Not a long term boondocks solution but we recommend it for the one or two nights depending on your situation. At the very least, I would ask the locals about safety before I parked. Perhaps one of the most well-known, frustrating cases ever in Texas, the murder of Amber Hagerman gained worldwide attention and even prompted officials to create Amber alerts for missing persons. So sorry for the Butler family and their kids and Cats too,we travel with cats also. National News . Challenge Assumptions. Claude Jones (left) was convicted of murder on a single piece of evidence that did not belong to him. Period. 2 Because of changes in the state/local agency's reporting practices, figures are not comparable to previous years' data. And we will be looking over a shoulder for a long time to come. I choose to live and remain upstairs and refuse to use the basement under any circumstances.. Wont change my camping methods. Jesus Christ. Will the Texas Beach Camping Murders Change How You RV? (So, if you are counting on a weapon, you had better have it in a holster on you, fully-loaded, and you are well-practiced in using it. Ive been to campgrounds when the ranger (if there is one) leaves for the night and the campground is open to the night roamers. If no one is nearby there are no witnesses to a crime. I saw a TV episode of I survived where an RVing couple was terrorized by a gang of men on an isolated road in Mexico. But the typical scenario where the bad guy is going to be obvious and give you time to react is a fantasy. November 15, 2021 Senior Officer Gena Pena. Wanda Lopez was a 24-year-old single mother who worked at a Sigmor Shamrock gas station. The women were discovered by birdwatchers the following day. The Science Behind My 600-Lb. His bond was set at $100,000. Strickland was sentenced to life in prison. Here's how to use Crime Stoppers to report it. We often spend the night at Walmart, but never on the beach or in the woods. I tracked him down in the streets of Vancouver in a wild car chase until the police caught up with him and took him down. This world has changed so much, I grew up in an era when you could go to bed at night, leave windows open and not worry about someone coming in to do bodily harm to the family. If you only look at the statistics, Corpus Christi is a slightly unsafe place to visit. The illusion of protection because you carry a gun is as false as the illusion of danger in every secluded spot. They certainly wont be there while youre being victimized. At his . Safety first! I definitely would not want to boondock without being armed. As has already been mentioned, having a firearm can also help. The release of The Phantom comes at a time when the country has been moving away from the death penalty. On Saturday, April 17, Texas Department of Public Safety Highway Patrol Officers were called out near Lake Corpus Christi for a crash. This man and woman couple probably played the two campers and won over their trust. May they rest in peace. Forget what the bullet heads at the NRA say, more guns equals more deaths. The Phantom will be released nationally on July 2, which also marks the 45th anniversary of Gregg v. Georgia, a case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled, in a 7-2 decision, that the imposition of a death sentence does not qualify as cruel and unusual punishment prohibited by the Eighth and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. Corpus Christi is a city located in Nueces County Texas.It is also the county seat of Nueces County.With a 2023 population of 321,658, it is the 8th largest city in Texas and the 63rd largest city in the United States. So when in crazy-USA, it is likely wise to carry grenades and lots of loaded guns with bullets in the chambers. The Butlers may have discovered that free spot in one of the many free campsite websites throughout the Internet. And like Mr. DeLuna, some Innocence Project clients have been executed without a fair chance to prove their innocence. Due to the attack, Kris suffers from tunnel vision, walks with a limp, had extensive physical rehab and medical treatment. Eventually, law enforcement gathered enough evidence, and on June 20, 2014, David Strickland and his wife, Laura Strickland, were arrested. Knowing the area they were at it would not be a place where criminals would go looking to commit a crime. The result is the Murder Capitals of the Lone Star State for 2021: Beaumont ( Photos) Dallas ( Photos) Port Arthur ( Photos) Forest Hill ( Photos) Henderson ( Photos) Houston ( Photos) Pecos ( Photos) Corpus Christi ( Photos) Ultimately, the investigation finds a draft of the letter on Stricklands computer. The D grade means the rate of violent crime is higher than the average US city. As I stated before, I have camped on the beach in Texas a dozen times the last few years and have thoroughly enjoyed it. The rate of violent crime in Corpus Christi is 4.56 per 1,000 residents during a standard year. Crime Stoppers provides an avenue for the citizens of Corpus Christi to report crimes anonymously through. Maybe at a gas station, the victims shared their camping plans with a friendly stranger. 3. All the while carrying my cancelled carry, right on my hip. My wife and I used to camp on the beach south of the Malaquite campground to watch the moon rise over the gulf in the evening, and the sun rise in the morning. There are million dollar homes further off the beach than I am when I am glamping. NeighborhoodScout provides exclusive crime risk analytics for every neighborhood in America with up to 98% predictive accuracy. I want to believe, and maybe it will come out in the trial, that this sequence of events started before they got to the beach. I can carry but I dont. The 2021 Water Quality Report shows all water meets state and federal standards. Nearly a decade after Mr. Jones execution, DNA testing requested by the Innocence Project revealed that the strand of hair did not belong to Mr. Jones, raising serious doubts about his guilt. Map Browse By State. Dateline Takes Another Look At What Would Have Been A Corpus Christi Double Murder . 19-year-old Freddy Davis and 22-yer-old Attrieon Sherrill were immediately detained on scene. In 1519, The . That is a smear campaign put out by the NRA and our dufus president who says anything to get elected. Kailey E. Hunt, Corpus Christi Caller Times. of those exonerees were either Black or Latinx, underscoring the discriminatory application of the death penalty against Black and brown people. Think about ityou are around your campfire enjoying the night and a stranger walks up. Yes, this has affected me. Are those who own houses on the beach afraid for their life? As the saying goes: Better to be judged by 12, than carried by 6! Yes, campgrounds dont have rangers, but there are usually other people around. RV camping on Corpus Christi National Seashore camping spot (not the Butlers rig). IMO, streets smart is always a good thing but even that cant account for being in the wrong place at the right time. They wont change the way they camp just because of this murder. My thoughts if you want to boondock. 6 report categories, 600+ data elements, predictive analytics. Be careful where you stop and if things dont look or feel right move on. Murder doesnt even make the evening news anymore. No disrespect to mexicans by the way. Call each other so everyone boondocking together is aware that you heard something strange. There is a TON of information about this case. All articles, images, product names, logos, and brands are property of their respective owners. no it wont change our camping experiances.. Mr. Butler was a veteran with a license to carry, from published reports. We have a Class A and is well lit (string of large lights) and havent felt unsafe. I ahve a question for all the liberal anti-gunners who propose yo take guns away form law-abiding Americans: where was the government to protect these innocent lives from being taken? We are new to the RV life and I find this very unsettling. Sad but true. All company, product and service names used in this website are for identification purposes only. 4. Mr. Jones conviction largely rested on a single piece of evidence a strand of hair that was found on the counter near Mr. Hilzendagers body. Again look into Boonedockers.com. He should have never been granted bail in Utah! All I remember is that it was nice part of a bend in the road. If I had to venture a guess. Not fatalist, but a part of the Judeo-Christian fabric that founded this country. Please advise. You cant spend your life worrying about what could happen , otherwise you would never do anything . Just my two cents. Everyone is looking for cheap places to stay. Compared to the previous year, violent crime rate rose by 68.1% while property crime rate increased by 4.6%. According to NeighborhoodScout's analysis of FBI reported crime data, your chance of becoming a victim of one of these crimes in Corpus Christi is one in 114. The Butlers set up camp in a free spot near Padre Island National Seashore between Mile Markers 263 and 264. Raw crime incidents are sourced from all 18,000+ local law enforcement agencies municipal, county, transit, park, port, university, tribal and more, assigned to localities, then built into NeighborhoodScouts proprietary predictive models to provide a comprehensive crime risk profile for every neighborhood and address-vicinity in the U.S. More about NeighborhoodScouts crime data methodology, By sending this Report you agree to NeighborhoodScout's, My Chances of Becoming a Victim of a Yes, my plans had already been to stop RVing after 3 years of travel when news of the Butler murders broke. New DNA technology was used to match DNA from a hair on Mollie Olgins body to the original suspect Dylan Spellman. My life is to valuable sorry if I sound rude or ugly but people need me and I value my life. . I do not, however, park my rig anywhere that is isolated or off the beaten path. In the initial investigation, authorities found DNA on a cigarette butt and an energy drink can on the scene. Yet, as Mr. DeLunas case clearly illustrates, the death penalty, in fact, has been carelessly and unfairly applied. A view of your own is just not worth the risk. Over the years thousands of people have gone camping on the Texas Gulf Coast. By then I was already severely burned out by solo female travel and too many close calls wrong place, wrong time events after well thought out decisions. In 1989, Mr. DeLuna died by lethal injection. In this particular case we probably never really know what exactly what happened, it could have panned out in many different ways even while being armed. I have begun to think that maybe we will need to stay monthly, or rent an apartment. You can learn more about how we consider cases here. Now that Im a geezer I have a trailer RV. I know my capabilities. Biography. Yes this will change how and where we camp. Her girlfriend, Kris Chapa, was left for dead. The background check is rigorous. Instead, they accused Mr. DeLuna of blaming the murder on a phantom person. We only do it on long runsjust to sleep for the nightnot to stay for days. Texas is not the only place where potential danger lurks..just a few miles from my location in Missouri, Ive seen tents poping up at a state park thats remote so, its hardly ever monitor by park officials, except on occasionial drive by. Im wondering if this veteran was legal to carry in NH but chose to obey the restrictions of individual states and did not in their journey. Nice article, but true to camping full time, we go where we want despite those risks. But then again, two recent Texas beach camping murders arent your every day homicides. O n Dec. 7, 1989, Carlos DeLuna, a young Latino man, was executed for the 1983 murder of Wanda Lopez, an employee at a gas station in Corpus Christi, Texas, despite maintaining his innocence. Copyright 2000-2023 Location Inc. If he/she sees a weapon and is intending harm, dont you think he would move away and not confront you, knowing you arent an easy target? They probably had a nice chat. We would just take you out without warning. Can I eliminate risk? I am very scared of anything free and will never stay any place that doesnt have gates and power and cable. Amen..both I and my wife are CCW holders, trained, observant and armed 24/7 bks we know that when trouble is moments away, the 5-OH is minutes to hours away..at best. At the time of the crime, Spellman stayed with his fathers best friend just down the street from the attack. David was charged with capital murder, aggravated sexual assault, and aggravated assault. Once I was witness to a crazy kid who murdered a boy so he could avoid deportation to China. . My choice would be to not stay on any remote beach overnight. Not to say it cant happen but, being out away from all most bad folks dont spend the time or money where as in parking lots and rest areas you have the low lifes that will try and take what you have knowing they have nothing to lose. Derek Parra, 41, appears in the 214th District Court on Wednesday, April 3, 2019. We will be extra cautious, and will not open our door for strangers, instead calling police for them if they need help. comes at a time when the country has been moving away from the death penalty. Your opinion is just that, your opinion. Yeah sure you would have plenty of time to get your weapon and shoot me, but then after the fact its an argument about whether deadly force was necessary. Such a tragic loss. As a footnote, two of the missing people noted in the article (Galvan and Martinez) have been found and are safe. The next time my husband and I choose to boondock in an out-of-the-way spot, the Butlers will definitely be in our thoughts. They are taking as big a risk as I am. Sad thing is all the news reports have said they were really nice people and probable befriended the couple. Some of them even have electricity. Methodology: KRIS Newsroom 10:17 AM, Feb 21, 2023 . Castro was taking out the trash when Ramirez slashed his throat and stabbed him more than two dozen times. Sometimes its in parking lots, and other times youll find us in the same kind of scenic area where the Butlers were killed. A witness told police . We dont like all the hub bub associated with parks. It also ranked 51th for Property Crime rate in the country, 3,565.31 per 100,000 residents. The cause of the fire is still being investigated, deputy fire chief Riche Quintero said. James O'Donnell, 50, has been charged with murder. Importantly, we found that Corpus Christi has one of the highest rates of motor vehicle theft in the nation according to our analysis of FBI crime data. Guns stolen from First Cash Pawn Shop in Corpus Christi. Doesnt bother meI am a pacifist at heart but always camp with weapons and am willing to protect myself and family. Earlier that day, the Corpus Christi fire department responded to Omayra's home on Ashland Drive. Missing My Baby - Selena. Over $135 million has been infused into the water system to replace aging pipes. I dont think they allow you to have guns there. Oh, and youll pardon me if I dont believe most of what you wrote. Bear spray on the ready in the camper at night and carry on my belt daytime. statistics show that murders and violent crime involving guns has gone down drastically, in Australia since they outlawed firearms (note that there are STILL gun-related crimes/murders being committed! I guess criminals didnt get the memo that guns were illegal! It was a very unfortunate event and my heart goes out to the Butler family. This isn't unique to this city, as many American cities deal with an influx of gun crimes. Agree. Yes it will change how and where we camp. Like, no criminal stakes out a wilderness each night HOPING that maybe someone will show up in an rv. Agree. The average national property crime rate is 24. There you can read their profile and see what other people have said about their stay while on their property. The 15-year-old was prounounced dead at the scene on Spring Cypress Road this morning. On July 23, the total number reported in 2021 surpassed the total . Praise the Lord And pass the amunition! See Sample Report. I use to live at Padre on the island.That stretch of beach in between Bob Hall fishing pier and the National sea shore is a very dangerous place.Theres a bunch of weirdos that hang out down there and its very isolated .There isnt much law down there because of distance they must travel to get down there to patrol.One night I was fishing down there and was getting back in my truck and this crazy guy got out of his vehicle and was staggering up to me.I cursed him and warned him I was fixing to put some serious hurt on him and he still came I just got in my vehicle and left.From that night on never went back on that particular stretch.I would just go to the national seashore much safer with park rangers around patrolling.Yes drifters running from law always seem to end at Texas beach towns eg Robert Durst plus the lady who murder another lady stoled her identity .My heart goes out to this family.What also hurt knowing this sob threw her cats out to Im sure.I hope they bring back ole sparky and fry him like bacon.He was nothing but a loser punk thug by the look of his mug shot.I hope he burns in hell for eternity.Deep sorrow and sympathy to the family.