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

[Missizzy]

I keep finding more and more little snippets of info in small papers and on local blogs. I have no idea if all these reports can be substantiated:

http://www.crimeanalystblog.net/2009/09/serial-rapist-working-east-bell.html

"In early September, a Bell County woman received a phone call asking if she would be home that night. She unthinkingly told the caller she would be, and then had her family take her to their home for the night. The next day, she received a phone call from a man laughing.

The following day, a woman in Leon County was attacked and robbed, but not sexually assaulted.

On Sept. 11, another sexual assault on an elderly woman was reported in Seaton, a small town that borders Zabcikville along Highway 53. The victim's family member reported the attack. The victim's disability prevented investigators from interviewing her and determining if the assault happened Sept. 10 or 11."


And why can't LE trace that call????

 

[Starry Night]

It is all starting to border on ridiculousness. The reports are not matching up to so-called witness statements etc.I mean-really-the Governor of Texas has appointed a Task Force, according to media reports-if so-why not a sketch of the perp and a full description etc? Including his Race/Age/ etc.....everything describing him-is he on Texas Most Wanted lists. At this point seems the favor is on the side of the perp.

 

[Texas Mist]

From what I've read it's possible (tho reliability has been debated) to determine race via DNA....I hope LE has done that if for no other reason to help them develop suspects.

As far as a sketch, it would be good but I can't help but think of a serial killer here in TX -- Roger Fain....LE had his description & a sketch but no one put a name to it for years......what's really creepy is DBF was at a party he crashed....DBF talked to him & got so creeped out he left the party....he's far more tolerant of creeps than I am so Fain must've been really skeevy acting for DBF to leave....NEhoo, Fain killed his first known vic in 1987 & it wasn't until 2005 that they matched DNA to him.

Another thought about the perp....what if he is a pharmacy tech? from what I've seen & heard, there's a high turnover (even at the CVS closest to us)....a pharmacy tech would see lots of elderly & have access to records.

I also wonder if there's a Walmart connection....everybody goes to Walmart at some time or other....whether for prescriptions or other shopping.

Just another 'throwing this out there' so we can keep brainstorming....we're bound to hit on something that makes sense.

I get the creeps just thinking about who he may be stalking right now.

ETA: pharmacists & pharmacy techs have to submit fingerprints for background check to get a license here in TX.

 

[TXangel]

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.

This is something like what I was thinking. And really, all it would take is him seeing an obit and the words "survived by his wife of XX years..." to know the woman is a widow and is worth his time to check out. The fact that he knew enough about that one woman's schedule to know that her son wouldn't be there for another 30 minutes shows he did a pretty thorough surveillance before making a move. Maybe he gets a few possibles in the same areas and does surveillance on them at the same time.

Things such as the woman's name, age and address are easy to find out and most of what he actually needs to know, he can find out from watching her. We've been assuming that he's been getting all her info like health and bank records beforehand, but is that really necessary for him? And if it is, we know he's been to some of the houses before to cut phone wires. Couldn't he have gotten in, gotten a peek at the paper records and left? I know my grandma never throws anything away and has all that stuff- bank statements, insurance claims and the like- neatly in drawers.

 

[eachandevery]

If he's disabling the phones a month before the attacks, how would the women not notice it? I'm addicted to my cell phone, but I still use my landline for calls that are going to be lengthy conversations because I don't want to kill my cell's battery. And how would he have been able to call the woman who told him she'd be alone that night?

The second attack on the same woman seems like an arrogant display of "Haha, I can find you anywhere".

Also, in the case where he intended to attack the woman with the gun, if he was so smart and such a great stalker, how did he not know that she had one? I would think that if he is so bent on successfully attacking someone, he would make sure the women are not armed with something as serious as a gun. I would think the same thing about women who have dogs, but then there's that case in - is it Idaho? - where the perp seemingly intended on attacking the woman who had two or three dogs. If he's breaking into homes with the intention of removing safety devices such as burglar bars, then I would think he would go that extra mile and ensure that none of the women have guns, etc.

Speaking of the woman who spoke to the man on the phone, the one who asked if she'd be home that night and then she ended up spending the night with family, does it mean that the guy who called her the next day actually broke into her home? He knew she wasn't home somehow, and either he was so focused on stalking her that he saw her leaving with family, or he had broken into her house to discover she wasn't home. If I were that woman, I would be terrified enough to stay with family until the case is solved.

Also, maybe I missed it, but is the perp somehow armed with the knowledge that the women won't be able to see him when he attacks? How is he able to keep from being seen by the victims? I know I would be a good middle-of-the-night/early morning target because I wear glasses.

ETA: Did the woman who received the phone call know the man, somehow? I'm just trying to figure out what would make someone provide that type of information. I mean, it's a really weird question, even for someone she might know to ask. And yes, why haven't police been able to trace the phone call back to the caller? Is he using a pay phone? I don't know if those can be tracked, but if they are, then that's strange.

 

[Starry Night]

LE has a lot of information we don't have-and they are keeping it close to their bullet-proof vests...The GOOD news is that there are no new reports of attacks/activities-so maybe-just maybe they are closing in on a suspect.
On another note: does anyone here think that he may change his victimology because of the notoriety? Or is he now addicted to raping older women?

 

[txsvicki]

I've been thinking about another scenario and wondering if there might be some more to his MO with at least a few victims that we haven't been told. He went back to one victim twice (possibly a third), taunted with info that he knew one lady's son came by daily, and attempted to call and frighten another. Could he be attempting to set up some sort sadistic terror plot where he can threaten to do this again and again unless the ladies get him some money ever so often. Whoever he is may have been charged in the past as a juvenile of abusing and stealing from an older relative.

 

[jjenny]

If he's disabling the phones a month before the attacks, how would the women not notice it? I'm addicted to my cell phone, but I still use my landline for calls that are going to be lengthy conversations because I don't want to kill my cell's battery. And how would he have been able to call the woman who told him she'd be alone that night?

I would presume the women notice it and get it fixed. Regarding the woman who got a phone call, I personally don't see any evidence this was actually serial rapist that called her (based on the information published). She got a phone call, she left home, the man called her the next day and laughed, but she wasn't raped, and the serial rapist never showed up in her home, so what is the evidence this was actually a serial rapist and not somebody playing a prank on her? Even if the person claimed to be a serial rapist, that still could be someone trying to prank the elderly woman, because apparently other women didn't receive such phone calls.

 

[Missizzy]

I, also, wonder why LE couldn't trace the call. And I don't understand the disabling of the phone lines up to a month before the rape. What's that all about? Are they disabled/cut and then fixed or left disabled for a month? Wouldn't kids wonder why they couldn't get Grandma on the landline? It surely doesn't take a month to get a phone line fixed. And any repairman would alert the owner or even LE to the fact that something had been disabled/cut. That is really hard for me to buy but I've seen it reported by LE in several different articles.

I agree with TM about the pharm tech..very similar to a vet tech. Kind of a faceless person (sorry all hard-working and kind pharm techs out there) who has access to a lot more personal info than they probably should. I've been away from Texas for over 20 years but I still remember how trusting everyone was in the small towns. My first job, at age 18, was as a pharm tech in Burnet. I was blown away by the fact that we had "counter checks"--a little stand on the counter which held blank checks for all the banks in town. It was my job to ring up people's meds and to write out the checks for the elderly people. All they did was sign them. I couldn't believe it as I grew up in Southern California which was not nearly as trusting. This would have been in the early 70's, when these women were middle-aged. They could still be that trusting, I guess.

 

[jjenny]

I, also, wonder why LE couldn't trace the call. And I don't understand the disabling of the phone lines up to a month before the rape. What's that all about? Are they disabled/cut and then fixed or left disabled for a month? Wouldn't kids wonder why they couldn't get Grandma on the landline? It surely doesn't take a month to get a phone line fixed. And any repairman would alert the owner or even LE to the fact that something had been disabled/cut. That is really hard for me to buy but I've seen it reported by LE in several different articles.

I agree with TN about the pharm tech..very similar to a vet tech. Kind of a faceless person (sorry all hard-working and kind pharm techs out there) who has access to a lot more personal info than they probably should. I've been away from Texas for over 20 years but I still remember how trusting everyone was in the small towns. My first job, at age 18, was as a pharm tech in Burnet. I was blown away by the fact that we had "counter checks"--a little stand on the counter which held blank checks for all the banks in town. It was my job to ring up people's meds and to write out the checks for the elderly people. All they did was sign them. I couldn't believe it as I grew up in Southern California which was not nearly as trusting. This would have been in the early 70's, when these women were middle-aged. They could still be that trusting, I guess.

I presume he disables the phone lines a month before, the women get it fixed, and then he disables the phone lines again when he actually gets into the house. This MO has only just been released, so the women and repairmen might have not realized that the disabled phone lines could be related to the serial rapist. That's why LE says now that if anyone gets their phone lines cut to contact LE. I am also guessing the guy might change his MO now that it's known what he does.

 

[txsvicki]

The attacker must be casing out several at a time. He could be working with windows and loosening screws on storm windows, loosening putty, etc. to make it easier when he does actually get in. Women alone might hear a noise and automatically call police, so he could be trying to prevent that and get away if he sees lights come on in the home or other signs he's been heard. The only scarier thought is that he was actually in the homes during that month to lurk and maybe put a bug in the home. He could be getting into back room areas of a home that the ladies hardly ever even enter. I have a rarely used bedroom in my house that someone could probably come in and out of and we'd never know if we didn't have a dog to hear noises.

 

[Texas Mist]

MissIzzy - just wanted to respond to a couple of questions you'd asked upthread.

re: garages -- I posted upthread about 1 attack where perp came in via garage

re: how soon are attacks reported --

I found at least one article where the attack occurred on Monday & it was reported (online anyway) on Thursday, Nov. 12.

Serial rapist strikes again
Posted Thursday, November 12, 2009 8:35 PM EST

by Nicole Pytel

LEON COUNTY - The Leon County Sheriff's Office says a serial rapist has struck again.

Authorities confirmed Thursday that a woman attacked on Monday was a victim of the serial rapist. The woman was attacked in Yoakum, which is about 60 miles east of San Antonio.

The Leon County Sheriff's Office says that woman was probably assaulted by the serial rapist on two separate occastions, but they are waiting on DNA evidence to confirm that.

http://www.abc40.com/Global/story.asp?S=11496659

 

[DeepThinker]

The attacker must be casing out several at a time. He could be working with windows and loosening screws on storm windows, loosening putty, etc. to make it easier when he does actually get in. Women alone might hear a noise and automatically call police, so he could be trying to prevent that and get away if he sees lights come on in the home or other signs he's been heard. The only scarier thought is that he was actually in the homes during that month to lurk and maybe put a bug in the home. He could be getting into back room areas of a home that the ladies hardly ever even enter. I have a rarely used bedroom in my house that someone could probably come in and out of and we'd never know if we didn't have a dog to hear noises.

BBM

These statements got my brain to working in the direction of who do people let into/around their homes without question. These are some that I came up with:

Electrician
Plumber
People giving estimates for jobs (ability to go through house and get a feel for the floor plan, etc.)
Interior designers
Caretakers
Lawn Care (around the outside of the house, able to tamper w/windows, etc.)
Exterminators (access to entire house, probably when residents won't be home)
Repair/Service people
Door-to-door sales/demos/flier distributor (good way to case a neighborhood)

Just some more stuff to throw into the tumbler...

 

[Missizzy]

Good list DeepThinker and thank you TM for those answers. I, too, found where one rape seemed to be reported in the press the following afternoon. So that is faster than I thought.

I still suspect that there's been delay or lack of reporting in some cases. I think some elder women are so afraid of losing their ability to live alone that they don't want to admit this happened. Just as with any victim, my guess is that they blame themselves for something they perceive they did wrong. Others might be deeply ashamed or afraid or confused. It's heart-breaking.

I don't mean the following statement to be disrespectful in any way, please believe me. However, I've noticed that many elders seem to engage in a sort of "magical thinking" similar to that seen in teens. "If I just don't think about it, it'll go away". This is how we end up with teens who are 6 months pregnant, the lack of using B/C, not wearing seat belts--it couldn't happen to me.

I watched my parents do the same thing as they grew older. They would admit there was a problem but really put off dealing with it almost as if it would go away. I used to get irritated until I realized that it's a coping mechanism and possibly due to changes in the aging brain. I'm sure not all elders experience this but I know some do. So, if a rape occurred, a woman might just set her mind to "putting it out of her mind". I am so hopeful that these women have been given access to specialized services geared for their unique needs.

So, we've looked at the phone guy but I keep pondering the "month before" issue. Could the rapist be the phone guy or his/her helper? I have a hard time with this, though, as there's the issue of distance.

 

[txsvicki]

Another thing to throw in as suspect could be someone who goes around asking for work or telling a tale of running out of gas and needing money. I know it might not be likely since the ladies probably would remember someone doing this. I know an elderly lady who was almost robbed by one of these guys. He'd come around several times giving her a sob story and asking for odd jobs. Finally, she told him she had no more work and he went around and got in her back window in broad daylight, grabbed her and demanded hundreds of dollars. She outsmarted him saying that he'd have to let go of her so she could get her purse. He did and she ran out the door. Anyway, at that time there were several different guys of all races going around the neighborhood asking for money for the bus, gas to get to college, etc. I thought there was a ring of them and that they may sell some sort of list of people to other grifters. I once gave a quarter to a kid I now believe was pretending to be retarded and all these guys have been walking by asking for handouts for a couple of years now. An elderly person might not remember someone from last year or a different race coming by asking for work, like the lady in Idaho who said lots of young men did work for her that summer.

 

[DeepThinker]

What about voter registrations? Or name collectors for petitions? You know, the ones that stand outside the grocery store or in the mall...

 

[A_News_Junkie]

Okay, nobody yell at me for posting this if it has already been covered - I just stumbled onto this thread and will catch up soon, I promise!

Clock collectors. My first thought was to check ebay - did and didn't see the clock. Then I went looking for clock collectors in Texas -- found interesting article about a man who must be deceased by now, but I wonder who inherited his farm and collections. If anyone is local to this area (I am in KY!) is this place still around? http://gasengine.farmcollector.com/Farm-Life/Time-Passes-Slowly-At-The-Ole-Tic-Toc-Ranch.aspx
From article (page 3) ---- NOTE TYPO - it is TIC TOC RANCH.
Ole Tic Toe Ranch, Farm and Museum, Rt. 3, Box 157, Floresville, Texas 78114.

My gut says employee of clock shop, clock collector etc....

Now, if I am way offbase - ignore me while I read back!

 

[txsvicki]

Okay, nobody yell at me for posting this if it has already been covered - I just stumbled onto this thread and will catch up soon, I promise!

Clock collectors. My first thought was to check ebay - did and didn't see the clock. Then I went looking for clock collectors in Texas -- found interesting article about a man who must be deceased by now, but I wonder who inherited his farm and collections. If anyone is local to this area (I am in KY!) is this place still around? http://gasengine.farmcollector.com/Farm-Life/Time-Passes-Slowly-At-The-Ole-Tic-Toc-Ranch.aspx
From article (page 3) ---- NOTE TYPO - it is TIC TOC RANCH.
Ole Tic Toe Ranch, Farm and Museum, Rt. 3, Box 157, Floresville, Texas 78114.

My gut says employee of clock shop, clock collector etc....

Now, if I am way offbase - ignore me while I read back!

I don't think you're way off base at all. He could have his own connection to old clocks or know an avid collector who buys them.

 

[Missizzy]

Tic Toc Ranch--That's actually very interesting. Hopefully you'll see my posts about the "tick tock rape" comment when you read back through this thread. Let me know what you think.

Now if we could determine that a dark skinned young man either worked for or was raised by or was a family member of this clock collector, I'd be ringing up the Texas Rangers.

 

[Missizzy]

Check this out:

http://www.wilsoncountynews.com/article.php?id=18784&n=obituaries-tillie-e-matheaus-kretzschmar

This woman was 91 and a widow of the man mentioned in the article about the ranch linked above. She passed in April 2008 and the rapes reportedly began in January 2009.
Scroll down and look through the list of survivors and pallbearers. There's some names to check out.

IMO, this lady looks exactly as I suspect the victims look. She's of German heritage and most, if not all, of the victims live in towns with a strong German heritage. She was buried in a Lutheran cemetery. I'll have to look again at the Lutheran churches in the towns the victims lived in as I did not see early Lutheran services on the days of the attacks. The only early services I found were at the Catholic churches.

BTW, Floresville is 80 miles from Yoakum, where three rapes occurred.