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Thread: William Mitchell Hudson - Texas Death Row

  1. #21
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    DA to seek death penalty for Hudson

    By Pennylynn Webb
    Palestine Herald Press

    The Anderson County District Attorney will seek the death penalty in the trial of William Mitchell Hudson.

    According to court records, Allyson Mitchell filed a State of Notice to Seek the Death Penalty on Jan. 23.

    The following day, Mitchell signed documents that stated the court has officially been moved to the city of Bryan in Brazos County for the change of venue that was approved by presiding judge, the honorable Mark Calhoon.

    The court hopes to maintaining its preliminary trial date, set for Sept. 25.

    Remaining pre-trial dates may remain in Anderson County.

    The next pre-trial hearing is set for May 22.

    http://www.palestineherald.com/news/...fd08cf009.html
    "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

  2. #22
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    Prosecution requests its own mental health exam in Hudson hearing

    By Pennylynn Webb
    Palestine Herald Press

    Prosecutors on Monday requested their own mental health exam for alleged murderer, William Mitchell Hudson, to rebut the exams conducted by the defense.

    In a pre-trial hearing in Palestine, Hudson's defense attorneys, Steven Evans and Jeff Herrington, agreed to the request, if Hudson could have breaks during the exam to rest, and to consult with his attorneys.

    During the hearing, Lisa Tanner, special prosecution with the Texas Attorney General's Office, on behalf of the Anderson County District Attorney, also made a motion of discovery for the defense's witness list.

    Hudson's defense attorneys agreed to provide the list when it was completed. Both motions were granted by presiding Judge Mark Calhoon.

    Hudson's full beard was gone, and he was sporting a shorter haircut. He also appeared to have put on a lot of weight.

    Carina Lujambio, mother of victims, Nathan and Austin Kamp, and former wife of victim, Thomas Kamp, was present for the court proceeding. She carried a picture of her boys to court.

    Hudson's mother, who typically attends each hearing, was absent on Monday.

    In November 2015, the Johnson and Kamp families were spending the weekend in Tennessee Colony at a campsite Thomas Kamp had purchased from a relative of William Mitchell Hudson, adjacent to property owned by Hudson and his family.

    Hudson helped the Kamp/Johnson group with a vehicle that was stuck in the mud and was invited to hang out with the family at its campsite.

    After a night of drinking with Hudson, things reportedly became violent. Cynthia Johnson survived a night of horror, before making contact with Anderson County law enforcement the following morning.

    Responding law-enforcement and first-responders found the bodies of Carl Johnson and his daughter in a travel trailer at the campsite; the other victims were in a pond on Hudson’s property.

    All of the victims were shot to death, except Hannah Johnson, who was killed with blunt force.

    Hudson was arrested and charged with three counts of capital murder for killing six people in November 2015.

    Hudson was indicted in December 2015 for the capital murders of Carl Johnson, 76; his daughter, Hannah Johnson, 40; his grandson, Kade, 6; Thomas Kamp, 45; and his two sons, Nathan Kamp, 23, and Austin Kamp, 21.

    Hudson pleaded “not guilty” to all three counts of capital murder during his arraignment in February 2016.

    According to court records, District Attorney Allyson Mitchell filed a State of Notice to Seek the Death Penalty on Jan. 23. The next day, Mitchell signed documents that stated the court has officially been moved to the city of Bryan in Brazos County for the change of venue.

    A preliminary trial date is set for Sept. 25. The remaining pre-trial dates are expected to remain in Anderson County. Pre-trial hearings are set for July 7 and Aug. 28.

    http://www.palestineherald.com/news/...f87687cc5.html
    "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

  3. #23
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    Hudson murder trial could face lengthy delay

    By Pennylynn Webb
    Palestine Herald Press

    Health problems suffered by William Mitchell Hudson's attorney could delay the trial of the accused murderer for weeks. Hudson's lawyer, Stephen Evans, was hospitalized on Tuesday for an undisclosed health matter and remained under medical care on Wednesday.

    The trial, set for Sept. 25, will take place in Bryan College Station. The final pre-trial hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Sept. 21. That hearing is still on the docket, said Judge Mark Calhoon, who will preside over the trial.

    Hudson is represented by Evans and defense attorney Jeff Herrington. Hudson will be tried for the November 2015 murders of six people: the Johnson and Kamp families, who were spending the weekend in Tennessee Colony at a campsite.

    Thomas Kamp had purchased the campsite from a relative of William Mitchell Hudson, adjacent to property owned by Hudson and his family. Hudson helped the Kamp/Johnson group with a vehicle stuck in the mud; he was invited to hang out with the family at its campsite.

    After a night of drinking with Hudson, events reportedly became violent. Cynthia Johnson survived a night of horror, before contacting Anderson County law enforcement the following morning.

    Law-enforcement officers and first-responders found the bodies of Carl Johnson and his daughter in a travel trailer at the campsite; the other victims were in a pond on Hudson’s property. All of the victims were shot to death, except Hannah Johnson, who was killed with blunt force.

    Hudson was arrested and charged with three counts of capital murder for killing six people. He was indicted in December 2015 for the capital murders of Carl Johnson, 76; his daughter, Hannah Johnson, 40; his grandson, Kade, 6; Thomas Kamp, 45; and his two sons, Nathan Kamp, 23, and Austin Kamp, 21.

    In a February 2016 arraignment, Hudson plead “not guilty” to all three counts of capital murder.

    On Jan. 23, according to court records, District Attorney Allyson Mitchell filed a State of Notice to Seek the Death Penalty. The next day, Mitchell signed documents stating that the court had officially moved to Bryan in Brazos County for the change of venue.

    Hudson spent two weeks in a hospital in Tyler in July. Speculation that Hudson attempted suicide has not been confirmed by the court, the Anderson County Jail or Sheriff Taylor.

    http://www.palestineherald.com/news/...f16495bff.html
    "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

  4. #24
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    Jury selection begins in Brazos County for man accused of killing six people

    By KBTX News

    BRAZOS COUNTY, Tex. (KBTX) - Jury selection began Monday in Brazos County for an Anderson County man accused of killing six people at a campsite in November 2015.

    Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for accused killer William Mitchell Hudson. He's facing several capital murder charges following the deaths of six members of two families at a campsite northwest of Palestine.

    The oldest victim was 76. The youngest was a 6-year-old. Investigators say all but one of the victims were shot to death. The other victim died from blunt force trauma.

    The trial was moved to Brazos County following a change of venue request from attorneys.

    More than 150 potential jurors were briefed on Monday at the Brazos County Expo Center instead of the courthouse due to the number of people involved.

    After narrowing down the potential list of jurors, each one will be individually interviewed by attorneys, so it could take weeks before a jury is seated in the case.

    Once the trial begins, it could be held in the old 85th District courtroom or the 361st District courtroom, according to several sources at the courthouse.
    Hudson has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

    Investigators say the suspect met the victims earlier in the day, and murdered them all that night in November 2015 as they were hanging out at a campsite in Tennessee Colony. Hudson allegedly helped the the families with a vehicle stuck in the mud and was invited to hang out with the group at the campsite.

    "I was there. I saw the horrific and senseless nature of this criminal act,” Allyson Mitchell, Anderson County District Attorney, said to television station CBS-19 in Tyler. “There are no words to adequately describe this atrocious act. Six members of two different yet joined families are gone."

    http://www.kbtx.com/content/news/Jur...447826053.html
    "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

  5. #25
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    Hudson trial to start Wednesday

    By Pennylynn Webb
    Palestinian Herald Press

    The murder trial for William Mitchell Hudson is set to start Wednesday in the Brazos County Courthouse. Jury selection finished this past week.

    Charged with three counts of capital murder, Hudson is accused of killing, in 2015, six members of two families, who were spending the weekend at a campsite in Tennessee Colony. Hudson has pleaded not guilty to all three counts of capital murder.

    Anderson County District Attorney Allyson Mitchell will seek the death penalty, with Judge Mark Calhoon presiding over the trial.

    In December 2015, Hudson was indicted for the murders of Carl Johnson, 76; his daughter, Hannah Johnson, 40; his grandson, Kade, 6; Thomas Kamp, 45; and his two sons, Nathan Kamp, 23; and Austin Kamp, 21. All were shot to death, except Hannah Johnson, who was killed with blunt force.

    Hudson allegedly helped the Kamp/Johnson group with a vehicle stuck in the mud; he was invited to hang out with the group at the campsite.

    http://www.palestineherald.com/news/...da8f6fccf.html
    "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

  6. #26
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    Jurors in Hudson murder trial hear 911 call

    By William Patrick
    Palestine Herald-Post

    BRYAN COLLEGE STATION-- The capital murder trial of William Hudson began Wednesday, with jurors hearing a chilling 911 call.

    Hudson, 35, is accused of murdering, in 2015, six people from two families who were spending the weekend at a campsite in Tennessee Colony. Anderson County District Attorney Allyson Mitchell has charged Hudson with three counts of capital murder and seeks the death penalty. Hudson has pleaded not-guilty on all counts.

    After Mitchell called Angie Brewer, a 911 supervisor for Anderson County, to the stand, Mitchell played a recording of the call. The defense team had objected, but was quickly overruled.

    In whispers, the quivering voice of Cindy Johnson came over the recording: “Somebody’s killed my husband and daughter. Could you please send someone now?”

    Victoria Patterson, a trainee at the dispatch center, was the initial respondent to the call. Brewer, her trainer, however, quickly took over when she heard what Johnson said.

    “Ma’am, could you repeat that, please,” she said.

    Johnson repeated her plea and provided directions to the spot where she was allegedly hiding from Hudson throughout a long, cold, rainy night.

    “I don’t know where he is,” Johnson whispered. “Could you please come?”

    Throughout the recording, Hudson, wearing a dark blue suit, sipped water and remained expressionless. He remained expressionless throughout the morning. In the afternoon, however, as testimony went on, he began blinking rapidly and continuously.

    In December 2015, Hudson was indicted for the murders of Carl Johnson, 76; his daughter, Hannah Johnson, 40; his grandson, Kade, 6; Thomas Kamp, 45; and his two sons, Nathan Kamp, 23; and Austin Kamp, 21.

    All were shot to death, except Hannah Johnson, who was killed with blunt force. Hudson allegedly helped the Kamp/Johnson group with a vehicle stuck in the mud and was invited to hang out with the group at the campsite.

    On Wednesday, the grey, rainy morning appeared to mirror the somber mood of the nearly 50 people attending the trial.

    Presiding judge Mark Calhoon brought in a jury of eight women and four men, all older than 30.

    In her opening statement, prosecutor Lisa Tanner, of the State Attorney General’s Office, apologized to the jurors.

    “I’m sorry,” Tanner said. “I am sorry for what you’re about to hear. I'm sorry for what you’re about to see, and I am sorry for what you’re about to experience.

    “You are about to hear about a night of terror and death that should not exist in this world.”

    Tanner told jurors that evidence would show that Hudson was not mentally ill, and that he knew what he was doing was wrong.

    “You don’t hide the bodies or cover up the crime scene, if you don’t know that it is wrong,” she said.

    The defense team of Steven Evans and Jeff Herrington waved their right to an opening statement.

    The trial continues Thursday, with attorneys on both sides expecting it to continue for the better part of a month.

    http://www.palestineherald.com/news/...3d08b64fe.html
    "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

  7. #27
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    'A night of terror:' Lawyer describes killings to Brazos County jury as Hudson trial opens

    By Kelan Lyons
    Bryan-College Eagle Station

    Special Prosecutor Lisa Tanner told 14 Brazos County jurors Wednesday morning that she was sorry for what they would soon learn, then recounted in her opening statement a "night of terror" that "ought to live only in the mind of a Hollywood movie screen."

    On the first day of William Mitchell Hudson's capital murder trial, Tanner -- a prosecutor with the Texas Attorney General's Office -- went on to detail the grisly slayings of six members of the Kamp and Johnson families in Anderson County on Nov. 14, 2015.

    Both families met up at a campsite in Tennessee Colony on that November weekend on land Thomas Kamp had recently bought from a distant relative of Hudson's, who was then 33 years old and had been staying in his out-of-town mother's house near the Kamp and Johnson families' campsite.

    Thomas, a 45-year-old general manager of a car dealership, lived in Midlothian with his longtime girlfriend, Hannah Johnson, 40. The Kamp and Johnson families had gathered that weekend in the east Texas community to celebrate the upcoming 24th birthday of Nathan Kamp, one of Kamp's two sons from a previous marriage.

    Hannah's parents, Cynthia and Carl Johnson -- happily retired and 63 and 77 years old, respectively -- arrived to the Tennessee Colony campgrounds with bolt cutters, which they used to open a gate to get onto the land Thomas had purchased from the Hudson family. Unfamiliar with the property, the Johnsons' RV got stuck en route, causing what Tanner described to jurors as a "ruckus" while they revved the engine and Cynthia, frustrated, yelled at her husband.

    Tanner told jurors Hudson believed that land was rightfully his and had wanted to buy his family's land, but had been unable to because he didn't have a job or money. So when he heard the commotion of the RV that day from his nearby mother's house, Tanner said, Hudson got angry and questioned who was on "my" land.

    Hudson arrived on scene and offered to help with the RV, a suggestion the Johnsons relished because they had been about to call a tow truck. They offered to pay him after he got their RV unstuck, but Hudson declined, asking instead to share a beer with them.

    More family members arrived as the night stretched on: By the evening's end, Thomas Kamp, Hannah Johnson and her son, Kade, 6; Nathan Kamp, 23; and Austin Kamp, 21, had all arrived at the family gathering.

    Tanner said that as Hudson stayed and drank his beer, the families began to see him as "a braggart, a blowhard." In Tanner's retelling, Hudson told the families that cutting the gate's lock had been disrespectful, that the families were being disrespectful to the Hudson family.

    The campfire died down, so Thomas, Austin, Kade and Nathan went with Hudson into the woods to get more firewood, while Carl, Cynthia and Hannah stayed behind to get dinner ready. An unknown amount of time passed, but in Tanner's retelling it was enough that the family wondered where Thomas and the boys had gone and decided they would start eating their hamburgers without them.

    Carl, Hannah and Cynthia initially thought nothing of the gunshots they heard from the woods, thinking the group could be out hunting squirrels -- forgetting, Tanner said, that it was nighttime. It wasn't until Hudson came back on his all-terrain vehicle alone that they started to worry.

    Tanner said Hannah acted first, running to the RV and telling Carl to follow. On crutches and slower than his nimbler, younger daughter, Hudson is accused of shooting Carl in the hip, which made him drop to the ground "utterly defenseless." Tanner said Hudson fired his shotgun at Hannah, narrowly missing, then beat Carl "over and over again" with the shotgun until he died.

    Out of ammunition, Hudson entered the trailer, where Hannah had fled. With no back door, Hannah was trapped.

    "She fought him like a lion," Tanner said of Hannah's struggle for her life. "She was no match."

    Tanner said Hudson exited the trailer before Hannah died and sat on one of the other families' coolers. Then, he cracked another beer.

    "But he wasn't done, because Hannah wasn't done," Tanner said, so Hudson returned to the trailer and beat her "till she was dead."

    Tanner then told the jury that they would be forgiven if they had forgotten about Cynthia, because Hudson had: Cynthia was the sole survivor that night. She hid in the darkness on that moonless, cloudy and stormy night, and stayed, "invisible" behind those camp chairs until dawn.

    Tanner said she hid from about 9:30 that night until the sun rose on that Nov. 15 morning. No longer hidden by darkness, Cynthia fled into the woods and, remembering she had a phone in her pocket, called 911.

    Jurors and those gathered in the packed courtroom would hear a recording of that call, where Cynthia, whispering, told authorities she thought everyone else had died in the night.

    Tanner said law enforcement initially didn't believe the severity of Cynthia's call, because "this kind of thing doesn't happen in a nice little community like that."

    Anderson County law enforcement eventually came and found Cynthia, Tanner said, and they arrested Hudson at his mother's home. But it wasn't over yet, Tanner continued, because the bodies of the three men and the boy who had gone out with Mitchell to look for firewood were still unaccounted for. Tanner said it took more than 24 hours for a dive team to locate them, hidden in a small pond behind Hudson's mother's house.

    Tanner then went over each victim's injuries: Austin, 21, had been shot five times in the chest and shoulders; Nathan, almost 24, had been shot in the back; Tom, 45, had been shot in the back of the head, as had Kade, 6.

    Hudson is charged with capital murder in the six deaths, a crime punishable by either life in prison or death by lethal injection, and is on trial this week in the deaths of Carl and Hannah Johnson. Dressed in an oversized dark suit and a red tie, Hudson remained silent and drank from a foam cup throughout the day's testimony.

    Anderson County District Attorney Allyson Mitchell filed a notice to seek the death penalty in January. Attorneys agreed to a change of venue from Anderson to Brazos County, which Third District Court Judge Mark Calhoon granted. Mitchell said it took about four weeks for attorneys to select 14 jurors from the roughly 180 Brazos County residents who were sent jury summons.

    Hudson's attorneys, Stephen Evans and Jeff Herrington, reserved their opening statements. Herrington sporadically objected throughout Wednesday's testimony, but the defense team largely remained quiet during the afternoon's testimony, in which six members of law enforcement recounted their roles in the investigation.

    Emily Parker, who had been a patrol deputy with the Anderson County Sheriff's Office at the time of the slayings, said Cynthia had appeared in shock when authorities located her. Parker said Cynthia had been shaking when they first found her, spilling water from the bottle that law enforcement officers had given her while repeatedly saying, "they're all dead, they're all dead."

    Parker, who described Tennessee Colony as "a five-way stop and that's it" and estimated about 1,000 people live in the community alongside a prison that houses thousands more residents, said Cynthia's face was swollen when authorities located her, altered by what Parker said she thought were ant bites.

    The trial resumes at 9 a.m. today in the 361st District Courtroom on the fourth floor of the Brazos County Courthouse.

    http://www.theeagle.com/news/local/a...b2b2e80a5.html
    "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

  8. #28
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    Brazos County jurors see photos of crime scene in capital murder trial's second day of testimony

    By Kelan Lyons
    Bryan-College Eagle Station

    Brazos County jurors heard testimony from two state-called witnesses Thursday morning on the second day of a capital murder trial of a Tennessee Colony man accused of killing six people in one night at a campsite in November 2015.

    William Mitchell Hudson, 35, faces life in prison or death by lethal injection if convicted of capital murder in connection with the deaths of Thomas Kamp, 45; Hannah Johnson, 40; Carl Johnson, 77; Nathan Kamp, 23; Austin Kamp, 21; and Kade Johnson, 6.

    Indicted by a grand jury on three counts of capital murder, Hudson is on trial in the deaths of Hannah Johnson and her father, Carl.

    In prosecutor Lisa Tanner’s recounting of the slayings in her opening statement Wednesday, she said Hudson killed Austin, Kade, Nathan and Thomas with several firearms while they were out searching for firewood on Nov. 14, 2015, then returned to the campsite and killed Hannah and Carl Johnson. Cynthia Johnson, Carl’s wife, was the sole survivor of that night’s massacre.

    Authorities arrested Hudson on Nov. 15 at his mother’s house, who had been out of town at the time of the Johnson and Kamp family deaths.

    Texas Ranger Michael Adcock testified Thursday morning that Hudson’s mother’s house was a quarter- to a half-mile from the two families’ campsite. Adcock said investigators found a Remington .380 shotgun — possibly used to shoot and bludgeon Carl Johnson — and an “AR-style rifle” hidden under some blankets and clothes on a couch in Hudson’s mother’s living room. Adcock also said investigators found wet clothes in a washer, along with a pair of camoflauge boots marked with what appeared to be a blood stain.

    Adcock also said Hannah Johnson’s car was parked outside Hudson’s mother’s home.

    Prosecutors showed jurors photos of the scene where Hannah Johnson had died. Dark concentrations of blood pooled on the RV’s floor and marked the walls, the refrigerator, the shower, the stove door, the sink, the cabinets and even the ceiling.

    Chris Ledbetter, special agent with the Texas Department of Public Safety, said his office received two cell phones and two DVRs from Hudson’s mother’s home surveillance system. Shortly before lunch, Ledbetter explained the process of taking data from those electronic devices to give to investigators.

    The trial resumes at 1:30 in the 361st District Courtroom of the Brazos County Courthouse.

    http://www.theeagle.com/news/crime/b...5a87fe10d.html
    "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

  9. #29
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    Jurors in Hudson capital murder trial watch video of interrogation

    By Kelan Lyons
    Bryan-College Eagle Station

    Brazos County jurors watched a video recording Friday morning of a seemingly confused William Mitchell Hudson being interviewed by investigators a day after he allegedly killed six people at a Tennessee Colony campsite in November 2015.

    Hudson, 35, is charged with capital murder in connection with the deaths of Carl Johnson, 77; Hannah Johnson, 40; Thomas Kamp, 45; Nathan Kamp, 23; Austin Kamp, 21;and Kade Johnson, 6. If convicted, he faces life in prison or death by lethal injection.

    Prosecutors screened the video while Ryan Tolliver, an investigator from the Anderson County District Attorney’s Office, took the stand Friday morning, the third day of the trial.

    In the video, Hudson is handcuffed to a wooden table in a narrow room. Breathing heavily, he asks aloud, “Why the hell am I in here?” to no one in particular. Shortly thereafter, Tolliver and another investigator enter the room and begin questioning Hudson after informing him of his rights.

    Told he’s in custody, Hudson says in the video, “I was wondering why. I’m under arrest?”

    “I ain’t done nothing wrong,” Hudson says. “I have no money whatsoever for no attorney.”

    Hudson said he helped a family tow an RV when it was stuck the previous day -- Nov. 14, 2015 -- and drank some beer with them, but then went home and watched movies before going to bed.

    “I like them. I thought they were pretty neat people,” Hudson said of the two he drank with, who prosecutors had previously identified as Cynthia and Carl Johnson.

    Investigators told Hudson the two he had helped were “dead, as in not alive,” to which Hudson replied, “What do I have to do with any of that?”

    After the video, Tolliver testified there was no evidence indicating Hudson had not been, in the words of Special Prosecutor Lisa Tanner, “out of his right mind” when he interviewed Hudson on Nov. 15, 2015.

    Jurors also heard testimony from James Godfrey, whose sister-in-law used to date Hudson. Godfrey said he had sold Hudson a .40-caliber Smith and Wesson handgun for $300. Previous testimony indicated investigators found such a weapon in the sand by the stock pond where the bodies of Kade Johnson and Thomas, Nathan and Austin Kamp were found.

    Testimony at the Brazos County Courthouse continued Friday afternoon.

    http://www.theeagle.com/news/crime/j...36468f0dc.html
    "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

  10. #30
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    DNA, medical experts give testimony in third day of Hudson capital murder trial

    By Kelan Lyons
    Bryan-College Eagle Station

    Brazos County jurors heard extensive testimony from DNA and medical experts Friday in the third day of a trial of a 35-year-old man accused of killing six members of two families in East Texas on Nov. 14, 2015.

    William Mitchell Hudson is charged with capital murder in connection with the deaths of Carl Johnson, 77; Hannah Johnson, 40; Thomas Kamp, 45; Nathan Kamp, 23; Austin Kamp, 21;and Kade Johnson, 6, who were killed in the rural community of Tennessee Colony, near Palestine. If convicted, Hudson faces up to life in prison or death by lethal injection.

    Dr. John Wayne, a forensic pathologist, recounted the autopsies he performed of the six victims over two days on Nov. 17 and 18, 2015.

    Carl Johnson likely died from sustained traumatic injuries to his head and chest, Wayne said. His face was blue, purple and red in the space between his lips and under his eyes; there was a deep cut surrounded by a dark purple and red bruise on the right side of his face. Wayne said Johnson probably sustained these injuries before dying. He also had buckshot or birdshot bullet wounds on his hip.

    Hannah Johnson likely died following sustained blunt force injuries to her head and torso during a physical assault. Deep, dark cuts on her skull could be seen in her autopsy photos, as well as a dark purple bruise atop a cluster of star tattoos on her back.

    Thomas Kamp sustained a bruise on his left lung and on the back of his right hand. He also had a gunshot wound in the back of his head, which Wayne said was fatal, though not immediately.

    Austin Kamp suffered five gunshots to his neck, shoulder and torso. Wayne said the gunshot wound he suffered to his head was likely immediately incapacitating and eventually proved fatal.

    Nathan Kamp suffered a shot to his torso that would have left him paralyzed from the waist-down had he survived. Wayne said Nathan probably suffered the injury to his back first, but the cause of death was the gunshot to his head. The bullet exited through Nathan's face, rendering him unrecognizable; jurors and courtroom spectators could see a clear hole straight to the back of his skull.

    Kade Johnson's autopsy photo showed a bullet entry in the back of his head; the exit wound was just above his left ear.

    Wayne said the bodies of Kade Johnson, Austin, Nathan and Thomas Kamp all were wet when he received them; Thursday testimony revealed these bodies were recovered from a stock pond behind Hudson's mother's house.

    Various surviving members of the victims' families, who have been at the trial daily since it began Wednesday, cried throughout the presentation of the autopsy photos. Multiple jurors avoided looking at the television screens when Nathan Kamp's photo was displayed.

    Hudson looked at the television screen above Wayne's head. He was silent throughout the presentation of autopsy photos, as he has been over the three days of his trial.

    Jurors watched a video Friday morning of Hudson's interview with investigators following his arrest on Nov. 15, 2015. In that recording, Hudson said he hadn't done anything wrong and went back home to watch movies and sleep after helping a couple -- Cynthia and Carl Johnson -- get their RV unstuck from sand while they were en route to a campsite. He said he went home after drinking beers with them. When told they had died, Hudson asked investigators, "What do I have to do with any of that?"

    Shortly before jurors were dismissed Friday, Bonnie Woolverton, first cousin of Mac Hudson, William's father, testified that her family owned land in Tennessee Colony since 1859. Anderson County District Attorney Allyson Mitchell, called the area "Hudson Land," since the family had lived there since the 1800s.

    Woolverton said she sold some of the land she'd inherited from her mother to Thomas Kamp in mid-2015.

    Chip Satterwhite, a longtime friend of Mac Hudson, testified that he helped around the home of Mac's wife Crystal after Mac died in December 2014.

    "I try to treat her like Mac would my wife, if I had died first," said Satterwhite.

    Satterwhite said he only had one conversation with William Hudson about the land that Woolverton had put up for sale, during which "he got agitated they were gonna sell it because he said it was his... he worked it with his dad his whole life."

    "I told him if he wanted it, he better go buy it," Satterwhite said of his conversation with William.

    During opening arguments Wednesday, special prosecutor Lisa Tanner said Hudson was upset about Thomas Kamp's purchase of the land, which is adjacent to the house where Hudson's mother lived. In her opening argument, Tanner said Hudson told the families the night of the slayings that Cynthia and Carl Johnson cutting a lock to open a gate to get onto the land had been disrespectful to the Hudson family.

    The trial continues at 9 a.m. Monday in the 361st District Courtroom of the Brazos County Courthouse.

    http://www.theeagle.com/news/local/d...cf7d50764.html
    "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."
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    "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.”
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