TX TX - Huntsville, 'Walker County Jane Doe', WhtFem 14-16, 91UFTX, Nov'80 #2 *NAME NOT RELEASED*

[Bit of hope]

@MadMcGoo sorry I have been away for a while and just saw your question today. I thought I might have bookmarked the obituary but it looks like I didn't. I did save the picture from it to my computer. I believe I googled his name and truck driver and the city he was from. I used the information there to look up birth records for his children and his death record but didn't find much more about him. That is how I found that he would have had a daughter about WCJD's age.

@Mockturtle22 My husband is named Robert. lol

Autry was from the area or spent time in the area WCJD claimed to be from. A while back I had gone through every record I could find and made a list of every prisoner I could find that was in the Ellis Unit at the time or is buried in the cemetery with a death date after October 1980. I was looking to see if I could find any one else with a connection to Corpus/Rockport/Aransas. I did come up with another prisoner who was about the same age as WCJD when he was arrested for murder in Aransas Pass and sent to Huntsville. I can't find much about the guy besides the fact that he was let out and ended up killing himself after murdering his girlfriend. The one comment I did find about the guy was that he was known to be wild and one man claimed to have been riding around with him and some other guys in a stolen car not long before the murder. I had wondered if WCJD had known him and gone to visit him. The man had a sister that would be about the same age so they could have been friends.
I was prompted to check the message board because I turned on a show on Amazon prime called The Serial Killers. Its an older show and one episode is about Henry Lee Lucas. Some thing they said struck me. They said that HLL and Toole would pick up men for Toole. But when HLL picked up a girl and killed her that Toole would often get mad and after Lucas was done Toole would beat or mutilate the body. But they also said Lucas tended to dump the bodies in a place they wouldn't be easily seen so he could be hours away with no ties to the place once it was discovered. That part doesn't fit as well since WCJD was found right off the highway as I am picturing it. The area is so different now but I don't think there were trees in that area. Of course, she wasn't seen until a truck driver passed a little later in the morning so maybe she wasn't as easily seen as I imagine. They said Lucas liked to pick up girls who were stranded or hitchhiking, girls who wouldn't be missed so quickly.

Thanks for your post.
"I did come up with another prisoner who was about the same age as WCJD when he was arrested for murder in Aransas Pass and sent to Huntsville. I can't find much about the guy besides the fact that he was let out and ended up killing himself after murdering his girlfriend. The one comment I did find about the guy was that he was known to be wild and one man claimed to have been riding around with him and some other guys in a stolen car not long before the murder".

Do you remember his name and when he was released from prison? He could be in older prison records?

 

[daisy6441]

Thanks for your post.
"I did come up with another prisoner who was about the same age as WCJD when he was arrested for murder in Aransas Pass and sent to Huntsville. I can't find much about the guy besides the fact that he was let out and ended up killing himself after murdering his girlfriend. The one comment I did find about the guy was that he was known to be wild and one man claimed to have been riding around with him and some other guys in a stolen car not long before the murder".

Do you remember his name and when he was released from prison? He could be in older prison records?

Last name was Dupnik I think his first name is Bennie. I don't have my notes right now. He lived in Port Aransas and was about 16 or so in 1979 when he beat a bar owner to death with a pool cue (she was an elderly lady who was well known). I believe he was arrested driving her car or a stolen car. They sent him to the Ellis Unit but his sentence was commuted and he eventually got out. He died not long ago in a murder suicide. It was in the papers down there. I messaged on of the local papers and they sent me links to the articles that were online but didn't have any more information about him.

 

[Bit of hope]

Thanks Daisy6441. It's interesting to explore this a little more.

I found this article about Bennie Ray Dupnik Jr. from 2007

Man convicted of 1978 murder of Shorty's owner up for parole | Port Aransas South Jetty


Dupnik beat 7 2 – y e a r – o l d Fowler to death with a pool cue and robbed the bar on May 25, 1978. Dupnik, who was 16 at the time of the crime, was tried as an adult and convicted of capital murder.

And this FindACase™ | BENNIE RAY DUPNIK v. STATE TEXAS (05/26/83)
Sadly you have to pay if you want all of it....

And this (can't read it myself because of privacy laws) Killer of elderly woman paroled based on old law

 

[Bit of hope]

“Supposedly, (the girl) came into the restaurant, asking for directions to the Ellis Unit,” Burmester said, referring to the state prison near Huntsville. “She had a milkshake or something, and the waitress had a conversation with her, asked why she was going to the Ellis Unit. She was kind of young.

“She told the waitress she was going to see her boyfriend at Ellis,” Burmester said. “And, in the same conversation, it came up where she was from. She told the waitress she was from the Port Aransas area. And she told the waitress that she was 18, even though it was obvious she wasn’t.”
----
Police tried without success to figure out which inmate at the Ellis Unit could have been the girl’s boyfriend.

“There was only one that could have possibly been her boyfriend, if you considered their ages, but we checked him out, and he didn’t work out at all,” Burmester said.

Cold case | Port Aransas South Jetty
Story told by retired Houston PD Homicide Detective John Burmester.

 

[rosesfromangels]

I’ve never seen this “boyfriend” quote before, somehow I missed that. Really narrows the focus.

I also think age is not an indicator of who her boyfriend could have been...

Amateur opinion and speculation

 

[Jdart14]

I’ve never seen this “boyfriend” quote before, somehow I missed that. Really narrows the focus.

I also think age is not an indicator of who her boyfriend could have been...

Amateur opinion and speculation

I've never seen mention of a boyfriend or the milkshake as described in this passage. Not sure if this is speculation someone added some fluff to or if this is a more descriptive version of the original witness statement.

Regardless, great sleuthing y'all. I am super busy recently so I haven't had much time but pretty excited about some of these leads ya'll are following. Keep on sleuthing...very interested to see what you come up with.

Everyone have a blessed day..it's FRIDAY. We won't give up sweet girl....

 

[rosesfromangels]

The retired cold case (volunteer) Detective referenced in the article is the one who added “the boyfriend” detail.

I wonder why this is only surfacing now. I find it very hard to believe someone didn’t recognize her. My suspicions are more that they were covering for someone. I really want to know if she were pregnant.

Amateur opinion and speculation

 

[Jdart14]

The retired cold case (volunteer) Detective referenced in the article is the one who added “the boyfriend” detail.

I wonder why this is only surfacing now. I find it very hard to believe someone didn’t recognize her. My suspicions are more that they were covering for someone. I really want to know if she were pregnant.

Amateur opinion and speculation

I believe Carl K has addressed that question through walker county sheriff detectives and they confirmed she had not been and wasn’t not pregnant at the time of her murder.

 

[detective24-7]

“Supposedly, (the girl) came into the restaurant, asking for directions to the Ellis Unit,” Burmester said, referring to the state prison near Huntsville. “She had a milkshake or something, and the waitress had a conversation with her, asked why she was going to the Ellis Unit. She was kind of young.

“She told the waitress she was going to see her boyfriend at Ellis,” Burmester said. “And, in the same conversation, it came up where she was from. She told the waitress she was from the Port Aransas area. And she told the waitress that she was 18, even though it was obvious she wasn’t.”
----
Police tried without success to figure out which inmate at the Ellis Unit could have been the girl’s boyfriend.

“There was only one that could have possibly been her boyfriend, if you considered their ages, but we checked him out, and he didn’t work out at all,” Burmester said.

Cold case | Port Aransas South Jetty
Story told by retired Houston PD Homicide Detective John Burmester.

Wow. I have never heard the boyfriend part as well as that she was there in the restaurant long enough to be eating/consuming something. That adds some more color to the story. I agree with rosefromangels that age (or near her age) isn't a solid indicator of who could have been her boyfriend. If she WAS under 18 and her boyfriend in prison was older, say, in his 20s-30s, it's obvious why he may have denied knowing or recognizing her to avoid exposing himself as a child predator or being involved with a minor.

If it were true she was going to visit her boyfriend, I wonder if her boyfriend was possibly involved with another girl as well and she somehow crossed paths with WCJD and became jealous and she is the one who killed her - only entertaining this idea since no male DNA was found on or in WCJD and it was once speculated it could have been a woman who killed her because of this. After typing that out, it does sound kind of far-fetched and extremely specific, but anything is possible.

 

[MadMcGoo]

“There was only one that could have possibly been her boyfriend, if you considered their ages, but we checked him out, and he didn’t work out at all,” Burmester said.

The girl last was seen late in the day on Oct. 30, standing, possibly hitchhiking, on the side of a road just northeast of Huntsville, the detective said. The road led to the Ellis Unit.

“An old station wagon stopped,” Burmester said. “According to (the) witness, there were three males in the station wagon. And that was the last time she was seen.”
Cold case | Port Aransas South Jetty

WOW!!! Please tell me that I’m not the only one who has NEVER seen this article or heard several details included in it?!

I’m not even sure how I missed it. I’ve scoured through thousands of newspaper articles and internet sites! This was actually quite surprising to read! I KNOW (if their estimated age range is correct) there was more than one inmate on death row at the time who could have possibly “been her boyfriend”. Even though I don’t factor in the ages of the two very much at all.

When I first read through the article, it seemed as though WCJD showed up to the restaurant with a milk shake...I’m curious, now, to find out what all this “restaurant” served. But that is just how I interpreted it the first time I read it.

THREE men in a STATION WAGON? Also...first time I’ve ever heard this mentioned. IMO that changes quite a bit. A lot of bit actually...

I’m going to have to read over this again, but it’s sounding more and more like someone wasn’t being completely honest. Someone either in a position of authority or someone whose statements have been given way too much credibility!

:shocked:

MMcG

 

[MadMcGoo]

@MadMcGoo sorry I have been away for a while and just saw your question today. I thought I might have bookmarked the obituary but it looks like I didn't. I did save the picture from it to my computer. I believe I googled his name and truck driver and the city he was from. I used the information there to look up birth records for his children and his death record but didn't find much more about him. That is how I found that he would have had a daughter about WCJD's age.

@Mockturtle22 My husband is named Robert. lol

Autry was from the area or spent time in the area WCJD claimed to be from. A while back I had gone through every record I could find and made a list of every prisoner I could find that was in the Ellis Unit at the time or is buried in the cemetery with a death date after October 1980. I was looking to see if I could find any one else with a connection to Corpus/Rockport/Aransas. I did come up with another prisoner who was about the same age as WCJD when he was arrested for murder in Aransas Pass and sent to Huntsville. I can't find much about the guy besides the fact that he was let out and ended up killing himself after murdering his girlfriend. The one comment I did find about the guy was that he was known to be wild and one man claimed to have been riding around with him and some other guys in a stolen car not long before the murder. I had wondered if WCJD had known him and gone to visit him. The man had a sister that would be about the same age so they could have been friends.
I was prompted to check the message board because I turned on a show on Amazon prime called The Serial Killers. Its an older show and one episode is about Henry Lee Lucas. Some thing they said struck me. They said that HLL and Toole would pick up men for Toole. But when HLL picked up a girl and killed her that Toole would often get mad and after Lucas was done Toole would beat or mutilate the body. But they also said Lucas tended to dump the bodies in a place they wouldn't be easily seen so he could be hours away with no ties to the place once it was discovered. That part doesn't fit as well since WCJD was found right off the highway as I am picturing it. The area is so different now but I don't think there were trees in that area. Of course, she wasn't seen until a truck driver passed a little later in the morning so maybe she wasn't as easily seen as I imagine. They said Lucas liked to pick up girls who were stranded or hitchhiking, girls who wouldn't be missed so quickly.

No worries!!
I think you and I are on the same page! It seems like we have followed the same leads with the same train of thought! Although my train has completely been derailed with the latest article posted in this thread! I’m not quite sure what to think!

MMcG

 

[Bit of hope]

“There was only one that could have possibly been her boyfriend, if you considered their ages, but we checked him out, and he didn’t work out at all,” Burmester said.

The girl last was seen late in the day on Oct. 30, standing, possibly hitchhiking, on the side of a road just northeast of Huntsville, the detective said. The road led to the Ellis Unit.

“An old station wagon stopped,” Burmester said. “According to (the) witness, there were three males in the station wagon. And that was the last time she was seen.”
Cold case | Port Aransas South Jetty

WOW!!! Please tell me that I’m not the only one who has NEVER seen this article or heard several details included in it?!

I’m not even sure how I missed it. I’ve scoured through thousands of newspaper articles and internet sites! This was actually quite surprising to read! I KNOW (if their estimated age range is correct) there was more than one inmate on death row at the time who could have possibly “been her boyfriend”. Even though I don’t factor in the ages of the two very much at all.

When I first read through the article, it seemed as though WCJD showed up to the restaurant with a milk shake...I’m curious, now, to find out what all this “restaurant” served. But that is just how I interpreted it the first time I read it.

THREE men in a STATION WAGON? Also...first time I’ve ever heard this mentioned. IMO that changes quite a bit. A lot of bit actually...

I’m going to have to read over this again, but it’s sounding more and more like someone wasn’t being completely honest. Someone either in a position of authority or someone whose statements have been given way too much credibility!

:shocked:

MMcG

It's all together a whole new and surprising (shocking if you like) twist to the story, but I'm glad I found the article. It's from 2010...remarkable nobody found it before (as far as I know).

 

[MadMcGoo]

It's all together a whole new and surprising (shocking if you like) twist to the story, but I'm glad I found the article. It's from 2010...remarkable nobody found it before (as far as I know).

I am in complete agreement!! Great find!! I know I’ve never come across anything with this kind of detail, I’m sure if any of us had, we would have shared. But, yes, OUTSTANDING info you’ve come across!!

MMcG

 

[Bit of hope]

I am in complete agreement!! Great find!! I know I’ve never come across anything with this kind of detail, I’m sure if any of us had, we would have shared. But, yes, OUTSTANDING info you’ve come across!!

MMcG

Thanks. Especially the fact that this info is coming from a detective made me look twice....there is so many "out there" around this case, it's hard to estimate the relevance of the info. BTW I also think that the age of a boyfriend isn't a good marker. Detective24-7 made a clever statement about that.

If she WAS under 18 and her boyfriend in prison was older, say, in his 20s-30s, it's obvious why he may have denied knowing or recognizing her to avoid exposing himself as a child predator or being involved with a minor.

 

[rosesfromangels]

Someone is just flat out lying about not knowing who this girl is. I absolutely believe she was going to the prison to see someone she knew. Per the new article, although I am not convinced it is 100% accurate, a "boyfriend".

Chances are, he was older, which would have likely created problems for him, so he said nothing....as he was already in prison for who knows what. The police showing up to ask about a dead girl is never a good thing for a prisoner. Even if they didn't tell them it was a murder case, word gets around quickly.

The info about the alleged three guys in a station wagon is a bombshell. We need to dig up additional info on that. This is really very surprising data to come out so many years later.....(or in 2010?) I'm not quite sure what to make of this.

Amateur opinion and speculation

 

[Bit of hope]

Someone is just flat out lying about not knowing who this girl is. I absolutely believe she was going to the prison to see someone she knew. Per the new article, although I am not convinced it is 100% accurate, a "boyfriend".

Chances are, he was older, which would have likely created problems for him, so he said nothing....as he was already in prison for who knows what. The police showing up to ask about a dead girl is never a good thing for a prisoner. Even if they didn't tell them it was a murder case, word gets around quickly.

The info about the alleged three guys in a station wagon is a bombshell. We need to dig up additional info on that. This is really very surprising data to come out so many years later.....(or in 2010?) I'm not quite sure what to make of this.

Amateur opinion and speculation

Me neither....grrrrr...were they white, black...a mix....I wonder....Actually every time I come across this so called eyewitnesses story I'm getting more unsure....

 

[rosesfromangels]

Me neither....grrrrr....where they white, black...a mix....I wonder....Actually every time I come across this so called eyewitnesses story I'm getting more unsure....

Yessss...I'm not saying it is...but it sounds like a crock to me.

Amateur opinion and speculation

 

[Bit of hope]

Yessss...I'm not saying it is...but it sounds like a crock to me.

Amateur opinion and speculation

I'm not sure it's a crock....eyewitnesses tend to lose information, interpreting information....mixing up day's, people, what people are wearing etc. There are a lot of science/research articles about the credibility of the information given by eyewitnesses.

 

[rosesfromangels]

I'm not sure it's a crock....eyewitnesses tend to lose information, interpreting information....mixing up day's, people, what people are wearing etc. There are a lot of science/research articles about the credibility of the information given by eyewitnesses.

That’s absolutely true.
In this Case, I think there has been a lot of fabrication and coverup.
Just amateur opinion and speculation.

 

[detective24-7]

It's all together a whole new and surprising (shocking if you like) twist to the story, but I'm glad I found the article. It's from 2010...remarkable nobody found it before (as far as I know).

I'm glad you found it too! I was certain I've read/found everything available online about this case, and this article has so many new angles. It's motivated me to keep researching for more articles