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

[jjenny]

Miller, the man who was arrested after having large sums of money for cocaine. His dna did not match the rapes, but his scent was matched by dogs at the scene of the first attack/robbery. This may be where I'm getting confused. I took it to mean that he was suspected of taking the lady's 10,000$ and didn't rape her in return for the money, was identified by someone and the dogs, yet his dna does not match rapes where there was the same MO. I was theorizing that there could be two men in cahoots or buddies.
If this Miller isn't the rapist he could well know who is.

No, he isn't a suspect any longer. He actually plans to sue. I don't think dogs "matching" someone by scent is anywhere close to the exact science.

 

[txsvicki]

No, he isn't a suspect any longer. He actually plans to sue.

I thought the article linked said that he is still suspected in the robbery, but went back and saw that he wasn't identified by the witness in the lineup, so was released. Now I need to figure out which victim claims to have picked out his photo.

 

[jjenny]

I thought the article linked said that he is still suspected in the robbery.

No it doesn't. It says he is a "cleared suspect." I presume that means he is no longer a suspect.

 

[Texas Mist]

I've been googling for hoooouurrrrs - trying to figure out any connection to this case...along the way I read this article again & recalled our discussing whether the vics are widows....according to this article they are...we didn't dream it up that we thought they were:

For more than a year, this man has prowled back roads, cow pastures and quiet towns stalking elderly widows who live alone.

http://www.click2houston.com/news/22408386/detail.html

OK - back to sleuthing

 

[Missizzy]

How in the heck-ola is it safe for this woman (the friend of the victim) to be shown in a video seen all over Texas? And if she's identified the rapist from a photo, are the elder ladies of Texas supposed to just file their nails until they get to see the photo too?

Not that I'm a tad sensitive about the issue--oh, no--but there is the very real danger of identifying someone of another race. I can't tell you guys how many times I've been told that some of my kids who are black look EXACTLY alike when they are not biologically related and look nothing alike.

I've had people say the same thing about my two daughters who are Korean. You should see them scrunch up their noses when someone comments that you "look just like your sister". They love their sister dearly but they don't look anything alike. They simply have black straight hair and eyes, golden toned skin, and are petite. If I laid their pictures in front of you, you'd see what I mean.

I once had a birth son spit wine all over a restaurant when someone stopped by our table to talk. Our family is quite well known locally as being a large "adoptive" family. I introduced the person to my son (he was about 25) and they said "if I didn't know better, I'd say you looked just like your Mom". Poor guy had to explain that there was a reason he looks like me as I gave birth to him. Jeesh. I hope this lady knows what she's talking about. I also hope she's safe.

 

[Missizzy]

Texas Mist--In all your years of sleuthing have you ever had to hunt so hard for details? I think this is really unprecedented. We've spent hours upon hours searching and sleuthing. And not just to catch the guy but to alert future victims. This is not the way pro-active crime prevention is supposed to work.

I'm starting to think that a celebrity or politician who advocates for elders AND is popular in Texas needs to step up to the plate and shake this thing up.

 

[txsvicki]

I hope it's not a wild goose chase and accusations against a black young man who isn't a rapist. I think they still suspected the soft spoken felon cocaine user of the robbery but he couldn't be identified by the victim. He was only squealed on because he was spending lots of money on dope and was soft spoken. The guy in the pic may not even be the rapist. Hope they get the dna checked quickly.

 

[jjenny]

I hope it's not a wild goose chase and accusations against a black young man who isn't a rapist. I think they still suspected the soft spoken felon cocaine user of the robbery but he couldn't be identified by the victim. He was only squealed on because he was spending lots of money on dope and was soft spoken. The guy in the pic may not even be the rapist. Hope they get the dna checked quickly.

They have not released any photos of a serial rapist suspect.

 

[Texas Mist]

Texas Mist--In all your years of sleuthing have you ever had to hunt so hard for details? I think this is really unprecedented. We've spent hours upon hours searching and sleuthing. And not just to catch the guy but to alert future victims. This is not the way pro-active crime prevention is supposed to work.

I'm starting to think that a celebrity or politician who advocates for elders AND is popular in Texas needs to step up to the plate and shake this thing up.

No, I have never had to work this hard, MissIzzy....there's one 'clue' here & one 'clue' there....*lots* of reading.

I'm wracking my brain trying to figure out how this perp chooses his victim.

I think LE would have caught him by now if he stayed in the same community -- but he's traveling hundreds of miles.

But - I'm not giving up....I know we'll think of something....I'm just gonna keep tossing ideas out there.

One thing I thought of was a 'veteran' connection...these ladies are old enough their husbands could have served in a war....and especially with the number of attacks in the Temple area - where there's lots of vets who settled around there - maybe that's how he gets a name & location.

There are VFW posts in these towns or close to them.

Maybe he's a young/youngish (30s) veteran himself - living off VA benefits so he doesn't have to work....can just hang out in these small towns & get to know folks...maybe he has a travel trailer & lives in an RV park.

I don't see how he could be satisfied w/ the $10K he got last year...that doesn't last long at all.....so I'm concerned he's gonna start attacking again.

I've even been checking surrounding states to see if I can find elderly rapes reported....I've found a 91yo in NM (likely in a nice brick home in *nice* neighborhood since Zillow shows homes with similar address to be in $250K range)....it happened a couple weeks ago.

I hope we hear some more news soon on what LE thinks is going on w/ this 'thing'.

 

[eachandevery]

Okay, after reading the news articles, I am really bothered by the paper revealing the name of a friend of the victim's, the one who identified a man, as well as the name and details of the woman (not attacked) who explained the way she searches her home. I hope the woman who identified the alleged attacker, as well as the victim, are being closely watched by police; ditto for the second woman. It seems incredibly dangerous to print the actual names of these women, considering the perp is on the loose. The elderly women in the area need to know that the rapist has NOT been caught; it would be awful if more became victims because they've been led to believe the horrifying situation has come to an end.

I don't mean to harp on this issue because it may have nothing to do with this case, but I still don't understand the man who called a woman and asked if she would be home that night. I know there are a lot of sick people in the world, but it seems so bizarre that a male would pull this stunt - and then call the woman the next day and simply laugh. How would he know if/when the woman returned home? Was it good luck, or was this guy watching the woman? How did he even know that he was calling an elderly woman who fits the target group? Anyone can look someone up in the phone book, but it doesn't provide details other than whether or not the person is male/female - and even then there are many listings that only provide the first initial and complete last name, and I don't think you have to provide your exact address. (Note: I live in Canada, so I'm only assuming that phone books are structured the same in the US.)

Also, why is this guy cutting phone lines a MONTH before he strikes? All the news articles state that he cuts the lines, again, the night before, and so I don't really understand why he bothers doing it ahead of time. At this point, women know that they should be on the look out for, and surely they would notice that their phones aren't working. It just seems like a giant waste of time on his part, but he appears to keep doing it.

 

[A_News_Junkie]

Up here in Ky/Oh area we have an organization called PWC (People Working Cooperatively ) My granny used them gosh 20 years ago. What happens is the homeowners fill out a small form - size of household, income, age etc and the organization sends someone if they meet the qualifications to assess the home and then a team of workers will come and do things like insulate hot water heater, weather stripping - anything that will make the home more energy efficient. Do you guys have something like that there in Texas? I believe my granny actually found about about the program in an insert in her gas and electric bill.

Could he be part of an organization like that?
Here is a link to the Ohio branch: http://www.pwchomerepairs.org/ohio.aspx

Could he have gotten a group of the cards filled out (mail carrier, theft) and be using that information to pick his targets??????

Just tossing out ideas like salad!

 

[jjenny]

Could he be cutting phone lines a month before to watch how soon someone would respond?
Maybe he was trying to figure out if the future victims had cell phones?

 

[txsvicki]

They have not released any photos of a serial rapist suspect.

Why are you talking about? The friend of the victim said something about her friend seeing the guy in a pic. I know that pictures haven't been released to the public, only that statement from her in the media and video. I guess no one knows exactly what pic she was talking about (?) but hopefully he will be identified from this pic and have his dna tested. Also, I took the quote from the victim's friend to mean that the victim identified a pic, not that the friend is the one who saw the pic, and I'm not saying the pic is of the cocaine buying guy who was held and then cleared by dna of suspicion in the Twilight Rapes. I have no idea what photo the lady is talking about, whether it was from being show booking photos of guys or what. What pic do you think they're referring to?

 

[Texas Mist]

Up here in Ky/Oh area we have an organization called PWC (People Working Cooperatively ) My granny used them gosh 20 years ago. What happens is the homeowners fill out a small form - size of household, income, age etc and the organization sends someone if they meet the qualifications to assess the home and then a team of workers will come and do things like insulate hot water heater, weather stripping - anything that will make the home more energy efficient. Do you guys have something like that there in Texas? I believe my granny actually found about about the program in an insert in her gas and electric bill.

Could he be part of an organization like that?
Here is a link to the Ohio branch: http://www.pwchomerepairs.org/ohio.aspx

Could he have gotten a group of the cards filled out (mail carrier, theft) and be using that information to pick his targets??????

Just tossing out ideas like salad!

the state has programs like that, and also some of the 'energy' companies

http://txipl.org/lowincome

Another good idea to mull over.

I wish I understood more about how a SR picks his vics -- is it by sight then he follows them or does he gets their name & address off some form then start surveilling them?

Does he hang out in bingo halls?

How does he pick a target, right? Sooo frustrating!!

 

[A_News_Junkie]

Anyone ever watch the comments on blogs and articles like I try to do? This name and sick commenter, if I were LE I would be issuing a subpoena to this guy:
His post"
ngray2 7:36 PM
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froggy28, I think the Twilight Rapist is an offensive name. Why do serial rapists need to have nick names? Until the E-N stops naming serial criminals with cutesy nicknames I am going to make up my own to bring greater visibility to this. Hey people, what's a better nickname the Twilight Rapist or Granny Shagger? "
From comments at: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/Au..._had_other_victims.html?c=y&viewAllComments=y

This is certainly a very sick, sick, sicko - but what strikes me is I think Ngray2 takes offense at the name the paper has assigned. Also, calling the paper E-N one confuses me, but more over feels as if it is familiar -- like his hometown news.
LOCALS IS News-Express (who is attributed to the writing of this article) a separate news organization or a branch of MySanantonio????? Not that it really proves anything, but just kinda hit me odd, so I want to know!

 

[Missizzy]

NJ--Oh, yes I watch the comments. That's where some of the best unofficial info comes from. IIRC, that particular commenter was called on the carpet for his comments. Isn't that the same thread which has some comments by a family member or friend? I don't know why the nasty comments weren't removed. My guess is that there's poor moderation. Our local paper removed the comments section for almost 6 months until they "re-tooled" it. It can get vicious or just plain ridiculous.

That's not to say that we still shouldn't be watchful. If I were you, I'd flag it. I'm surprised it's still there.

 

[pamlet]

E-N would be The San Antonio Newspaper .. Express News...

MySanAntonio.com is the newspaper's website (sometimes called MySa.com .. you can pull it up either way.

The Express News is one of largest papers on South Texas .. along with whatever Austin's paper is...

Others would be "small town" papers..

As to the comments of the "commenter" .. not sure - San Antonio and the surrounding area is FULL of retirees .. and like any segment of society they're as prone to some who LOVE shock value as much as any others. I don't find the comment particulary shocking as it relates to the case - Just disgusting PERIOD ..

I've been following y'all on this thread - it's not THAT close to home - but fairly so ..

I wish we had more clear definition of times, etc of the crimes .. I do think the rapist is someone who has a route or something .. I've been looking to see if there is a common electric coop in the area .. Could be a propane guy? It's too broad of an area for newspaper I think .. maybe a food delivery service? Their routes cover different areas on different days .. and can be fairly broad ..

 

[Missizzy]

Pamlet--I've always held on to the newspaper delivery guy theory as that's the most obvious. I don't necessarily think that his route covered the whole territory. I think that, as many carriers, he moved around. You notice that he struck once or twice in a general area, then there was a down time, and then he'd strike again. He's the only person, other than maybe the van driver for the church (but they'd be able to identify him) that has any business on a lady's porch in the early dawn hours. We mentioned propane early on, but this is really too early for a propane guy and LE would have been all over that.

 

[pamlet]

I know one or two victims were getting ready for church - but aren't those the ones in Yoakum .. Has it been said the others were preparing for church as well?

We also don't know if the ones where the lightbuld was unscrewed if the porch was totally visible from the street ..

There is so much we DON'T know it's kind of hard to speculate I think...

I wonder if while he did SOME planning - a lot of it was done on the fly .. I would think it would be hard to thoroughly investigate someone's habits especially in a small town... as strangers would stick out like a sore thumb.

It could be that as a delivery person he'd find his victims .. then on his own do a little scoping out to verify .. then he hit ..

The more I think about it .. a delivery person that's a "floater" would make more sense - someone who doesn't have a permanent route - but one who subs different routes - OR someone with a HUGE territory - that's why I mentioned food delivery .. they cover really large territories ..

 

[eachandevery]

Does anyone know what the retirement village, home to one of the victims, looks like and what features it offers? I haven't been able to find any information related to this village, so I can only compare it to the types of retirement residences in my (very rural) area. Based on what I know and see from pictures, it looks as though the local retirement places consist of one massive building, sort of like an apartment complex. These buildings are supposed to be very secure, with one of them providing an emergency call system in every room.

Is the retirement village similar to the retirement buildings in my area? What's the layout like? I have to imagine that there is a pretty good security system in place, whether it be security guards that patrol the area at night/well into the morning, cameras, or a security system - or all of the above. How would this guy be able to get in and get out without being seen? Did he cut the phone line/power in this case? I'm trying to imagine how cut lines would work if this village is similar to the retirement areas near my home and, if so, I don't understand how this could happen without other people and security noticing. Based on personal experience, many elderly people tend to start their day very early, so it seems odd that there were no witnesses.

Anyway, just trying to understand this particular case. If all of this has been asked before and questions were answered, I apologize.