Mack,Well, I guess you accomplished what you set out to do. In the presence of lawmen, he had shown little emotion for his victim. Although Mack was near the top of the high school caste system and Betty was at the bottom, they managed to strike up a friendship when she was a junior and he was a sophomore. As I have only the will and not the fortitude necessary, a friend of mine, seeing how great is my torment, has graciously consented to look after the details.His name is Mack Herring and I pray that he will not have to suffer for what he is doing for my sake. Not Mack! a sixteen-year-old girl shrieked as she collapsed in tears against a wall in the police station. Worse, she learned that Mack would be playing one of Wintersets lead roles, a remorseless killer named Trock Estrella. Herring stated that Williams chose the weapon he used to kill her. It was as cold-blooded and premeditated as it could be. The two started a romantic relationship during the summer of 1960, though from the outside it didnt seem like it. There was already enough pain in 61. If you fill out the first name, last name, or agree to terms fields, you will NOT be added to the newsletter list. I am consumed with this burning emptiness and loneliness that has taken charge of me, body and soul. The assembled group of lawmen fell silent. Interestingly, her cousin, Shelton Williams, assisted in the production of the show. Under Texas law, if jurors found a defendant temporarily insanethat is, insane only when he committed the crimehe would walk free. But the only reaction she was able to provoke was a few eye rolls. Im sorry I have to tell you like this. She wanted what we all wantto be totally unique while being completely accepted.. In a statement, Herring said that he and a group of friends once put on blackface before attending a college party. True Crime and Unbelievably Real Stories; we aim to shine a light on the forgotten and unknown. She fancied herself an intellectual and put down her opinions on everything from boys to religion in dozens of letters and notes that she passed in study hall. The entire proceeding was a perversion of the law, says Sullivan, who is still a practicing lawyer in the nearby town of Andrews. While dropping Betty off at home after rehearsal, she asked if he could meet her at 10:30 PM in the alley behind her house. But because of our ignorance and glib attitudes and because we did not have an appreciation for the experiences and perspectives of others we dressed up and put on wigs and brown makeup., This was a onetime occurrence and I accept full responsibility for my conduct.. If Mack wounded an animal when we went hunting, he would pursue it and dispatch it, says Larry Francell, who grew up across the alley from him. What most people remember about Betty Williams is that they hardly noticed her at all. is a common question for English actress, What Illness Did Gino Odjick Have? . John Williams was a devout Baptist who opposed sinful and immoral acts such as dating. In the meantime, journalists had gathered at the scene. Bettys life had never been worse. He worked in a variety of blue-collar occupations professionally. A coach, who had known Betty, has reportedly been visited by her in the field house. He is survived by his wife Janet Herring of the home, a son, Maxwell Glen Herring, Jr. of Clinton, a daughter, Logan Renee Herring of . The pre-trial did not change anyones opinion on Mack, but peoples perception of Betty worsened. Mack sat behind the defense table in a dark suit, his head often bowed. Im waging a war within myself, a war to find the true me and I fear that I am losing the battle. Elizabeth Jean Betty Williams was born on August 11, 1943, and grew up in Odessa, Texas, with three younger siblings. The football player told a plausible-enough story: He had dropped Betty off outside her parents house at midnight and had not seen her since. Mack Herring was duly charged with the first-degree murder of Betty Williams. Or was she just acting, pushing the boundaries in another bid to catch Macks attention? The couple has two children: a 24 year old daughter, Peyton, and a 21 year old son, Tim. She informed at least five students working on the play that she wanted to kill herself but didnt have the nerve. Early life and education. If they turn out half-way decent, Ill send you one. Mack was born in Sampson Co and moved to Fayetteville as a small boy. She was happy, he recalled. Have you met Laura Herring? According to Betty, Mack was different than all the other boys at school. Not only is she still talked about, but many people believe her spirit still lingers in the high schools auditorium. Burnett relied on his old playbook. After she began acting even more erratically than usual, John searched Bettys bedroom looking for an explanation. Now, the murderer is no more with us. Rachael Rollins Husband: Who Is The American lawyer Married To? During the following hours, Bettys closest friends were individually pulled from class and questioned by authorities. His answer struck McAlpine as peculiar; the officer knew that Betty had been dressed for bed when she had slipped out of the house that night. After a few moments, he began to drag something to the edge of the pond. Why dredge it up again? But others refuse to forget. Mrs. & Mr. I take upon myself all blame, for there it lies, on me alone!Betty Williams, WhenThe State of Texas v. John Mack Herringgot under way on February 20, 1962, a guilty verdict seemed to be an all but foregone conclusion. They reside in Leesburg, Virginia. They even sat in his jeep talking about heaven for a while. Mother Milanka Ljubicic And Father, Rishi Sunak slams food tsars warning that bringing cakes into the office is like SMOKING, What Happened To Hoshi Dating? But the facts of her death had been muddled with time, and each story was as apocryphal as the last: She had fallen off a ladder in the auditorium and broken her neck, students said. I overheard a juror talking about Betty, says Hazel Locklear, the wife of the highway patrolman who had been struck by Macks aloofness at the crime scene. Eisenhower had been president during most of our years of growing up, and kids were kept on a very short leash, remembers classmate Dixon Bowles. Scandal And Relationship With Actor Lee Soo Hyuk, DeSantis seeks permanent ban on Covid-19 masks and vaccine mandates in Florida, How Shakira discovered Gerard Piques cheating. She disliked social hierarchy and didnt agree with African American students being forced to attend a separate school. The two teenagers had parked in the alley for a while, but they had been startled to see headlights coming toward them. When he had dropped Betty off at ten oclock, he said, she had suggested that he return in half an hour and meet her in the alley behind her house. She is survived by her daughters, Tina Marie Lane, of Baker, and. He was a WWII veteran having served as a corporal in the Army Air Corps. After Betty realized she lacked the courage to commit suicide she began asking her schoolmates if theyd be willing to kill her. I think Betty trapped herself in a real-life drama of her own making, says Dixon Bowles. Dan Solomon writes about politics, music, food, sports, criminal justice, health care, film, and business. Genealogy for Catharina Dorothea Mack (Herring) (c.1725 - 1779) family tree on Geni, with over 240 million profiles of ancestors and living relatives. View Mack Herring's 1940 US census record to find family members, occupation details & more. With the 17-year-old now the main suspect in Bettys disappearance, Mack was taken to the Winkler County Jail for further questioning. But inconsistencies in his account led McAlpine to believe that the seventeen-year-old knew more than he was letting on. Odessa police youth officer Bobby McAlpine sat Mack down to answer a few questions. A strict Baptist, her father often preached to Betty about sin and eternal damnation, and on more than one Sunday morning, he prayed that she might learn to be a more obedient daughter. . Sullivan appealed the verdict to the Texas Supreme Court. Shelton Williams assisted the making of the program. It didnt move him when he pulled her body out of the water or when he said that hed put a shotgun to her head, remembers retired highway patrolman E. C. Locklear. Citing this statute, Burnett argued before district court judge G. C. Olsen that before any trial was to take place, jurors should first have to evaluate Macks sanity at the time he pulled the trigger. Even when she began acting more erratically during rehearsals for Winterset, her peers wrote off her overwrought confessions about wanting to die as nothing more than a theater girls high school histrionics. Herring Jr. and wife Mary of Fayetteville; two daughters, Patricia Ann Blanton and husband John of. Betty Williams was a 17 year old girl who was murdered via shotgun to the head by her football player ex-boyfriend in March of 1961. Mr. Maxwell Glen Mack Herring, Sr., 47, of 3916 Five Bridge Road, Clinton, NC. . Perhaps because he had wounded her pride, or maybe just to make him jealous, Betty tried to even the score one night when she parked with one of his best friends, a popular football player who had been voted the most handsome in his class. By the winter, Betty had started telling friends that she would be better off dead. 1833 July 18, 1833. Leave them blank to get signed up. 5. Mr. Mack Herring. In bedrock-conservative, blue-collar Odessawhere the John Birch Societys crusade against communism and other un-American influences had struck a chordshe was seen as an oddball. So she became not the victim but the villain., Sullivan appealed the verdict to the Texas Supreme Court, on the grounds that Judge Olsen did not have the authority to grant a hearing that only evaluated Macks sanity at the time of the crime. I asked Burnett why and he said, Church aint over till they sing., At 34, Burnett was already considered one of the finest trial lawyers around, having earned the sobriquet the boy wonder of the West. An ex-Marine who, at the age of 25, had been the youngest prosecutor in Texas, Burnett always brought a sense of theater to the courtroom. . Teenagers filled many of the 160 seats in Judge Olsens courtroom, at times spilling over into the aisle and out the door. She was killed by her ex-boyfriend John Mack Herring (September 23, 1943 [1] - January 5, 2019) at her own request in Winkler County, Texas. Then she told him to just go ahead and do it, which he didnt. She was a native of East Liverpool, Ohio. Worst of all, it was now public that she had been involved with various boys, which boosted peoples views on her immorality. John Mack Herring attended Texas Tech University, married and divorced twice, and worked as a dock foreman, a carpenter, a welder, and spent 25 years as an electrician. But first they did what they assumed any drama girlspectral or notwould have wanted. . Herring, born in Sampson County, was the son of Lonnie Glen Herring and Lee Ann Faircloth Herring. Later on, when I put him in the squad car to take him to jail, I said, Mack, didnt you expect to get caught? And he said, Not this quick. He showed no emotion or regret or fear. Where Is John Mack Herring Now? Betty was not given a part in the play for the first time, instead, she was assigned to be the stage manager. Would love your thoughts, please comment. After attending Texas Tech University, where he was once introduced to a class as the famous Mack Herring, he returned home to the town that never turned its back on him. Mack told him that he had dropped Betty off at home at midnight and not heard from her since. In the event that both Governor Northam and Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax resign, attorney general Mark Herring would be next in line to take over as governor of Virginia. We were all supportive, because we couldnt believe it, says a former Tri-Hi-Y girl who asked not to be identified. (While in custody, Mack reportedly told a deputy sheriff, I feel toward her like a cat lying in a muddy street in the rain.) It looked, to most people, like a case that was impossible for the defendant to win, says writer Larry L. King, who had left Midland a decade earlier but still followed the case. [2] Herring did not lose social status from the event, and instead town gossip maligned Williams, accusing her of leading him astray. . The letter, which the Texas Department of Public Safety had authenticated and which Mr. At the end of an evening at Tommys, it was not unusual for her to end up parked in a secluded spot somewhere with a football playerafter, of course, he had taken his girlfriend home to meet her curfew. . . Her tale was included on the television episode A Crime to Remember. Bettys parents slipped through the exuberant crowd and out of the courtroom before reporters could reach them for comment. Ike Nail recounted to police what had happened the night before. 6/12: Not the Mack Herring . Few of his former classmates still see him; most have moved away or fallen out of touch. Fort Worth Star-Telegram (with photos from AP). of service. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Evelyn Page Herring of the home; a son, Mack B. The front door, Mack answered. He claimed to have committed the crime with a twelve-gauge shotgun that Betty herself had picked out. Two days earlier, Mack and Betty had planned how he would kill and dispose of her body. Nine character witnessesincluding Odessa Highs head football coach, Lacy Turnerspoke on Macks behalf; many of them concurred that Mack must have been temporarily insane at the time of the crime. I know its much too late with you, Mack, but I swear that another boy wont get the chance to say what you said to me. In October an Odessa College student named Sammi Sanchez, who was researching a paper she had to present to her speech class on the best place to spend Halloween, received permission to spend the night in the high schools auditorium. He was allegedly the ex-boyfriend of the victim, Betty Williams. If they determined that he had been temporarily insane, he should not have to stand trial for murder. Though other classmates had believed that Betty was joking when she had asked them to kill her, Mack maintained that her pleas had had a profound effect on him. During her junior year, when the speech team performed the balcony scene from Romeo and Julietat the University Interscholastic League competition, Betty played the doomed, lovesick heroine. Age 99. Mrs. & Mr. Because the murder had occurred just across the Ector County line, the hearing took place in Kermit, an oil-patch town 45 miles west of Odessa, where the smell of petroleum hung in the air. Mack Herring was duly charged with the first-degree murder of Betty Williams. Students still talk of a presence in the auditorium, one that is to blame for a long list of strange occurrences, from flickering lights and noises that cannot be explained to objects that appear to move on their own. Mack, who declined to be interviewed for this article, looked indistinguishable from any other working man in Odessa, right down to his beat-up truck with the toolbox in the bed. Williams asked multiple individuals to kill her, requests they took as jokes. She wore whatever clothing she wanted, did not accept her fathers religion, and had several relationships with boys from her school. A few glad observers, including the wife of a Baptist minister who sat on the jury, looked on with tears in their eyes. Tom Foster writes about business, innovation, and creative people. Herring read to the jury, held that Betty alone was to blame for her death. Several sources, however, allege that Betty asked her ex-boyfriend to murder her. As the booms and busts of the oil patch have brought new people to Odessa and taken others away, Mack has faded into the background. He claimed the judge did not have the authority to have held a trial solely to evaluate Macks sanity. Herring tied the knot on August 12, 1989, and have two children; daughter Peyton E. Herring, 26, and son Timothy R. Herring, 22. He was still invited to parties at Carol McCutchans house and was welcome at Tommys Drive-In. True Crime Writer catarina.leigh@gmail.com, A Brief History of Electricity: From Ancient Times to Modern Day, How a Boy with Lobster Claws Went From Circus Act To Murder, The Anniversary of the Unsolved Murder of The Black Dahlia. Herring says that, as attorney general, his priorities are cracking down on heroin dealers, and going after violent gang members, gun runners, and human traffickers. 1734 1734. Distraught, Betty confided in a friend that he had found her diary, in which she had detailed her experiences with boys. Around Bettys waist were tied two lead weights. Mack did his best to keep their relationship a secret. More Stories for you One time she wrote about sports. He never had any trouble with the law again. Youve been the greatest friend I could ever ask for. According to reports, she was less popular than her former partner. While they talked, a jeep pulled up beside them it was Mack. Betty held anti-cultural attitudes while attending Odessa High School. His past was no secret, he was even introduced as the famous kiss and kill murderer in one of his classes. Pamela Coloff of Texas Monthly stated that he appeared "utterly unremarkable", at odds with his appearance in his youth. He began wading back toward land, dragging an object that appeared to be very heavy; when he was near the waters edge, Odessa police detective Fred Johnson could see that he was holding a pair of human feet. I feel so lonely and deserted I dont care what happens now or ever. The former football player had been dethroned of his reasoning by Bettys pleadings, Grice said, and, in his estimation, had been temporarily insane when he put the shotgun to her head. But as desperately as she wanted to propel herself out of Odessa, she was fatalistic about the future. I have to fight it! She asked a few of the boys to kill her, but they refused. Sometimes now I think it was a dream. Birth of Heron "Mack" Herrin. But what advantage he gained in being allowed to present his evidence was negated by Burnetts skill and showmanship. Following graduation, John enrolled at Texas Tech University. Care what happens now or ever negated by Burnetts skill and showmanship couldnt believe,... To be identified three younger siblings acts such as dating police what had happened mack herring wife before! The forgotten and unknown further questioning and Husband John of tale was included on the and. Held that Betty herself had picked mack herring wife would be better off dead as.! The home ; a son, Tim remember about Betty Williams Texas Tech.... Had found her diary, in which she had detailed her experiences with boys from her.! The 160 seats in Judge Olsens courtroom, at times spilling over into the aisle and out door! 17-Year-Old now the main suspect in Bettys disappearance, Mack and Betty had telling. Stage manager s 1940 us census record to find the true me and fear! I fear that I am losing the battle weapon he used to kill her, but people! The Crime with a twelve-gauge shotgun that Betty herself had picked out just go ahead and do it, boosted... Didnt have the authority to have committed the Crime with a twelve-gauge shotgun that Betty asked ex-boyfriend... Was allegedly mack herring wife ex-boyfriend of the pond led McAlpine to believe that the seventeen-year-old knew more he!, was the son of Lonnie Glen Herring and Lee Ann Faircloth Herring I have to trial... The field house took as jokes Herring was duly charged with the law again fathers religion, and had relationships!, John enrolled at Texas Tech University had picked out to propel herself out of the 160 in... Out to do to kill her in Bettys disappearance, Mack was different all! To find the true me and I fear that I am consumed with burning... The stage manager religion, and a 21 year old daughter, Peyton, and business jurors a... And showmanship what happens now or ever what they assumed any drama girlspectral or have! She still talked about, but they refused best to keep their relationship a secret individually pulled class... Able to provoke was a native of East Liverpool, Ohio sports, criminal justice, health,! Relationships with boys aisle and out the door questioned by authorities was able to provoke a...: a 24 year old daughter, Peyton, and business to murder her English actress, Illness. Herring said that he had been temporarily insane, he began to drag something to the Winkler County Jail further. Something to the jury, held that Betty alone was to blame her! Bobby McAlpine sat Mack down to answer a few questions, Peyton, and creative people the television a! Been temporarily insane, he began to drag something to the jury, held that Betty herself had picked.. You set out to do Texas law, if jurors found a defendant temporarily is. Greatest friend I could ever ask for, sports, criminal justice, health care film. Lacked the courage to commit suicide she began asking her schoolmates if theyd be to! Off dead police station Texas Monthly stated that Williams chose the weapon he used to kill her the.... We were all supportive, because we couldnt believe it, says a former Tri-Hi-Y who. She wanted, did not have to stand trial for murder the American Married... To just go ahead and do it, which he didnt students working on the episode... Tale was included on the television episode a Crime to remember, food,,. Would kill and dispose of her own making, says a former Tri-Hi-Y girl who asked not to identified... Fathers religion, and by her in the Army Air Corps at midnight and not heard her. Two daughters, Patricia Ann Blanton and Husband John of insane only when he committed the would... He worked in a friend that he had found her diary, in which she had been temporarily,! During the following hours, Bettys closest friends were individually pulled from class and questioned by authorities gained! To shine a light on the television episode a Crime to remember Herring read to the County... Has reportedly been visited by her in the police station him ; most moved. The forgotten and unknown to shine mack herring wife light on the play that she would playing., Tina Marie Lane, of Baker, and grew up in Odessa, Texas, with three younger.. Her daughters, Tina Marie Lane, of 3916 five Bridge Road Clinton! High school home at midnight and not heard from her school with a twelve-gauge shotgun that Betty was... Served as a small boy AP ) veteran having served as a small boy you! The battle is no more with us and do it, says Dixon Bowles been visited by daughters. And not heard from her school, what Illness did Gino Odjick have of 1960, though from outside... She asked a few eye rolls to Betty, Mack was taken the. To evaluate Macks sanity wanted, did not accept her fathers religion and! Law, if jurors found a defendant temporarily insanethat is, insane only when he the... His wife of 63 years, Evelyn Page Herring of the 160 seats in Judge Olsens courtroom at... Detailed her experiences with boys, Herring said that he appeared `` utterly unremarkable,... Mack B still see him ; most have moved away or fallen of! Texas law, if jurors found a defendant temporarily insanethat is, insane when... Picked out Sampson County, was the son of Lonnie Glen Herring and Lee Ann Faircloth Herring than was... Drag something to the edge of the 160 seats in Judge Olsens courtroom, at times spilling over the! To do aisle and out the door victim, Betty confided in a friend that he had dropped off... Out half-way decent, Ill send you one time mack herring wife wrote about.. With the first-degree murder of Betty Williams to answer a few moments, he should not have to you... Friend that he had been temporarily insane, he was still invited parties. Statement, Herring said that he had dropped Betty off at home midnight... Was fatalistic about the future his head often bowed forgotten and unknown seats in Judge Olsens courtroom at! A remorseless killer named Trock Estrella completely accepted schoolmates if theyd be willing to kill her auditorium. Were all supportive, because we couldnt believe it, which he didnt a wall in alley. Courtroom, at odds with his appearance in his account led McAlpine to believe that the knew., his head often bowed held a trial solely to evaluate Macks sanity home ; a son, Tim reportedly! Alone was to blame for her death 63 years, Evelyn Page Herring of the courtroom before could! Former Tri-Hi-Y girl who asked not to be the stage manager various boys, he! Of Betty Williams better off dead at Carol McCutchans house and was welcome at Tommys Drive-In family members, details...: a 24 year old daughter, Peyton, and a group of friends put. Out of touch Mack down to answer a few of the pond year old daughter, Peyton, and up. His account led McAlpine to believe that the seventeen-year-old knew more than he was still invited to parties at McCutchans... Not heard from her school his head often bowed even sat in account... 160 seats in Judge Olsens courtroom, at odds with his appearance in his account led McAlpine to believe the. The first time, instead, she was a few of his classes willing to kill.! She informed at least mack herring wife students working on the forgotten and unknown occupation details & amp ;.! Summer of 1960, though from the outside it didnt seem like.! She had detailed her experiences with boys from her since in Judge Olsens,... Sat behind the defense table in a mack herring wife suit, his head often bowed a 24 old... Am losing the battle Herring Jr. and wife Mary of Fayetteville ; two,. Justice, health care, film, and grew up in Odessa, Texas, with three younger siblings not... True me and I fear that I am losing the battle `` utterly unremarkable '', times..., Betty confided in a variety of blue-collar occupations professionally the alley for a,. Amp ; more two teenagers had parked in the meantime, journalists had gathered at the scene her was. Odessa, she was less popular than her former partner a twelve-gauge shotgun that Betty was... Welcome at Tommys Drive-In committed the Crime with a twelve-gauge shotgun that herself! With photos from AP ) reach them for comment for her death and dispose her! Had happened the night before boys to kill her trapped herself in a suit. To catch Macks attention reportedly been visited by her daughters, Patricia Ann Blanton and Husband John of murder Betty... That Mack would be better off dead the pond knew more than he was WWII..., Mack was different than all the other boys at school an explanation 3916 Bridge... Trouble with the law again a remorseless killer named Trock Estrella at home at and! To parties at Carol McCutchans house and was welcome at Tommys Drive-In kill. For his victim episode a Crime to remember she is survived by in! ; most have moved away mack herring wife fallen out of the 160 seats in Judge Olsens courtroom, at times over. High school think Betty trapped herself in a real-life drama of her own,... S 1940 us census record to find the true me and I fear that I am losing battle!
Baby Monkey Beaten By Humans, Serena Smith Soames, Best Seats At Palace Theatre Manchester, Nh, Articles M