1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:04,279 Speaker 1: This story contains adult content and language. Listener discretion is advised. 2 00:00:08,560 --> 00:00:11,719 Speaker 1: We're jumping right into this story, one of my most 3 00:00:11,760 --> 00:00:15,280 Speaker 1: favorite stories because it's in my home state of Texas. 4 00:00:16,239 --> 00:00:18,720 Speaker 1: I live in Austin and teach at the University of Texas. 5 00:00:19,920 --> 00:00:22,400 Speaker 1: Local author Gary Laverne is going to help me set 6 00:00:22,400 --> 00:00:27,760 Speaker 1: the scene. It's April twenty fourth, nineteen thirty five, in Austin, Texas. 7 00:00:28,440 --> 00:00:30,720 Speaker 1: It's early evening, and there's a twenty one year old 8 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:33,640 Speaker 1: man named Howard Pearson who runs into a hospital in 9 00:00:33,640 --> 00:00:35,400 Speaker 1: the middle of the night clutching his arm. 10 00:00:36,040 --> 00:00:38,600 Speaker 2: It was called a seat in infirmary at the time, 11 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:42,640 Speaker 2: and he reported to the nurses in the emergency room 12 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:47,240 Speaker 2: there that he had been robbed and that his parents 13 00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:47,760 Speaker 2: had been. 14 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:50,120 Speaker 1: Murdered, and Howard's also been hurt. 15 00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:54,760 Speaker 2: Howard shows up at a hospital with a bullet wound 16 00:00:54,760 --> 00:00:57,880 Speaker 2: in his arm and they immediately call the police, and 17 00:00:58,240 --> 00:00:59,880 Speaker 2: that's when the investigation began. 18 00:01:08,319 --> 00:01:10,840 Speaker 1: And this is so unusual because it happened in a 19 00:01:10,920 --> 00:01:14,679 Speaker 1: really isolated part of austin a wooded area right on 20 00:01:14,720 --> 00:01:18,080 Speaker 1: the river. There were no street lights, no one around, 21 00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:22,720 Speaker 1: just starlight and moonlight, and the police were alarmed. 22 00:01:23,760 --> 00:01:28,120 Speaker 2: So immediately, people descended upon that area because he did 23 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:32,679 Speaker 2: tell them where the bodies were and where this robbery happened. 24 00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:39,199 Speaker 2: Even the governor and members of the legislature. They descended 25 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:44,920 Speaker 2: upon that area and separated themselves into groups and were searching. 26 00:01:45,400 --> 00:01:48,880 Speaker 1: That's unbelievable. I can't imagine that would actually happen today. 27 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:53,640 Speaker 1: But it's because one of the victims was very important. 28 00:01:54,360 --> 00:01:57,760 Speaker 2: It was a memorable story. You don't have an associate 29 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:02,200 Speaker 2: justice being murdered very often and the governor showing up 30 00:02:02,400 --> 00:02:06,960 Speaker 2: at the scene to help direct law enforcement efforts. Something 31 00:02:07,040 --> 00:02:08,600 Speaker 2: like that made national news. 32 00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:13,080 Speaker 1: Gary and I both love a good Texas story, especially 33 00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:17,360 Speaker 1: one like this with all sorts of twists and turns, 34 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:19,960 Speaker 1: and it's an unusual one, a case that involves a 35 00:02:20,040 --> 00:02:22,600 Speaker 1: murder victim who just happened to be one of the 36 00:02:22,639 --> 00:02:24,480 Speaker 1: most powerful men in the state. 37 00:02:25,520 --> 00:02:31,560 Speaker 2: The story had everything except sex. You had family problems, 38 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:35,880 Speaker 2: you had mental illness, you have violence, you have domestic violence, 39 00:02:35,919 --> 00:02:38,720 Speaker 2: you have all of the politics. 40 00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:42,320 Speaker 1: Texas politics, which has always been way off the rails, 41 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:46,840 Speaker 1: even in the nineteen thirties, or especially in the nineteen thirties, 42 00:02:55,960 --> 00:02:59,040 Speaker 1: the politicians might have disagreed while they were debating each 43 00:02:59,080 --> 00:03:02,240 Speaker 1: other inside the cap building, but in these woods they 44 00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:05,600 Speaker 1: came together because of the mysterious murder of the man 45 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:06,480 Speaker 1: and his wife. 46 00:03:07,160 --> 00:03:11,360 Speaker 2: Here you have the legislature adjourned so that they could 47 00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:16,120 Speaker 2: go out in those woods and help look for Judge Pearson. Now, 48 00:03:16,320 --> 00:03:18,480 Speaker 2: when's the last time you heard of Have you ever 49 00:03:18,520 --> 00:03:19,919 Speaker 2: heard of a story like that? 50 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:26,920 Speaker 1: I'm Kate Winkler Dawson. I'm a true crime historian and 51 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:30,360 Speaker 1: author of American Sherlock and Death in the Air, and 52 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:33,800 Speaker 1: this is our third season of tenfold More Wicked. I 53 00:03:33,880 --> 00:03:37,880 Speaker 1: call it Murder in the Court. In this podcast, we've 54 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:41,600 Speaker 1: traveled from Gilded Age New York to eighteen twenty Scotland, 55 00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:45,760 Speaker 1: and now we've landed in nineteen thirty five in Austin, Texas. 56 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:49,400 Speaker 1: And I'm so glad I did because this one really 57 00:03:49,440 --> 00:03:53,760 Speaker 1: resonated with me. It's more convoluted and more twisted than 58 00:03:53,800 --> 00:03:57,440 Speaker 1: the stories in our first two seasons. That's because this 59 00:03:57,480 --> 00:04:00,920 Speaker 1: time we'll meet a different kind of killer, a murderer 60 00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:04,440 Speaker 1: that you might end up feeling sorry for, or he 61 00:04:04,560 --> 00:04:08,720 Speaker 1: might disgust you. Not all killers are easy to define, 62 00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:11,920 Speaker 1: and you may not believe that what ultimately happened to 63 00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:16,200 Speaker 1: him was justice. This is the story of a fractured 64 00:04:16,240 --> 00:04:22,239 Speaker 1: family and why three of them ended up dead. Howard 65 00:04:22,279 --> 00:04:27,800 Speaker 1: Pearson was exhausted that early evening. His left forearm was throbbing. 66 00:04:28,520 --> 00:04:31,200 Speaker 1: His light colored suit had splashes of blood across it. 67 00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:34,800 Speaker 1: Nurses checked on him often to tend to his injuries. 68 00:04:35,360 --> 00:04:38,520 Speaker 1: He was in tremendous pain, but Howard seemed to be 69 00:04:38,640 --> 00:04:44,480 Speaker 1: only able to focus on one thing, his parents. They 70 00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:47,640 Speaker 1: had been married for almost twenty five years, and now 71 00:04:47,680 --> 00:04:50,680 Speaker 1: they were dead. They had to be. There was no 72 00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:54,520 Speaker 1: way they could have survived such a brutal attack. He 73 00:04:54,560 --> 00:05:01,320 Speaker 1: sat quietly processing it all. Howard glanced at the door 74 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:06,240 Speaker 1: as detectives introduced themselves. They were slightly panicked because, as 75 00:05:06,240 --> 00:05:09,720 Speaker 1: I said before, these were not typical homicide victims. The 76 00:05:09,839 --> 00:05:15,279 Speaker 1: victims were Associate Judge William Pearson and his wife, Lena. 77 00:05:16,040 --> 00:05:18,880 Speaker 1: Will Pearson was one of three judges on the Texas 78 00:05:18,920 --> 00:05:25,359 Speaker 1: Supreme Court, an incredibly important figure in Texas law. The 79 00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:28,240 Speaker 1: sixty one year old held one of the most powerful 80 00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:31,160 Speaker 1: positions in the state. He had sworn in the governor 81 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:35,679 Speaker 1: at the time, James Alred, and now that same governor 82 00:05:35,839 --> 00:05:39,240 Speaker 1: was wandering around in the twilight deep in the woods, 83 00:05:39,720 --> 00:05:44,159 Speaker 1: searching for his friend. I wanted to learn more about 84 00:05:44,200 --> 00:05:46,840 Speaker 1: who Will Pearson was, so I got in touch with 85 00:05:46,880 --> 00:05:50,560 Speaker 1: Gary Laverne. He says that the judge was very influential 86 00:05:50,640 --> 00:05:53,120 Speaker 1: at the start of a progressive movement in Texas in 87 00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:54,120 Speaker 1: the nineteen thirties. 88 00:05:55,200 --> 00:06:00,039 Speaker 2: I think Judge Pearson could be best defined as the 89 00:06:00,080 --> 00:06:07,000 Speaker 2: first full generation of reactionary Democrats in Texas to follow 90 00:06:07,200 --> 00:06:13,240 Speaker 2: the old generations that were largely Confederate. By most accounts, 91 00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:16,920 Speaker 2: for his time, I think he was largely considered a moderate. 92 00:06:17,400 --> 00:06:21,720 Speaker 2: But remember for his time, that's a pretty big caveat 93 00:06:21,800 --> 00:06:22,440 Speaker 2: To add to. 94 00:06:22,360 --> 00:06:28,600 Speaker 1: That, Remember that the Civil War ended in eighteen sixty five, 95 00:06:28,839 --> 00:06:31,840 Speaker 1: just seventy years earlier. There was a huge shift in 96 00:06:31,880 --> 00:06:36,480 Speaker 1: state politics, and Judge Pearson, the lifelong Democrat, was definitely 97 00:06:36,480 --> 00:06:37,599 Speaker 1: in the right city. 98 00:06:38,760 --> 00:06:42,440 Speaker 2: Even back then. You know, Austin had that reputation of 99 00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:46,599 Speaker 2: being progressive and liberal and very much unlike the rest 100 00:06:46,640 --> 00:06:47,520 Speaker 2: of Texas. 101 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:50,479 Speaker 1: We'll talk about the judge's career in politics in a bit. 102 00:06:51,160 --> 00:06:54,640 Speaker 1: Will Pearson the man reflected his public image on the 103 00:06:54,640 --> 00:06:58,120 Speaker 1: bench in his personal life. He was stoic, fair, a 104 00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:00,840 Speaker 1: hard worker, and a committee family man. 105 00:07:01,440 --> 00:07:05,640 Speaker 2: He was a very quiet man, a very dignified man. 106 00:07:05,839 --> 00:07:09,920 Speaker 2: He was very much what a lot of us would 107 00:07:09,960 --> 00:07:12,520 Speaker 2: think of when we think of the concept of the 108 00:07:12,720 --> 00:07:17,560 Speaker 2: southern gentleman. He was the traditional father who had a 109 00:07:17,640 --> 00:07:19,679 Speaker 2: stay at home wife and mother. 110 00:07:20,360 --> 00:07:22,960 Speaker 1: The judge was a Baptist and a Mason, along with 111 00:07:23,080 --> 00:07:26,920 Speaker 1: being a member of several other civic organizations. The Pearsons 112 00:07:26,920 --> 00:07:30,920 Speaker 1: attended Sunday services regularly at the University Baptist Church a 113 00:07:30,920 --> 00:07:33,840 Speaker 1: few blocks from their home near the University of Texas. 114 00:07:34,800 --> 00:07:38,640 Speaker 1: Will and Lena had three children, Bill, Alice, and Howard 115 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:42,720 Speaker 1: in that order. By nineteen thirty five, Bill and Alice 116 00:07:42,760 --> 00:07:45,280 Speaker 1: had left home. Both had gone to college and were 117 00:07:45,280 --> 00:07:49,920 Speaker 1: happily independent. Bill was in Seattle and Alice was in Kansas, 118 00:07:50,080 --> 00:07:52,600 Speaker 1: but they tried to visit regularly for holidays. 119 00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:57,880 Speaker 2: His oldest son, Bill and his daughter Alice were very 120 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:00,880 Speaker 2: very well read and very very well well educated. 121 00:08:01,240 --> 00:08:04,680 Speaker 1: The kids made their parents very proud. The judge had 122 00:08:04,760 --> 00:08:07,800 Speaker 1: high standards, as you would expect. He wanted his children 123 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:10,960 Speaker 1: to be high achievers. But the youngest, twenty one year 124 00:08:10,960 --> 00:08:13,679 Speaker 1: old Howard, was still deciding on his path in life, 125 00:08:14,080 --> 00:08:17,520 Speaker 1: still weighing his options for now. He was living with 126 00:08:17,560 --> 00:08:21,920 Speaker 1: his parents on campus, a prime location then and now. 127 00:08:22,360 --> 00:08:26,640 Speaker 2: He had a home right off of the UT campus 128 00:08:27,160 --> 00:08:30,360 Speaker 2: where the top floor of his house was something of 129 00:08:30,400 --> 00:08:35,120 Speaker 2: a boarding house for women's students. It was very much 130 00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:37,800 Speaker 2: in demand, you know, because I mean, what's safer place 131 00:08:37,880 --> 00:08:40,679 Speaker 2: can you put your daughter and trust your daughter than 132 00:08:40,800 --> 00:08:44,640 Speaker 2: the home of an associate Justice of the Supreme Court. 133 00:08:44,240 --> 00:08:45,200 Speaker 3: We thought of. 134 00:08:45,240 --> 00:08:51,360 Speaker 2: That, We thought at that point, Yeah. 135 00:08:49,559 --> 00:08:53,600 Speaker 1: Will Pearson had an enviable life, three kids, a lovely wife, 136 00:08:53,679 --> 00:08:57,240 Speaker 1: a healthy income, and a prestigious job, a job where 137 00:08:57,280 --> 00:09:00,720 Speaker 1: he excelled. Just a few years earlier, he had defeated 138 00:09:00,840 --> 00:09:05,559 Speaker 1: several challenging opponents in his reelection bid. But now it 139 00:09:05,720 --> 00:09:08,959 Speaker 1: seemed his luck may have run out. With the judge 140 00:09:08,960 --> 00:09:12,440 Speaker 1: and his wife still missing, many feared the worst. Searchers 141 00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:15,440 Speaker 1: walked through the woods while the couple lay alone in 142 00:09:15,480 --> 00:09:22,040 Speaker 1: the dark. It seemed like the entire city of sixty 143 00:09:22,080 --> 00:09:24,400 Speaker 1: thousand people was searching for Will and Lena in the 144 00:09:24,400 --> 00:09:32,839 Speaker 1: backwoods of Austin. So this would have been completely grown. 145 00:09:32,920 --> 00:09:36,360 Speaker 2: I'm over, That's why I was saying. 146 00:09:37,040 --> 00:09:39,480 Speaker 1: My stepfather, Jack La Fever and I are standing on 147 00:09:39,520 --> 00:09:41,840 Speaker 1: the edge of Bull Creek in North Austin, less than 148 00:09:41,880 --> 00:09:45,160 Speaker 1: a mile from my home. This is where the judge 149 00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:48,520 Speaker 1: and his wife are murdered. It now hosts my favorite 150 00:09:48,559 --> 00:09:49,480 Speaker 1: barbecue restaurant. 151 00:09:49,760 --> 00:09:53,080 Speaker 4: If you look at the pictures going to the ladies 152 00:09:53,160 --> 00:09:56,800 Speaker 4: room and such, they have pictures of what it actually 153 00:09:56,840 --> 00:09:57,360 Speaker 4: looked like. 154 00:09:57,480 --> 00:09:59,000 Speaker 2: I think in. 155 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:02,480 Speaker 1: Nineteen thirty five it was very different down here. If 156 00:10:02,480 --> 00:10:05,280 Speaker 1: you go behind the restaurant, the wilderness right across the 157 00:10:05,400 --> 00:10:06,280 Speaker 1: creek is. 158 00:10:06,240 --> 00:10:07,920 Speaker 5: Where yeah it is. 159 00:10:08,160 --> 00:10:11,720 Speaker 1: Yeah, so that's totally wilderness. So the water was still here. 160 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:15,960 Speaker 4: This is Bull Creek. There were mills all along Bull 161 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:21,240 Speaker 4: Creek because back then it was really wild and there 162 00:10:21,240 --> 00:10:24,360 Speaker 4: weren't any dams to slow the water down or anything. 163 00:10:24,520 --> 00:10:28,320 Speaker 4: So they had a good flow of water and so 164 00:10:28,400 --> 00:10:29,400 Speaker 4: they had mills. 165 00:10:30,600 --> 00:10:33,320 Speaker 1: Those mills were built by Native Americans, and there were 166 00:10:33,320 --> 00:10:36,720 Speaker 1: still some buildings left in nineteen thirty five. At the time, 167 00:10:36,840 --> 00:10:40,760 Speaker 1: the area wasn't just overgrown. It was extremely isolated. There 168 00:10:40,760 --> 00:10:43,480 Speaker 1: were no real trails, and it was the perfect place 169 00:10:43,520 --> 00:10:46,600 Speaker 1: for fishing camps filled with rough men hoping to catch 170 00:10:46,640 --> 00:10:50,480 Speaker 1: some bass and drink some whiskey. Michael Barnes is a 171 00:10:50,520 --> 00:10:54,280 Speaker 1: newspaper journalist and local historian. He describes the people who 172 00:10:54,320 --> 00:10:55,160 Speaker 1: would have lived here. 173 00:10:55,240 --> 00:11:00,480 Speaker 6: During that time, this area was known of were its 174 00:11:00,520 --> 00:11:04,640 Speaker 6: cedar choppers. So they were our version of hillbillies that 175 00:11:04,720 --> 00:11:08,040 Speaker 6: lived out there in that rough country and lived off 176 00:11:08,040 --> 00:11:12,559 Speaker 6: the land, hunted game, grew little patches of corn. There 177 00:11:12,559 --> 00:11:15,120 Speaker 6: were moonshiners as well. 178 00:11:15,280 --> 00:11:18,640 Speaker 1: Luckily for them, prohibition had just ended two years earlier 179 00:11:18,679 --> 00:11:20,800 Speaker 1: in nineteen thirty three, so they were free to drink 180 00:11:20,840 --> 00:11:23,559 Speaker 1: as much as they wanted and to live in isolation. 181 00:11:24,400 --> 00:11:28,040 Speaker 1: The police generally left them alone. There were no neighbors, 182 00:11:28,080 --> 00:11:30,880 Speaker 1: just some nearby ranchers who stayed to themselves. 183 00:11:31,120 --> 00:11:34,000 Speaker 2: It was just a wooded area back then, with a 184 00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:40,040 Speaker 2: few farmhouses and no paved roads to speak of except 185 00:11:40,440 --> 00:11:42,880 Speaker 2: for what is today twenty to twenty two. 186 00:11:44,120 --> 00:11:48,640 Speaker 4: So you know, they were very primitive camps. You know, 187 00:11:48,679 --> 00:11:52,920 Speaker 4: they didn't have electricity or anything like that. You know, coal, oil, 188 00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:58,160 Speaker 4: lanterns probably, or you know not maybe candles, but you know, 189 00:11:58,280 --> 00:12:01,800 Speaker 4: people got up early and went to bed early. 190 00:12:02,120 --> 00:12:04,360 Speaker 1: So this would have been a dangerous area at night 191 00:12:04,440 --> 00:12:08,160 Speaker 1: for just about anyone, especially for city dwellers like the Pearsons. 192 00:12:08,960 --> 00:12:12,079 Speaker 1: The people who lived here, those cedar choppers were very 193 00:12:12,120 --> 00:12:16,880 Speaker 1: protective of their territory. Locals began to wonder might there 194 00:12:16,960 --> 00:12:26,640 Speaker 1: be dangerous killers on the loose in rural Austin. The 195 00:12:26,640 --> 00:12:29,120 Speaker 1: disappearance of a Supreme Court judge and his wife was 196 00:12:29,240 --> 00:12:32,680 Speaker 1: a huge story, one bound to attract an incredible amount 197 00:12:32,679 --> 00:12:35,800 Speaker 1: of media attention, and police would be forced to launch 198 00:12:35,840 --> 00:12:40,599 Speaker 1: an investigation amid public scrutiny, a daunting task for investigators 199 00:12:40,640 --> 00:12:44,480 Speaker 1: who weren't used to so much attention. Members of the 200 00:12:44,480 --> 00:12:48,000 Speaker 1: Austin Police Department knew the implications of this missing person 201 00:12:48,040 --> 00:12:52,040 Speaker 1: case would go far beyond the city limit. They needed backup. 202 00:12:56,720 --> 00:13:00,400 Speaker 7: Pals of the Texas Ranger starring Joel McCrae of Rangers, 203 00:13:01,720 --> 00:13:04,480 Speaker 7: another authentic reenactment of a case, Friends Dive from the 204 00:13:04,520 --> 00:13:07,120 Speaker 7: tiles of Effectas Rangers. 205 00:13:08,280 --> 00:13:12,120 Speaker 1: The Texas Rangers were notorious, almost mythic. I'm a native 206 00:13:12,160 --> 00:13:15,360 Speaker 1: Texan and I grew up hearing all about them, Like 207 00:13:15,400 --> 00:13:17,800 Speaker 1: the clip from the nineteen fifty two radio show The 208 00:13:17,840 --> 00:13:20,960 Speaker 1: Tales of the Texas Rangers. Their tales were chronicled on 209 00:13:21,080 --> 00:13:24,240 Speaker 1: TV shows and programs during much of the twentieth century. 210 00:13:24,760 --> 00:13:28,360 Speaker 1: They've been framed as heroes on horseback, experts at tracking 211 00:13:28,400 --> 00:13:32,200 Speaker 1: criminals and bringing them back to face justice, But sometimes 212 00:13:32,240 --> 00:13:38,120 Speaker 1: the criminals would be returned dead, and the controversial legacy 213 00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:42,080 Speaker 1: of the Texas Rangers is still being scrutinized today because 214 00:13:42,120 --> 00:13:45,640 Speaker 1: of their long history of racially charged violence starting in 215 00:13:45,640 --> 00:13:49,760 Speaker 1: the eighteen hundreds. In fact, there have been caused recently 216 00:13:49,840 --> 00:13:52,880 Speaker 1: to change the name of the department. But in the 217 00:13:52,920 --> 00:13:56,000 Speaker 1: nineteen thirties, the Texas Rangers were a resource to small 218 00:13:56,040 --> 00:13:58,480 Speaker 1: towns that were struggling to keep up with the high 219 00:13:58,480 --> 00:14:03,480 Speaker 1: crime rates sparked by the Great Depression. Fred Burton is 220 00:14:03,520 --> 00:14:06,800 Speaker 1: a counter terrorism expert with a resume about a mile long, 221 00:14:07,520 --> 00:14:10,360 Speaker 1: but to simplify it, he's an expert on cracking tough 222 00:14:10,440 --> 00:14:13,480 Speaker 1: cases as both a local detective and a federal agent. 223 00:14:13,800 --> 00:14:17,120 Speaker 1: Burton says that the Texas Rangers were reliable investigators for 224 00:14:17,200 --> 00:14:19,360 Speaker 1: police in Austin in the nineteen thirties. 225 00:14:19,920 --> 00:14:25,840 Speaker 5: They evolved from a frontier regiment that basically was engaged 226 00:14:25,880 --> 00:14:28,520 Speaker 5: in the Indian Wars, you know, throughout the state of 227 00:14:28,560 --> 00:14:32,600 Speaker 5: Texas and long into Mexico as well. What they started 228 00:14:32,600 --> 00:14:37,080 Speaker 5: to evolve into is an organization that can render a 229 00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:38,920 Speaker 5: little higher level assistance. 230 00:14:39,640 --> 00:14:42,560 Speaker 1: But when the Rangers arrived at Bull Creek, they recognized 231 00:14:42,600 --> 00:14:46,440 Speaker 1: the consequences of a sloppy investigation, and they wanted to help, 232 00:14:46,920 --> 00:14:49,520 Speaker 1: and this was exactly the kind of case they wanted. 233 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:52,440 Speaker 5: There's an extraordinary amount of pressure whenever you have a 234 00:14:52,480 --> 00:14:56,560 Speaker 5: high profile case, because it's unlike and I'm sad to say, 235 00:14:56,640 --> 00:14:59,800 Speaker 5: normal crime, where you would perhaps love to get this 236 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:03,800 Speaker 5: same kind of oversight in due diligence, But whenever you 237 00:15:03,880 --> 00:15:08,760 Speaker 5: have a high profile case, it literally empties headquarters building. 238 00:15:13,120 --> 00:15:15,680 Speaker 1: The Austin Police in the Texas Rangers worked in tandem 239 00:15:15,760 --> 00:15:19,160 Speaker 1: conducting a grid search. Then, just a few hours after 240 00:15:19,200 --> 00:15:22,120 Speaker 1: Howard Pearson had walked into the hospital and reported the 241 00:15:22,160 --> 00:15:25,560 Speaker 1: attack on his parents, the search for Will and Lena 242 00:15:25,880 --> 00:15:31,520 Speaker 1: was suddenly over. Investigators surveyed the crime scene. It was brutal. 243 00:15:33,320 --> 00:15:36,560 Speaker 1: Fifty seven year old Lino Pearson was a modest housewife, 244 00:15:36,880 --> 00:15:39,480 Speaker 1: a woman committed to caring for her husband and children. 245 00:15:40,360 --> 00:15:42,960 Speaker 1: But now she was lying in the dirt, shot in 246 00:15:43,040 --> 00:15:46,240 Speaker 1: the right temple at close range. There was a thirty 247 00:15:46,240 --> 00:15:48,400 Speaker 1: eight caliber bullet in the right side of her neck 248 00:15:48,680 --> 00:15:51,600 Speaker 1: and another in her right thigh. It looked as if 249 00:15:51,640 --> 00:15:53,520 Speaker 1: she had been trying to run away from the robbers. 250 00:15:54,720 --> 00:15:56,840 Speaker 1: Her glasses were on the ground and she was lying 251 00:15:56,880 --> 00:15:59,200 Speaker 1: about eight feet in front of where the family car 252 00:15:59,240 --> 00:16:03,560 Speaker 1: had left its tie. One of the robbers apparently shot 253 00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:07,760 Speaker 1: her and then ran her over, which just seemed so cruel. 254 00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:12,400 Speaker 1: If anyone was an innocent victim here, it was Lena Pearson. 255 00:16:13,720 --> 00:16:16,560 Speaker 1: Judge Pearson's corpse lay just six feet away from the 256 00:16:16,560 --> 00:16:20,480 Speaker 1: body of his wife. He had similar wounds. There was 257 00:16:20,520 --> 00:16:22,880 Speaker 1: a bullet through his right shoulder in his left hand, 258 00:16:23,280 --> 00:16:25,120 Speaker 1: as if he had been covering the shoulder when he 259 00:16:25,200 --> 00:16:29,480 Speaker 1: was shot, a self defense wound, but the kill shot 260 00:16:29,600 --> 00:16:32,360 Speaker 1: was the one through his right temple at close range. 261 00:16:33,800 --> 00:16:37,560 Speaker 1: Investigators searched both bodies, and in the judge's pocket they 262 00:16:37,600 --> 00:16:44,760 Speaker 1: found two unstamped, bloodied letters. The rangers canvassed the area 263 00:16:44,840 --> 00:16:47,680 Speaker 1: for evidence and interviewed folks who had been within several 264 00:16:47,680 --> 00:16:51,640 Speaker 1: miles of the woods, anyone who would actually talk with them. 265 00:16:51,840 --> 00:16:54,520 Speaker 1: There weren't very many people in rural Austin who would 266 00:16:54,520 --> 00:16:55,880 Speaker 1: offer information to the police. 267 00:16:56,640 --> 00:17:00,760 Speaker 2: There were a few houses in the area that heard gunshots, 268 00:17:01,960 --> 00:17:05,800 Speaker 2: but remember this is a heavily wooded area, and hearing 269 00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:11,159 Speaker 2: gunshots in an area like that that wasn't particularly uncommon. 270 00:17:13,240 --> 00:17:16,040 Speaker 2: It's not something that aroused suspicion. 271 00:17:18,640 --> 00:17:22,800 Speaker 1: By now, the local newspapers had alerted Austinites about highwaymen 272 00:17:22,960 --> 00:17:26,240 Speaker 1: roaming the hills of the city, and Austin wasn't a 273 00:17:26,240 --> 00:17:31,439 Speaker 1: big city at that time. Howard Pearson would be the 274 00:17:31,440 --> 00:17:34,879 Speaker 1: best source of information for investigators. The police knew they 275 00:17:34,960 --> 00:17:37,520 Speaker 1: had to depend on him for vital details, but they'd 276 00:17:37,520 --> 00:17:42,760 Speaker 1: have to wait because he was now in the operating room. 277 00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:45,920 Speaker 1: Doctor Joe Wooten hovered over the patient in the operating room. 278 00:17:46,400 --> 00:17:49,200 Speaker 1: He was a family friend of the Pearson's, someone who 279 00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:53,840 Speaker 1: Howard had requested specifically for the surgery. Howard was sedated 280 00:17:53,880 --> 00:17:57,000 Speaker 1: now so doctor Wouoton could remove the bullet from his forearm. 281 00:17:57,960 --> 00:18:00,720 Speaker 1: As police waited in the recovery room, they discussed how 282 00:18:00,760 --> 00:18:04,440 Speaker 1: to interview their main witness. There were few forensic sources 283 00:18:04,440 --> 00:18:08,359 Speaker 1: in the nineteen thirties, so investigators depended more on witnesses 284 00:18:08,480 --> 00:18:12,640 Speaker 1: than physical evidence. They needed Howard's help to find the killers. 285 00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:17,520 Speaker 1: Doctor Wooton finished the procedure, and Howard returned to his bed, 286 00:18:17,880 --> 00:18:22,800 Speaker 1: woozy but still able to talk. Investigators began slowly asking 287 00:18:22,880 --> 00:18:27,159 Speaker 1: Howard about his parents. They wanted to know all about 288 00:18:27,200 --> 00:18:30,480 Speaker 1: the robbers that had attacked them. They were trained to 289 00:18:30,560 --> 00:18:34,720 Speaker 1: be suspicious to probe, but They also wanted to be 290 00:18:34,800 --> 00:18:37,560 Speaker 1: sensitive as they approached the young man who had just 291 00:18:37,760 --> 00:18:42,120 Speaker 1: lost the two most important people in his life. Give 292 00:18:42,240 --> 00:18:47,400 Speaker 1: us as much detail as possible, the police insisted. Howard 293 00:18:47,440 --> 00:18:50,000 Speaker 1: explained why he and his parents had driven to Bull Creek. 294 00:18:51,240 --> 00:18:54,680 Speaker 2: One of the things that he and his father did 295 00:18:54,880 --> 00:19:00,840 Speaker 2: enjoy together was they were kind of into anthropole and 296 00:19:01,359 --> 00:19:06,080 Speaker 2: archaeology and so forth. Howard told his father and his 297 00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:10,360 Speaker 2: mother that he had discovered in that wooded area a 298 00:19:10,400 --> 00:19:15,480 Speaker 2: stone that was probably used by Indians, American Indians as 299 00:19:15,520 --> 00:19:17,840 Speaker 2: a grist mill stone. 300 00:19:18,359 --> 00:19:21,480 Speaker 1: Apparently, his mother, Lena, had lived near a Native American 301 00:19:21,560 --> 00:19:24,000 Speaker 1: gristmill when she was a child, and she was really 302 00:19:24,040 --> 00:19:28,240 Speaker 1: fond of it, so she was very excited by Howard's discovery. 303 00:19:30,480 --> 00:19:33,160 Speaker 2: His father appeared to be very interested, so they got 304 00:19:33,200 --> 00:19:39,320 Speaker 2: in Howard's car they drove from the judge's house. 305 00:19:42,600 --> 00:19:45,320 Speaker 1: It was the last drive Will and Lina Pearson would 306 00:19:45,359 --> 00:19:52,439 Speaker 1: ever take in the hospital. Newspaper reporters gathered waiting for 307 00:19:52,480 --> 00:19:56,359 Speaker 1: details from police. Back then, the Austin American Statesman was 308 00:19:56,400 --> 00:20:02,520 Speaker 1: the main local newspaper, and it still is. Local residents 309 00:20:02,560 --> 00:20:06,399 Speaker 1: considered the Statesman to be a reliable news source. The 310 00:20:06,440 --> 00:20:09,960 Speaker 1: paper wasn't known for the type of outlandish yellow journalism 311 00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:13,320 Speaker 1: that infested the doorsteps of many Americans in the nineteen thirties, 312 00:20:13,840 --> 00:20:16,919 Speaker 1: but even the Statesmen's reporters love the irony of this 313 00:20:16,960 --> 00:20:21,240 Speaker 1: particular story. A Texas Supreme Court judge and his lovely 314 00:20:21,280 --> 00:20:25,840 Speaker 1: wife found dead, gunned down in a rural fishing village. 315 00:20:25,960 --> 00:20:29,000 Speaker 1: The judge had just complained the week before about the 316 00:20:29,040 --> 00:20:31,560 Speaker 1: increasing number of cases that he had to deal with 317 00:20:31,720 --> 00:20:36,320 Speaker 1: involving violence and murder. The increase in state and local 318 00:20:36,359 --> 00:20:40,159 Speaker 1: crime concerned him. He was worried about Texans because the 319 00:20:40,200 --> 00:20:44,400 Speaker 1: Great Depression had caused so much unrest between high unemployment 320 00:20:44,520 --> 00:20:48,760 Speaker 1: and the rise of organized crime. The Pearson's murders were 321 00:20:48,800 --> 00:20:51,960 Speaker 1: covered in the national newspapers, including The New York Times. 322 00:20:53,119 --> 00:20:56,280 Speaker 1: One of its many headlines about the case read judge 323 00:20:56,280 --> 00:21:00,679 Speaker 1: and wife slain by bandits in Texas of w a 324 00:21:00,880 --> 00:21:04,800 Speaker 1: pearson wounded in highway battle, says two hold up men 325 00:21:04,880 --> 00:21:10,800 Speaker 1: shot his parents. Investigators began to expand the list of suspects. 326 00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:16,639 Speaker 1: There were several possibilities an influential, controversial judge would be 327 00:21:16,640 --> 00:21:19,840 Speaker 1: a potential target for anyone involved in one of their cases. 328 00:21:21,359 --> 00:21:24,280 Speaker 1: But to understand why someone would have killed the Pearsons. 329 00:21:24,560 --> 00:21:28,120 Speaker 1: The police needed to learn more about the judge's life. 330 00:21:28,200 --> 00:21:32,800 Speaker 1: They assumed that Lena Pearson was unfortunately collateral damage, just 331 00:21:32,840 --> 00:21:36,159 Speaker 1: a witness that needed to be eliminated. There seemed to 332 00:21:36,160 --> 00:21:38,639 Speaker 1: be nothing in her background to suggest that she was 333 00:21:38,680 --> 00:21:43,920 Speaker 1: the target, and so the Texas Rangers, the Austin Police Department, 334 00:21:44,160 --> 00:21:47,040 Speaker 1: and just about everyone in the city looked to young 335 00:21:47,119 --> 00:21:51,320 Speaker 1: Howard Pearson for answers. But if you think you know 336 00:21:51,400 --> 00:21:55,800 Speaker 1: where this story is heading, don't get too settled just yet. 337 00:21:56,640 --> 00:21:59,800 Speaker 1: The judge and his politics and his personal life seemed 338 00:21:59,840 --> 00:22:02,280 Speaker 1: really clear to me. After spending just a few months 339 00:22:02,280 --> 00:22:06,080 Speaker 1: researching this story. It took some time for me to 340 00:22:06,160 --> 00:22:09,760 Speaker 1: find out the truth. And it turns out that the 341 00:22:09,800 --> 00:22:13,280 Speaker 1: lives of Will and Lina Pearson were a bit more complicated, 342 00:22:13,560 --> 00:22:16,720 Speaker 1: and investigators in nineteen thirty five were about to find 343 00:22:16,720 --> 00:22:32,760 Speaker 1: out why. Back in nineteen thirty five, the Texas Supreme 344 00:22:32,800 --> 00:22:38,280 Speaker 1: Court and its judges were particularly revered. David Shepard is 345 00:22:38,280 --> 00:22:41,159 Speaker 1: a retired defense attorney, a law school instructor, and a 346 00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:45,439 Speaker 1: longtime Austin resident. He said Supreme Court judges belonged in 347 00:22:45,480 --> 00:22:48,080 Speaker 1: their own class within legal circles. 348 00:22:48,720 --> 00:22:50,920 Speaker 8: Within the legal community, and again I think within the 349 00:22:50,960 --> 00:22:53,360 Speaker 8: community as a whole. To be a Supreme Court justices 350 00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:57,080 Speaker 8: kind of a very special deal. It's almost it's not 351 00:22:57,160 --> 00:23:00,720 Speaker 8: above politics, obviously, since they're elected, what kind of viewed 352 00:23:00,720 --> 00:23:03,200 Speaker 8: that way by the public. If you're on the Supreme Court, 353 00:23:03,280 --> 00:23:06,440 Speaker 8: you're just kind of a paragon of virtue and wisdom. 354 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:10,240 Speaker 1: Will Pearson had been a successful attorney, a state congressman, 355 00:23:10,560 --> 00:23:14,240 Speaker 1: and a district judge. Pearson made several key decisions, in 356 00:23:14,280 --> 00:23:18,240 Speaker 1: some cases involving Texas breweries, and those decisions had impressed 357 00:23:18,240 --> 00:23:22,000 Speaker 1: state leaders. In nineteen twenty one, the governor of Texas 358 00:23:22,040 --> 00:23:25,359 Speaker 1: appointed him to the state Supreme Court. It was a 359 00:23:25,480 --> 00:23:28,840 Speaker 1: huge accomplishment for the quiet, humble, fifty year old who 360 00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:34,119 Speaker 1: was raised in a rural North Texas town. But in 361 00:23:34,200 --> 00:23:37,000 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty two, Pearson had to fight for his seat 362 00:23:37,040 --> 00:23:39,480 Speaker 1: on the court during a re election campaign, and it 363 00:23:39,520 --> 00:23:43,400 Speaker 1: wouldn't be easy because he was facing several strong competitors. 364 00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:47,399 Speaker 1: The judge was incredibly worried, so Pearson leaned on his 365 00:23:47,520 --> 00:23:52,679 Speaker 1: children for support. In fact, he asked Bill to temporarily 366 00:23:52,760 --> 00:23:55,160 Speaker 1: move back from Seattle to help him with his campaign. 367 00:23:55,760 --> 00:24:00,639 Speaker 1: His eldest child was so smart and so capable. In 368 00:24:00,720 --> 00:24:04,840 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty two, the judge wrote this to Bill well Son, 369 00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:07,640 Speaker 1: the general election will be here soon and we will 370 00:24:07,680 --> 00:24:11,680 Speaker 1: forget the strenuous campaign. However, it will leave some very 371 00:24:11,760 --> 00:24:15,639 Speaker 1: very pleasant memories. Among them will be your generous and 372 00:24:15,760 --> 00:24:19,840 Speaker 1: valuable efforts, and also Howard's and my association with you 373 00:24:19,960 --> 00:24:24,200 Speaker 1: and Howard. And he seemed to depend on Howard too. 374 00:24:24,400 --> 00:24:26,919 Speaker 1: Gary Laverne says that the judge was grateful for his 375 00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:29,320 Speaker 1: close knit family, including his wife. 376 00:24:30,080 --> 00:24:32,960 Speaker 2: People didn't talk about her as much as they did 377 00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:38,280 Speaker 2: the judge, but when they did, she was considered basically 378 00:24:38,320 --> 00:24:41,560 Speaker 2: a good, warm, loving wife and mother. 379 00:24:42,400 --> 00:24:43,840 Speaker 1: I assume she was a Christian woman. 380 00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:48,480 Speaker 2: Oh, I mean, anyone in politics back then that would 381 00:24:48,480 --> 00:24:51,359 Speaker 2: have been a must. 382 00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:55,720 Speaker 1: Gray Pearson is an attorney in Arlington, Texas, not far 383 00:24:55,760 --> 00:24:58,639 Speaker 1: from Dallas. He had heard this story when he was 384 00:24:58,680 --> 00:25:01,919 Speaker 1: a boy. Of course, for Gray, this isn't just a 385 00:25:01,920 --> 00:25:06,399 Speaker 1: tragic story. It's family history, stories that have been passed 386 00:25:06,400 --> 00:25:11,679 Speaker 1: down for generations. Gray's father was Howard's cousin. So what 387 00:25:11,720 --> 00:25:13,920 Speaker 1: do you know? What does anybody know about Lena? 388 00:25:14,359 --> 00:25:16,879 Speaker 9: I regret that I don't know anything about Lena. 389 00:25:17,080 --> 00:25:18,240 Speaker 1: Isn't that sad. 390 00:25:18,680 --> 00:25:21,160 Speaker 9: I can't explain it, just that I've never been told 391 00:25:21,160 --> 00:25:22,400 Speaker 9: anything about Lena. 392 00:25:22,680 --> 00:25:25,399 Speaker 1: I just discovered a bit more about her. Lena Pearson 393 00:25:25,440 --> 00:25:28,359 Speaker 1: was a college graduate from the University of Texas. She 394 00:25:28,480 --> 00:25:31,240 Speaker 1: was also a gifted painter, and she passed that love 395 00:25:31,280 --> 00:25:35,560 Speaker 1: of creativity down to her daughter, Alice. Will Pearson had 396 00:25:35,600 --> 00:25:37,920 Speaker 1: actually moved his family to Europe for about a year 397 00:25:37,920 --> 00:25:41,000 Speaker 1: in nineteen twenty seven. The judge insisted on the trip 398 00:25:41,040 --> 00:25:44,320 Speaker 1: because Lena wanted to immerse herself in the city's artwork 399 00:25:44,359 --> 00:25:48,679 Speaker 1: in museums. It was an incredible adventure for the family 400 00:25:48,720 --> 00:25:51,879 Speaker 1: of five. Bill was a bit older and more independent, 401 00:25:52,160 --> 00:25:54,840 Speaker 1: so he was able to travel on his own. The 402 00:25:54,880 --> 00:25:58,840 Speaker 1: family had watched American pilot Charles A. Lindbergh Land in Paris. 403 00:25:59,359 --> 00:26:02,639 Speaker 1: It was an inch national event because he successfully completed 404 00:26:02,680 --> 00:26:08,600 Speaker 1: the first solo NonStop transatlantic flight, and the Pearsons had 405 00:26:08,640 --> 00:26:11,280 Speaker 1: even enrolled twelve year old Howard in a French school 406 00:26:11,320 --> 00:26:14,120 Speaker 1: for the year, an incredible opportunity for a young American. 407 00:26:15,640 --> 00:26:19,200 Speaker 1: But now in nineteen thirty five, both parents missed their 408 00:26:19,240 --> 00:26:23,200 Speaker 1: two eldest children very much, and the judge in particular 409 00:26:23,400 --> 00:26:27,520 Speaker 1: was open with Bill in their exchange of letters. I 410 00:26:27,520 --> 00:26:29,960 Speaker 1: thought this was pretty unusual for a stoic judge. In 411 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:34,520 Speaker 1: the nineteen thirties, Pearson wrote, Bill, I think of you 412 00:26:34,600 --> 00:26:38,080 Speaker 1: not only twice a day regularly, but every time I 413 00:26:38,119 --> 00:26:41,680 Speaker 1: do certain things I think of you. I often think 414 00:26:41,720 --> 00:26:44,160 Speaker 1: of you in connection with the car, and every week 415 00:26:44,200 --> 00:26:46,840 Speaker 1: when I changed my cuff buttons to another shirt, I 416 00:26:46,920 --> 00:26:49,960 Speaker 1: always think of my big boy. We get good letters 417 00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:52,639 Speaker 1: from our dear daughter. We should like very well to 418 00:26:52,680 --> 00:26:57,320 Speaker 1: see her, with much love your father, and there were 419 00:26:57,359 --> 00:27:00,919 Speaker 1: holiday letters that were equally as loving. We missed you 420 00:27:01,040 --> 00:27:04,040 Speaker 1: very much. During the holidays. We often remarked that if 421 00:27:04,040 --> 00:27:06,800 Speaker 1: we had you and Alice and her little bunch, we 422 00:27:06,840 --> 00:27:09,399 Speaker 1: would be perfectly happy. We hope it will not be 423 00:27:09,520 --> 00:27:13,280 Speaker 1: too long off. Christmas, of course, was quiet with us, 424 00:27:13,440 --> 00:27:18,960 Speaker 1: but we had a very pleasant time. This is the 425 00:27:18,960 --> 00:27:21,400 Speaker 1: first time Gray's actually read this set of letters. 426 00:27:23,359 --> 00:27:26,520 Speaker 9: It comes across as a pretty caring, nice man, which 427 00:27:26,560 --> 00:27:27,120 Speaker 9: I believe. 428 00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:27,439 Speaker 10: That he was. 429 00:27:28,400 --> 00:27:31,240 Speaker 1: I'm curious, what did you hear about Howard growing up? 430 00:27:31,920 --> 00:27:37,119 Speaker 9: He was very smart, very logical, but missed common sense 431 00:27:37,240 --> 00:27:39,320 Speaker 9: and normal social keys. 432 00:27:40,880 --> 00:27:42,800 Speaker 1: Awkward is a word that comes up a lot during 433 00:27:42,840 --> 00:27:46,119 Speaker 1: discussions about Howard, and that likely caused some stress for 434 00:27:46,200 --> 00:27:49,119 Speaker 1: a very public couple like the Pearsons. They were a 435 00:27:49,119 --> 00:27:52,360 Speaker 1: family that was constantly invited to social events in Austin. 436 00:27:52,840 --> 00:27:57,160 Speaker 1: They were high profile and really respected. Gary Leverne says 437 00:27:57,160 --> 00:27:59,000 Speaker 1: that everyone seemed to say the same thing. 438 00:27:59,760 --> 00:28:04,240 Speaker 2: How just wasn't right. Howard was not right, and that 439 00:28:04,400 --> 00:28:07,320 Speaker 2: was the parlance of the time. And today we're a 440 00:28:07,320 --> 00:28:10,520 Speaker 2: lot more sensitive and about things like that, but that's 441 00:28:10,520 --> 00:28:11,800 Speaker 2: how he was described. 442 00:28:12,640 --> 00:28:15,239 Speaker 1: You told me the story about the kindness and the 443 00:28:15,240 --> 00:28:17,919 Speaker 1: patience of the judge when Howard was little. Can you 444 00:28:17,920 --> 00:28:18,560 Speaker 1: tell me that now? 445 00:28:19,440 --> 00:28:23,200 Speaker 2: When Howard was a young boy, his father was rising 446 00:28:23,560 --> 00:28:27,919 Speaker 2: in the judicial family, and when he was sworn in, 447 00:28:28,359 --> 00:28:33,320 Speaker 2: it was of course a big celebration, something like an inauguration. 448 00:28:34,359 --> 00:28:36,520 Speaker 1: This was in nineteen twenty one, so Howard was six 449 00:28:36,640 --> 00:28:37,320 Speaker 1: years old. 450 00:28:38,240 --> 00:28:42,440 Speaker 2: And Howard was a little boy, and his dad, the judge, 451 00:28:42,520 --> 00:28:47,520 Speaker 2: tried to lift him so that Howard could see better 452 00:28:47,880 --> 00:28:51,680 Speaker 2: the festivities that were going on, and Howard's reaction was 453 00:28:51,760 --> 00:28:55,800 Speaker 2: one of almost violence. He didn't want to be lifted, 454 00:28:55,840 --> 00:28:58,920 Speaker 2: he didn't want to be touched. It was enough of 455 00:28:58,960 --> 00:29:04,120 Speaker 2: a scene to try attention the judge. His reaction apparently 456 00:29:04,360 --> 00:29:09,440 Speaker 2: wasn't all that surprised. I mean, apparently Howard was like that. 457 00:29:10,120 --> 00:29:12,680 Speaker 2: So while it shocked a lot of people who didn't 458 00:29:12,720 --> 00:29:15,560 Speaker 2: know the family and who didn't know Howard, it didn't 459 00:29:15,560 --> 00:29:17,240 Speaker 2: shock his immediate family. 460 00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:22,520 Speaker 1: So the judge seemed very patient with their youngest child. 461 00:29:22,960 --> 00:29:26,080 Speaker 1: But as Howard grew older, the Pearsons grew more frustrated, 462 00:29:26,960 --> 00:29:29,040 Speaker 1: and the judge wrote to Bill about one of the 463 00:29:29,080 --> 00:29:32,320 Speaker 1: major issues involving Howard and his enrollment at the University 464 00:29:32,320 --> 00:29:36,240 Speaker 1: of Texas here in Austin. Howard seems to be getting 465 00:29:36,240 --> 00:29:39,160 Speaker 1: along all right in the university, though his grades are 466 00:29:39,160 --> 00:29:41,600 Speaker 1: not up to what he expected. He says that there 467 00:29:41,640 --> 00:29:45,040 Speaker 1: is more difference between the freshmen and sophomore work than 468 00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:48,600 Speaker 1: there was between the high school and freshman work. Of course, 469 00:29:48,720 --> 00:29:51,160 Speaker 1: he is working hard, and we're getting along all right, 470 00:29:51,480 --> 00:29:55,120 Speaker 1: and he hopes to raise his grades. But Howard didn't 471 00:29:55,120 --> 00:29:57,760 Speaker 1: seem to be improving his grades at all. No matter 472 00:29:57,760 --> 00:30:01,080 Speaker 1: how much the judge and Lena encouraged him, it didn't 473 00:30:01,120 --> 00:30:02,200 Speaker 1: seem to make a difference. 474 00:30:03,320 --> 00:30:08,400 Speaker 2: He had academic problems. Something went wrong, whether it's grades 475 00:30:08,680 --> 00:30:12,600 Speaker 2: or his just not his being undependable, and. 476 00:30:12,600 --> 00:30:16,240 Speaker 1: The judge began to think that perhaps Howard needed a change, 477 00:30:17,240 --> 00:30:18,760 Speaker 1: a big change. 478 00:30:18,960 --> 00:30:22,479 Speaker 2: It was something that they felt they couldn't control, to 479 00:30:22,600 --> 00:30:26,440 Speaker 2: the extent that an investment in Howard's education was not 480 00:30:26,520 --> 00:30:27,440 Speaker 2: a good investment. 481 00:30:28,520 --> 00:30:33,600 Speaker 1: Internally, Judge Pearson was struggling. He was having severe health complications. 482 00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:37,440 Speaker 1: He suffered from intestinal issues that prevented him from listening 483 00:30:37,440 --> 00:30:41,040 Speaker 1: to cases and issuing opinions for weeks at a time, 484 00:30:41,280 --> 00:30:44,360 Speaker 1: even months at a time, and that's a problem for 485 00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:47,000 Speaker 1: a State Supreme Court judge hoping to hold on to 486 00:30:47,120 --> 00:30:50,760 Speaker 1: his seat. He would occasionally recover, like he told Bill 487 00:30:50,800 --> 00:30:54,880 Speaker 1: a year before his murder, life is more tolerable to 488 00:30:54,920 --> 00:30:57,400 Speaker 1: me now. I am getting to where I can really 489 00:30:57,480 --> 00:31:00,800 Speaker 1: enjoy some things again. But his recovery would never last, 490 00:31:01,280 --> 00:31:04,160 Speaker 1: and he was having money issues, in part because his 491 00:31:04,240 --> 00:31:07,400 Speaker 1: re election fell right in the middle of the Great Depression. 492 00:31:10,680 --> 00:31:14,200 Speaker 1: Walter Bunger is a professor of Texas history at Rice University. 493 00:31:14,800 --> 00:31:18,320 Speaker 1: He says the depression caused a chain reaction for everyone 494 00:31:18,360 --> 00:31:18,840 Speaker 1: in the state. 495 00:31:20,080 --> 00:31:25,600 Speaker 3: The big difference on the economy between then and now 496 00:31:26,120 --> 00:31:31,240 Speaker 3: was the overwhelming dominance of the cotton industry. We think 497 00:31:31,280 --> 00:31:34,560 Speaker 3: of Texas as the place of oil and cattle, but 498 00:31:34,720 --> 00:31:37,800 Speaker 3: the reality of Texas in the twenties and thirties was 499 00:31:37,840 --> 00:31:41,440 Speaker 3: that it was one of the major cotton producers in 500 00:31:41,480 --> 00:31:46,120 Speaker 3: the entire world, and the price of cotton collapsed. 501 00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:52,440 Speaker 1: There were now more soup kitchens and breadlines, and in 502 00:31:52,480 --> 00:31:56,360 Speaker 1: cities like Houston and Dallas, shantytowns full of homemade shacks 503 00:31:56,360 --> 00:32:00,000 Speaker 1: called Hooverville's had popped up. They were built by Texans 504 00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:03,440 Speaker 1: who had lost their homes. Farms were hit hard too, 505 00:32:03,720 --> 00:32:06,480 Speaker 1: even if they didn't grow cotton, and many of them 506 00:32:06,520 --> 00:32:09,680 Speaker 1: were already drowning in debt to begin with, the state 507 00:32:09,840 --> 00:32:13,920 Speaker 1: encouraged Texans to grow their own food. You can imagine 508 00:32:13,920 --> 00:32:17,800 Speaker 1: why Judge Pearson had been struggling to raise money. Gray 509 00:32:17,840 --> 00:32:21,360 Speaker 1: Pearson says he was clearly funding his own campaign and 510 00:32:21,400 --> 00:32:22,120 Speaker 1: that's tough. 511 00:32:22,960 --> 00:32:25,080 Speaker 9: Well, of course, it was the depression, and if he'd 512 00:32:25,160 --> 00:32:28,600 Speaker 9: run for office statewide pivoty. People who run for office, 513 00:32:29,120 --> 00:32:31,640 Speaker 9: whether they intend to or not, end up spending their 514 00:32:31,720 --> 00:32:34,320 Speaker 9: own part of their own money to get elected. Those 515 00:32:34,520 --> 00:32:36,200 Speaker 9: elections are expensive. 516 00:32:36,400 --> 00:32:39,480 Speaker 1: And Will Pearson had more challenges to face. Re Election 517 00:32:39,680 --> 00:32:42,320 Speaker 1: campaigns were tough enough, but now the judge had to 518 00:32:42,360 --> 00:32:45,840 Speaker 1: defend his record to a host of competitors. He was 519 00:32:45,880 --> 00:32:48,800 Speaker 1: widely respected by his colleagues on the court, but in 520 00:32:48,840 --> 00:32:52,880 Speaker 1: the newspapers he was often lampooned for being ineffective on 521 00:32:52,920 --> 00:32:59,240 Speaker 1: the bench. An editorial in the influential El Paso Times 522 00:32:59,280 --> 00:33:02,440 Speaker 1: called for voter to reject Pearson, even though he was 523 00:33:02,480 --> 00:33:06,360 Speaker 1: a man with high character. It read, cases have hung 524 00:33:06,440 --> 00:33:08,880 Speaker 1: fire in the Supreme Court of Texas from three to 525 00:33:08,960 --> 00:33:13,440 Speaker 1: six years, cases of pressing importance. The court is clogged 526 00:33:13,440 --> 00:33:17,200 Speaker 1: with litigation. Judge Pearson, owing to ill health, has been 527 00:33:17,240 --> 00:33:22,760 Speaker 1: physically unable to help remedy this distressing situation. The editors 528 00:33:22,800 --> 00:33:26,560 Speaker 1: discovered that Judge Pearson had written only eleven opinions in 529 00:33:26,600 --> 00:33:28,600 Speaker 1: the past three years while he was on the court. 530 00:33:29,280 --> 00:33:32,600 Speaker 1: By contrast, the other two Supreme Court judges had issued 531 00:33:32,840 --> 00:33:37,480 Speaker 1: almost triple that amount. The newspaper's editors concluded, this is 532 00:33:37,520 --> 00:33:40,760 Speaker 1: no fault of Judge Pearson's. He is simply a sick 533 00:33:40,840 --> 00:33:45,040 Speaker 1: man unable to carry the load of his office. This 534 00:33:45,160 --> 00:33:49,040 Speaker 1: news obviously distressed the judge. Pearson was a career politician 535 00:33:49,120 --> 00:33:53,520 Speaker 1: with more than forty years of experience. Defense attorney David 536 00:33:53,560 --> 00:33:56,720 Speaker 1: Shepard says it's difficult for judges to balance an endless 537 00:33:56,720 --> 00:33:59,520 Speaker 1: amount of cases as well as work to be re elected, 538 00:33:59,640 --> 00:34:02,400 Speaker 1: and sometimes their morals are compromised. 539 00:34:03,760 --> 00:34:08,440 Speaker 8: These guys and these women, these judges are politicians. They 540 00:34:08,480 --> 00:34:11,839 Speaker 8: have to get reelected. They quite clearly will alter their 541 00:34:11,880 --> 00:34:15,560 Speaker 8: opinions in my opinion, to kind of make sure they 542 00:34:15,560 --> 00:34:16,320 Speaker 8: get reelected. 543 00:34:17,239 --> 00:34:20,719 Speaker 1: There's no evidence that the judge was illegally influenced, but 544 00:34:20,840 --> 00:34:23,600 Speaker 1: he did try to sway some of his peers to 545 00:34:23,640 --> 00:34:26,360 Speaker 1: help someone in his family. But more on that later. 546 00:34:27,239 --> 00:34:31,359 Speaker 1: None of that mattered. Now Will and Lena Pearson were dead. 547 00:34:32,520 --> 00:34:37,160 Speaker 1: Investigators needed answers. It was time to press young Howard 548 00:34:37,320 --> 00:34:43,480 Speaker 1: about what exactly happened the night before. Howard described for 549 00:34:43,600 --> 00:34:46,759 Speaker 1: police how two robbers had climbed out of the brush 550 00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:51,640 Speaker 1: and stopped their dark sedan along the path. The men 551 00:34:51,680 --> 00:34:54,080 Speaker 1: pointed a pair of pistols at them and ordered them 552 00:34:54,080 --> 00:34:58,799 Speaker 1: out of the car. The Pearson's all stepped out, hands up. 553 00:35:00,040 --> 00:35:03,880 Speaker 1: Strangers searched them. They took Will and Howard's wallets. They 554 00:35:03,920 --> 00:35:08,600 Speaker 1: also grabbed Lena's handbag and the judge's expensive watch. Howard 555 00:35:08,640 --> 00:35:11,719 Speaker 1: was scared. His father mouthed off to the bigger of 556 00:35:11,760 --> 00:35:14,839 Speaker 1: the two robbers. He saw the judge struggling with one 557 00:35:14,840 --> 00:35:18,680 Speaker 1: of them. He was so physically weak that Howard knew 558 00:35:18,680 --> 00:35:23,880 Speaker 1: it wouldn't end well. And then he heard the pistol 559 00:35:23,960 --> 00:35:28,000 Speaker 1: go off several times. Howard jumped on the smaller robber, 560 00:35:28,200 --> 00:35:31,640 Speaker 1: hoping to save his parents. The man was too strong. 561 00:35:32,560 --> 00:35:37,760 Speaker 1: Howard grabbed his own forearm. It began to throb. Howard 562 00:35:37,800 --> 00:35:43,600 Speaker 1: panicked and ran, but then the robbers yelled and ran 563 00:35:43,640 --> 00:35:48,120 Speaker 1: off into the wilderness. Howard turned and looked at his parents, 564 00:35:48,120 --> 00:35:52,719 Speaker 1: both lying on the ground, bleeding from their heads. He 565 00:35:52,719 --> 00:35:55,200 Speaker 1: thought about dragging them inside the car and driving them 566 00:35:55,200 --> 00:35:59,040 Speaker 1: to the hospital, but his wound made it impossible to 567 00:35:59,120 --> 00:36:11,640 Speaker 1: lift them. Howard left his parents behind and went straight 568 00:36:11,640 --> 00:36:14,800 Speaker 1: to seat an infirmary. The sheriff asked Howard if he 569 00:36:14,840 --> 00:36:17,600 Speaker 1: could make a return trip to Bull Creek. They needed 570 00:36:17,640 --> 00:36:25,920 Speaker 1: his help, and Howard agreed to give it. With his 571 00:36:26,000 --> 00:36:28,640 Speaker 1: fore arm in a sling, he slid out of the car. 572 00:36:29,840 --> 00:36:32,320 Speaker 1: He walked along the trail until he stood near where 573 00:36:32,360 --> 00:36:36,400 Speaker 1: the bodies of his parents had fallen that night. He 574 00:36:36,480 --> 00:36:39,200 Speaker 1: wondered aloud if one of the robbers had a grievance 575 00:36:39,200 --> 00:36:44,560 Speaker 1: against the judge. The sheriff reminded Howard that he himself 576 00:36:44,600 --> 00:36:46,719 Speaker 1: had said that the trip was a spur of the 577 00:36:46,760 --> 00:36:50,360 Speaker 1: moment thing. How exactly would the robbers know where the 578 00:36:50,400 --> 00:36:57,479 Speaker 1: judge would be. They drove him to the morgue where 579 00:36:57,480 --> 00:37:04,920 Speaker 1: his parents were. Their bodies were still covered in blood. 580 00:37:05,680 --> 00:37:09,280 Speaker 1: Howard stroked his mother's wet, matted hair and her forehead. 581 00:37:10,360 --> 00:37:13,040 Speaker 1: The sheriff asked Howard to look over at his father, 582 00:37:13,960 --> 00:37:18,480 Speaker 1: but Howard refused. He stammered, it's just too awful. 583 00:37:21,280 --> 00:37:21,520 Speaker 5: Now. 584 00:37:21,600 --> 00:37:24,400 Speaker 1: The police needed a description of the robbers, but that 585 00:37:24,400 --> 00:37:28,840 Speaker 1: could be difficult because Howard was traumatized. It was dusk, 586 00:37:29,000 --> 00:37:33,000 Speaker 1: and it all happened so quickly. But Gary Laverne says 587 00:37:33,000 --> 00:37:36,160 Speaker 1: that Howard was prepared with a lengthy answer. 588 00:37:38,400 --> 00:37:42,560 Speaker 2: When they started talking to Howard about the details of 589 00:37:42,600 --> 00:37:44,880 Speaker 2: what he saw, there were a lot of things that 590 00:37:44,920 --> 00:37:50,399 Speaker 2: were just immediately suspicious. Number one was that Howard gave 591 00:37:50,640 --> 00:37:57,240 Speaker 2: an extraordinarily detailed description of the two people he claimed 592 00:37:57,440 --> 00:38:01,040 Speaker 2: killed his parents, down to the eye colors and the 593 00:38:01,120 --> 00:38:04,080 Speaker 2: hair color, and one was curly hair and the other 594 00:38:04,120 --> 00:38:04,800 Speaker 2: one was straight. 595 00:38:05,080 --> 00:38:07,520 Speaker 1: Yeah, but isn't that the perfect witness? Don't you want. 596 00:38:07,320 --> 00:38:11,080 Speaker 2: Details if your parents are being murdered like that? Are 597 00:38:11,080 --> 00:38:14,400 Speaker 2: you going to take the time to study, you know, 598 00:38:14,480 --> 00:38:17,040 Speaker 2: who's doing it? While the while the bullets are flying, 599 00:38:18,040 --> 00:38:20,960 Speaker 2: I think their reaction was he's making this up. 600 00:38:23,160 --> 00:38:27,239 Speaker 1: Something clearly didn't add up. That revelation probably won't surprise you, 601 00:38:28,000 --> 00:38:30,960 Speaker 1: but remember that I mentioned that there will be several 602 00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:36,160 Speaker 1: twists and turns over the next five episodes. Get Ready. 603 00:38:36,200 --> 00:38:38,759 Speaker 1: This is a season that digs into the why such 604 00:38:38,800 --> 00:38:42,320 Speaker 1: a heinous crime was committed. And I'm fairly certain that 605 00:38:42,400 --> 00:38:55,360 Speaker 1: the reason isn't what you think. This season on tenfold 606 00:38:55,440 --> 00:38:56,040 Speaker 1: more wicked. 607 00:38:56,840 --> 00:39:01,359 Speaker 9: What it sounds like is I failed suicide happened. That 608 00:39:01,480 --> 00:39:05,680 Speaker 9: just doesn't sound like something that would happen as an accident. 609 00:39:07,080 --> 00:39:12,080 Speaker 10: The money could have been sort of the catalyst, the trigger, 610 00:39:12,239 --> 00:39:16,680 Speaker 10: and yet you had all this deep cited animosity, but man, 611 00:39:16,840 --> 00:39:22,320 Speaker 10: you sure don't get any indication of that animosity. 612 00:39:23,520 --> 00:39:28,600 Speaker 2: The question is at what point is delusion profound enough 613 00:39:29,200 --> 00:39:32,400 Speaker 2: for you to be forgiven for murder? 614 00:39:40,520 --> 00:39:43,480 Speaker 1: If you love historical true crime, please check out my books, 615 00:39:43,560 --> 00:39:46,880 Speaker 1: American Sherlock and Death in the Air. They're available anywhere 616 00:39:46,920 --> 00:39:51,239 Speaker 1: you buy books. This has been an exactly right and 617 00:39:51,400 --> 00:39:56,000 Speaker 1: tenfold more. Media production producers Jason Whaling and Laura Sobol, 618 00:39:56,840 --> 00:40:03,440 Speaker 1: sound designer, Eric Friend, composer Heath artwork Nick Toga. Executive 619 00:40:03,480 --> 00:40:08,319 Speaker 1: producers Georgia Hardstark, Karen Kilgarriff, and Danielle Kramer. Clips in 620 00:40:08,360 --> 00:40:11,000 Speaker 1: this episode are from the radio series Tales of the 621 00:40:11,000 --> 00:40:15,239 Speaker 1: Texas Rangers, from the episode titled Three Victims. Letters in 622 00:40:15,280 --> 00:40:18,880 Speaker 1: this episode come from William Pearson's collection at the Texas 623 00:40:18,880 --> 00:40:22,879 Speaker 1: Supreme Court Archives. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook at 624 00:40:22,920 --> 00:40:27,239 Speaker 1: tenfold more Wicked, and on Twitter at tenfold more. If 625 00:40:27,239 --> 00:40:30,120 Speaker 1: you're an advertiser interested in advertising on our show, go 626 00:40:30,200 --> 00:40:34,040 Speaker 1: to midroll dot com slash ads, and if you know 627 00:40:34,080 --> 00:40:37,040 Speaker 1: of a historical crime that could use some attention, email 628 00:40:37,160 --> 00:40:43,560 Speaker 1: us at info at tenfoldmorewicked dot com. So please listen, subscribe, 629 00:40:43,800 --> 00:40:47,200 Speaker 1: leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever 630 00:40:47,200 --> 00:40:48,399 Speaker 1: you get your podcasts.