Warning - graphic content that may be disturbing
Recap of Prior Installments
Hal Bynum, the sheriff of Kimble County, Texas called 9-1-1 at 4:50 a.m. on Saturday, May 28, 1994 and reported he found his wife Connie naked and dead outside their home. He claimed she died from a heart attack, but there were signs of trauma including bruising, ligature marks and an apparent bite mark on her breast. The Texas Rangers were called in to investigate. Even though they suspected foul play, the scene was not secured and Bynum was not detained.
Hal Bynum and Mike Chapman in happier days.
Rangers to Junction
Texas Rangers Clete Buckalew, Fred Cummings and Jim Denman went to Junction and were briefed on what the locals knew at that point. DA Ron Sutton told them that Bynum and his wife had been having trouble over an affair she’d had three years earlier with a pilot named Joe Burkholder. Bynum had become obsessed with Burkholder and wanted to get something on him so he could arrest him. Mike Chapman, Bynum’s chief deputy, related how when he arrived at the scene Bynum told him that he and Connie had been arguing, that she went outside naked except for a necklace, some rings and her house shoes, then Bynum found her dead body by the kennel where they kept a Rottweiler.
Meanwhile, the medical examiner told the Rangers that there were two knife wounds deep inside Connie’s vagina that caused or contributed to causing her death. Still no effort was made to secure the crime scene or restrict Bynum’s movements.
Finally, at 8:30 p.m. Saturday night, 12 hours after Bynum made his 9-1-1 call, Bynum came into Ron Sutton’s office to talk to the Rangers. In their official report they stated:
Perhaps one of the most notable aspects to the Bynum interview concerned his dress and actions. When he arrived at Sutton’s office he was not wearing his usual straw cowboy hat, had no badge of office and no weapon. He appeared to be in full submission, offering no appearance either physically or verbally of anything but “caught in the act.” One could surmise Bynum believed he was going to be arrested on the spot for the murder of his wife. This attitude continued throughout the interview statement process.
One can picture the scene – three big Texas Rangers with their hats, pistols, big belt buckles and badges, surrounding the pathetic Hal Bynum. Even at his most robust he was not anyone’s idea of a manly man. He was average height, weighed about 145, wore thick glasses and a full set of dentures, chain smoked and had diabetes.
Bynum chain smoked and guzzled black coffee and told a very strange story of the events of the previous night. He and Connie had been drinking and arguing about her affair. She tried to make up by trying to make love but he couldn’t do that in the best of circumstances because of his diabetes. She got mad and left the bedroom, still naked except for some jewelry and her house shoes. He dozed off.
A little while later he woke up and couldn’t find her inside the house. He put on some tennis shoes and an old bathrobe and went outside where he found her lying in front of the open gate to the kennel. Their male Rottweiler was sitting just inside. Bynum tried to wake her up by slapping her then realized she was dead. He didn’t want emergency personnel to see her lying naked by the dog pen so he tried to drag her into the house but was took weak. He got a sheet and tied it around her upper torso and dragged her. That took quite a while and her head bounced on the steps a couple of times. He finally got her inside, placed her on a couch and covered her. Only then did he call 9-1-1.
The Rangers were incredulous and ratcheted up the pressure. TRIGGER WARNING - They told him that the M.E. found stab wounds in her vagina and asked how he explained that. He had an answer – she liked to have sex with the Rottweiler and maybe he got a little tough rough. The interview ended when they told him that he had admitted he had admitted that he and his wife were there alone so he had to be the one who killed her. Bynum said “I’ve already said too much.” Even though they had just told him they believed he was a murderer they let him leave.
Coming up – the second autopsy
No comments:
Post a Comment