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

[Missizzy]

I wonder if he traveled about the state consulting in some fashion--setting up programs for jails and prisons. That might have given him access to local addresses.

I still can't figure out how these particular women came to be in some sort of database which he must have accessed. I wonder if there's a common theme. Had a relative of theirs been an inmate, had they at some point? Had they had an investigation due to a crime? There's got to be something that led him to these ladies. He spent an inordinate amount of time on planning his crimes once he'd chosen his victims.

 

[justthinkin]

I wonder if he traveled about the state consulting in some fashion--setting up programs for jails and prisons. That might have given him access to local addresses.

I still can't figure out how these particular women came to be in some sort of database which he must have accessed. I wonder if there's a common theme. Had a relative of theirs been an inmate, had they at some point? Had they had an investigation due to a crime? There's got to be something that led him to these ladies. He spent an inordinate amount of time on planning his crimes once he'd chosen his victims.

Perhaps all he did was subscribe to a number of local papers. Such small towns, some too small for a paper even, but sometimes several rural towns are included in one newspaper with happenings going on, ladies getting together.

He had to have help in Yoakum, and that's all there is to it. There is no way he could have known where his first victim? (the one he raped twice) had moved if he hadn't had some kind of inside information, either through a relative who lived in the town, LE or, ding, ding, ding, released convicts.

Maybe he had some financial arrangements with inmates or former inmates in some sort of a you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours situation. Inmates or released prisoners gave him the names of older women they happened to know of who lived alone in the towns they came from, in exchange for something, perhaps money for the commissary or under the table deals they made from fenced goods he stole and sold on their behalf. JMO.

There's gotta be a connection somewhere.

 

[waltzingmatilda]

I am so happy this evil twisted person has been caught. I wish we had more info on exactly when he was stationed at Ft Bragg and Ft. Hood. I doubt he just started raping and am curious about any unsolved cases in other towns he has lived.

Great sleuthing on this thread! Everybody raise your right hand and give yourselves a collective pat on the back!

Hopefully we will hear more details soon.

wm

 

[IWannaKnow]

No Missizzy, that statement wasn't there when I cut and pasted that. Everything I've read says he is a cook. JH stated she met him in Germany and he was a cook for the Army IIRC. He was a food services manager, etc. Nothing about being a cook would allow him to function as a corrections officer. And as far as home health, what was he doing for them??? They don't hire cooks separate from housekeepers, LNA's, etc. One person does the whole show from what I know.....

The only thing that I can remember that might fit is the Moody victim (I THINK) said they had a caretaker who had been into some trouble.....maybe she had a little stay at Billy Joe's establishment and gave him some information? Sorry, I can't remember exactly which victim that was, and then someone else said "no", but I have to wonder knowing what we now know. I could have been one of the early victims, I just can't remember. I think it was in a video, there was a woman in a plaid shirt, leaning against a brick wall under a porch, talking to the reporter or the sheriff, talking about a caretaker the woman had........does that ring any bells for anyone else??

JH said Billy Joe had a problem with infidelity. I'm thinking Missizzy might be on to something with a girlfriend (and crash pad) in every town.

 

[colette]

Many home heath aides stay alone with an elderly person for a few hours to all day or night. Sometimes people use them on a temporary basis. Family members could have made calls to his agency and he could have had a way to see the client lists ect. Many of the people taken care of at home have dementia. I could imagine he could have raped women patients too and got away with it for years.

 

[A_News_Junkie]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7375403.html

"And, police say, they were possibly all the victims of a state prison employee living in Missouri City, a newly married man they believe may be the elusive Twilight Rapist...."

"Edna police officers after bolting from the apartment of a 59-year-old disabled woman who had just been sexually assaulted, McCraw said."

"So far, DNA evidence has linked him to six of the attacks, McCraw said Monday. The perpetrator became known as the Twilight Rapist because his crimes were committed in the evening or early morning."


"He moved to the Houston area in May 2010 and married his wife, the former DCW, that same month, records show. They formed the BDK Healthcare business in June, Harris County Clerk's documents show"


"Police found Harris' car, a red 2005 Suzuki, parked at the vacant building of a former youth center next door to the victim's apartment complex,"


"Investigators also served a search warrant at Harris' Missouri City home and found items stolen from four of the dozen women who were attacked...."


"A veteran of the Army, Harris has lived in Macon County, Ga.; Fort Bragg, N.C.; Fort Hood; and Fort Lee, Va., public records show.
Any woman who believes she was attacked by Harris but did not report the crime is encouraged to contact her local sheriff's office or police department."

 

[waltzingmatilda]

Wow! Thanks for the link, A N J.

JMO, but it sounds to me like he probably had access to some type of database through the healthcare biz but didn't physically 'sit' for any of the victims or he would have been recognized. He looks much younger in that pic. It's no wonder the victims thought he was younger than he is. Like Izzy said, some of the ladies may not have had on their glasses. Also, when I think about it, I am not so sure that I wouldn't be fooled into thinking he was younger when I consider the time of day of the attacks. Especially if I were being raped. I would probably just close my eyes and wait for it to be over and hope I survived the attack.

Moo

wm

 

[Missizzy]

ANJ--You need to alert or edit your post to remove the wife's name. Just a reminder, we have to use initials. Thanks for the update. So newly married....hmmmm.

And sadly, the 59 year old woman was sexually assaulted. I was afraid of that. Interesting that she was disabled as she's the youngest of all those reported.

It's a done deal with DNA match and finding the stolen items. I guess his home was chock full of deer heads and clocks. I want to read more about who this man was. He's very very scary.

 

[Missizzy]

IWannaKnow--You are correct. It was the Moody case where a woman (in a plaid shirt) spoke to LE about being a caregiver. A relative of the victim straightened things out by saying that she was a house-cleaner and was looking for a little attention. And yes, I believe she had a drug problem and possibly a record.

I also remember a tidbit that showed up at least once. The man cooked in the victim's kitchen. She came home to find that someone had used the stove and worried about her own memory. It's like he was playing with their minds. Very very odd and frightening.

A red car surprises me but he's bold.

 

[waltzingmatilda]

Many home heath aides stay alone with an elderly person for a few hours to all day or night. Sometimes people use them on a temporary basis. Family members could have made calls to his agency and he could have had a way to see the client lists ect. Many of the people taken care of at home have dementia. I could imagine he could have raped women patients too and got away with it for years.

collette, you just may be on to something here. I want to know know more of this man's history.

wm

 

[justthinkin]

Maybe I'm dense, but I just don't see how any person working as a health aid is going to have access to some database that covers 19,000 sq. miles which is the area covered by the rapes that we know of.

Home health care agencies are localized for the most part. I'm sure larger ones service rural areas within a certain proximity to the cities where they do their main business, but I don't believe there is any way an agency in say, Austin which is where he was living for part of 2009 when the rapes were occurring is going to have clients or even potential clients in Buffalo, TX or Yoakum, Luling or even in Bell County.

Now it is entirely possible that the families of these women had advertised for a home heath care worker on Craigslist, which operates in a number of locations throughout Texas, and this rapist responded to the ads or got a female friend of his to respond to the ads gaining pertinent information about potential victims, which he then stored for months before attacking so that the ad wouldn't be associated with the rape.

This guy was pretty shrewd. Usually rapists are very localized, but this character was covering such a large territory it made it extremely hard to track him. They really never knew where he was going to strike next. That he was caught was just pure luck.

I'm just thankful his reign of terror is over! I won't be surprised if he gets the death penalty for his crimes.

 

[concerndgdaughter]

I can say after looking at the home health care angle that this was not the one that my grandmother used. I can say that the one she used was a "chain" for lack of a better word which was why I always thought it was possible. I wonder what the new wife's background is, since they mention it was their business together. Whose idea was it to start the business and which of them would have the knowledge?

 

[Indianagirl]

http://www.click2houston.com/news/26445547/detail.html

More info on work history and arrest:

"Employment records obtained by Local 2 Investigates showed 53-year-old Billy Joe Harris has worked on and off for the state prison system for the last 11 years. Texas Rangers have said Harris is believed to be the so-called "Twilight Rapist," a man wanted in at least a dozen sexual assaults, attempted sexual assaults and burglaries in seven counties over a two-year span.

Records from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice show Harris worked as a food service manager and corrections officer for different prison units at different times from 1999 through 2010. State records show Harris also worked as a corrections officer for the Texas Youth Commission. Recently, Harris had returned to work as a food service manager for the Terrell prison unit in Rosharon.

Before coming to work for the state, Harris served in the Army from 1976 to 1998, when he was honorably discharged."

......snip.....

"Harris' two-year run from police ended at the the Miracle Manor assisted living community in Edna. Police said a disabled 59-year-old woman hit her medical emergency alert. When the officers pulled up, they noticed a screen was popped out of the woman's window.

"We started hearing her screaming and yelling in there,' said Yaws.

Yaws said the door to her home was locked, but a few moments later Harris opened it, yelled, "I didn't do anything," and ran off. Yaws and Chastain caught Harris after a short foot chase."

 

[Missizzy]

I'd still like to know if he was wearing all his clothes when tackled. He was so bold, he often took them all off. From everything I've read, that's not common for rapists.

I also want to know more about the youth corrections angle.

 

[IWannaKnow]

Wow. So he really was a corrections officer and not just a cook. Scary.

I'm leaning toward the girlfriend angle. A girlfriend in every town who might have more information about the town's widowed residents. This guy strikes me as fancying himself quite the ladies man.

I would like to hear more from the ex-wife. Bet she is full of pertinent information....

 

[reen]

What a relief!!!!!!!!! I think it's fitting (and hilarious) that one of the cops who finally nailed this guy is also the town's animal control officer. LOL

So he was also the Edna school district's food service manager for a while. He would have access to some family information, but typically just that of the children and parents (address, income). I'll be interested to learn how he targeted these women so successfully. Creep. Too bad we don't have the death penalty for this kind of predator here in Texas, I can't think of anyone who deserves it more!

 

[lauradee]

I'd still like to know if he was wearing all his clothes when tackled. He was so bold, he often took them all off. From everything I've read, that's not common for rapists.

So glad this guy got got! In the Temple Daily Telegram yesterday, the print article said he was fully clothed when tackled, but this statement isn't in the online story.

Today's story refers to home invasions and burglaries as well as the assaults: http://www.tdtnews.com/story/2011/01/12/71666

 

[A_News_Junkie]

What a relief!!!!!!!!! I think it's fitting (and hilarious) that one of the cops who finally nailed this guy is also the town's animal control officer. LOL

So he was also the Edna school district's food service manager for a while. He would have access to some family information, but typically just that of the children and parents (address, income). I'll be interested to learn how he targeted these women so successfully. Creep. Too bad we don't have the death penalty for this kind of predator here in Texas, I can't think of anyone who deserves it more!

Oh my, the irony in that is rich indeed. Where did you see this - I missed it.

 

[Missizzy]

The possible contact with children scares the putty out of me. We know that Harris has a preference for elder ladies but this man strikes me as one who takes what he wants. I wonder if any children have come forward.

Interesting that he was wearing all his clothes. IIRC, he often took his time with his assaults. Maybe he hadn't totally stripped down yet or he's awfully good at getting dressed quickly. Remember how we wondered about some of the ladies' comments? They said that he talked to them about wanting to "make love". We wondered at the time if this might just be their way of interpreting what he said. Now, I'm thinking that's exactly what he said. He's a sick one.

I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how he skated under the radar for decades. I think he's really done a number on women's heads. I'll bet there are many many shaking their collective heads tonight....wondering how they could have been duped.

 

[Missizzy]

Harris was a busy man. I don't see how he had time to work. I checked and Edna is 42 miles from Yoakum. There's got to be a strong connection to Yoakum. He was driven to commit these crimes. It was like he was feeling an addiction. A couple of new articles:

http://www.khou.com/news/local/Rape-suspects-ex-wife-says-he-used-to-be-a-good-guy-113255209.html

Rape suspect's ex-wife says he used to be a good guy

"....he is not the man she married 35 years ago.

"He was different. He was a very clean guy, very to himself," JH said.

She said his personality began to change later and that she eventually divorced him in 2002 because of the abuse and his infidelity...."

more at link


And:

http://www.tdtnews.com/story/2011/1/13/71666

Police: Man a suspect in 18 home invasions


"Billy Joe Harris, arrested Saturday in connection with the sexual assault of a 59-year-old woman in Edna, may have been involved in up to 18 assaults and burglaries over the past two years, according to Department of Public Safety documents released Tuesday...."

and

"....Police believe Harris attempted a burglary in Yoakum sometime on the same night before he was captured in Edna...."

more at link