Son held in father's '98 killing
Posted on 07/16/2002 2:39:17 AM PDT by MeekOneGOP
Son held in father's '98 killing
Civil jury had ruled against him; criminal case reopened in death of ex-Sunnyvale mayor
07/16/2002
Texas Rangers in Rusk County arrested Charles "Chuck" Mayhew Jr. on Monday night in connection with the 1998 shooting death of his father, former Sunnyvale Mayor Charles "Charlie" Mayhew Sr., authorities said.
The Dallas County sheriff's office had sought Mr. Mayhew, 49, of Longview since a warrant was issued for his arrest July 2. No criminal court has heard the case.
A civil jury ruled in April that Mr. Mayhew was responsible in the 1998 shotgun slaying, awarding $26 million to his sister, former socialite Amanda Dealey. The verdict in the wrongful-death lawsuit prompted a criminal review of the case after new evidence was uncovered by Ms. Dealey's attorneys.
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Mr. Mayhew is being held in the Rusk County Jail in Henderson in lieu of $500,000 bail until Dallas County officials can make arrangements in the coming days to transfer him back to Dallas, officials said. Attorneys for Mr. Mayhew and Ms. Dealey could not be reached Monday night.
A grand jury hearing on the case is set for July 23, said Sgt. Don Peritz, a sheriff's office spokesman.
"We're relieved that the arrest was without incident," he said. "We're anxious to get him back to Dallas County custody. ... We're hoping for an indictment." The elder Mr. Mayhew was found dead in bed at his rural Sunnyvale home March 1, 1998. The Dallas County medical examiner ruled that he died from a single blast to the neck fired at close range from a .12-gauge shotgun.
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Investigators ruled out robbery as a motive because there was no forced entry into the house and no property was taken. There was little physical evidence to help identify the killer.
Mr. Mayhew was questioned at least three times by investigators. He and his wife were advised of their rights, a routine practice when investigators consider someone a suspect.
In the civil case, jurors deliberated for five hours before ruling. Mr. Mayhew, who now lives in Longview, had acknowledged that he had a love-hate relationship with his father but denied any involvement in his death.
His attorney, Bill Hommel, had accused Ms. Dealey of blaming her brother to try to strip him of his large inheritance. He continued to maintain that his client was innocent after the verdict.
"We didn't feel like the evidence supported the verdict," he told The Dallas Morning News in April.
Attorneys for Ms. Dealey contended that it was Mr. Mayhew's fear of losing access to his father's wealth that drove him to kill his father. Although she asked for $5 million, she said her aim was to seek justice for her father.
Ms. Dealey was married in the 1970s to Joe Dealey Jr., son of a former publisher of The Dallas Morning News. She now lives in Austin.
E-mail mstiles@dallasnews.com
DAMN, bro... Y'all Texicans don't sh!t around, do ya...
The last paragraph: 
Ms. Dealey was married in the 1970s to Joe Dealey Jr., son of aSounds like she has just dropped out of the high profile side of being the
former publisher of The Dallas Morning News. She now lives in
Austin.
She is now a regular Social not a Social Lite. Sort of like beer.
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