In May the brothers had persuaded Carl to sell them his future rights to the Prichard Orchard for a measly $75,000, even though the property was valued at more than $500,000. 4:12 Cold Justice An Exclusive Look Into the Case of Steven Phelps. We report on vital issues from politics to education and are the indispensable authority on the Texas scene, covering everything from music to cultural events with insightful recommendations. Shortly thereafter, I went to see him at the Byrd Unit, in Huntsville. It became the county seat in 1856. But her violent death in March shook the quiet Hill Country community about two hours northwest of Austin, both for its brutality and for the fact that members of her own family were charged in what authorities a far-reaching murder-for-hire scheme over the Harkey family fortune. I didnt have anything to do with the death of Bonnie Harkey or Ms. Johnson, he repeated. If you fill out the first name, last name, or agree to terms fields, you will NOT be added to the newsletter list. They brought their own refrigerator, microwave, and coffeemaker and remarried the next fall. Investigators focus on one of Bonnies stepsons, Bruce Harkey, as the mastermind behind the plot to kill Bonnie Harkey. No longer a single mother, Bonnie found herself joining clubs, making friends, and sliding into the comfortable life she had always wanted. Theres an epic tale of greed and betrayal in the heart of Texas. A search team, which included volunteers on ATVs, local firefighters, sheriffs deputies, and a bloodhound named J.J. from the nearby state prison, soon fanned out across the property. SAN SABA, Texas (KXAN) - At 85, Bonnie Harkey was loved by her neighbors in San Saba County and affectionately known as the Pecan Queen because of the sprawling and fertile farm of nut-bearing trees that had been in her family for years. They set up a sting operation, in which an informant provided Bruce with an illegal silencer and federal agents then arrested him, charging him with possession of a firearm in connection with a crime of violence. Show more listings Save search The co-worker and Bruces boss became so alarmed that they alerted the authorities, and a Texas Ranger and an ATF special agent began to record Bruces conversations. She, like the three hundred other assembled mourners, was still reeling from the shock of her friends violent end. Bonnie, her white puff of hair always freshly coiffed, was a fixture of San Sabas social scene, known for never missing a Sunday school class or a meeting of the garden club. Though pecan trees can grow with little to no help, they are famously temperamental when it comes to producing high-quality nuts, and Riley made himself an expertlearning how to graft buds onto a seedling, trim back branches, and fertilize with zinc. At the trial, held in Burnet, Bonnies relatives and a handful of San Sabans watched as Bruce sat coolly through the proceedings, convinced there was nothing hed be found guilty of. The late afternoon of March25, 2012, a voice crackled over the police scanners that perch on the coffee tables or hang on the belts of many residents in San Saba: an ambulance was headed out to Harkey Pecan Farms. Today, the land and orchard are owned by the Millican family, and six generations have worked in the pecan business. Hipster-friendly tv practitioner. Who owns the biggest pecan farm in the world? The investigation into the murder of Bonnie Harkey and her caretaker broadens as lawmen look for a motive in the familys history.April 24, 2015. Finally, at two in the morning, after repeatedly calling Carls cellphone, Sheriff Brown reached Carl himself. Search Begins for Missing Bonnie Harkey Police recall that Karen Johnson's death seemed unusual when they arrived at the scene -- and they were very concerned that Bonnie Harkey, who had dementia and health issues, was missing from the home. According to one newspaper account, Riley and Israel Harkey, two brothers from Arkansas, drove the first wagon train into the county while serving as Indian scouts for the Republic of Texas; they became so enamored of the loamy soil in the San Saba River Valley that they returned in 1855 with their parents and six other siblings. https://medium.com/crime-seen/tommy-lee-the-pecan-tree-405a00df9dbf, Tommy Lee Jones Owns a 3,000-Acre Cattle Ranch in Texas. What's the difference between praline pecan and butter pecan? How many pounds of unshelled pecans make a pound of shelled pecans? Join Facebook to connect with Bonnie Harkey and others you may know. The boys misbehavior got to be so unpalatable to Bonnies relatives that they stopped coming out to San Saba for holiday dinners. U.S. Highway 190 and Texas State Highway 16 intersect on the eastern side of town. Join Facebook to connect with Bonnie Heakins Harkey and others you may know. Connie N Harkey (1948 - 1991) Born April 19, 1948 Death January 1991 Summary Connie N Harkey was born on April 19, 1948, and died at age 42 years old in January 1991. mostly concerned himself with fire ants, which can hamper the grafting process and damage expensive irrigation equipment. Because of that, Bonnie did pretty much everything she could to alienate me. He was convinced she had caused Erics death. (We dont have the budget of big cities, so we had to use the same thing we use to record traffic stops to record a capital homicide confession, explained Wilkerson.) Finally, when their daughter was four, Kami worked up the courage to walk out. Bonnie, a staunch Baptist, persuaded Riley, a lifelong member of the Church of Christ, to attend San Sabas First Baptist Church with her, where Betty Ann and her husband, Craigan, also attended. . King, 26, has confessed to murder for the death of Johnson and faces up to 45 years in prison. March 2023 Reader Quiz: What Did You Learn? Leave them blank to get signed up. How much is a full grown pecan tree worth? But his narcissism did little to endear him to the residents of San Saba. They'd made a fortune in pecans, but a double murder would expose a vicious power struggle. Bonnie H Harkey from Charlotte, North Carolina | VoterRecords.com Several of the older ones had died. He expected that his father would hand over the day-to-day operations of the farm in the same way O.B. Bruce isdenying all allegations from prison although he does have a history of being accused of solicitation of murder. He willed it to Connie, while the other two groves were to go to John and Bruce, so that all three kids would have their own orchards someday. I was in the backseat, and I leaned forward and said, So, do we call you Mom now or what? he said. A local lawyer by the name of Dick Miller stepped in on Bonnies behalf, asking his law partner, Darrel Spinks, to get involved. The Johnsons and the Harkeys became great friends, going out to dinner and traveling to gospel concerts in Marble Falls and Burnet. An autopsy would reveal that she had been hit over the head and drowned in the shallow water. But both those possibilities were excluded when the bloodhound, using a scent swab from her pillow, followed her trail down the driveway almost to the road, indicating shed likely left in a vehicle. How many years will a pecan tree produce? But he said theyd gone to the San Saba Rivera lie that caused Lillian to break down and spill the real details as soon as Price tried to cross-check the story. A DPS helicopter dispatched from Waco made slow circles overhead, scanning the ground with heat-imaging cameras. He and Lillian were out in Normangee, four hours east of San Saba, staying at a campground. The marker stood in front of a metal storage building and across the way, a donkey grazed in front of a newly built house. John and Bruce reached out, and after some negotiation through an intermediary, Jones put down a $541,822.50 offer on the orchard. The jury took one hour to find him guilty. Carl, looking pudgy and sporting a large horseshoe mustache, nervously bounced his legs, his feet shackled, as he sat in his orange-and-white jumpsuit. Bonnie is related to Rodney Alan Harkey and Claire Woodslayer Heakins as well as 3 additional people. Before the Great Depression shuttered most of the town, the racehorses and mules bred by Riley were known to attract crowds of spectators from all over Texas. The paramedics who arrived five minutes later quickly determined she was dead. Bruce Harkey convicted in murder-for-hire plot over family pecan farm As a favor to their friends son,Betty Ann and Craigan Johnson hired him to clean out their barn, but the work was short-term. View 11 photos $759,263 4 Beds 5 Baths 1442 sqft. She was the closest thing to a mother I ever had, he said, choking back tears. Texas Monthly - Pecans, greed, & murder. Tonight | Facebook Bruce could con you into doing anything he wanted you to do, he said mournfully in his prison whites. Bonnie Harkey owned the walnut farm and had given 94 acres of it to a grandson, Carl Wade Pressley. Still, in 1957, O.B. Oops, this content can't be loadedbecause you're having connectivity problems, By Associated Press - Wednesday, April 30, 2014. But he didnt think she would survive the surgery to fix it, and Bonnie insisted on spending whatever days she had left in the house. At Bonnies invitation, the young family stayed out on the farm for several days as they got the hang of new parenthood. Carl had dropped out of high school after eleventh grade and gone to work in the oil fields around Midland; following his return, hed married a local woman named Melissa Pafford, in 2003, when he was 19. Premature loss of nuts For many years, lack of pollination causes the greatest loss of nuts. But on their walks, O.B. That weekend turned out to be when the murders happened. There would also, of course, be the payout from the estate. When Bonnie Harkey, the 85-year-old matriarch of a prominent San Saba family, was brutally murdered in 2012, her death spelled the end of a legendary pecan dynasty. EDHEC Alumni. I try to be careful when driving. He needed an address to satisfy probation requirements, so he sent letter after letter to Bonnie, begging her to let him live on the Harkey farm. Karens son retreated to a spare bedroom to play, and Bonnie settled into her maroon recliner in front of the television with her beloved cat, Miss Kitty. John packed up in the fall of 1965 to attend Texas Tech University, in Lubbock; Connie enrolled there two years later after being named San Sabas homecoming queen. Bonnie Heakins Harkey is on Facebook. EDHEC Alumni | LinkedIn There was plenty of space for her to do so: the orchard closest to the house stretched almost to the river. Find contact info for Bonnie Sharkey - phone number, address, email. View Details. As investigators search for Bonnie Harkey, they learn more about her troubled relationship with her 28 year old grandson, Carl Pressley. She is a white female registered to vote in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Bonnie Sharkey - Phone, Address, Public Records | PeopleFinders His son had built the house where the Harkey blacksmith shop once stood; you could still find racing horseshoes whenever you dug in the dirt. The baby seemed healthy, but shortly after his delivery the couple learned that his epiglottis was not fully formed, which meant that after feedings Eric had to be held or laid on his stomach so that he wouldnt choke on spit-up.
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