospital care, Spinks said. Harkeyville is north of U.S. Highway 190 two miles west of San Saba in central San Saba County. Bonnie, who grew up in a farming family during the Depressionher father planted cotton, corn, and wheathad always longed for a grander life. House in Marcq-en-Barul, Hauts-de-France, France Contact. This labor-intensive process takes time and costs money. They'd made a fortune in pecans, but a double murder would expose a vicious power struggle. View the profiles of people named Bonnie Harkey. But they werent real tears.. On April 1, 1970, a month before her due date, Judi gave birth to the next Harkey: a seven-pound, two-ounce boy named Eric. He had been playing video games in another room, he said through tears, and hadnt heard any commotion. IE 11 is not supported. BURNET, Texas (AP) - A Central Texas man faces life in prison for plotting the death of his stepmother so he could sell her lucrative pecan farm and make hundreds of thousands of dollars.
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