Bad Boy From Rosebud by Gary M. Lavergne Read Free Book Online Page B

of his rounds into Robert and Marcus; he had wanted to shoot Louisejust in case. Then they dragged her to a clump of oak trees with ground covered by dense brush. 19
And finally, they left her alone.

 

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Victims of the 1966 Broomstick Murders.
Courtesy Jack Brand.
IV
On the way back to Roy Dale's house in Marlin, Kenneth and Roy Dale stopped in Hillsboro at a filling station for soft drinks. Kenneth lectured Roy Dale: ''Keep your mouth shut. If the police beat on you, it's better than what'll happen if you tell them. They'll put you in the electric chair." 20
As they motored south towards Marlin, they tossed out empty shells from Lonnie's pistol. They also threw out the broomstickit would never be found. Later, they stopped near a road sign and buried Robert and Marcus's wallets. After reaching Marlin, they tried unsuccessfully to flush their bloody underwear down a gas station toilet. Frustrated, Kenneth threw the garments on the roof of the station. After reaching Roy Dale's house, they spent the night together in the same bed. 21
The next morning Roy Dale and Kenneth washed up and went outside. After finding a shovel and a cigar box, Kenneth tried to place the Colt revolver into the box but it did not fit. He ripped out one side of the box, wrapped it in rags and buried it and the gun in a two-foot hole he dug near Roy's garage. In an effort to conceal the burial, he carefully

 

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placed leaves over the fresh dirt. Then they went to a car wash and thoroughly washed the inside and outside of the Dodge. While cleaning out the inside Kenneth held up one of Louise's long brown hairs, told Roy Dale that it could "get you convicted" and threw it to the ground.
Later that day, Sunday, August 7, 1966, Roy Dale accompanied Kenneth to Robertson County to pick up a girl named Jo Ann. She and Kenneth had a date that night. Kenneth then took Roy Dale to Richard Boyd's house and went on his date. 22
In Alvarado, Jack Brand returned home from work at Bell Helicopter at 2:15 A.M. to find his wife pacing the floor in a frantic state. Their son, Robert, and his cousin, Marcus, had not yet returned. Immediately, Mr. Brand began searching for the boys. "I drove all night," he said, only to return home to lie down and get some well-deserved rest. For a while, Mr. Brand thought that the boys might have taken off to Little Rock.
Louise's mother did not know to be concerned; she thought all along that Louise was at Rhonda's house only a few homes down Marlene Street. She assured police officers that Louise was "a good girl and always comes home on time." 23 Early Sunday morning, at about the time Kenneth and Roy Dale awakened and the parents of Louise Sullivan and Robert Brand began to get seriously concerned for the safety of their children, Bill Sanders of Burleson, Texas, was driving west on FM 1017. He intended to go fishing when he spotted a 1955 Ford parked against a fence. Thinking it unusual to see an unattended, parked car with the trunk opened, he stopped to check it out. He was the first to see the grisly scene. Tarrant County Sheriff Lon Evans later said that "it looked like an execution."
Immediately, Sanders went to the McAlister home to call the authorities. In a matter of hours, Rhonda's parents informed the Brands of the senseless tragedy. Before the day was out 250 volunteers and police officers were searching for Louise. The next day, Monday, August 8, over 2,000 people assisted in a search using helicopters, horses and motorcycles. 24 The search, however, did not conclude until a guide arrivedRoy Dale Green.
Kenneth had dropped Roy Dale off at Richard Boyd's house at about 11:30 A.M. on Sunday. Early that afternoon Richard and Roy Dale drove to Richard's girlfriend's house and picked her up for a Sunday afternoon drive. Her name was Shirley, and she and Richard could see that something was clearly wrong with Roy Dale.

 

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While seated in the back seat, he began to cry. When