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------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Strange Case of the Gilmer (Texas) Cannibal Cult A SUMMARY OF EVENTS IN GILMER, TEXAS In 1992, fifteen children in Gilmer, Texas were removed from their extended families of origin and placed in protective, therapeutic foster care after investigations by Child Protective Services revealed their sadistic sexual abuse and victimization by parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and others. * A special prosecutor was appointed to bring the alleged perpetrators to justice. Scott Lyford, a Galveston attorney, and his investigative team were able to accumulate sufficient evidence to gain indictments and convictions against the eight defendants. * As the children became increasingly secure in their foster care environment and in their therapeutic relationship with a mental health professional, they began to reveal details of their victimization which included elements of ritualistic abuse such as being forced to ingest blood, urine and feces, deviant sex practices, and other behaviors indicative of ritual activities. * One of the abused children disclosed special knowledge regarding the disappearance of an area teenager, Kelly Wilson. This child implicated his sexual abuse perpetrators and an area police officer in the abduction, rape, torture, and murder of Ms. Wilson, a 17 year old Gilmer resident who disappeared on January 5, 1992. * When confronted with the child's testimony, two of the adults confessed to the offenses and one of the adults directed the investigative team to a property owned by the paternal grandparents of the children where the adult alleged some ritual activities had taken place, including the murder of Kelly Wilson. The two adults subsequently recanted their confessions, and later confessed again. One of the adults plea bargained to a lessor offense for which she has been convicted but not sentenced. Both adults submitted to polygraph evaluations whose results supported their confessions. * After the disclosures of ritual abuse, the allegations regarding the murder of Kelly Wilson, and the implications by some of the victims and some of the perpetrators that others, including a police officer were involved in the crimes, the Texas Attorney General's office released the special prosecutor and his investigative team and took over the case. * Assistant Attorney General Shane Phelps directed the grand jury to no bill the defendants. However, the grand jury did not follow this direction and instead dismissed the indictment without prejudice allowing the state to reconsider the case at a future date. * The Special Prosecutor, his investigative team, and the CPS caseworkers who have been advocating for the fifteen children, allege that the Attorney General's office has lost evidence, misinterpreted their investigation, not proceeded with it's own investigation, interfered with the children's psychotherapy, and have removed the children from their foster care without concern for the well-being of the children. These individuals further allege that the state of Texas, via the Attorney General's office, has retraumatized the children by forcibly removing them from their foster mother and by engaging in punitive and damaging strategies in order to command the children's cooperation. The State Attorney General has been unresponsive to residents of Gilmer and others who have attempted to lobby for the welfare of these child victims and requested a complete and thorough public disclosure regarding the circumstances of the children's victimization. * Currently, the Special Prosecutor, his investigative team, and the CPS Caseworkers are being sued by some of the alleged child abuse perpetrators for malicious prosecution and other alleged improprieties. The State of Texas has denied these individuals the option of state funded independent legal counsel, despite evidence of a conflict of interest between the Attorney General's office and these individuals. * The children's foster mother's ability to visit with and nurture these children has reportedly been made contingent upon her assistance in soliciting the children's cooperation with their current psychotherapeutic team. There has been an implication that her failure to assist may result in the children's return to their abusive families of origin. * The psychiatrist currently heading the children's treatment team, Bruce Perry, M.D., and assistant Attorney General Beth Paige, have admitted to serious errors in judgment on their part which have resulted in the retraumatization of these severely abused children. * On November 16, 1994, the Gilmer Police Department announced that five or six boxes of evidence gathered in the Kelly Wilson case had been taken from the property room of the Gilmer Police Department by personor persons unknown. These boxes of exidence were copies of evidence which, while in the custody of the attorney general's office, were allegedly lost. The Justice for Kelly Wilson Committee intends to converge on Austin at noon on Monday, October 24, 1994, for the purpose of informing the citizens of Texas of the details of this case and to raise questions for the government of Texas regarding the manner in which this case has been handled, concerns regarding a conflict of interests between the state of Texas and the children's advocates, and other concerns including: 1. Why did the Attorney General's office discharge the special prosecutor in the midst of his preparations to go before the grand jury? 2. Why was the foreman of the grand jury, the editor of the local newspaper, permitted to retain her position on the grand jury while she continued to produce articles in the newspaper which reflected her disbelief in the validity of reports of ritualized abuse? 3. Why were the children removed against their will from the nurturing and supportive environment of their foster home to a treatment center in Waco, and why was this done without providing the foster mother or the children time to prepare for the event? 4. Why has the foster mother been permitted only one visit with the children since their removal from her home, despite the fact that she has petitioned to adopt these children and provide them with a permanent home? 5. Why were the children removed against their will from their former therapist when they were making good progress after having spent much time and energy in developing excellent rapport? 6. What happened to the evidence collected by the special prosecutor's investigative team? 7. Why did the assistant Attorney General Shane Phelps misrepresent a statement he read after the grand jury failed to no bill the defendants as the product of the grand jury? 8. Why has the testimony of one of the child victims and two of his confessed perpetrators been discounted by the attorney general's office? 9. Why has the media attention to this case been skewed in favor of the attorney general's stance? 10. Why is the State of Texas denying the children's advocates independent counsel to address litigation brought against them by convicted child abusers? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ SYNOPSIS OF GILMER CASE In 1989, Loretta Gilmer made a report to police that her husband, Wendell, was sexually molesting their two daughters aged 5 and 6. Their four children were removed to foster care by Child Protective Services, Wendell and Loretta were both charged with child sexual abuse, Wendell was convicted and placed on probation. Wendell moved in with the Biby family. He later married Wand Hicks (1992) who had five children from a previous marriage. Upon learning that Wendell, on probation for child sexual abuse, had moved into Wanda's home where her fove young children resided, CPS intervened and removed the children from their home. Wanda subsequently relinquished her parental rights to the children. Wendell's children also made allegations that they had been abused by their grandparents, Geneva Skipper Kerr and Eugene Kerr, and their uncle, Danny Kerr and his common law wife, Connie Martin. The children reported that Danny and Connie's 5 children were also being abused. Those children were also removed to foster care by CPS. These children accused two other people, Tammy Jo Smith and her live-in boyfriend, Don Holman, of abusing them and Tammy Jo's son, Raymond. Raymond and his half-brother, Tammy Jo and Don's son, were placed in foster care. On January 5, 1992, Kelly Wilson, a 17 year old girl, disappeared after leaving work sometime after 8 oclock p.m. Kelly was employed at a video rental store in Gilmer, across from the courthouse. When she left work that night, she discovered that her car had a slashed tire. Her purse was found in her unlocked car. There were no ransom demands, no physical evidence of abduction, no sign of foul play (except for the deliberately slashed tire), and Kelly's body was never found. Sgt. James York Brown was assigned to the investigation of Kelly Wilson's disappearence. There were no arrests in relation to Kelly's disappearence except for Michael Biby, a 17 year old male, was eventually arrested and convicted of having slashed Kelly's tire. James Brown was the only police officer to talk with Michael Biby. Michael served some time for the misdemeanor charge but denied any knowledge of Kelly Wilson's whereabouts. Wendell Kerr had lived with the Biby family between his divorce from Loretta and his marriage to Wanda. A 29 year old man, Brent Lee Ward, was indicted for lying to the Grand Jury in regard to their questions to him relative to his knowledge of Kelly Wilson. However, a judge overturned the indictment. The Grand Jury later reindicted him. Sgt. Brown was acquainted with Don Holeman as he was Mr. Holeman's training officer when Mr. Holeman served as a reserve police officer and active duty police officer on the Gilmer police force. Sgt. Brown was also acquianted with Wendell Kerr as the two were co-workers for a period of time when Sgt. Brown left law enforcement briefly and worked as a truck driver. Once in foster care in June/July of 1992, Raymond disclosed knowledge of Kelly Wilson. Raymond alleged that Kelly had been kidnapped by a "cult" of which his parents, Geneva and Eugene Kerr, Wendell and Wanda Hicks Kerr, Danny Kerr and Connie Martin were members. According to Raymond, Kelly was abducted, brutalized over a period of about ten days, sacrificially murdered, and eaten by the assembled group. According to Raymond, Sgt. James Brown of the Gilmer Police Department was a participant in this act. In May, 1993, charges of child molestation were brought against Eugene and Geneva Kerr, Wendell and Wanda Hicks Kerr, Danny Kerr and Connie Martin, Tammy Jo Smith and Don Holeman. District Attorney Tim Cone excused himself from prosecuting the case on the grounds that he had previously represented one of the defendants in an unrelated matter. Special Prosecutor Scott Lyford was appointed by Judge F.L. Garrison in September. Shortly after he undertook the prosecution of this case, Connie Martin made a confession to Mr. Lyford regarding the role of the Kerrs, Smith, Holeman, and herself in the disappearence of Kelly Wilson. According to Ms. Martin, they had participated together in a ritual resulting in Ms. Wilsons rape and murder. Subsequently, Wanda Hicks Kerr confessed to these crimes, later recanted, and later modified her confession in exchange for a reduced plea. Ms. Martin passed a lie detector test in which she described the abduction and murder of Kelly Wilson. Connie says the night Kelly disappeared, the Kerr's received a phone call which signalled them to go get Kelly. Wanda admitted abduction of Kelly but did not implicate Brown, later recanted. Connie Martin led investigators to property she and Danny stayed at. Led them to area she claimed body was buried. Investigators found bone identified by local coroner as the tibia of a 16 year old human. A.G.s office reidentified it as 200 year old pig bone. Physical evidence included: children's jewelry, hair samples, blood samples, bone samples. Cadaver dog detected blood throughout area. Ground soft indicating possibility of reexcavated shallow graves. Two hot spots located by infrared. Connie passed polygraph implicating self and Kerrs and Don Holman and Tammy Jo Smith prior to implication of James Brown. Scott Lyford arranged for second polygraph, Attorney General's office cancelled when they took over case a few days later. CPS caseworkers and Scott Lyford requested A.G.s assistance A.G.s office did not respond until State Representative Bob Glaze (Upshur County) requested A.G.s intervention. Attorney General dismissed all charges against all defendants in Kelly Wilson murder. When Wendell Kerr married Wanda, Wanda relinquished all rights to her children. All 5 children were adopted by Lappe family of Kilgore. There's was a therapeutic home. Long-time foster parents, the Lappes moved to Colorado City West Texas. Mrs. Lappe claimed they had had death threats because of Kerr situation. Approximately one month after moving, (November 1993) Lappes took Danny to hospital with severe head injuries. Danny was comotose. Mr. Lappe explained that he had fallen while carrying Danny Jr. upstairs following an episode duringwhich Danny engaged in head-banging. CPS came to the hospital and took custody of the 5 children. The next day, Mr. Lappe committed suicide. Two days later, Ms. Lappe was found dead of prescription drug overdose. The Kerrs were out on bail during this time and are known to have relatives in Lubbock (near Colorado City). Danny is permanently brain damaged. Following Lappes death all of Kerrs, Holman, Smith, were rearrested and bonds raised ($100,000 +). They remained in jail from November to January. When they were indicted in Kelly Wilson murder and James Brown arrested, bonds raised again. Bond reduction hearing for Brown. James Brown's bond lowered from $250,000 to $150,000. Judge said, if Brown could not meet bond within a week, judge would lower bond again. Brown spent approximately one week in jail. March of 1994, took over case, dismissed all charges pertaining to Kelly Wilson, bonds lowered to original amount, except for Wendell Kerr who was also in jail for probation revokation. Currently in jail. Wanda pled guilty to one count of indecency with child. October 31, 1994 - 5 boxes of evidence related to the Kelly Wilson investigation were stolen from the Gilmer Police Department. By the end of 1996, all of the indictments against the Kerrs, et.al., had been dropped, the accused were released form jail, and most have been reunited with the child victims. ----- Om K <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! 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