Dennis Bagwell
Encyclopedia
Dennis "Pete" Wayne Bagwell (December 27, 1963 – February 17, 2005) was a convicted murderer executed by lethal injection
at the Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas
. Bagwell was found guilty of the 1995 murder of Libby Best, 24, Reba Best, 4, Tassy Boone, 14, and Leona McBee, 47. Bagwell, who was 31-years old when he committed the capital crime, was sentenced to death on November 7, 1996. He is related to Pete Walker
.
, Texas home to find the bodies of his wife Leona McBee, her daughter Libby Best and his granddaughters Reba Best and Tassy Boone. McBee and Tassy had been beaten and strangled such that their necks were broken, and Tassy had been sexually assaulted. Libby had been shot twice in the head, and Reba’s skull had been crushed with a hammer and a metal exercise bar.
McBee’s son, Bagwell, and his girlfriend Victoria Wolford, had been living in a small travel trailer on her property. Earlier in the month McBee had asked Bagwell and Wolford to leave her trailer and on the 20th they were living some 35 miles away in a San Antonio apartment.
On the 20th Wolford testified that she and Bagwell drove to his mother’s house to borrow money. When they arrived Wolford retired to the trailer because she had a headache. A short time later Bagwell walked over to the trailer and told Wolford that his mother would only give him $20. Bagwell then went back into his mother’s house, while Wolford stood outside the trailer. Through the window Wolford saw Bagwell strike McBee, then heard screams and two popping noises. She heard Tassy yell, “No, no,” and heard Reba scream. Everything was quiet for a while when she heard McBee yell at the dogs and gasp for air. Through the window she saw Bagwell hit his mother with a long-handled gun. Later Bagwell took some towels and wetted them with a water hose. He wiped off a hammer and told Wolford he was going to go inside and wipe off fingerprints he might have left in the house, adding that he was trying to make the crime look like a robbery
and rape
of Tassy.
testified that one of the tennis shoes matched a bloody shoe print found at the crime scene under the body of Tassy and other witnesses testified that those tennis shoes belonged to Bagwell. A firearms expert testified that the bullet fragments removed from Libby's cranium matched the shattered rifle the law enforcement officers recovered.
grand jury
for capital murder. Transferred to Atascosa County because of a change in venue, it took a jury three hours of deliberation to return a guilty verdict and another four hours to sentence Bagwell to death. On March 31, 1999, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
affirmed his conviction and sentence.
, 40 miles east of San Antonio, a delivery person found the body of 63-year-old George Barry in the supply room of a local bar, Jim's Place, where Barry had worked as a night stocker. Police arrived on the scene shortly after the discovery, took photographs of the body and the supply store, and dusted for fingerprints. As the investigation progressed Bagwell became a suspect, and Wolford, after being promised immunity from prosecution by the state, once again testified against Bagwell.
Wolford testified that on the evening of September 4 she and Bagwell met Donnie Halm, the owner of Jim's Place, at a rest stop on Highway 123. There, Bagwell sold Halm a television, stereo, and VCR, all of which belonged to a local rent-to-own store. Halm paid $200 for the equipment and Bagwell and Wolford took the money from this sale and went to the home of Anthony Jackson where they bought some rock cocaine
for $150. The pair took the cocaine to the trailer they shared where they smoked it, and Wolford prepared for bed. Wolford further testified that Bagwell then wanted to return to Jim’s Place for more drugs, this time, marijuana. Wolford dressed and they drove to Jim's Place. Bagwell drove around the bar a couple of times telling Wolford he was looking for an employee, Robin Whitman, who Bagwell thought would sell him some marijuana.
Bagwell had been to Jim's Place several times, had sold or tried to sell items to employees there, and knew all the employees by name. When Bagwell didn't see Whitman he stopped the car and went into the bar. He came back shortly and asked Wolford for a quarter as he had not found Whitman and wanted to call him at his home. At that point he told Wolford he planned to rob and kill Barry, who was in the restaurant, stocking beer for the next day. It was also Barry's job to make the night deposit for the bar.
Bagwell returned to the restaurant and Wolford remained in the car.
According to Wolford, while Bagwell was in the bar, she could hear pounding and thumping noises after which Bagwell returned 20 to 25-minutes later with three moneybags and an injured finger. Bagwell and Wolford then left Seguin stopping to move the money from the bags to Bagwell's pockets. They went to Jackson's where they purchased more rock cocaine, and on the drive from Jackson's to their trailer, Bagwell told Wolford that he had killed Barry by smashing his throat in with his foot. Wolford testified that Bagwell was wearing black, heavy boots the night of the murder. The next morning Bagwell and Wolford left Seguin for San Antonio.
Already sentenced to death for the murder of his mother and three other people, Bagwell was tried in Guadalupe County
for the Barry murder. In the November 1997 trial a fingerprints expert testified that one of Bagwell's fingerprints and one of his palm prints were found on the file cabinet near Barry's body where the deposit money was kept. A "pattern injuries" expert testified that he could not rule out the possibility that Bagwell's shoes had caused the injuries to Barry's face and neck, and a San Antonio police officer testified to finding one cloth bank bag with the words "First Commercial" on it in the room Wolford and Bagwell shared in San Antonio. Bar employees testified that this bag was "similar" to those used by Jim's Place.
Finally, several witnesses testified that Bagwell had given inconsistent stories about how he had hurt his hand, saying at times that he had hit a black man, that he had hit a black man and robbed him, or that he had smashed his hand down on the roof of an automobile. The defense presented no witnesses, and the jury sentenced Bagwell to life imprisonment in a case where the State waived the death penalty.
Lethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs for the express purpose of causing the immediate death of the subject. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broad sense to euthanasia and suicide...
at the Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas
Huntsville, Texas
Huntsville is a city in and the county seat of Walker County, Texas, United States. The population was 35,508 at the 2010 census. It is the center of the Huntsville micropolitan area....
. Bagwell was found guilty of the 1995 murder of Libby Best, 24, Reba Best, 4, Tassy Boone, 14, and Leona McBee, 47. Bagwell, who was 31-years old when he committed the capital crime, was sentenced to death on November 7, 1996. He is related to Pete Walker
Pete Walker
Peter Brian Walker is a former right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. Walker is a graduate of East Lyme High School in East Lyme, Connecticut. He completed his college degree at Charter Oak State College. He attended the University of Connecticut and was drafted by the New York Mets...
.
The Crime
On September 20, 1995, Ronald Boone returned from work to his rural Wilson CountyWilson County, Texas
Wilson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 32,408. Its county seat is Floresville. The county is named after James Charles Wilson....
, Texas home to find the bodies of his wife Leona McBee, her daughter Libby Best and his granddaughters Reba Best and Tassy Boone. McBee and Tassy had been beaten and strangled such that their necks were broken, and Tassy had been sexually assaulted. Libby had been shot twice in the head, and Reba’s skull had been crushed with a hammer and a metal exercise bar.
McBee’s son, Bagwell, and his girlfriend Victoria Wolford, had been living in a small travel trailer on her property. Earlier in the month McBee had asked Bagwell and Wolford to leave her trailer and on the 20th they were living some 35 miles away in a San Antonio apartment.
On the 20th Wolford testified that she and Bagwell drove to his mother’s house to borrow money. When they arrived Wolford retired to the trailer because she had a headache. A short time later Bagwell walked over to the trailer and told Wolford that his mother would only give him $20. Bagwell then went back into his mother’s house, while Wolford stood outside the trailer. Through the window Wolford saw Bagwell strike McBee, then heard screams and two popping noises. She heard Tassy yell, “No, no,” and heard Reba scream. Everything was quiet for a while when she heard McBee yell at the dogs and gasp for air. Through the window she saw Bagwell hit his mother with a long-handled gun. Later Bagwell took some towels and wetted them with a water hose. He wiped off a hammer and told Wolford he was going to go inside and wipe off fingerprints he might have left in the house, adding that he was trying to make the crime look like a robbery
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
and rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
of Tassy.
Evidence
Wolford led police to various locations along the getaway route where Bagwell had discarded incriminating evidence, and police officers recovered numerous items taken from the Boone residence including a pair of tennis shoes and a pair of shorts. An expert witnessExpert witness
An expert witness, professional witness or judicial expert is a witness, who by virtue of education, training, skill, or experience, is believed to have expertise and specialised knowledge in a particular subject beyond that of the average person, sufficient that others may officially and legally...
testified that one of the tennis shoes matched a bloody shoe print found at the crime scene under the body of Tassy and other witnesses testified that those tennis shoes belonged to Bagwell. A firearms expert testified that the bullet fragments removed from Libby's cranium matched the shattered rifle the law enforcement officers recovered.
Trial
On November 21 Bagwell was indicted by a Wilson CountyWilson County, Texas
Wilson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 32,408. Its county seat is Floresville. The county is named after James Charles Wilson....
grand jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
for capital murder. Transferred to Atascosa County because of a change in venue, it took a jury three hours of deliberation to return a guilty verdict and another four hours to sentence Bagwell to death. On March 31, 1999, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is the court of last resort for all criminal matters in the State of Texas, United States. The Court, which is based in the Supreme Court Building in Downtown Austin, is composed of a Presiding Judge and eight judges....
affirmed his conviction and sentence.
Another Murder
On September 5, 1995, in SeguinSeguin, Texas
Seguin is a city in Guadalupe County, Texas, in the United States. It is part of the San Antonio-New Braunfels Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 22,011; the July 1, 2009 Census estimate, however, showed the population had increased to 26,842...
, 40 miles east of San Antonio, a delivery person found the body of 63-year-old George Barry in the supply room of a local bar, Jim's Place, where Barry had worked as a night stocker. Police arrived on the scene shortly after the discovery, took photographs of the body and the supply store, and dusted for fingerprints. As the investigation progressed Bagwell became a suspect, and Wolford, after being promised immunity from prosecution by the state, once again testified against Bagwell.
Wolford testified that on the evening of September 4 she and Bagwell met Donnie Halm, the owner of Jim's Place, at a rest stop on Highway 123. There, Bagwell sold Halm a television, stereo, and VCR, all of which belonged to a local rent-to-own store. Halm paid $200 for the equipment and Bagwell and Wolford took the money from this sale and went to the home of Anthony Jackson where they bought some rock cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
for $150. The pair took the cocaine to the trailer they shared where they smoked it, and Wolford prepared for bed. Wolford further testified that Bagwell then wanted to return to Jim’s Place for more drugs, this time, marijuana. Wolford dressed and they drove to Jim's Place. Bagwell drove around the bar a couple of times telling Wolford he was looking for an employee, Robin Whitman, who Bagwell thought would sell him some marijuana.
Bagwell had been to Jim's Place several times, had sold or tried to sell items to employees there, and knew all the employees by name. When Bagwell didn't see Whitman he stopped the car and went into the bar. He came back shortly and asked Wolford for a quarter as he had not found Whitman and wanted to call him at his home. At that point he told Wolford he planned to rob and kill Barry, who was in the restaurant, stocking beer for the next day. It was also Barry's job to make the night deposit for the bar.
Bagwell returned to the restaurant and Wolford remained in the car.
According to Wolford, while Bagwell was in the bar, she could hear pounding and thumping noises after which Bagwell returned 20 to 25-minutes later with three moneybags and an injured finger. Bagwell and Wolford then left Seguin stopping to move the money from the bags to Bagwell's pockets. They went to Jackson's where they purchased more rock cocaine, and on the drive from Jackson's to their trailer, Bagwell told Wolford that he had killed Barry by smashing his throat in with his foot. Wolford testified that Bagwell was wearing black, heavy boots the night of the murder. The next morning Bagwell and Wolford left Seguin for San Antonio.
Already sentenced to death for the murder of his mother and three other people, Bagwell was tried in Guadalupe County
Guadalupe County, Texas
Guadalupe County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 89,023. It is named for the Guadalupe River. The seat of the county is Seguin. It was founded in 1846....
for the Barry murder. In the November 1997 trial a fingerprints expert testified that one of Bagwell's fingerprints and one of his palm prints were found on the file cabinet near Barry's body where the deposit money was kept. A "pattern injuries" expert testified that he could not rule out the possibility that Bagwell's shoes had caused the injuries to Barry's face and neck, and a San Antonio police officer testified to finding one cloth bank bag with the words "First Commercial" on it in the room Wolford and Bagwell shared in San Antonio. Bar employees testified that this bag was "similar" to those used by Jim's Place.
Finally, several witnesses testified that Bagwell had given inconsistent stories about how he had hurt his hand, saying at times that he had hit a black man, that he had hit a black man and robbed him, or that he had smashed his hand down on the roof of an automobile. The defense presented no witnesses, and the jury sentenced Bagwell to life imprisonment in a case where the State waived the death penalty.
See also
- Capital punishment in TexasCapital punishment in TexasCapital punishment has been used in the U.S. state of Texas and its predecessor entities since 1819.As of 16 November 2011, 1,228 individuals have been executed. Only Virginia has executed more individuals overall; however, since the death penalty was re-instituted in the United States in the...
- Capital punishment in the United StatesCapital punishment in the United StatesCapital punishment in the United States, in practice, applies only for aggravated murder and more rarely for felony murder. Capital punishment was a penalty at common law, for many felonies, and was enforced in all of the American colonies prior to the Declaration of Independence...