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Thread: John Asher Farrell Villarreal Sentenced to Life in Prison in 2014 SC Murder of 43-year-old Mary Marie Fowler

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    John Asher Farrell Villarreal Sentenced to Life in Prison in 2014 SC Murder of 43-year-old Mary Marie Fowler


    43 year-old Mary Fowler


    Sheriff John Skipper holds up a mugshot of John Villarreal


    SC hitchhiker killed woman, shot man, dumped them along I-85, sheriff says

    By WSPA News Staff

    ANDERSON, SC - Anderson County Sheriff John Skipper said a hitchhiker shot two people who were found on the side of Interstate-85 on Christmas Eve.

    One of those victims died from her wounds. The other is in critical condition.

    John Asher Farrell Villarreal, 22, of Travelers Rest, was arrested Tuesday and is now charged with murder, attempted murder, carjacking and possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime.

    “God's going to help us get through it," said James Jerry Dobson, who is clinging to one hope as his son James Jerry Dobson II remains in critical condition.

    "That God will continue to touch my son and he'll continue to improve. That's what I hope," he said.

    Skipper said James Jerry Dobson II and his friend Mary Marie Fowler picked up Villarreal on the side of the road and agreed to take him to the Georgia state line for $25.

    “He stopped for the boy on 85 because he was walking in the rain. And he's a good boy. He was concerned about the boy. But look what the boy turned and done to him. He's caused him immeasurable hurt," said Dobson.

    During the ride, Skipper said Villarreal asked the couple to pull over to the side of I-85 southbound between mile-marker 16 and 17 so he could use the bathroom.

    Skipper said Villarreal told investigators that's when he pulled out a gun with a homemade silencer on it, shot Dobson and Fowler in the backs of their heads and dumped them on the side of the interstate. The sheriff said Villarreal then dumped clothes they had in the car at another location and continued to Georgia.

    “This individual could have just as easily gotten to a truck stop, gotten out, probably gotten a ride with somebody else to get to where he was going. But he chose to do something different and that's to actually take one person's life and could be taking another person's life,” said Skipper.

    When Villarreal got to Georgia, Skipper said he was stopped by troopers and got a ticket for speeding in Johnson County. Skipper said Villarreal told investigators he considered shooting the trooper, but didn't because of the dash cam.

    Authorities were notified to be on the lookout for the vehicle.

    An Anderson County deputy stopped the stolen car in Belton on Tuesday and arrested Villarreal.

    Deputies found three guns with homemade silencers in the stolen car.

    During the investigation, officials discovered Villarreal parked the car at an abandoned house he called a "safe house" in Travelers Rest.

    Villarreal apparently rode a bicycle back and forth from his home and the "safe house." Deputies are analyzing other items found there as evidence.

    Dobson said he hopes Villarreal gets locked away for good so he can't hurt anyone else.

    “When something like this happens to you -- especially to your children -- it's just unbelievable that people can be cruel to you like he is. But this boy needs help too, he needs help," said Dobson.

    Villarreal's criminal background is clean.

    Travelers Rest Police Chief Lance Crowe told 7 On Your Side one of his detectives investigated complaints from a young woman that Villarreal was harassing her in August.

    Crowe also said Villarreal told Anderson County detectives he had a disassembled stolen motorcycle in his garage.

    Skipper said his department is working with the Greenville County Sheriff's Office and Travelers Rest Police Department to see if Villarreal is connected to any other crimes.

    http://www.wbtw.com/story/27740574/s...5-sheriff-says
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Edited:

    Hitchhiker accused of gunning down 2 on I-85 denied bond

    By Casey Vaughn and Joseph Pereira
    Fox Carolina

    About 5 a.m. on Dec. 24, the victims picked up Villarreal who asked for a short ride down I-85 in exchange for $5, Skipper said. The sheriff said as they continued on, Villarreal asked them to take him to the Georgia-South Carolina line for $25.

    But along the way, he asked them to pull over so he could use the bathroom, Skipper said.

    When they pulled over near mile marker 16, Skipper said Villarreal pulled out a handgun with a homemade silencer, shooting them both in the back of the head then dumped them along the interstate. The victims, 44-year-old James Dobson II, of Easley, and 43-year-old Mary Marie Fowler, of Greenville, were found by another driver who stopped and called 911, deputies said.

    Fowler died at the hospital but Dobson survived. He remains in critical condition, deputies said.

    Villarreal continued on to Georgia where he was pulled over by a Georgia State Trooper for speeding, according to the sheriff. Skipper said Villarreal contemplated shooting the trooper but saw his camera on, so he took the ticket then returned to South Carolina.

    An alert was issued for the stolen vehicle, but Skipper said Villarreal hid it at a safe house in the Travelers Rest area when he wasn't using it. He said a deputy driving in Belton spotted the stolen Hyundai Elantra on Tuesday. The deputy saw the SUV pulled over along Clement Road in Belton along with Villarreal inside, according to the sheriff's office.

    Skipper said Villarreal was believed to have been visiting friends in the area and was arrested.

    According to Skipper, investigators also spoke with a witness who saw a man dump the victims' clothes along the side of Cartee Road on Christmas Eve.

    Villarreal has been charged with murder, attempted murder, carjacking and possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime, according to Skipper.

    Skipper said Anderson County investigators are working with other agencies to investigate this case and see if Villarreal is connected to any other crimes in the area.

    Villarreal went before a judge on Wednesday and was denied bond.

    "Son, I think you need the death penalty," Fowler's brother said in court. Dobson's mother called the killing a "senseless act" and said the victims "did no harm."

    Villarreal was given the opportunity to speak in court and addressed the family's wish for the death penalty.

    "I'm not going to speak as to guilt or innocence until I have legal counsel,” Villarreal said. “But I want to say that I'm sorry that this situation exists, and I want to say that I hope we can resolve this situation in court."

    "I would like to have a different ending to this other than my death, because I don't like this situation. I'm just going to say that,” Villarreal said.

    http://www.foxcarolina.com/story/277...-christmas-eve
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Man charged in Greenville shooting was subject of App State harassment claim

    The Greenville, South Carolina, man accused of leaving two people for dead along Interstate 85 on Christmas Eve was the subject of a harassment complaint in August by an Appalachian State University student who viewed his online postings as veiled threats, according to police in Boone.

    The woman, a junior at the Boone university, asked local police to investigate John Asher Farrell Villarreal, 22, after she said she ended a brief relationship and had concerns about cyberstalking.

    Boone authorities ultimately chose not to pursue charges against Farrell Villarreal, but were concerned enough by anti-law enforcement online postings they said he wrote that they contacted Travelers Rest Police and warned them to use caution should they encounter him.

    Boone Detective Sergeant Matt Stevens, who investigated the App State allegations, said he found several online profiles he linked to Farrell Villarreal, including one Facebook account that still contains a late-August post that mentions the student by name.

    Several posts had anti-police sentiments, he said, with references to weapons and standing his ground should law officers come after him.

    "I am not afraid of corrupt law enforcers who may be working with you," reads one post dated in August. "If you want me, this is an open challenge to come for me. But if you do, I will defend myself. And anyone who tries to harm me will die. Consider yourselves warned. I'm sure the local sheriff will understand me shooting an assailant."

    The woman asked that her name not be used for fear of online retaliation.

    "He put my information online. My full name, my email. He managed to get my current address and my home address," said the college junior, referring to her parents' home. "He said he was not responsible for what happened to me with that information out there."

    Farrell Villarreal was arrested last week on charges of murder, attempted murder, carjacking and possession of a weapon during a violent crime.

    http://www.citizen-times.com/story/n...laim/21353693/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Murder suspect meets teen on Facebook, travels 300 miles to her home

    FITZGERALD, GA (WALB) - A teen's mother is concerned for her family's safety after a man, accused of murder, came to her home looking for her daughter.

    Investigators probed the case at the mother's home in Fitzgerald on Tuesday.

    The family reported that 22-year-old John Asher Farrell-Villarreal came to their house twice.

    Authorities said on Christmas Eve, Farrell-Villarreal began hitchhiking more than 300 miles from Travelers Rest, SC to see the 17-year-old girl he met on Facebook.

    "This is a perfect example of what we got to watch out for, because they did not know each other until this," said Captain Lee Cone with Ben Hill County Sheriff's Office.

    According to a report from Anderson County, South Carolina, deputies said Marie Fowler and James Crowder agreed to take Farrell-Villarreal to the South Carolina and Georgia state line. But when they pulled over on I-85 to let him use the bathroom, Farrell-Villarreal suddenly shot both of them and took off in their car. Fowler was killed in the shooting. Crowder was critically injured.

    Farrell-Villarreal then proceeded to travel Fitzgerald.

    "I said, you got to get out of here and I said you got two seconds to leave or I'm going to call the police," said the teen's mother, who asked not to be identified. "And he went to the back door and he said, we can do this the easy way or the hard way and he closed it. He got in the front and said, I'll wait 5 minutes in the front for you."

    But a Ben Hill County deputy showed up and Farrell-Villarreal decided to go back to South Carolina. But he returned to Fitzgerald just five days later to see the teen daughter.

    The mother found him outside of her home after she returned from work.

    "He ran to the car, he sped off and I followed him, she recalled. "I followed him for like 5 or 6 minutes and I was going 85, 90 so I know he was going 100 [mph] or over. And I lost him."

    After the family's second encounter, deputies tracked Farrell-Villarreal down in South Carolina the next day, and arrested him.

    "Thank God! Because we all could have been shot," said the mother. "He was coming to kill us that night, he wasn't coming for no reason."

    Farrell-Villarreal was taken to jail and denied bond.

    http://www.myfoxal.com/story/2784281...es-to-her-home
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Warrant: Accused I-85 killer kept watch on victim's status

    During his six days on the lam, the Greenville man accused of shooting two people along Interstate 85 followed online news reports about the case and kept updated on the condition of the man who survived a gunshot to the head and neck, according to search warrants.

    The warrants offer a glimpse into the electronic life of John Asher Farrell Villarreal, 22, who was arrested on Dec. 30 and charged with murder, attempted murder, carjacking, possession of a weapon during a violent crime and simple larceny in connection with a Christmas Eve shooting.

    After his arrest, investigators filed search warrants allowing them to look through a variety of electronic data, including a Garmin navigation system, two Dell desktop computers and a woman's public library records.

    "Pursuant to the investigation, it was learned that the suspect used computers to communicate through social media," a search warrant for the two computers reads. "The suspect also used computers to research media outlets to track the progress of the case and the status of the surviving victim. It is believed that the suspect used the computer to research various details about making silencers for firearms, and printing aerial maps."

    Officers in that warrant requested that a magistrate judge give them the authority to seize saved and deleted data such as emails, lists, photographs and videos.

    Investigators have said Farrell Villarreal, of 121 Ledge Run Court, was hitchhiking, determined to get to Georgia, when he was picked up by Mary Marie Fowler and James Jerry Dobson II in the early hours of Dec. 24.

    Shortly after 6 a.m., a passing motorist saw Dobson and Fowler lying in the southbound shoulder of I-85, both shot in the head.

    Fowler died that evening. Dobson, who lost an eye, remains hospitalized and has been on a ventilator.

    Investigators have said little about a possible motive in the attack, except that Farrell Villarreal was going to see a girl in Georgia.

    In a story that retraced Farrell Villarreal's steps after the shootings, The Greenville News found that he had two encounters with Georgia officers, once with a trooper after he was stopped for speeding, and another with a police officer in Fitzgerald.

    Police were called to a home in Fitzgerald after he showed up on the doorstep of a 17-year-old girl, demanding she leave with him. The girl's mother later said she did not know of Farrell Villarreal until after the incident, and she believed her daughter knew him only from Facebook.

    Dobson's car, a 2013 Hyundai Elantra, remained missing until an Anderson County sheriff's deputy spotted it parked along a country road outside Belton, with Farrell Villarreal behind the wheel.

    Inside the car, investigators found a Garmin Nuvi and a 4-gigabyte thumb drive, which officers allege belonged to Farrell Villarreal, according to search warrants.

    The car also held five mobile phones, some belonging to the victims. Officers obtained a warrant, but indicated that "no data was retrieved in the analysis" of the phones.

    Officers also seized video surveillance footage and computer log-in information from the Anderson County Library, taken the morning of Farrell Villarreal's arrest.

    Farrell Villarreal is being held in the Anderson County Detention Center without bond and has been assigned a public defender, Hervery Young. Young was unavailable for comment.

    The Greenville News earlier requested an interview with Farrell Villarreal, who declined comment in a letter dated Jan. 20.

    "I am aware of who you are, and I have read your articles concerning me," he wrote, responding to the request. "I have no interest in communicating with you or any other member of the press at this time or in the future. My family also shares this sentiment."

    http://www.greenvilleonline.com/stor...ller/22808087/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Civil judge awards shooting victim over $12 million

    A man charged with murder and attempted murder in the shooting of two people along I-85 was also ruled against according to court papers obtained by WYFF News 4.

    Anderson County deputies said John Asher Farrell-Villarreal, 22, of Travelers Rest, is accused of shooting 44-year-old James Jerry Dobson II of Easley, and 43-year-old Mary Marie Fowler of Greenville.

    Medical officials said Fowler was shot in the head and Dobson was shot multiple times in the head and neck.

    Fowler died from her injuries. Dobson was paralyzed on his left side, is now blind in his left eye, forced to wear a diaper and is wheelchair bound.

    The victims were found lying alongside I-85 about 3 miles from Clemson Boulevard (Highway 76).

    Farrell-Villarreal was arrested and charged with carjacking, attempted murder, murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime.

    Deputies said Farrell-Villarreal was wearing a rain slicker and standing on the side of the road at about 5 a.m. Dec. 24 when he flagged the victims down and asked for a ride on the interstate.

    Deputies said Farrell-Villarreal told the victims he'd give them $5 for a ride, then he told them he'd give them $25 to take him to the state line so he could visit someone in Georgia. He then asked the driver to pull over so he could use the restroom.

    When the driver pulled over, Farrell-Villarreal pulled out a gun with a homemade silencer and shot Dobson and Fowler in the back of the head, deputies said.

    Farrell-Villarreal then fled with the victims' car. A Georgia State Patrol officer stopped him for speeding and gave him a ticket in Johnson County, deputies said.

    According to investigators, Farrell-Villarreal said he thought about shooting the trooper but didn't want to be caught on dash-cam video.

    Farrell-Villarreal took the car to an abandoned house he referred to as a "safe house," where he parked the car and left it during the day, riding his bike from his house to the car, according to deputies.

    A witness saw Farrell-Villarreal dumping clothes on the side of Cartee Road, and deputies said those clothes belonged to the victims. The tip helped lead to his arrest, deputies said.

    Investigators also found evidence at his home that pointed to his involvement, deputies said.

    Court papers say that Farrell-Villarreal also faced a civil case brought about by Dobson.

    Judge Roger Couch of the 13th judicial circuit ruled against Farrell-Villarreal and awarded Dobson a total judgment of $12,500,000, including an award of punitive damages.

    http://www.wyff4.com/article/civil-j...illion/8355876
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Hitchhiker gets life for Christmas Eve I-85 murder

    By WSPA News Staff

    ANDERSON Co., SC (WSPA) – A man accused of shooting two people and dumping them on I-85 has pled guilty.

    John Asher Farrell Villarreal, 25, of Travelers Rest got life in prison for the murder of Mary Marie Fowler, the attempted murder of James Dobson, carjacking and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.

    Villarreal shot both victims in the back of the head. Dobson survived but is now in constant pain. He has 6 bullet fragments still in his brain. His left eye is gone from the bullet is nearly blind in the right eye. He is paralyzed on his left side, can no longer walk and has slurred and slowed speech.

    WHAT HAPPENED


    Testimony in court revealed Villarreal had an online romantic relationship with a 17-year-old girl being abused by her step dad.

    Villarreal was 22 at the time. He told her he would come get her in a “wet extraction” because it would be so bloody.

    He told her he would steal a car and go get her, but he couldn’t hotwire a car.

    Former Anderson Co. Sheriff John Skipper said James Jerry Dobson II and his friend Mary Marie Fowler picked up Villarreal on the side of the road on Fletcher St. in Greenville.

    It was raining and agreed to take him to the Georgia state line for $25.

    “He stopped for the boy on 85 because he was walking in the rain. And he’s a good boy. He was concerned about the boy. But look what the boy turned and done to him. He’s caused him immeasurable hurt,” said Dobson.

    During the ride, Skipper said Villarreal asked the couple to pull over to the side of I-85 southbound between mile-marker 16 and 17 so he could use the bathroom.

    Skipper said Villarreal told investigators that’s when he pulled out a gun with a homemade silencer on it, shot Dobson and Fowler in the backs of their heads and dumped them on the side of the interstate. The sheriff said Villarreal then dumped clothes they had in the car at another location and continued to Georgia.

    The solicitor said Villarreal also cut the seatbelts out of the car because they were blood stained.

    When Villarreal got to Georgia, Skipper said he was stopped by troopers and got a ticket for speeding in Johnson County. Skipper said Villarreal told investigators he considered shooting the trooper, but didn’t because of the dash cam.

    On December 24, Police got a call about bodies on the side of the road. Both were alive at the time. Fowler died later that day at the hospital.

    Also that day, Villarreal got into a fight with the mother of the girl. The police were called but he was soon released and headed back to SC.

    During the investigation, officials discovered Villarreal parked the car at an abandoned house he called a “safe house” in Travelers Rest.

    Villarreal apparently rode a bicycle back and forth from his home and the “safe house.” Deputies are analyzing other items found there as evidence.

    On December 29 Villarreal tried again to go get the girl in Georgia, but was unsuccessful.

    On the way back, he stopped at a library in Anderson and sent a Facebook message. He parked the victim’s vehicle at an Anderson Co. home and a deputy found it.

    Villarreal was arrested.

    Court testimony revealed he admitted to planning to kill his girlfriend’s family because they wouldn’t let her go with him.

    During a search, investigators found multiple firearms, newspaper clippings about the killings and a homemade silencer.

    His attorney said Villarreal has a history of mental illness and experienced extreme trauma as a child as he witnessed his father beat and almost killed his mother.

    As a teen he was hospitalized for PTSD and is on the autism spectrum.

    Villarreal also had an extreme alcohol problem and had to go through detox in jail.

    His lawyer said he had a “actual conversion experience,” found his faith and wants to own up to his actions and suffer the consequences.

    “He knows he’s going to prison and feels like it’s a calling for him to help other inmates and lead bible studies so others learn from what he has done.”

    In court Villarreal said, “I’m deeply sorry for what I did because I was wrong. I was a screwed up son of a gun and I shouldn’t have done it. And I want to say to every single one of you family members, every single one of these cops, every single one, everyone here that I was absolutely wrong. I was a wretched wicked sinner and I know only two things, I am a terrible sinner and Christ is a wonderful savior.”

    http://wspa.com/2017/08/10/hitchhike...e-i-85-murder/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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