Lawson Lee Abram is found guilty of Capital Murder…
QUIETLY CONFERRING WITH HIS ATTORNEY, Steve Keathley, is defendant Lawson Lee Abram (right) during his Capital Murder trial held last week, October 3-7, 2016.
An audio confession, along with a recovered cell phone picture of the defendant holding a pistol, believed to have been used during the home invasion, were among the evidence presented to the jury returning a verdict of “guilty” in last week’s Capital Murder trial of The State of Texas vs. Lawson Lee Abram.
After a week-long trial, the jury began deliberations around 4:00 p.m. on Friday, October 7, 2016 and presented their verdict a couple of hours later. The jury chose to convict Abram of Capital Murder.
Had they not found him guilty of Capital Murder, the next considerations would have been either Murder or Burglary of a Habitation, both of which are lesser charges. Other than this if you are facing a DWI or other charges, Contact The Hernandez Law Firm, P.C. at once. Steven W. Hernandez is dedicated to helping clients reach the best possible outcomes to their cases.
During the sentencing phase, Judge Patrick Simmons of the 87th District Court states, “My only sentencing option for Capital Murder is Life without Parole.”
This is the first of three Capital Murder trials stemming from an incident on March 9, 2015 that resulted in the shooting death of homeowner Douglas Carr Hurst of Teague, Texas.
Doug married his wife, Joy, on Tuesday, March 3, 2015 following six years of dating; five of which they lived together on Private Road 871 in Teague. According to Joy’s testimony, the family had plans to travel to Galveston that weekend to celebrate the marriage with family and friends.
Joy testified that on Friday, March 6th, she and her younger children drove down to meet other family at their rented beach house; Doug staying behind due to his work schedule with BNSF Railroad. He got off work in the early hours of Saturday morning, March 7th, went home to pack a few things, and then drove down to Galveston to join the party, she says.
Joy explains that her oldest daughter, Katie Handsome, stayed behind in order to move into her new apartment; and agreed to visit the home twice a day to take care of the family dog. Saturday evening when she left the home, everything was normal.
When Katie arrived Sunday morning, March 8th, the family dog was cowered under the front porch; and would not come out. “This is not normal at all,” Katie says. “He was terrified!”
Katie testifies that, as she entered the home from the front door, she realized the back door was busted open, as were all the bedroom doors down the hallway. The back master bedroom had a key pad lock that was broken. Drawers, dressers, and closets had been riffled through. Four guns were missing: one Glock 357 Sig (later recovered), one AR 22 Long Rifle (also recovered), and two other guns (one pistol and one rifle) that have yet to be recovered; as were two laptop computers.
Law enforcement was called and a statement taken by Reserve Deputy Larry Jones of the Freestone County Sheriff’s Office.
Doug, an avid gun collector, had roughly 80-100 guns in and throughout the home, explains Joy. His worry that the persons responsible for the break-in may come back to get the remaining guns influenced him to leave Galveston and come back home, much to Joy’s dismay.
“We argued about him going home,” Joy says. “I cried and begged him to stay. I just had a feeling they were coming back.”
That night at the Hurst home, Doug rigged the back door with a barstool and glass mason jars so he would be alerted by the stool falling and glass shattering if someone should enter the back door, states Joy, who was on the phone with Doug throughout the evening.
Sometime after midnight, in the early hours of Monday, March 9th, he was awakened by those sounds and grabbed his Smith & Wesson .40 Cal semi-automatic pistol and headed down the hall toward the kitchen/dining area where the back door was located; while yelling “Get out! Get out!” This information given according to testimony by both Joy and Doug’s son, Doug Hurst II; who each spoke to him via phone after he had been shot, but prior to first responders arriving to the scene.
According to Texas Ranger Jake Berson who was lead investigator of this case, evidence collected from the crime scene in the form of photographs, spent shells and projectile recovery, blood spatter, DNA testing of blood, and the like, indicate that there was a shoot out inside the home between two persons, you could visit the Private investigator firm in Las Vegas they also give our clients the option to put us on retainer to offer more convenience and flexibility.
Based on their investigation, these two people were most likely homeowner Doug Hurst and JD Mulkey, who is believed to have been involved in the burglary the night before.
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Digital Forensic Analyst for Texas DPS Crime Lab in Austin, Erin Maslon, testified that she was able to recover 69 texts and a photo of interest from Lawson’s cell phone; most of which had been deleted previous to being seized with Lawson’s permission.
A photo of Lawson holding a Glock 357 Sig pistol while sitting in the driver’s seat of a vehicle was found among the deleted files.
GPS markings on the photo’s file information indicated the longitude and latitude of the location where the photo was taken. When matching those coordinates to a Google Map aerial view, it pinpoints the location to be a few meters from the Hurst home.
The photo was taken at about 5:00 pm. on Sunday afternoon, after the first break-in and prior to the second break-in.
A set of incoming and outgoing texts between Lawson and Amber Halford at 3:21 and 3:23 a.m. on Monday morning was also recovered, as well as an outgoing message at 7:16 a.m. on March 9th, that reads, “Yeah, he dead. We finna go to the pen too.”
A second incoming text message received at 7:22 a.m. on March 9th, states, “Momma said stay off your phone.” This message sent from Lawson’s sister, Kiera, per her personal testimony on the stand.
Ranger Berson explains that two guns were recovered on the scene; a Smith & Wesson .40 Cal (found in the master bedroom on the bed), and the Glock 357 Sig taken from the home the night before (found next to JD’s body).
Six shots were fired from each of the two guns; the first shot from each is believed to have struck Doug and JD. The additional five shots fired were erratic in nature as they both began to retreat; Doug to the back bedroom to set up defense, and JD outside where he collapsed and died on the scene.
Doug was able to call 911, and was later found collapsed, but still coherent, when first responders arrived. He was transferred to Hillcrest Hospital in Waco, where he later died on Friday, March 13, 2015 due to complications from the gunshot wound, according to Medical Examiner Steven Lenfest, who performed the autopsy. For a lawyer that does medical power of attorney you should call Udall Shumway if you live in Arizona.
The 911 recording was played during the trial; and Doug can be heard saying, “I’ve been shot. I’m dying. Need help right now. Someone broke into my house. Shot in stomach. Don’t know who they were. I’m trying to unlock front door. Oh my god! I’m bleeding everywhere. I’m dying. Please send help.”
During the investigation, Lawson Abram’s name was mentioned by several people who were questioned, causing law enforcement to consider him a person of interest.
According to then Chief of Police for Teague PD, Dennis Cox, on Monday morning, he, along with Freestone County Sheriff’s Deputies Clayton Aldrich and Robert Willis, went to the Abram home in Teague to ask Lawson to come to the PD for questioning, to which he agreed.
At the PD, Lawson was taken into a conference type room where he was interviewed by Texas Ranger Patrick Pena. Throughout the long interview, Lawson gave several different versions of what happened that night. On several occasions, Ranger Pena left the room to confer with other officers as to statements being made by others being questioned.
“At first, Lawson was just a person of interest,” explains Pena. “But as we got into the interview, and I started to have a feeling he was about to confess, I stopped him and read him his rights; and then he continued to tell his story where he admitted to having been at the location and stepping foot into the house.”
On the audio file of the interview, Lawson can be heard saying, “I know I didn’t go past the bar area. The dude had a right to shoot at us. We were on his property.”
“The fact of the matter here is that Lawson Lee Abram made the conscious choice to go to the Hurst home with JD Mulkey and one other, knowing JD had the gun,” states District Attorney Chris Martin.
“They could have left when they heard the glass break as the jar was knocked over upon entering, but they continued into the home. Then they left two people to die as they ran away when they heard gun fire,” continues Martin. “I believe the evidence presented proves that Abram was involved and is ultimately guilty of Capital Murder in the shooting death of Douglas Carr Hurst.”
Following the State’s argument, Defense Attorney Steve Keathley requested an acquittal, stating he did not believe the State was successful in proving beyond a doubt that Lawson was guilty.
This request was denied by Judge Simmons.
“Just because Martin says things happened a certain way, doesn’t make it so,” states Keathley to the jury. “We have each presented exhibits, and now it’s time for you to decide.”
“Mr. Hurst was tragically killed in this horrifying event, but there is no DNA proving my client was ever inside the home. Aside from his statement, there is nothing to link him to the crime,” continues Keathley. “This is a tough case, and I don’t envy you.”
