Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 108, No. 54, Ed. 1 Sunday, July 8, 1990 Page: 4 of 18
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PAGE 4A-THF POLE COUNTY ENTERPRISE, SUNDAY JULY 8, 1990
Service station, church facility help boost building value
LIVINGSTON - A spurt of com-
mercial building in June has boosted
the total value of construction in Liv-
ingston during the first half of 1990 to
Construction of a new Chevron
Gas and Food Mart at 1600 W
Church, just west of the U.S. 59
Bypass, and a new Livingston Chris-
tian Center school and sanctuary on
the bypass were among the major
projects for which the City of Liv-
ingston issued building permits last
month.
Construction of the Chevron facili-
ty, which will also include a car
wash, is valued at $383,000, accor-
ding to a city building permit sum-
mary. Work is already underway on
the new Livingston Christian Center,
which will be moving from its pre-
sent location in the old Howard's
Discount Center building on North
Washington, with construction of the
new facilities valued at $100,000.
A permit issued for construction of
a GTE Mobilnet communications
Second confession entered into evidence
from page 1
name for the object from a choice of
four. Of the five, he correctly iden-
tified the pictures of a dog and an
airplane but misidentified a picture
of a door as a “dress,” a picture of a
hen as a “drum” and a picture of a
woman’s hat as a “flag.”
Records from the Mexia State
School prepared in June, 1971 in-
dicated Penry had an IQ of between
58 and 58.
“John’s relative strength was in
verbal expression and to a lesser
degree manual expression,” the
record stated. “He was very weak
on sequential memory tasks,
especially for auditory stimuli. He
was generaly weak on organizing
abilities.”
Boots vs. shoes
The only other evidence presented
by the defense Friday was a portion
of the testimony given by Polk Coun-
ty Deputy Bob Grissom during
Penry’s first trial held in Groveton
in 1960.
Grissom, who is now deceased,
was on patrol with former Deputy
Billy Ray Nelson on Oct. 25, 1979
when a description of Carpenter’s
assailant was broadcast over police
radio. The two deputies then went to
Penry’s home after realizing that he
matched the description.
At one point in that testimony,
Grissom indicated Penry had to put
on a pair of “shoes” when he agreed
to accompany the two deputies to the
Livingston Police Department for
questioning.
Previous testimony has indicated
Penry was wearing western boots
when he was later arrested - boots
which prosecutors say Penry used to
“stomp” Carpenter into submission
before raping and stabbing her.
In response to the introduction of
Grissom’s prior testimony, 258th
District Attorney Joe Price read
another part of the same transcript
in which Grissom states that he real-
ly did not pay much attention to
what kind of footwear Penry was
wearing.
Second confession
After taking Wednesday off for the
July 4 holiday, prosecutors read the
second of Penry’s two confessions to
the jury Thursday morning.
Taken by Texas Ranger Maurice
Cook on the morning following the
rape-murder, the Oct. 26, 1979 con-
fession was more detailed than the
first statement taken shortly after
Penry’s arrest.
Cook, now a captain who serves as
the assistant commander of the
Rangers, told the jury he became in-
volved in the case on Oct. 26 at the
request of Smith.
At about 10 a.m. that morning, he
said he began talking “in general”
with Penry when others hearing the
conversation realized that the
minder suspect “was giving a more
vivid description of the crime” than
he had previously. At that point it
was decided to take a second confes-
sion.
As in the first confession, which
was read to the jury on Tuesday,
Penry refers to Carpenter as “the
chick” in the Oct 26 statement.
He said he first saw Carpenter
when he was hired to help Harold
Stubblefield of Livingston deliver a
stove and freezer to her home in ear-
ly October, 1979.
On the morning of Oct. 25, Penry
said he saw someone who reminded
him of Carpenter and decided at that
time to return to her home and rape
her.
“I also wanted to get the money
that she had in hpr purse. I knew
that if I went over to the chick’s
house and raped her that I would
have to kill her because she would
tell who I was to the police,” Penry
said in the confession.
In the statement, Penry tells of
forcing his way into the Carpenter
home at knifepoint and of Carpenter
knocking the weapon from his hand
during a stuggie.
“We fought in the kitchen. She fell
against a stove with Ok side of her
face and I could see that die was
bleeding. I also slapped her in the
face after she was bleeding.
“I told her (to) st£*>screarning,
that I would cut her throat,” he said.
At one point during the fight,
Peary said he turned Ms head away
from Carpenter to see if anyone had
“While my back was kinds to her
she picked op some orange handled
sdMors and 1 remember that my
eyes flashed onto a second set of
the scissors. I turned around right
quick. I got her hand and twisted her
EtstefliL I
against the floor and the scissors fell
out."
Penry said he then dragged
Carpenter into the bedroom where
he kicked and stomped her when she
refused to remove her clothing.
After raping her, Penry said he
walked over and picked up the
orange handled scissors. “I came
back and sat on her stomach. I told
her that I was going to kill her and
that I hated to but I thought she
would squeal on me.
“She didn’t say anything. I raised
the scissors back over my head and
stabbed her in the chest. She said
‘Ouch’ or something and then moan-
ed.”
After Penry- got up, he said
Carpenter “raised up and pulled out
the scissors. It looked like it was
easy for her to pull out the scissors. I
thought I had killed her until she sat
UP
“This scared me and I forgot all
about getting the money. I ran out
the door and boogied. I got on my
bike and went straight home.”
Previous evidence indicated
Carpenter managed to call for help
but died about two hours later.
Autopsy report
On Thursday, prosecutors in-
troducted the autopsy report in-
dicating that Carpenter suffered two
serious injuries prior to her death. In
addition to the stab wound in her
chest - which resulted in massive
bleeding - the autopsy indicated
that the 22-year-old housewife also
suffered a ruptured kidney, ap-
parently caused during a beating.
Because Dr. Jack Pruitt of Lufkin,
the pathologist who performed the
1979 autopsy, is now dead, pro-
secutors read his testimony from the
1980 trial to the jury.
In addition, Dr. Vladimir
Parungao, an assistant Harris Coun-
ty medical examiner, was asked to
examine Pruitt's findings and to
review them for the jury.
Both Pruitt and Parungo agreed
that while the kidney rupture was a
life-threating injury, the immediate
cause of death was from the ragged,
deep chest wound.
Pruitt described the wound as
roughly square, about 1.5 inches by 1
inch in size, adding it appeared “as
if an instrument with a sharp point
but not sharp edges had produced
it.”
The Lufkin doctor testified in 1980
that the wound penetrated the right
lung and that at the time of the
autopsy about two quarts of blood -
roughly half of Carpenter’s total
volume - was found in the chest
cavity.
In addition to the chest wound,
both Pruitt and Parungao described
other visible injuries, including
bruises and abrasions to Carpenter's
face and neck, a bruise on her right
hip and a “heel shaped” or "semi-
circular” bruise on her left side over
the ruptured kidney.
During his testimony, Parungao
told the jury that he was not surpris-
ed to learn that none of Carpenter’s
blood was found on Penry’s clothing
following his arrest.
Although the chest wound resulted
in both internal and external
bleeding, the Harris County medical
examiner said the external bleeding
would not have begun immediately.
Initially after being stabbed,
Parungao said the scissors would
have acted “like a cork" and that
even after they were removed, the
muscles of Carpenter’s chest pro-
bably would have closed for a time.
“The bleeding would have been in-
side the chest wall,” he said. “It
could have taken time for the blood
to come out.”
Other testimony
Other witnesses called by pro-
secutors Thursday included Patricia
Hulen, a forensic scientist with the
Texas Department of Public
Safety’s crime lab and E.H. Hoff-
meister, a retired fingerprint
specialist, formerly with the DPS
crime lab.
Hulen testified that she examined
City to pay off
sewer extension
from page 1
The council is also expected to ap-
prove a final payment of $50,077 to
Reddieo Construction Co., Inc. for
extension of sewer service along the
U.S. 59 Bypass.
An executive session is included
on the agenda to discuss real estate
matters, specifically the appraisal
of land.
The meeting will begin at 5 p.m. in
the Council Chambers, Livingston
City Hall.
evidence collected following the 1979
crime and found none of Carpenter's
blood on Penry’s clothing and no
evidence of semen in the samples
collected from Carpenter during the
autopsy
Previous testimony has indicated
that while a nurse in the Livingston
Memorial Hospital’s emergency
room saw what appeared to be
semen on Carpenter, medical pro-
cedures used to treat her other in-
juries destroyed the evidence.
Hulen also testified that at the re-
quest of prosecutors she recently
performed additional tests using the
orange handled scissors recovered
in the Carpenter home.
Those tests indicate that a wound
found on Penry’s back at the time of
his arrest was consistent with a
wound which could have been made
using those scissors.
In his testimony, Hoffmeister said
none of Penry’s fingerprints were
found on the various items of
evidence submitted to him for ex-
amination - including the orange
handled scissors.
Penry’s first trial was moved from
Livingston to Groveton in 1980 where
a Trinity County jury convicted him
and returned a death sentence in the
case.
Animal shelter
nearly complete
LIVINGSTON - The Polk County
Chapter of the Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
will have its regular meeting Mon-
day at 7:30 p.m. at the Polk County
Animal Shelter which is nearing
completion.
Everyone is invited to come and
look.
building and tower on Barney Road,
valued at $8,400, brings the total
value of commercial construction
approved in June to $491,400.
Through June of this year, permits
have been issued for $558,064 in new
commercial construction, commer-
cial additions totaling $184,164, new
residences valued at $135,500 and
residential additions valued at
$7,350.
Through the first six months of
1969, permits were issued for con-
struction valued at over $2.5 million
- a total boosted considerably by a
permit issued in Marc ,‘'89 for con-
struction of the $1.6 million VF Fac-
tory Outlet.
In addition to the permits issued
last month, other commercial per-
mits issued this year include:
•a commercial addition permit for
remodeling of the Texas Depart-
ment of Human Services on
Dogwood Street, valued at $60,000,
issued May 16;
•a commercial addition permit for
a window enclosure for Dairy Treat
on South Washington, valued at $200,
issued May 17;
•a commercial addition permit for
remodeling and additions to Miller’s
Big Star, valued at $27,600, issued
April 10;
•a new commercial permit for a
sign at Kentucky Fried Chicken,
valued at $1,500, issued April 17;
•a commercial addition permit for
remodeling at Livingston Elemen-
tary School, valued at $3,500, issued
April 20;
•a new commercial permit for
construction of a warehouse by B.R.
Haynes on South Houston, valued at
$41,264, issued April 24;
•a commercial addition permit for
remodeling of the former Dick’s
Western World building on the U.S.
59 Bypass to house Pepper's
Restaurant, valued at $24,500, issued
April 25;
•a new commercial permit for
finishing the interior of First Equity
Group on West Church, valued at
$23,900, issued March 12;
•a commercial addition permit to
remodel a building on North
Washington to house Doug’s Dogs,
valued at $1,300, issued Feb. 15;
•a commercial addition permit to
remodel a building on South
Washington to house Dr. Jon
Boutinghouse’s office, valued at
$15,565, issued Jan. 16;
•a commercial addition permit for
an addition to House of Treasures on
Pan American Drive, valued at
$43,500, issued Jan. 22;
•and a commercial addition per-
mit for roof repairs to Kentucky
Fried Chicken, valued at $8,000,
issued Jan. 29.
BUILDING PERMIT SUMMARY
Total value January-June 1996
New commercial (6)........$558,064
Commercial additions (9) . $184,165
New residences (3)........$135,500
Residential additions (4)......$7,300
TOTAL VALUE $885,099
| MS
i
t ■ \ I
OBITUARIES
Roy Dale Mize
Mary Beth Ferguson
LIVINGSTON - Graveside ser-
vices for Roy Dale Mize, 33, of
Cleveland will be held at 2 p.m. Sun-
day, July 8, 1990, from Magnolia
Cemetery near Onalaska.
Mr. Mize died Wednesday in
Cleveland.
Survivors include his father and
stepmother, Floyd and Millicent
Mize of Cleveland; two daughters,
Jennifer and Tiffany Mize of
Cleveland; three sons, Donley, Roy
Dale Jr. and Levi Mize, all of
Cleveland; sister, Janis Jones of
Cleveland; and three brothers,
David, John and Tommy Mize, all of
Cleveland.
Cochran Funeral Home is in
charge of arrangements.
William 'Perk' Ibison
LIVINGSTON - Graveside ser-
vices for Mary Beth Ferguson, 39, of
Houston were held Friday, July 6,
1990 from Forest Hill Cemetery,
with Father Delphyn J. Meeks of-
ficiating.
Mrs. Ferguson died July 3 in Nor-
thwest Medical Center in Houston.
She was bom April 1, 1951 in
Ozona, Texas, the daughter of Alfred
Raymond Ferguson and Helen Lee
Choate Ferguson.
Survivors include her husband,
Victor Miebs of Houston; daughters,
Dana Sebren and Tiffany Sebren,
both of Livingston; sisters, Lela
Steimle of Livingston and Nina Dale
of Dyer, Ark.; brother, Jesse Pate of
San Angelo; grandson, Sean Sebren
of Livingston; and numerous other
relatives and close friends.
Cochran Funeral Home was in
charge of arrangements.
LIVINGSTON - Funeral services
for William Edward “Perk” Ibison,
56, of Grove, Okla., were held Satur-
day, July 7, 1990 from Point Blank
Community Church, with the Rev.
Bob Card officiating. Interment
followed in Mt. Zion Cemetery.
Mr. Ibison died Wednesday in San
Jacinto County.
He was born Dec. 8,1933 in Bixby,
Okla., the son of Frank James and
Ruth Ray Ibison. He was a self-
employed brick mason.
Survivors include two daughters,
Angela Ruth Price of Tallahassee,
Fla. and Sabrina Kaye Schiele of
Ruidosa, N.M.; son, William Perk
Ibison of Point Blank; mother, Ruth
Ibison of Point Blank; two brothers,
Ray Ibison of Point Blank and Rufus
Ibison of Livingston; three sisters,
Ethel Davis of Springfield, Mo.,
Rosemary Sawvel of Grove, Okla.
and Judy Trammel of Huntsville;
and five grandchildren, David
Price, Crystal Schiele, Thomas
Schiele Jr., Adam Schiele and
Lauren Ibison.
Pallbearers were Buddy Ibison,
Todd Ibison, Charlie Whitten, Den-
nis Trammel, Paul Trammel and
George Ray Ibison.
Cochran Funeral Home was in
charge of arrangements.
Wanda Davis Wilson
Elmer Etheridge Wright Jr.
LIVINGSTON - Funeral services
for Flmer Etheridge Wright Jr.: 66,
of P<i nt Blank were held Friday, Ju-
ly o, 1990 from toe Cochran Funeral
Home Chapel, with the Rev. Ernest
Johnson officiating. Interment
followed in Brookside Memorial
Park Cemetery in Houston.
Mr. Wright died July 3 in Polk
County Memorial Hospital.
He was bom July 3, 1924 in
Gillette. Texas, the son of Elmer
Etheridge Wright Sr. and Mattie
Bertha Adams. He was a veteran of
World War II and a retired employee
of Houston lighting and Power after
40 years of service. Mr. Wright was
a member of the First Baptist
Church of Recreation Acres.
Survivors include his wife of 43
years, Velma Wright of Point Blank ;
sons, Donald G. Wright and wife
Yonnie of Houston, James A. Wright
and wife Karen of Houston, Dennis
L. Wright of Port Lavaca and Pat
Wright and wife Dennis of Tomball;
grandchildren, Jennifer L. Wright of
Houston, James A. Wright Jr. of
Houston, Jason A. Wright of
Houston, Dennis L. Wright Jr. of
Georgia, William B. Wright of
Georgia, Erica N. Wright of Tom-
ball, Kristina A. Wright of Houston,
Donnie Wright of Houston and Adam
P. Wright of Tomball; sister, Bessie
Lee Williams of Onalaska; and
numerous other relatives and close
friends.
Pallbearers were Billie Murphy,
Craig Small, David Byford, Pete
Murphy, Timothy Williams and
Patrick Murphy.
Cochran Funeral Home was in
charge of arrangements.
LIVINGSTON - Funeral services
for Wanda Davis Wilson, 67, of Liv-
ingston were held Saturday, July 7,
1990 from the Cochran Funeral
Home Chapel, with the Rev. C.E.
Deakins officiating. Interment
followed in Forest Hill Cemetery.
Mrs. Wilson died Wednesday in
Houston.
She was bom Feb. 2, 1923 in
Lufkin, the daughter of Hiram T.
and Florence Grissom Davis. She
was a member of the Livingston Art
League and the First United
Methodist Church of Livingston.
Survivors include three sons,
Charles Davis Wilson of Houston,
Brian Earl Wilson of Sea brook and
Woods Ed Wilson of San Antonio;
five grandchildren, Wendi Rae
Uchwarz of Mirimar, Fla., Timothy
D. Wilson of Houston, Melinda Lynn
Gibbs and Melissa Leah Kincaid,
both of Pasadena, and Joy Ellaine
Wilson of San Antonio; four great-
grandchildren, Sean Garnet Reid of
Mirimar, Fla., Lindsay and Joshua
Gibbs, both of Pasadena, and
Nicholas Kincaid of Pasadena; and
two sisters, Theo Bennett and Dot
Giles, both of Mississippi.
Pallbearers were W.W. Brown,
B.A. Glover, Jim Wilson, Earnest
Bennett, Chuck Vaughn and Sam
Crowther. Honorary pallbearers
were James Giles, B.C. Lively, J.M.
Windham, Charles Doris, Jim Har-
rop, Charles Harp and Lee Martin.
Cochran Funeral Home was in
charge of arrangements.
Hollis E. Collum
LIVINGSTON - Funeral services
for Hollis E. Collum, 68, were held
Wednesday, July 4, 1990 from the
chapel of Pace Funeral Home, with
the Rev. Dewey Parrish of Soda
Baptist Church officiating. Inter-
ment followed in Nettles Cemetery
near Livingston.
Mr. Collum died July 1 in Her-
mann Hospital in Houston after a
sudden illness.
He was bom Aug. 1, 1921 in
Sparks, Okla. to Pies Lee Collum
and Ida M. Nettles Collum. Mr. Col-
lum was reared in Polk County and
attended school in Livingston and
Corrigan, graduating from ’orrigan
High School.
After graduation he moved to Il-
linois and entered into the U.S. Ar-
my on July 24, 1942 during World
War II. Mr. Collum was sent
overseas on Jan. 14, 1943, seing ac-
tion in North Africa, Naples-Foggio
and Rome-Amo in Italy. Mr. Collum
was awarded the Silver Star medal,
EAME medal, Purple Heart with
three battle stars and combat infan-
try badge. He was awarded the Pur-
ple Heart for wounds received May
28,1944 to his right leg, July 23,1944
to his right arm and SeptS, 1944 to
his left calf. Mr. Collum attained the
rank of tech, sergeant and received
an honorable discharge on Feb. 2,
1945.
He married the forma’ Minnie M.
Bert hold on Jen. 3, 1946 in Alice,
Texas. Mr. and Mrs. Collum made
their home in Texas and, following
Mr. Collum’s work, settled in San
Antonio in August, 1970, where they
made their home since that time.
Mr. Collum was engaged in rig
building in the oil field business fa
many years until 1960, when he
entered into construction of power
plants for H.B. Zachery Co., where
he was employed until his retire-
ment in 1964.
Mr. Collum was a member of the
Baptist Church and was a loving
husband who will be long missed.
Survivors include his wife, Minnie
M. Collum of San Antonio; two
brothers, Pies Collum and BUI Col-
lum, both of Salem, 111.; and many
other relatives and friends.
Pallbearers were Louis HamUton,
Airis Nettles, Wilson Nettles, Don
Walker, Frank jtaven, Roy Me Pike,
Pita Barker and Elmer Nettles.
Pace Funeral Hone was in charge
POLK COUNTY
ENTERPRISE
ALVIN HOLLEY, PUBLISHER
Telephone Number 327-4357
USPS 437-340
Entered as Second-Class Matter at the Post Office at Livingston,
Texas 77351 under the Act of Congress of March 3,1987.
EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT
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Greg Peak, Area News Editor
Don Hendrix, Special Sections Editor
Dianna Camptell, Living Section Editor
. Emily Banks, Reporter
Stephen Hengst, Photographer
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Uada Jacobs, Classified Manager
Patty Haakerd
bookkeeping department
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Diana Fiscal, Barbara Wilson, Laura Munson
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Texas by the Palk County Publishing
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White, Barbara. Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 108, No. 54, Ed. 1 Sunday, July 8, 1990, newspaper, July 8, 1990; Livingston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth781523/m1/4/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Livingston Municipal Library.