A family had a 3,500-acre ranch where they manufactured wooden key chains, and they needed help for chores and whatever else they directed Bates to do. The actual prod was discovered when police entered and searched the Ellebrachts' ranch in 1984. According to the New York Times, Boyd was informed theyd be digging their own graves that day. Through the years, the 27-year-old Lindsey has been accused of possessing a defaced firearm, being a felon in possession of a weapon, residential burglary, theft of property, possession of contraband in the Baxter County Detention Center, theft by receiving and possessing drugs. The atrocities reported by survivors of the slave ranch were numerous, yet Haynes pulled off another brilliant victory. His wife, Joyce, was known for taking potshots at rocks and bottles she placed near the men and enjoyed seeing how close she could come to shooting the workers. That person was being held on $500,000 bond. Caldwell was no longer needed, and in March, one of the Ellebrachts dropped him off at a truck stop with $20. People - mostly drifters - began disappearing around the property. Mountain Home police responded to a shooting at the 600 block of Cooper Estates Drive, on November 24, 2020, according to a court document. A suspect in the case has been arrested in Peco, Texas and is being held on a charge of failure to report a deceased person," police said. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. On the tape, Bates could be heard pleading with someone named Robert to stop. I've separated my life from my ex-husband, Esensee said. The latest South Texas Crime Stories segment relives the horrifying details of what was known as the Texas slave ranch. He couldn't help what his father and grandfather did, but he was never anything like that. Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. 100 AVVA Dr LOT 16, TX 78058. Cunningham appeared in Baxter County Circuit Court Monday and entered a not guilty plea to the charges against her, including capital murder. After that first brush with the law, he had other criminal charges brought against him in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2020 and 2021. For years before the raid, Ellebracht Jr., his then-wife Joyce and Ellebracht Sr. peddled carved, wooden key chains to dozens of stores near their 3,500-acre ranch in Mountain Home, about 20 miles northwest of Kerrville. Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013, Slave Ranch Trial-Kerr County courthouse, L-R witness Dennis "Pete" Johnson and D.A. Getting workers was a breeze, and once theyd transported the hapless hitchhikers to the ranch, their new employees found it impossible to leave. Ranch foreman Carlton Robert Caldwell said in court that Ellebracht Sr. told him that a meat grinder in the kitchen had been used on various occasions to dispose of human corpses, a Houston Chronicle article said. The ranchers were arrested and charged with aggravated kidnapping and the case became widely known as "the Texas Slave Ranch.". He would die within months on a dirty floor in the barn, his screams forever captured on audiotape. Nine people were initially indicted: Ellebracht Sr., Ellebracht Jr., Joyce, Caldwell and five ranch workers. Home >> Homicides - 2007 January 1 - December 29, 2007 (86 Murders) Date of Murder: January 2, 2007 Victim Name: Connie Whitson, 46 . Restaurateur Joe Marino Jr. said his parents bought the Ellebrachts' key chains for a quarter and sold them for 35 cents at their former business, Big Joe's Country Store, for years. At the time, he was only charged with failure to report a death. Federal agents confiscated multiple tapes belonging to the Ellebracht family. Not as Fiesta by the numbers: 2.5M people, 100K oysters and more, SAPD calls: Body in flooded creek; man dead after hit by train, San Antonio eyes stickers in fight against domestic violence, Man accused of strangling neighbor to death in apartment, SA's last Tuskegee Airman buried at Fort Sam. On April 6, 1984, more than 30 federal, state and local lawmen raided a 3,500-acre (14km2) ranch near the Texas Hill Country town of Mountain Home. Bones found at the site were determined to be those of a young adult male. He taught me that family isn't really the people that are blood, but those who accept you for who you are.. I knew what I was doing; I had options. Lindseys is the most familiar name among those arrested. The ranch was raided in 1984 and the operation shut down. In 1986 the Texas slave ranch trial took place and lasted for three months. In the hardscrabble west, ranchers had to pull a living from the soil and hope the weather cooperated. My son was a very caring person, and he did whatever he could to help anyone in need, said his mother, Joyce Esensee, 59, who was among those initially indicted for the crimes at the ranch. Police say Armstrong shot Ann Moriah Wilson, 25, several times with a 9mm handgun on May 11, shortly after she arrive in town to compete in a mountain bike competition. Travis Boyd, a 38-year-old construction worker from Las Vegas, was hitchhiking when Walter Wesley Ellebracht Sr. picked him up and offered him a job on his ranch. 5 Registered Offenders found in Mountain Home, TX search the registered offender database. They offer 3-hour guided tours of the 50,00 acre ranch. The sparks came from an electric cattle prod used by the torturer. In addition to the charges stemming from the murder, she has a criminal case open in Madison County. This is a carousel. The land isn't suitable because topsoil is shallow, as the area is laced with karst and rock just under the surface. View 60 homes for sale in Mountain Home, TX at a median listing home price of $449,500. According to the probable cause affidavit, Lindsey was holding a pistol on Stradford and asked the victim if he had any last words. Home. Hes accused of killing his estranged wife, Samantha Ruiz, whose body was found at a residence on Bramble Court in Mountain Home on July 28. To clear his conscience, Caldwell gave a 20-page statement to the FBI. Thatwas the case with the Texas Slave Ranch, one of the state's creepiest stories. The jurors compiled their favorite recipes, called it the Slave Ranch Cookbook, had it printed at the Kerr County Courthouse and sold copies. According to the information filed in the case, Hendricks had a firearm as well as methamphetamine, heroin, ecstasy and fentanyl with her when arrested. Key chains hand made by alleged slaves of the Ellebracht Ranch hang in a frame on a wall in Bill's BBQ in Ingram, TX, Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013. Officials claimed at their trial that they started torturing the workers after Ellebracht Sr.s wife ran away with one of them years before. FREDERICKSBURG He was only 9 when the law raided his family's Kerr County homestead in 1984 and their surname, Ellebracht, became synonymous with kidnapping and torture, and their sprawling. Population:96 (2000) It's located in the west-central part of the state, in the beautiful and empty hill country where farming is impossible, but ranchers can make a living. It was a way to take out frustration, but there was no premeditated murder.. Olson is in the Baxter County Detention Center with bond set at $25,000. You just really didn't want to get up and socialize when they came in; they were scary, she said. I totally thought we were screwed. Sign up to receive breakingFront Page Detectivesnews and exclusive investigations. 19. Brazil attempted to flee but was found hiding in weeds by tracking dogs from the Arkansas Department of Correction. The mans family had posted notices offering a reward for information on his whereabouts and reported not having had contact with him since Dec. 4. The battery-operated device released up to 4,0000 volts of electricity. Its not known just how many victims were part of the Texas slave ranch. The three victims, two adults and one teenager . Here's a collection of the crime reports, notable arrests and important court hearings . Carlton Robert Caldwell speaks in his home in San Antonio, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013, about his involvement of conspiracy in 1984, to commit aggravated kidnapping in connection with what has been called "The Texas Slave Ranch" owned by Walter Wesley Ellebracht and his family near Mountain Home, TX. Wes suffered from what happened up there, and he didn't deserve that, but Wes always tried to live down the past. Find directions to Mountain Home, browse local businesses, landmarks, get current traffic estimates, road conditions, and more. According to criminal information filed in the case, Hendricks was alleged to have had the drugs and weapon in Madison County on July 19. They fashioned key chains, and they needed workers. Cunningham was in a blue Elantra. Walter Wesley Ellebracht III, was killed in an automobile accident earlier this month on Highway 290 just out side Fredericksburg. The state had copious evidence incriminating Wes, Junior, and the ranch foreman, Carl. The family-owned ranch started back in 1880 as a program to important exotic species from Africa. (Copyright 2021 by KSAT - All rights reserved. Even the date of the killing seemed ripped from a bad crime novel. Once they got to the ranch, Boyd decided to only stay the night. According to reports, the vehicle appeared to have been there for some time. Mountain Home man accused of his wifes murder, extradited from Texas, held on $2M bond. After being taken into custody and read his rights, Brazil is alleged to have admitted participating in Stradfords beating. See the latest Treasure Valley crime news in ourYouTube playlist: Investigators said the suspicious death appeared to be the result of domestic violence involving an estranged husband. Slave Ranch Trial-Kerr County courthouse, witness Dennis "Pete" Johnson . Finally, in 1984, the authorities raided the property on a tip. Our He was just a young boy when his father and grandfather were arrested and their so-called Texas Slave Ranch was raided in 1984. During the trial, testimony from former workers painted a horrifying picture of mental and physical torture, rape and death. They were arrested in south Texas near the U.S./Mexico border about 900 miles south of Mountain Home and have been locked up in the Hidalgo County, Texas jail. The vehicle was described as having damage along the passengers side. day! 5-23-1986. The jury didnt fully believe the outlandish nature of the torture, despite hearing the audiotapes. One worker, Anthony Bates, died after being tortured with the cattle prod. After that first brush with the law, he had other criminal charges brought against him in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017 and last year. Killed in a car crash at age 38, Wes went to his grave an Ellebracht, one who overcame the nightmares of his childhood. Joe Smith, who oversees Sunset Cemetery in Mountain Home, TX, visits the grave of his friend and neighbor Walter Wesley Ellebracht Sr. Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013.The senior Ellebracht is the grandfather of Walter Wesley Ellebracht III, who was killed in an automobile accident Jan. 20 on Highway 290 just out side Fredericksburg. To donate, send a check to: PO Box 471, Fredericksburg 78624. Texas Slave Ranch - Horror In The Mountain Home : Texas Murders At The Ellebracht Family Ranch In 1984 - Kindle edition by Rouge, Ronan. Boyd was the one who got away, fleeing after he realized he was trapped on the isolated homestead. He was in court with his client during her appearance on Monday. Benton County tax records show her to be the owner of the property. Ellebracht Sr. had big ideas, but was too lazy to implement them, said Joe Smith, 68, a pastor and retired builder who was a friend and maintains the small cemetery in Mountain Home where he is buried. There are several other property owners now around us, but there's nobody around from that era. Caldwell also was given a 15-year sentence, but since he'd served nearly three years while awaiting trial, he was released on mandatory supervision in 1988. "Three Texas Ranchers arrested on abduction, slavery charges", "AROUND THE NATION; Three in Texas Charged With Using Slave Labor", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Texas_Slave_Ranch&oldid=1151134817, This page was last edited on 22 April 2023, at 04:33. She is also the only one of the four to list an address outside this area. The victim also has not been publicly identified. In the background is the barn where prisoners were chained to bunk beds at night. Has the 'Zodiac Killer' just been identified? One day investigators got a tip that hitchhikers were being abducted on I-10 and lured to Ellebrachts ranch. The men involved might have been found guilty, but they barely saw any jail time. He was just a young boy when his father and grandfather were arrested and their so-called Texas Slave Ranch was raided in 1984. The off-the-wall tactics worked, Cogdell said, and Ellebracht Sr. was given probation. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. They're both wonderful girls, and he was a wonderful father, Esensee said. It is now being held by the Baxter County Sheriffs Office. On April 6, 1984, Texans learned a horrifying secret in the tiny town of Mountain Home. Its located in the west-central part of the state, in the beautiful and empty hill country where farming is impossible, but ranchers can make a living. Despite charges of murder and kidnapping at the 3,500-acre cattle ranch, the people around Mountain Home, population 98, are reluctant to condemn the Ellebrachts. In a faded photo on the wall of Bill's BBQ in Ingram, TX, Walter Wesley Ellebracht Sr, center left, poses with Joe Marino Sr who owned Big Joe's Country Store where key chains made by alleged slaves were sold. Everybody says I'm a strong person for what I've been through. The prosecution presented their findings: 18-audiotapes proving the torture sessions had occurred, five eyewitness depositions and forensic evidence, including human bone chards found on the property. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Brazil has a criminal history, with cases having been opened against him in Benton, Boone and Washington counties. It was found Dec. 16 last year off Old Arkana Road south of Mountain Home. Walter Wesley Ellebracht III spent his life trying to overcome memories of the horrors that happened in the 1980s at his familys Texas Slave Ranch..

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