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

[DeepThinker]

There is a common thread, we just don't know it yet...I know it's TOTALLY obvious, but what about alarm companies? Installers, techs? Have they put their homes up for sale or had appraisals done for insurance purposes lately? Any type of work done on the house? Gutters, windows, roof, painting? This person has had access to their personal lives somehow. Do they get their groceries delivered?

Okay, I'll go away now.

 

[Missizzy]

I like what one of our police officers said recently about the recent rapes in our bucolic and gentle little community:

"There's a frightening assumption of safety in small communities."

How true. "It couldn't happen here...not in my backyard". All someone would need to do is to drive through the communities where this IS happening in Texas, and they would be shocked. These are small towns where most would think nothing of leaving doors unlocked, keys in ignitions, and nice things sitting on porches. Little kids play out front, preteens walk alone to the store. Elder ladies go to evening services at the church and sleep with their windows open. Safe. Until a rapist decides to wreak havoc and terror.

eachandevery--I think we have all assumed that these have been widows or single women from the tiny trickle of information released about the victims. I keep going back to the fact that if these women had knowingly allowed this man in their home (home health care, insurance sales or adjustment, cable guy, etc.), they would most certainly remember him if he came back.

No doubt LE has questioned the victims and family relentlessly about service personnel which have been in or near the homes recently. This guy is smart and I don't think these women have seen him or if they have, he's blended into the woodwork and not come into direct contact with them.

I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one dreaming about this creep!! I worry, waltzingmatilda, about the guy in your dream. I don't think it's this rapist. But I do wonder if he's crossed your path and subconsciously raised your concern?

 

[DeepThinker]

Okay, I lied...I'm back.

Sitting here thinking back, I think I remember that all the houses are very similar? In that case, maybe the only "link" is the type of house. I think the first victim would be the one he has some sort of other connection to, but then maybe he decided that he was successful at the first house, so he would stick to that type because he knew the basic floor plan, best access, etc. So possibly, he simply looked for elderly ladies living in the same type of house he was "comfortable" with? ew.

 

[concentric]

I've known about these cases for quite awhile, but have been hoping that they would have caught him by now.

Just brings back memories of reading about BTK/Rader and the murders of the older women. Remember he was a security system installer/animal control officer, etc. So, I too wonder if this guy isn't a cable installer or some city worker.

 

[Missizzy]

ITA, there's a common denominator. I had a dream last night about dogs. I live and breathe dogs. My little yappy ones make me feel safe as they would raise the roof if anyone came in. If one of my sons comes in wearing a different hat, they go nuts. The stories out of Idaho totally creeped me out and I'm sure that's what got me to thinking. It's pretty clear that these victims must not have dogs or they'd raise the dead if their mistresses were being hurt--even if they were locked out of a room.

Anyway, what about a vet tech? A vet tech would know which elder lady just had her last beloved pet put to sleep. He would have access (secretly) to other personal info ie. address, probably marital status, amount of money spent (how much discretionary use income), and other pets in the home. I'm sure there's lots of gossip in the back room about the clients. (If our vet techs read this: don't worry, I know you know I'm crazy and am the biggest sucker in the world when it comes to elderly and disabled little dogs. That's no secret.)

The victim might not ever come face to face with him as he might work more in the back assisting with surgeries, caring for the sick animals, or cleaning the kennels. He'd most likely, though, get a peep at the possible victims...their cars, their jewelry, their style of clothing. He'd know just what woman wore hearing aids, had mobility challenges and had a running tab of $400/month for her precious Mitzi (which helped build the new offices).

If someone were to look at our vet tab, they'd think that we were Bill and Melinda Gates. If they worked in the clinic, they'd also know that I use a wheelchair and am very frail. They'd know that I currently have seven little dogs (so I'm not the best choice), they'd know that we have some nice vehicles, and they'd be able to sneak a peak at that address (which also happens to be painted on the side of my husband's pick-up).

Vet techs often have a high turnover rate as it's not very well paying but it's a tough job. We use a great animal medical hospital for our dogs and the office staff have been there for years. We've noticed, though, that the techs change quite frequently. It's a job I see listed almost constantly in the classified ads and on Craigslist. Our daughter worked at our vet's one summer doing kennel clean up. She had total access, during the early morning hours (she went to work at 4 am) to the unlocked files and vet's offices. She told me that every time she turned around, there'd be a new vet tech.

I think it's possible that the rapist is working in a general area as good vets can pull from quite a large base. He's then possibly moving on to another clinic. That would not raise suspicion. This same scenario also holds for "back room staff" or night crews anywhere there are unsecured files.

The vet tech idea plays heavy for me as I don't think that most vet offices are quite as careful with patient confidentiality as a medical office is. Let's watch this one.

 

[txsvicki]

A vet tech is a really good idea. A rural vet tech who is a male and goes to several different small towns on calls at times or moves. He could even be a student who has done clinical rotations in several different clinics and small towns. The attacker must have good reason to be in these towns or counties at the time just in case he is stopped or questioned by police.

 

[waltzingmatilda]

A vet tech is a really good idea. A rural vet tech who is a male and goes to several different small towns on calls at times or moves. He could even be a student who has done clinical rotations in several different clinics and small towns. The attacker must have good reason to be in these towns or counties at the time just in case he is stopped or questioned by police.

Good ideas and theories by all of you here. I also like the animal control officer idea. I tried calling my sis, the traveling optician, to get the lowdown on that profession but she was out of town. I'll try again tonight.

I advise all who live alone to get a dog. See my lil 9 pounder in my avi pic? In his world he is a BIG dog. He is the sweetest dog unless he thinks someone is threatening me. Then he goes postal!!!

 

[Missizzy]

Waltzingmatilda--Times your cute little guy seven times over and you'll see why my family doesn't worry too much about me being alone and immobile. Mine are all under 6 pounds and one is paralyzed. Several are deaf and/or blind. If someone tried to hurt me or even walk in the house, I think they'd feel as if they'd been attacked by a swarm of yellowjackets!! A nasty guy might be able to get past one dog but mine have plenty of back-up.

The lady who shot at the rapist, sadly missed. I'll bet a dog wouldn't miss.

 

[Missizzy]

DeepThinker--I think your theory is a strong one. I especially wonder about the possibility of the women being widowed in the last year. If I understand correctly, you're saying that this guy has private info on these women--addresses, ages, marital status, financial info. OK, but does he amass a stack of "possibles" and then go check them out? It sounds like a lot of work (but we do know he's a hard worker!!).

From the little we know about the victims, it sounds as if they are white, middle to upper-middle class, live in similar style houses, and are frail. How could he know that without physically checking his "possibles" list. He'd be doing a lot of surveillance.

I'm not disagreeing as you might be right. But I'm thinking that he comes at it first from the other direction. He sees his prey (who fits his chosen profile) and then he does the research--either through relentless surveillance or through access to private files. It's clear that he's going into the homes before hand (just like the Idaho rapist) to learn the lay of the land and to set up his crime scene. We've got to figure out his sequencing to be able to find him.

Has there been any more information in the Texas press? Any ideas as to whether the houses had garages or carports? That's still bugging me. I'm also hoping that each and every elder woman who dies in her sleep in Texas is getting a thorough checking over.

I wish a local would log on and give us some more details while still protecting the privacy of the victims. I'm actually more than a little surprised that we don't have a whole bunch of new WS members who've joined just to follow and add to this thread.

 

[waltzingmatilda]

I wish we had more details too MissIzzy. I was thinking about the towns these ladies live in. They are rural, right? So when I think of a 'rural' town I think a small community where there aren't many local businesses. I wonder what types of local businesses these towns have in common.

Maybe I'm grasping at straws here but we have so little info about the victims to sleuth, I started thinking that a clue may lie in the towns themslves.

I too wish we had some locals join in to fill us in on some of this stuff.

 

[DeepThinker]

MissIzzy: I'm thinking he does amass something like a list of "possibles". It would be a lot easier for him if he has computer access to these files. It doesn't take hardly anything to go to a county assessor's site, look up the address, find out the owner, type of house, etc. Heck, if he's in insurance, he could pull the file and have pictures. Most companies require them for replacement value purposes. Even a person that's not in the insurance industry has access to assessor's files. I don't know if it would even be time-efficient to check the assessor's offices for the counties these victims are in and see if anyone checked out these addresses. Compare IP's, as it were.

The other alternative, as I mentioned earlier, is the first link would be with the first victim. He got away with this one, then spends his time casing areas that have the same type of house, but in a different neighborhood or town, that appears to be very similar to the first crime. I'm not sure how he would carry this out - haven't thought it through. I'm still thinking he has access by computer to these women's info. All of it.

Going along this same line, my mind jumped to: is he a hacker? Sends out phishing emails that would appeal to a certain demographic. For instance, yesterday I received an email from JP Chase Morgan. The email stated that all account holders were required to verify their account info for security purposes and to click on the link provided. Elderly people are most vulnerable, because they are not as internet savvy as younger people. BTW, I called Chase and reported it. :angel: So, in conclusion to this thought, if he's a hacker, then this link would download a virus to the hard drive, giving him access to any and all personal info stored on that computer. Just another thinking out loud moment.

 

[jjenny]

MissIzzy: I'm thinking he does amass something like a list of "possibles". It would be a lot easier for him if he has computer access to these files. It doesn't take hardly anything to go to a county assessor's site, look up the address, find out the owner, type of house, etc. Heck, if he's in insurance, he could pull the file and have pictures. Most companies require them for replacement value purposes. Even a person that's not in the insurance industry has access to assessor's files. I don't know if it would even be time-efficient to check the assessor's offices for the counties these victims are in and see if anyone checked out these addresses. Compare IP's, as it were.

The other alternative, as I mentioned earlier, is the first link would be with the first victim. He got away with this one, then spends his time casing areas that have the same type of house, but in a different neighborhood or town, that appears to be very similar to the first crime. I'm not sure how he would carry this out - haven't thought it through. I'm still thinking he has access by computer to these women's info. All of it.

Going along this same line, my mind jumped to: is he a hacker? Sends out phishing emails that would appeal to a certain demographic. For instance, yesterday I received an email from JP Chase Morgan. The email stated that all account holders were required to verify their account info for security purposes and to click on the link provided. Elderly people are most vulnerable, because they are not as internet savvy as younger people. BTW, I called Chase and reported it. :angel: So, in conclusion to this thought, if he's a hacker, then this link would download a virus to the hard drive, giving him access to any and all personal info stored on that computer. Just another thinking out loud moment.

I get a lot of these e-mails, but I don't think it's likely this is the case here.
My guess is some of these elderly ladies probably don't even use a computer.

 

[Missizzy]

I keep going back to the issue that this guy raped one woman twice--he followed her to her new address for the second rape. BTW, we never figured out why LE moved her instead of family or an agency. That almost makes it sound like a Victim Protection issue. And isn't it reported that he tried a third time? Somebody help me out. Wasn't there proof that he'd attempted a third time but wasn't successful? Were these the first three rapes or are they mixed in with others?

Doesn't that strike everyone as really weird? How many rapists go after the same woman again? I remember one recently on WS--a Sunday school teacher who lived with her mom in Phoenix and swore she'd never seen the rapist before. So, that guy took the time to look her up again. But how common is this? The fact that he was stopped in his tracks somehow on the third try, makes me think that he began branching out to find other women who fit the first woman's profile--maybe body size and shape, type of house, etc.

This leads me to think that there was some sort of psychological pathology/driving force behind the first rape (acting out due to extreme anger at a grandmother or something similar) and that for some reason, he just kept going.

 

[jjenny]

I keep going back to the issue that this guy raped one woman twice--he followed her to her new address for the second rape. BTW, we never figured out why LE moved her instead of family or an agency. That almost makes it sound like a Victim Protection issue. And isn't it reported that he tried a third time? Somebody help me out. Wasn't there proof that he'd attempted a third time but wasn't successful? Were these the first three rapes or are they mixed in with others?

Doesn't that strike everyone as really weird? How many rapists go after the same woman again? I remember one recently on WS--a Sunday school teacher who lived with her mom in Phoenix and swore she'd never seen the rapist before. So, that guy took the time to look her up again. But how common is this? The fact that he was stopped in his tracks somehow on the third try, makes me think that he began branching out to find other women who fit the first woman's profile--maybe body size and shape, type of house, etc.

This leads me to think that there was some sort of psychological pathology/driving force behind the first rape (acting out due to extreme anger at a grandmother or something similar) and that for some reason, he just kept going.

I am not sure that story is even accurate. In another article, the story went is that he raped the same woman twice, and then came back a third time (I wonder how would they even know if he did?) but she moved. This sounds to me like the same story but told differently, so which one is correct? Maybe neither.

 

[Missizzy]

jjenny--A few years ago, I thought the same thing. My Mom is now in a nursing home in Central Texas as my Dad passed a year ago. My parents wouldn't have known the difference between a laptop and a toaster. I've stayed in close contact with their best friend in a tiny Central Texas town. This woman is the quintessential gracious Texas church-going lady, a retired teacher and widow (and yes, I worry about her terribly). Anyway, her husband was a journalist and she's computer savvy. She and I don't share the same views in politics, but not a day goes by that she doesn't send me something political or cute. I'm on her "list". She's also a fine emailer and stays in touch with all her family around the country. She also carries a cell phone and uses it. At 89, she's still driving and active in her church. Elders often surprise me.

 

[jjenny]

jjenny--A few years ago, I thought the same thing. My Mom is now in a nursing home in Central Texas as my Dad passed a year ago. My parents wouldn't have known the difference between a laptop and a toaster. I've stayed in close contact with their best friend in a tiny Central Texas town. This woman is the quintessential gracious Texas church-going lady, a retired teacher and widow (and yes, I worry about her terribly). Anyway, her husband was a journalist and she's computer savvy. She and I don't share the same views in politics, but not a day goes by that she doesn't send me something political or cute. I'm on her "list". She's also a fine emailer and stays in touch with all her family around the country. She also carries a cell phone and uses it. At 89, she's still driving and active in her church. Elders often surprise me.

I am sure some use computers, but some probably don't. Because he is targeting elderly ladies, I doubt he found them on a computer.
There certainly has been nothing reported in the media regarding connection of these cases with any sort of computer use.

 

[Missizzy]

jjenny--With all due respect, there hasn't been anything in the media linking the victims in any way at all!! That's what drives me nuts. Without knowing more about the victims, I'd don't see how LE expects possible future victims to stay safe.

 

[waltzingmatilda]

I keep going back to the issue that this guy raped one woman twice--he followed her to her new address for the second rape. BTW, we never figured out why LE moved her instead of family or an agency. That almost makes it sound like a Victim Protection issue. And isn't it reported that he tried a third time? Somebody help me out. Wasn't there proof that he'd attempted a third time but wasn't successful? Were these the first three rapes or are they mixed in with others?

Doesn't that strike everyone as really weird? How many rapists go after the same woman again? I remember one recently on WS--a Sunday school teacher who lived with her mom in Phoenix and swore she'd never seen the rapist before. So, that guy took the time to look her up again. But how common is this? The fact that he was stopped in his tracks somehow on the third try, makes me think that he began branching out to find other women who fit the first woman's profile--maybe body size and shape, type of house, etc.

This leads me to think that there was some sort of psychological pathology/driving force behind the first rape (acting out due to extreme anger at a grandmother or something similar) and that for some reason, he just kept going.

That strikes me as really weird, MissIzzy! Was she the first victim?
This perp is demented that is for sure. It's creepy to try and think like this perp. He is a hunter and is stalking in some way without being seen. Very methodical. This is why I think this weirdo is a working man who draws little suspicion to himself.

I agree with DeepThinker that he is somehow gaining access to personal information regarding the victims.

 

[jjenny]

jjenny--With all due respect, there hasn't been anything in the media linking the victims in any way at all!! That's what drives me nuts. Without knowing more about the victims, I'd don't see how LE expects possible future victims to stay safe.

Yes, I don't think media has been covering this case really well. I mean, we still don't even know the race of the suspect or what he actually looks like.

 

[colette]

He could have seen his victims in the grocery store and followed them home.