Posted on 07/06/2007 4:52:08 PM PDT by Dysart
NORTH RICHLAND HILLS -- A North Richland Hills woman accused of letting her 78-year-old husband die of malnutrition and dehydration surrendered to Tarrant County authorities Thursday night, police said.
Lowesta Ann Halliburton, 43, was free Friday after posting $50,000 bail. She is expected to be charged with injury to the elderly by omission, a first-degree felony. If convicted, she faces life in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Her common-law husband, Richard Hoye, died May 21 at their home.
Halliburton has said that police targeted her because of the couple's 35-year age difference and the fact she is black and Hoye was white.
Lowesta Ann Halliburton, 43,
Cheney connection? Will there be a pardon?
His body awaits burial; his wife awaits the police
Melissa Vargas
NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, Jun 20, 2007 (Fort Worth Star-Telegram - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) —
Lowesta Ann Halliburton’s husband died about a month ago, but his body still lies at a funeral home.
Halliburton, 43, doesn’t have the insurance policy and other documents necessary to bury her common-law husband, 78-year-old Richard Hoye. They were seized by police, who say preliminary reports indicate that Hoye died of malnutrition and dehydration while under Halliburton’s care.
Police are awaiting toxicology reports to determine the exact cause of Hoye’s death, North Richland Hills police Sgt. Rick Scott said. Halliburton is a person of interest in the case, he said.
Police have been investigating the case since Hoye’s death May 21, Scott said. Before they rule out suspects or make arrests, they are waiting for a ruling from the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office, which is expected in a couple of weeks. Investigators declined to further discuss the case until it is complete.
Lowesta Ann Halliburton says police are targeting her because of the couple’s 40-year age difference, the fact that she is black and Hoye was white, and because police have been to their home several times investigating accusations of rape, burglary and loud parties.
Halliburton was charged with burglary last year; that case is pending. She served two years in prison after being convicted of felony forgery in 1995.
“I know they are trying to blame me for his death, but I loved him so much and I always took care of him,” she said.
An open relationship
Hoye and Halliburton met near Halliburton’s Fort Worth home more than 30 years ago, she said. When she became homeless at 18, Hoye, who worked replacing auto glass, offered to take her in, and a relationship blossomed, she said.
“He promised my grandmother he would take care of me,” Halliburton said. “Now I was taking care of him.”
Through the years the couple had an open relationship and Hoye helped her to raise her three children by other fathers and to support her family.
After Hoye suffered a heart attack in 2002, his health slowly deteriorated, Halliburton said. He suffered from emphysema and was starting to exhibit signs of dementia, she said.
On May 20, Halliburton spent the night at the home of a friend, Rick Barry, in River Oaks, as she often did when her son threw parties at the house she shared with Hoye, she said. The morning of May 21, she says, she came home, went into Hoye’s bedroom and found him dead.
Abiding by his last wishes to clean him up after his death, she changed his clothes, covered him with a blanket and called police.
Police who arrived in a crime scene van spent hours in her home asking questions, taking pictures and gathering evidence while Halliburton wondered what all the fuss was about because “he passed away in his sleep,” she said.
Two or three days later, police served a search warrant and seized life insurance records and other documents. The same day, officers served a warrant at Barry’s home and seized more of Hoye’s medical records and insurance documents.
Barry and Halliburton say the records were at Barry’s house because they had been organizing them. Halliburton said that Hoye’s property was in his name only and that she wasn’t sure how much insurance he had.
Hoye has a nephew in Dallas and a brother somewhere, but no other family, Halliburton said.
The police “treated me like a criminal,” Halliburton said. “I have nothing to gain from his death.”
Police had visited before
Police had been called to Hoye’s Oliver Drive home before.
Halliburton’s 20-year-old son, Jeffrey Halliburton, had been investigated on accusations of statutory rape, Lowesta Halliburton said. He also throws huge parties at the North Richland Hills home, which often prompts neighbors to call the police, she said.
Lowesta Ann Halliburton tried to kick her son out of the house, but Hoye would refuse to eat unless he was allowed back, she said.
“Jeffrey used to call him ‘buddy’ because they were such good friends,” Halliburton said. “He raised him and they were very close.”
Two investigations
Adult Protective Services had been to the house twice to investigate Hoye’s living conditions, and returned after Hoye’s death and asked her daughter questions, Halliburton said.
She said the agency “never found anything wrong.” It is against department policy to confirm or deny Adult Protective Services investigations, spokeswoman Marissa Gonzales said.
Police say they continue to search for more clues surrounding Hoye’s death pending the medical examiner’s report. If an arrest were made in connection with Hoye’s death, it would likely be on suspicion of injury to the elderly by omission, a first-degree felony, police said.
In the meantime, Halliburton says she has prepared her 7-year-old for the possibility that she will be arrested.
“I know they are going to put me in jail,” she said. “I’m terrified.”
Melissa Vargas, 817-685-3888
msanchez@star-telegram.com
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In some quarters, dehydration is considered a lovely way to go. :(
See? This is what happens when a woman refuses to fetch her husband a beer from the fridge. He dies of dehydration and malnutrition. Throw the book at her.
Now who will operate the tv remote control in her house? See? She didnt think that far ahead, now did she?
Wow, stranger still.
Hmmm...and others can get a court-ordered execution by malnutrition and dehydration with no problems whatsover.
IIRC, starvation leaves one with a feeling of euphoria right before the chips are cashed in.
That was the first thing I thought. I sure am glad to know there are people out there as sick as me.
She needs to get the venue of the trial moved to Florida.
She should have moved to Florida
People that have severe emphysema are often too weak to eat because the digestive system takes up oxygen.
She faces charges? All she has to do is claim the Michael Schiavo strategy and she can be celebrated and lauded by the media and the cultural elites.
They should execute this villainess.
Once upon a time there was this woman who was in a permanently vegetative state...
hate crime /sarc
All crimes are hate crimes. It’s redundant.
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