MAN SUSPECTED IN FOUR SLAYINGS DIES IN SHOOTOUT (TEXAS)

The Houston Chronicle ^ | 13 February 2003

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CORPUS CHRISTI -- Autopsy results will determine if a 34-year-old man suspected of killing four people fatally shot himself or was killed by police gunfire during a confrontation. Donald Wilcox died Wednesday morning outside a motel room in Flour Bluff when members of a SWAT team opened fire on him after he pointed a pistol at officers. It appeared that Wilcox shot himself in the face with his .45.-caliber pistol as he fell to the ground, said police, who aren't sure which shots killed Wilcox. "We are certain that we at least hit the individual with some of the gunfire," Cmdr. Mike Walsh said. "The medical examiner would be able to definitely decode whether it was a close contact gunshot wound or more distant fire that killed him."

An autopsy was being performed Wednesday. Police were "hoping against hope," there were no more bodies found. The FBI and other law enforcement agencies will play a role in the continuing investigation. Law officers link Wilcox and a 15-year-old boy to the deaths of an elderly couple whose bodies were found in brush, as well a 61-year-old man found dead in his home and an 87-year-old man whose body was in the trunk of an Oklahoma-tagged Ford Taurus that Wilcox had at the motel. The investigators tracked Wilcox to the motel after questioning the teen, who was taken into custody Tuesday.

Police Chief Pete Alvarez said prosecutors want to prosecute the youth as an adult on capital murder charges. Alvarez said police had a criminal complaint signed by a judge and were in the process of getting an arrest warrant for Wilcox before the confrontation. A team of six officers was clandestinely "securing the area" where Wilcox was believed to be when Wilcox walked out, holding a handgun. It was unclear whether he'd noticed the police. "Before we even tried to confront him he walked out of the room," he said. "We never made an effort to storm the apartment."

The investigation started Saturday after Weldon Parker, 79, and Charlotte Parker, 77, were reported missing. They had been seen last on Feb. 5 at the Church of Christ in Portland, where their son is a pastor. After an extensive search by ground and air, police found the bodies Tuesday in a field on the city outskirts. The Parkers' car was found abandoned on a city street. Investigators now believe Wilcox and the boy burglarized the couple's home Feb. 5, then killed them and dumped their bodies in the field. Police said a .45-caliber pistol was stolen from the Parkers' home during a burglary, but they didn't know if the gun Wilcox had belonged to the couple.

Louis Victor Mokry was found dead of a gunshot wound to the head Monday in his home, where he lived alone. The same type gun of was used in all three killings. Wilcox was clearly a suspect in the death of the 87-year-old as well, Alvarez said. "It appears he hijacked the car and killed him, then threw him in the trunk," Alvarez said. There was identification on the body that indicated the man was from Oklahoma, Walsh said. "We do have a name, but unfortunately we have no way of knowing about next of kin," he said. Records from the Houtzdale prison in Lawrence County, Pa., show Wilcox was released Jan. 12 after serving a two- to five-year sentence for corruption of minors.

Police suspect Wilcox arrived in Corpus Christi around Jan. 13 on a bus that originated in New York. Sometime during the trip he formed a relationship with the boy and the boy's father, a drifter who is now wanted for questioning. The boy's mother is believed to reside in New York City, and is also wanted for questioning. The boy was found camping under a bridge and brought in for questioning. The boy is in the county's juvenile detention center, where he will remain for at least two weeks, Alvarez said. David Langenfeld, the boy's attorney, said his client is "not a hardened criminal who's been through the system many times. He's new to the system."

It is unknown how much money was taken in each burglary. The Parkers prided themselves on their financial independence. Those close to them could only note that a stash of vacation cash and a coin jar were missing. Mokry's home was in disarray and a former wife could not tell if anything was gone. The first known death was believed to be Feb. 5, leaving a long window between it and Wilcox's believed arrival in town. "We're just kind of hoping against hope that we don't have any more victims," Walsh said. Alvarez said he asked the FBI to contact other police agencies along the possible bus route. FBI spokesman Bob Doguim the agency will help Corpus Christi police determine a timeline for Wilcox's actions and whether there are more victims.

He said they will track where Wilcox has been and where he has lived. "We will look at unsolved murders in those areas. We will track backward, where he came from, where he came through and any unsolved murders when he may have been there," Doguim said. "We will start doing that right away."

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Apparently, he knew he was going to be executed after a trial if he lived. Smart move on his part. Seems like we're beginning to get more and more heinous crimes committed these days. And, seems like more and more very young people are often somehow involved. Food for thought.