GUILTY TX - Billy Joe Harris for rapes of elderly women in 6 counties, 2011

[IWannaKnow]

Okay, this is an odd question, but in that clip they show what appears to be investigators walking near a rail road -- have all our victims been near a rail road- could our perp being using the train as transportation?

I was wondering that myself News Junkie. But that seems so obvious, especially since there have been other murderers who like this MO. I would really hope LE has already gone down that avenue....

 

[Texas Mist]

Interesting comments I noticed today -- FWIW since it's comments to article

Posted by: Belton resident Location: Belton on Mar 1, 2010 at 10:19 PM
I had a weird experience with a direct tv guy last year..............[more]

Posted by: jan on Mar 1, 2010 at 10:09 PM
last year i read that he was calling his victims and one woman even said he has tapped into her phone conversations...............[more]

http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/85826312.html?storySection=comments#commentSection

ETA: interesting that a DirecTV installer was acting so hinky....someone here thought of a guy like that being a possible perp....it would give him access to rural neighborhoods....wouldn't have to be a vic's house -- just close enough to scope one out.

 

[Texas Mist]

TM - are you sure they have a police force of their own? The links I saw from the town don't lead me to believe that. The town pages list a number to call, but that goes directly to McLennan Co. Sheriff's office, which makes me think that they are the first responders....

Moody Police Department
606 Avenue East
Moody, TX 76557
(254) 853-2581

I just called the number above & it was answered by a lady "Moody Police Department"...I told her I was calling to verify there was a PD & not just McLennan Co. Sheriff's Office...she said "Yes, there is a police department."

 

[IWannaKnow]

TM - the direct TV thing could be it. Those guys do cover a large service area and would have access to the whole house. Adds up with the cut phone lines too, but don't you think these ladies would be telling LE "oh, yes, that nice satellite cable installer was here" etc???

 

[IWannaKnow]

Moody Police Department
606 Avenue East
Moody, TX 76557
(254) 853-2581

I just called the number above & it was answered by a lady "Moody Police Department"...I told her I was calling to verify there was a PD & not just McLennan Co. Sheriff's Office...she said "Yes, there is a police department."

You are far braver than I, lol. I saw that, but when I googled the number it comes up as Moody Elementary School or McLennan Sheriff's office....:waitasec:. And several of the comments I've seen after the articles allude to a severe reduction of their police force...

http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/85826312.html?storySection=comments#commentSection

"Posted by: Moody Citizen Location: Moody on Mar 1, 2010 at 04:38 PM

Jim Lewis, Ray Meadows and Wendell Crunk reduced the law enforcement presence in Moody by 33%. This would not have happened 4 years ago"

 

[Texas Mist]

You are far braver than I, lol. I saw that, but when I googled the number it comes up as Moody Elementary School or McLennan Sheriff's office....:waitasec:. And several of the comments I've seen after the articles allude to a severe reduction of their police force...

http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/85826312.html?storySection=comments#commentSection
"Posted by: Moody Citizen Location: Moody on Mar 1, 2010 at 04:38 PM

Jim Lewis, Ray Meadows and Wendell Crunk reduced the law enforcement presence in Moody by 33%. This would not have happened 4 years ago"

It's actually surprising that a town of 1400 or so would have a PD....I've lived in little towns that size & never one that had a PD....the Sheriff's deputies or constables did patrol & serviced calls...TX DPS had a presence on the main hwys thru town so they kept an eye out, too.

I'd seen that comment (see my post #79) & guessed that it's pretty easy to reduce a force by 33% if there's less than 10-12 LEOs....maybe the graveyard shift was done away with & there's only LEOs on call? That would reduce a dept. by 33%.

 

[IWannaKnow]

It's actually surprising that a town of 1400 or so would have a PD....I've lived in little towns that size & never one that had a PD....the Sheriff's deputies or constables did patrol & serviced calls...TX DPS had a presence on the main hwys thru town so they kept an eye out, too.

I'd seen that comment (see my post #79) & guessed that it's pretty easy to reduce a force by 33% if there's less than 10-12 LEOs....maybe the graveyard shift was done away with & there's only LEOs on call? That would reduce a dept. by 33%.

I understand this is all conjecture but that would be our target time period, yes? Wonder how the perp could know this...

Do you think it could be the Direct TV guy, but he is waiting a long period of time after the installation before he attacks so they aren't putting the two together?

 

[Missizzy]

One of the things that is missing from this whole investigation is the lack of engagement of the possible victims. When we had our recent rash of rapes here in our town, women took to the streets and held "Take Back the Night" vigils. Police met with women's groups (and even one men's group) and went to the schools to talk to the kids about personal safety. The college held several informational meetings and flyers went up all over town.

I've seen very very little of this going on in Texas. Maybe it's not being reported. These older women need to be strongly encouraged to call with any tip, no matter how small. Tips shouldn't be anonymously posted on forums or whispered at church. There also shouldn't be a delay in reporting tips. LE needs to do some fast training of these women and where better but at the churches and community centers? It would probably take 30 minutes and a couple of take home brochures. Where's that task force and what is their budget?

We're going to have to accept that LE's probably not going to catch this guy through sheer luck. We here on WS, are not going to turn up the missing clue. No, an elderly lady who's been empowered by her recent personal safety training session is going to use her cell phone to quietly report a strange guy sitting in a car down the street. When LE rolls up, we'll be all too happy to listen to his story about the deer head in the trunk.

 

[Texas Mist]

One of the things that is missing from this whole investigation is the lack of engagement of the possible victims. When we had our recent rash of rapes here in our town, women took to the streets and held "Take Back the Night" vigils. Police met with women's groups (and even one men's group) and went to the schools to talk to the kids about personal safety. The college held several informational meetings and flyers went up all over town.

I've seen very very little of this going on in Texas. Maybe it's not being reported. These older women need to be strongly encouraged to call with any tip, no matter how small. Tips shouldn't be anonymously posted on forums or whispered at church. There also shouldn't be a delay in reporting tips. LE needs to do some fast training of these women and where better but at the churches and community centers? It would probably take 30 minutes and a couple of take home brochures. Where's that task force and what is their budget?

We're going to have to accept that LE's probably not going to catch this guy through sheer luck. We here on WS, are not going to turn up the missing clue. No, an elderly lady who's been empowered by her recent personal safety training session is going to use her cell phone to quietly report a strange guy sitting in a car down the street. When LE rolls up, we'll be all too happy to listen to his story about the deer head in the trunk.

Bouncing off your post here, MissIzzy --

I started a thread here

Serial rapist attacking elderly women in Virginia?? - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community

about a possible serial rapist attacking the elderly in Virginia....it doesn't look like LE is doing much except telling women not to open their door to strangers & be sure they leave a porch light on!! :banghead:

They need to be bringing more awareness to this situation - in VA & in TX.

Can y'all help me keep an eye on VA, too??

 

[txsvicki]

Since the Texas Rangers are in on this you'd think they might have staked out the woman's home at night if they had any way of knowing that her home had been entered and things moved around (especially the clock!) beforehand.

 

[Missizzy]

txsvicki--I think that's the problem. These women are not alerting LE to concerns. They are NOT being proactive and they've got to be convinced that they must be. My guess is that this caretaker and local LE about died when they heard that this woman had had a clock moved and a light broken out "a couple of weeks ago". It's a lot like a child telling a parent that a man tried to talk them into getting in his car to go look for a lost puppy last Wednesday.

There's a cultural divide here, related to age IMO. To my mind, Texas elder women fall into two categories. They are either hell on wheels (Molly and Ann types) or they don't want to "be a bother". Well, I'm bothered for them!!

This is proving to me that, more than ever, elders need specific education in personal safety. Let's not forget which age group gets scammed more often too. I think the Baby Boomers are going to arrive in their elder years with this info under their belt but there's a large part of the population who hasn't had this training. I think that those who live in safer, rural areas are actually more at risk as they've never had their guard up.

 

[eachandevery]

Bouncing off your post here, MissIzzy --

I started a thread here

Serial rapist attacking elderly women in Virginia?? - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community

about a possible serial rapist attacking the elderly in Virginia....it doesn't look like LE is doing much except telling women not to open their door to strangers & be sure they leave a porch light on!! :banghead:

They need to be bringing more awareness to this situation - in VA & in TX.

Can y'all help me keep an eye on VA, too??

Right, because leaving the porch light on is going to make all the difference when it comes to preventing a determined predator from attacking, especially in areas that are more rural. I must have missed the part in the Texas cases that said the women opened their doors and let the serial rapist in.

What is wrong with LE? Downplaying the seriousness of these situations isn't beneficial to anyone, let alone elderly women who believe they've reached a point in their lives where they are safe. So frustrating!

 

[Texas Mist]

Right, because leaving the porch light on is going to make all the difference when it comes to preventing a determined predator from attacking, especially in areas that are more rural. I must have missed the part in the Texas cases that said the women opened their doors and let the serial rapist in.

What is wrong with LE? Downplaying the seriousness of these situations isn't beneficial to anyone, let alone elderly women who believe they've reached a point in their lives where they are safe. So frustrating!

No worry - you didn't miss anything that I know of....We haven't heard that the elderly TX women are opening their doors...That's what was reported for the VA rapes & assaults.

 

[Missizzy]

I just came upon this article dated March 2nd. It's got a couple of good points (no DNA means he might not be a US citizen, OK) but a huge glaring error on page 2:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2752999/twilight_rapist_serial_rapist_in_texas.html?cat=47

"Since he does rob his victims and has possibly been captured on video at an ATM machine using one of his victim's ATM cards, perhaps authorities will be able to locate him this way.

What???? How could a reporter miss that the Lubbock rapist was found not to be connected to the Central Texas rapes. This is appalling as it will give people the impression that the guy in Lubbock is what our guy looks like and he could look VERY different. That wasn't the same man!! I'm going to send a quick email to the reporter and see if she can get that sentence retracted. I encourage others to do the same.

 

[Missizzy]

I see absolutely no way to contact anyone connected to that article. Help!! We need to get that error corrected. Is there nobody home at Associated Content?

The article was written by Aida Ekberg. I see no email address at all.

 

[A_News_Junkie]

I see absolutely no way to contact anyone connected to that article. Help!! We need to get that error corrected. Is there nobody home at Associated Content?

The article was written by Aida Ekberg. I see no email address at all.

This is a site where anyone can publish - not to be confused with Associated Press.
Here is a phone number for a guy named Luke: http://www.associatedcontent.com/pressroom.html

Look in blue box - press room

 

[Missizzy]

Thank you, ANJ, there's a little "contact" button there which connects to a message page. I left a message for the News Editor with several links explaining that the Lubbock rapist is NOT the Central Texas rapist.

I'm well aware of that particular news source and have been irritated with it in the past. However, this sort of error could cost someone their life. We've heard "dark-skinned" over and over and the young man in Lubbock was black. We have no idea what race the Central Texas Rapist is, however.

It really bothers me as that article came up first for me when I did a search today. I can imagine an elder lady reading and getting the wrong idea. Let's watch it to make sure they correct it.

 

[A_News_Junkie]

Thank you, ANJ, there's a little "contact" button there which connects to a message page. I left a message for the News Editor with several links explaining that the Lubbock rapist is NOT the Central Texas rapist.

I'm well aware of that particular news source and have been irritated with it in the past. However, this sort of error could cost someone their life. We've heard "dark-skinned" over and over and the young man in Lubbock was black. We have no idea what race the Central Texas Rapist is, however.

It really bothers me as that article came up first for me when I did a search today. I can imagine an elder lady reading and getting the wrong idea. Let's watch it to make sure they correct it.

Did you call them too? I hate that they picked that name to try to make some think they are the real AP - grrrrrrrr.

 

[justthinkin]

I went back to Google Maps, and tried pulling up the pics of the trucks again. I followed one via their web cam into the parking lot of David's, the local grocery store, just a couple of blocks down from the victim's house in Moody. Get this. There are only 4 cars in the lot, plenty of parking at the front of the building, rest of the lot empty, but this truck pulls over to the far side of the realatively large lot, and parks facing the building to the left of David's. This seems really odd to me unless the truck belongs to an employee who was arriving for work during daytime hours. Also, the way the truck is sitting, it looks like he pulled in perpendicular to a white car parked facing the front of the building, and he is blocking that car's way if the driver should come out and want to leave. I got a look at the back of the truck. It is a Chevrolet, but I can't tell if it is the mid size or full sized pick up. Map won't allow me to zoom in close enough to get a plate number on the truck. Also, the vehicle changes color depending on which frame I'm looking at of it. In some pics it looks maroon, in others black. Not sure why that is or how that happens, but it does do that.

I will next try for the truck going the opposite direction. If you will remember, I said there were two trucks caught on the Google Maps web cam in front of the victim's house. Wouldn't it be something if a Google web cam captured a photo of this rapist's vehicle? What would be the odds on that, a million to one? I'm guessing everyone knows how to work the Google Map Street View to move up and down streets?

There's one thing that all these women have in common. At sometime they have to go to the grocery store. Is that what he's doing? Sitting in the lot, observing elderly women as they come out, then following them home to find out where they live? I don't know if the truck spotted by the Google Street View Cam is the perp's vehicle or someone else's, but it sure gave me a good idea as to how he could accomplish his stake outs! The older the woman, the more likely it is that her husband is deceased. He obviously knows that.

I think he is choosing women who live either on rural lanes where the houses are far apart or women who may live a short distance from a commercial building. He could be parking his car in the building's lot then walk or sneak his way over to his victim's house to rob and rape her. At least this could have been the set up in Moody. I will have to look to see where the closest commercial buildings are to one of the victims in Yoakum whose street we have a picture of. If this guy pulls into a commercial building lot of any kind, and parks somewhat away from the building itself and out in the open, then little attention is going to be drawn to his vehicle day or night. And no one is going to pay any attention to any vehicle parked in a grocery store lot with someone sitting in the driver's seat. It's just too common an occurance.

 

[IWannaKnow]

I think he is choosing women who live either on rural lanes where the houses are far apart or women who may live a short distance from a commercial building. He could be parking his car in the building's lot then walk or sneak his way over to his victim's house to rob and rape her. At least this could have been the set up in Moody. I will have to look to see where the closest commercial buildings are to one of the victims in Yoakum whose street we have a picture of. If this guy pulls into a commercial building lot of any kind, and parks somewhat away from the building itself and out in the open, then little attention is going to be drawn to his vehicle day or night. And no one is going to pay any attention to any vehicle parked in a grocery store lot with someone sitting in the driver's seat. It's just too common an occurance.

justthinkin' - your post made me study my maps some more.....did you notice the very large cemetery kitty-cornered to the victims home across the railroad tracks??? I spent some time trolling the google street view based on your post which made me wonder where he was doing his surveillance from, and noticed that, which you can see from Ave D, across the tracks. I would think that he would have a good view of the victim's home, especially with some binoculars, and I wouldn't think he would attract a lot of attention parked in a cemetery, especially in the back and if he did stay there too many days in a row. Also, I noticed that she has what appears to be a dog run (?) next to her carport, appears to be dogless...but there are plenty of areas to conceal yourself and it doesn't appear to me the perp would be visible from either the house or the next door neighbors, either. This run backs right up to the alley and is blocked by the carport from the house. IF this is the guy, it seems to me he is doing his initial surveillance from the cemetery and maybe moving up to the dog run???

I tried to post pictures from google maps, but I'm apparently to stupid to make it work. So, please go to google street view and look at three things: 1) Moody Cemetery on Ave. C - turn around and look at the nice view of the victims home from there.
2) from Moody Cemetery, go back down Ave. C toward vics house, note good size tree and cedar bush directly across from her house. The only thing behind them are a large empty field and the cemetery. Great viewing spot. The only way you would be caught is if someone was driving down Ave. C, which doesn't look like much of a throughway, especially with Ave D right on the other side of the tracks...
3) Look at the little complex of dog house(?) etc next to the carport. Another nice viewing area in the dark when the neighbors wouldn't be able to spot him...

If anyone would like to give remedial lessons on map posting, I would be happy to try to show you guys what I've been looking at.

ETA: I went up and down Ave. C, there is nothing there. The closest houses are quite a distance away and the view to the cemetery protected by rows of trees and brush. The only thing next to the cemetery is a cell phone tower (!?!), fenced off with high fencing. He had this place to himself, to do as he pleased and he could have watched her from here for a very long time without anyone catching on, IMHO. Anyone think the cell phone tower is part of this, or just an accident, what with the cut phone lines?