Found Deceased TX - Leah Martin, 22, Graham, 29 May 2015 *Arrests*

[charminglane]

Could Leah have learned about the murders of the other 3?

 

[entomologygal]

What would EC have to gain by helping out with that motive? I believe EC is behind it all - he's the one that has most connection with LM and actually had something to gain. The other two, Minkley and RH were working for EC. Without EC, Leah would have no connection to the others, he's the common denominator. Why he'd want her killed, well that is not completely clear, but it has been stated that she had a 'relationship' with him which brings a whole host of different motives to mind.

What I think is unfortunate is that Minkley's past crime seems to cloud some of this and swerve a lot of people in a different direction.

 

[steelman]

Oops! Guess I missed a screen shot. Sorry!

Sullivan and Detective M.D. Green met with Minkley’s girlfriend on Sept. 1.

She told the detectives she and Minkley had gone to the house on Sunset to obtain some property they had been storing there. She said she stayed in the car while Minkely went inside.

The girlfriend told investigators she soon heard what sounded like a car backfiring twice before Minkley emerged from the house. She told police Minkley told her that Ronney Jackson had pulled a gun on him so he shot Jackson.

He told her he then shot an unknown man inside the house and later Sessums after she tried to call police, according to the affidavit.

The girlfriend told investigators Minkley then told her to come inside the house, where she saw the three victims. She said she and Minkley then retrieved items from the house that belonged to them.

Minkley also took Jackson and Sessums’ cellphones, as well as a laptop, from the home, the girlfriend told investigators.

Loughman said it is still undecided whether the girlfriend will be charged in the case.

“Our investigation into this offense is still ongoing,” he said. “That will be determined at a later date.”

Sullivan also later interviewed Minkley’s father, who told the detective that his son had confessed to him in a Sept. 1 phone call from the Young County Jail that he had killed three people in self-defense.

Minkley told his father that a man had pulled a gun on him but he was able to take the gun away and shoot the man. Minkley told his father he shot the other two people in the house after they began to grab at him, the affidavit states.

http://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/community/fort-worth/article36100101.html#storylink=cpy


She----> the girlfriend------> is Emmie Moon.

She admits to being there, she admits seeing the bodies dead in the house. This was from an affidavit taken on 9/1/15, This murder happened over a year ago in May 2014.


The part I highlighted in blue: That's not self defense, that just plain old murder.

 

[steelman]

Could Leah have learned about the murders of the other 3?

That's beginning to look like a good possibility to me. Maybe Leah overheard these guys talking it up one night there at the shop, after they had too many beers and were high on meth.

Emmie Moon has made some really odd statements and Facebook posts during the course of this thing. If you put them in perspective though, and pay attention to the timeline, all of these odd statements came after Leah had disappeared. Fortunately, those odd statements were saved through screenshots that have been posted in the comments sections.

You can see some of them here: https://www.facebook.com/grahamleader
Scroll down through the comments left yesterday in order to find them faster. You might want to pack a lunch, it takes quite awhile to scroll down through and read everything. A lot of the comments left by family members defending EM have been deleted.

--------------------------------------------
I think the motive behind this crime may be twofold:

Minkley needed to protect his secret about the triple murder, and Blair turned against her because she was "breaking up" with him. (although he's a married man)
Hellams is just a big dufus that hung out with the other two.

The rock found in her mouth may have very well have been because she had threatened to tell what she knew. Minkley needed her dead to protect him and Emmie, and Blair simply sanctioned it and gave him a place to do the deed. Blair may have had other motives as well that aren't clear yet.

Either way, Leah had no idea how dangerous these men were. She may have simply written it off as "big talk" by a bunch of drunks. I doubt she would've ever gotten close to the auto shop that night had she known she had a big target on her back.

There has to be some reason why Minkley just opened up and confessed to everything that happened in Ft. Worth after he was arrested in Leah's case. I'm definitely leaning now towards the two crimes being linked together. That in itself may be the biggest part of the motive, keeping Leah quiet.

 

[roadrunnermt]

Welcome LES! condolences to you and your family.

 

[roadrunnermt]

I think the investigators were tipped off by an informant of the possibility BM and EM connected to Ft. Worth homicides. I saw it in the affidavits. I think BM only confessed after being confronted with that info. In the early GL article when grave was found in the comments was someone saying Minkley linked to other crimes and there was also chatter about RH prior shooting a bus driver. I doubt this will be the last surprise charges coming out of this investigation. I hope those bars are talking.

Motive: Mixed rumors of affair and breaking it off, however, a 43-year-old coming onto a 23-year-old is NOT an affair!! That is a pedophile! And poor Leah got pulled into his games. Any possibility of pregnancy? Did the wife find out and plant the seed for the master plan? The extent of this torture seems extreme hate/jealousy rage, premeditated/lying in wait yo ambush her.

Who took her ring and why? Why were some bones missing? What was shotgun used for? Whose clothes in bag and was that turned in?

The female driven bavk to WF on 5/30 is the wife to the gentleman whom RH gave the gun and clothes to. Assuming also threatening caller. IMO they both deserve charges too for their parts in this ordeal.

 

[BlkMtnGirl]

Who took her ring and why?

I'm almost afraid to post because I'm not doing as well as I thought I was keeping up with all the news stories and facts ;-) but...
maybe the ring was an engagement ring from her fiance AB, and maybe it was a Blair family heirloom. Somebody in that family might not want that buried forever.

 

[Everyday Grace]

The female driven bavk to WF on 5/30 is the wife to the gentleman whom RH gave the gun and clothes to. Assuming also threatening caller. IMO they both deserve charges too for their parts in this ordeal.

Yes, the murder arrest affidavits say the unnamed female subject given a ride home to WF is the same woman who told LE she was paid by RH to make the calls.

This is the first time I have seen the phone calling woman identified as the wife of the [poorly Redacted by TRN, but presumably visibly named by GPD in the August arrest affidavits] man who ended up with the shotgun.

Interesting, because that man's wife would appear to fit as someone close enough to the RH family to spend a weekend at their house. This particular woman also fits as she has family in WF and could have been living there at the time.

Is this identification of the woman speculation, publicly known, known with any confirmation?

I ask because I have seen two other women specifically named and speculated in comments that are plausible as the paid phone caller due to their family relationships with the RH family. Not intending to put you in a spot on this, just wanting to get a sense of certainty before I run too far with this.

Wowza if the unnamed female subject is the wife of [Redacted] subject.

It certainly could raise the level of culpability as it could indicate prior knowledge of/participation in actions intended to bring harm upon Leah Martin, rather than what could be culpability stemming solely from participating in hiding a crime.

Mind kinda blown by this....

Running somewhat with it...the KAUZ report I linked and excerpted indicates that [Redacted] who told LE that RH gave him the shotgun was the first alibi for that night that RH provided to LE. An alibi that probably fell apart for some reason and was changed by RH "a few days later" to say he was in WF on the night Leah disappeared.

Yes, this is interesting if the two "subjects" are a married couple. The keys to their culpabilites may lie within statements they have each made to the investigators.

 

[Everyday Grace]

I'm almost afraid to post because I'm not doing as well as I thought I was keeping up with all the news stories and facts ;-) but...
maybe the ring was an engagement ring from her fiance AB, and maybe it was a Blair family heirloom. Somebody in that family might not want that buried forever.

Heck, I don't know that many people can keep up with all of the angles and information.

If the ring has that significance, I can see jealousy in several forms as a motivation.

I can also see that the family of Leah Martin would provide investigators with every bit of information about the ring and any significance. I can further see that law enforcement might withhold information from the public about the ring if it has significance to any subjects of their investigation.

The public does not know if the ring has been recovered, or not. Possible that it could have turned up under a search warrant, or not.

It appears to me that all of the search warrants and returns remain under seal. If they aren't, they become public information.

If they were/are in the public record, surely one of the reporters covering Leah's story would have them in hand and would have reported on them by now, even if the search warrants turned up no evidence other than Leah's body.

I'm struggling with fitting the threatening calls from a female into an ECB motivated-solely-by-his-own-jealousy scenario. What was the purpose of the calls?

"Couple to 3 weeks prior she was getting threatening phone calls. I don't really know all exactly was said, but they were threatening her with bodily injury and her life," Leah's father Billy Martin said.

http://www.texomashomepage.com/news/local-news/family-and-friends-still-searching-for-leah-martin

I had to rewrite and repost this comment because I inadvertently deleted it when editing a typo. Grr.

And now it won't post. Double grr. Copy and try later...

 

[missyb]

The female caller who was paid to make calls to Leah being at the house that weekend stands out to me. She is possibly a relative of RH but considering she was able to tell LE time RH returned home that night, stands to reason his wife,KH, knew as well. Where was she that night? Home? With RH? maybe with EC's wife? Based on FB Posts, they were friends. Spent time together.

Based on everything I've read, both have lied for their husbands. I honestly think they both (KH & LAB) knew what was happening that night. With the alleged affair, LAB would be furious with Leah. Especially since Leah has a child with her son. She wouldn't want her around period. Just my opinion, always seemed like jealousy and rage of a woman. LAB wanted Leah out of the picture. perhaps she convinced EC this was best for their son. Criminals working at the shop? Had easy access to have it carried out.

This is an ongoing investigation, three women probably should be (and will be) facing charges as well.

 

[steelman]

I think Emmie probably ended up with the ring. That would've been a trophy for Minkley as well. She's probably smart enough to have thrown it away once the heat got turned up..........maybe.

Did anybody see the "sighting" that was posted on GL Facebook shortly after Leah went missing, from the Colorado area ? This was before Leah was found, but shortly after she vanished. They did a screen shot and reposted yesterday.

The report said a tattooed guy and a girl came in to apply for a job at a convenience store. The girl said she worked at an auto shop in Graham but lived in the Graford area. It was later confirmed by LE that it wasn't Leah.

Of course it wasn't. I think it was Emmie and Minkley getting ready to leave town. Emmie was basically assuming her identity. They may have even had Leah's drivers license and other personal items. Keep in mind, for a long long time, LE was behaving as if this was a voluntary disappearance, and her family was totally frustrated by it.

 

[LES]

The family actually called the store themselves and were told the girl had been employed at one of their other stores for awhile, and was loaned to them when they were short handed.

 

[missyb]

Great point Steelman. I saw that post. I thought it was weird that if someone "voluntarily disappears" that they would volunteer so much info to a convenient store clerk. your catch on that is very plausible. And fits the description. Only thing IF this was tank and EM, I don't think they would have come back. Remember, they up and left quick after the Ft. Worth murders. Interesting to know where they were during that time of the sighting.

OR maybe that was part of the plan? Show up different places, leave these details to keep LE thinking she just up and left. Either way her family knew differently and was diligent in her search. Good for them!

 

[roadrunnermt]

I'm sorry. I think the caller and gun receiver being a couple is my assumption I pieced together as AB and MB. I think the female is a relative of KH. Also this female was at the Hellams house to know what time RH and BM returned there as well as she admitted to them both being at the shop. The guys (presumably) do whatever at the shop from 9:30 ish to 2:30 I think was quoted. Did they unload the body or carry with them on the trip to WF to take this lady home (highly doubtful)? Either scenario tells my gut these females knew what was going on. If they unload body, it's right by the house. If body makes trip with them self explanatory unless last option leah was still at the shop. The affadavits posted prior said they stopped at a hardware store (I think) before dropping female at her house in WF. What was this stop for? They drop her off and discuss with her hubs what they did and intended to do with the clothes and gun. This scenario thus puts the gun receiver with knowledge also and did not report it. From affadavits it appears only when interviewed or confronted these folks gave out info. I can't see a way around the females not knowing.

 

[roadrunnermt]

LES, if it is not protected information, can you clarify the calls? What where they trying to get Leah to do? Threatening violence/death if she didn't ???? (Quit job, stay away from EC? Do you wish to become a verified insider/relative to victim? Maybe a mod will explain for you.

IMO, I think LAB plays a big part as hers was a win-win situation. She convinces hubs framing him. LAB gets all monies, properties, rid of the cheating hubs and daughter-in-law. With hubs locked up, son takes over business (as stated same day ECB was arrested and sign removed by 3 pm), LAB steps into the role of helping raise the child whose mother was murdered.

I think the Colorado story was real, however, seeing those who shared it raised eyebrows.

 

[Everyday Grace]

I'm sorry. I think the caller and gun receiver being a couple is my assumption I pieced together as AB and MB. I think the female is a relative of KH. Also this female was at the Hellams house to know what time RH and BM returned there as well as she admitted to them both being at the shop. The guys (presumably) do whatever at the shop from 9:30 ish to 2:30 I think was quoted. Did they unload the body or carry with them on the trip to WF to take this lady home (highly doubtful)? Either scenario tells my gut these females knew what was going on. If they unload body, it's right by the house. If body makes trip with them self explanatory unless last option leah was still at the shop. The affadavits posted prior said they stopped at a hardware store (I think) before dropping female at her house in WF. What was this stop for? They drop her off and discuss with her hubs what they did and intended to do with the clothes and gun. This scenario thus puts the gun receiver with knowledge also and did not report it. From affadavits it appears only when interviewed or confronted these folks gave out info. I can't see a way around the females not knowing.

Leah was killed on that Friday/Saturday, May 29/30. Her body was presumably buried on Saturday, May 30, after the backhoe was acquired.

The shotgun was said in the affidavits to have been taken to [Redacted's] house on Saturday, May 30. I believe this took place before 2-2:30 am on that date, before RH went home to FM 209 and BM with him.

The ride home to WF was on Sunday, May 31, according to the affidavits. Before taking the woman home, a stop was made at Sutherland's -- a home improvement store like Home Depot & Lowe's. Leah's body would have been buried and covered before the WF trip.

But, yes, the women associated with the men involved in this story do appear to know much more than they have publicly acknowledged.

It is easy to picture that if a weekend female guest was still awake at 2-2:30 am, that others in that household may also have known what time RH returned home and that BM was with him.

It's also easy for me to picture several (if not all) of the women giving statements to law enforcement that didn't hold up in the course of the investigation.

Thanks for the clarification on the female caller.

 

[steelman]

Welcome LES! condolences to you and your family.

What happened to her family ?

 

[Everyday Grace]

I think Emmie probably ended up with the ring. That would've been a trophy for Minkley as well. She's probably smart enough to have thrown it away once the heat got turned up..........maybe.

Did anybody see the "sighting" that was posted on GL Facebook shortly after Leah went missing, from the Colorado area ? This was before Leah was found, but shortly after she vanished. They did a screen shot and reposted yesterday.

The report said a tattooed guy and a girl came in to apply for a job at a convenience store. The girl said she worked at an auto shop in Graham but lived in the Graford area. It was later confirmed by LE that it wasn't Leah.

Of course it wasn't. I think it was Emmie and Minkley getting ready to leave town. Emmie was basically assuming her identity. They may have even had Leah's drivers license and other personal items. Keep in mind, for a long long time, LE was behaving as if this was a voluntary disappearance, and her family was totally frustrated by it.

Yes, I saw most of that as it was taking place. It was weird to me on many levels; I saw it then as I still see it -- a red herring.

The Colorado "sighting" appeared on FB on August 3/4, right before Leah's body was discovered.

Foggy to me as to why the herring was set out there. I lean toward the herring put out there to trap/trip those who knew some truths about what happened to Leah, rather than as a diversion to deflect eyes from pursuing those truths.

 

[nannymo]

http://www.grahamleader.com/ci_28861706/details-begin-emerge-local-capital-murder-case

"Police allege that Blair, owner of the shop and Martin's employer, along with two other Graham men kidnapped and murdered Martin. "

I have lurked through this thread from the beginning. I may have missed this discussion, but why have the three been charged with kidnapping? Don't you think this indicates they all three took her away from the shop alive and murdered her somewhere else?

The other detail I have a problem with is the time frame on Sunday morning when the women was taken home to WF. I was under the assumption it was very early hours of Sunday morning. What hardware stores are open all night?

Sorry, just a couple of questions I have not been able to wrap my head around. TYIA

 

[steelman]

Yes, I saw most of that as it was taking place. It was weird to me on many levels; I saw it then as I still see it -- a red herring.

The Colorado "sighting" appeared on FB on August 3/4, right before Leah's body was discovered.

Foggy to me as to why the herring was set out there. I lean toward the herring put out there to trap/trip those who knew some truths about what happened to Leah, rather than as a diversion to deflect eyes from pursuing those truths.

The details surrounding that "sighting" are in complete contrast to what LES posted up there.
It was posted saying this girl was applying for a job and essentially using Leah's information to try and get it. There was also a comment about the girl and her tatooed boyfriend not qualifying for government assistance.
Nothing in that post had anything to do with a girl transferring from one store to another......nothing.

So was this just some troll trying to stir up trouble ?