12-22-2009 Texas:A registered sex offender was found apparently stabbed to death outside his mother's Huntington home Monday afternoon, law enforcement said.
Gary Lynn DeFratus' mother discovered his body around 2:20 p.m. and alerted the Angelina County Sheriff's Office, according to Lt. Bryan Holley. The 47-year-old lived next door to her on Shadowood Drive off U.S. Hwy. 69 north.
DeFratus was convicted of molesting a six-year-old girl in 1993 when he was 20 years old, according to the sex offender registry. It is unclear whether the conviction played a role in his death, Sheriff Kent Henson said.
The murder was a violent crime, according to Holley.
It did not appear DeFratus' home had been burglarized.
Blood splatters throughout the front yard lead investigators to believe the man was chased from his home to the carport, where the body was discovered between his mother's vehicle and her home, Henson said.
"It looks like he was trying to get away," Henson said. "He lived by himself and kept to himself from what family told us."
This murder makes the fourth in Angelina County in two weeks.
The case is under investigation by the Angelina County Sheriff's Office and the Texas Rangers, Henson said. ..Source.. by JESSICA COOLEY, The Lufkin Daily News
Stabbing death is Angelina County's 4th murder in 2 weeks
12-22-2009 Texas:
ANGELINA COUNTY - by Steve Stewart/KJAS -Officials in Angelina County are investigating their fourth murder case in the last two weeks.
The Lufkin Daily News is reporting that 47-year-old Gary Lynn DeFratus was discovered stabbed to death on Monday afternoon by his mother. Officials say his body was under the carport of her home, located on Shadowood Drive, just south of U.S. Highway 69.
According to the report, Defratus lived alone next door to his mother.
Angelina County Sheriff Kent Henson said a trail of blood is leading investigators to believed that Defratus was attacked at his own home, and he tried to reach his mother's house before he collapsed and died.
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety Sex Offender Registry, Defratus was convicted in 1993 of aggravated sexual assault of a 6-year-old girl. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison, and was currently out on parole. The database did not indicate when Defratus was released from prison.
Sheriff Henson said it is not clear if Defratus' sex offender status played a role in the crime.
Investigators pointed out that it appeared to be a violent murder, and yet there were no signs of forced entry into the house.
The Texas Rangers are assisting the Angelina County Sheriff's Department in the investigation.
Officials in Angelina County are investigating their fourth murder case in the last two weeks.
The Lufkin Daily News is reporting that 47-year-old Gary Lynn DeFratus was discovered stabbed to death on Monday afternoon by his mother. Officials say his body was under the carport of her home, located on Shadowood Drive, just south of U.S. Highway 69.
According to the report, Defratus lived alone next door to his mother.
Angelina County Sheriff Kent Henson said a trail of blood is leading investigators to believed that Defratus was attacked at his own home, and he tried to reach his mother's house before he collapsed and died.
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety Sex Offender Registry, Defratus was convicted in 1993 of aggravated sexual assault of a 6-year-old girl. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison, and was currently out on parole. The database did not indicate when Defratus was released from prison.
Sheriff Henson said it is not clear if Defratus' sex offender status played a role in the crime.
Investigators pointed out that it appeared to be a violent murder, and yet there were no signs of forced entry into the house.
The Texas Rangers are assisting the Angelina County Sheriff's Department in the investigation. ..Source.. by Scott Lawrence
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Taken from the appeal of the person who killed Gary Lynn DeFratus:
Gary Lynn Defratus, the victim, lived at his mother’s home. Defratus’s friend, Jay Hines, frequently visited Defratus to play guitars with him. In December 2009, Hines visited Defratus, and when he arrived, Appellant, his girlfriend (Mindy Wood), and their child were already at Defratus’s residence.
When they all left, Appellant told Hines that he was upset and that he was going to return and confront Defratus because he flirted with Wood. Hines later received several text messages from Wood stating that she was concerned that Appellant returned to Defratus’s home to confront him. Hines then went back to Defratus’s home after midnight and saw Appellant there.
Appellant was frantic and told Hines that there had been an altercation and that he needed to leave before the police arrived. Hines believed there had been a simple fight and left. He thought Defratus had gone to call the police, and that, as a result, Appellant made a hasty escape. Hines did not realize that a more serious crime had occurred. Later, the police discovered that Defratus had died from a vicious knife attack.
After conducting an investigation, the police arrested Appellant. He claimed that what started out as a simple fistfight escalated and that Defratus struck him with a large metal flashlight and charged him with a knife. According to Appellant, he fought back in self-defense. Appellant was indicted and tried by a jury for murder. The jury found him guilty and sentenced him to life imprisonment. This appeal followed.
DISPOSITION
We affirm the judgment of the trial court.
No comments:
Post a Comment