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Two jailed in slayings



Accused are past Outback workers

By LORI DUNN
Texarkana Gazette

and By SABRINA MCCORMICK
Texarkana Gazette


Two former Outback Steakhouse employees are being held on capital murder charges in the Labor Day shooting deaths of the restaurant’s proprietor and two managers.

Richard Markeil Henson, 20, and Stephen Lavelle Walter, 24, are in the Bi-State Justice Building jail without bond, Texarkana, Texas, Police Chief Danny Alexander said Thursday.

Alexander confirmed both suspects were former employees at the local restaurant. One lost his job only a few weeks before the shootings.

Sources close to the investigation allege that Henson was the “look-out” man and stayed outside the restaurant while Walter robbed the restaurant and shot the employees.

Henson was arrested Wednesday night on New Boston Road after police received a tip from one of his relatives.

“What made it more credible (than other tips) was that it was information that only someone who had been involved would know,” Alexander said.

Henson was interviewed at Bi-State and provided additional information about the crime that led police to obtain a search warrant for Walters’ residence at Stevens Courts apartments in Texarkana, Texas. Alexander declined to comment on any evidence that was found in the apartment.

Walter was arrested about 10:40 a.m. Thursday on West Avenue H in Hope, Ark., and waived his extradition. He was brought back to Texarkana on Thursday afternoon. Police also recovered a stolen car at the residence that has a connection to the shootings.

The investigation into the shootings is expected to continue, but no more arrests are expected.

In another development Thursday, a preliminary autopsy report showed Matt Hines, 31; Rebecca Shifflett, 24; and Chrystal Willis, 23, each died from a gunshot wound to the head, said Bowie County Precinct 1, Place 1 Justice of the Peace Nancy Talley.

Alexander said Thursday the weapon used was a .38-caliber gun but that no weapons have been located.

Police still do not have a motive in the killings, except possibly robbery.

“In the interview with Mr. Henson it would be difficult to say if (revenge) was a motive,” Alexander said.

Money was reported missing from the restaurant after an audit was conducted earlier this week. Alexander said Thursday the money taken was tips and money from the bar and carryout portions of the restaurant. He declined to give the specific amount.

“Clearly robbery was involved. They (the suspects) did go to the restaurant in the early morning hours (of Labor Day). We are still trying to determine if they were let in or if a door had been left ajar,” he said.

Investigators think the suspects arrived at the restaurant close to midnight. Alexander declined to say which suspect allegedly pulled the trigger that morning.

Walter had been considered as a suspect before police received the tip from a relative.

“We were not completely focusing on him but were looking at him,” Alexander said.

Walter had been fired from the restaurant about four and five weeks ago, Alexander said. Disciplinary problems led to his termination. Henson had been terminated in 2002 because of a jail term he was sentenced to. Alexander said Hines, the restaurant’s owner, would have been the one to terminate Walter but not Henson. Hines had only worked at the restaurant since June of this year. Henson had left his job prior to Hines’ arrival, Alexander said.

Walter also has a criminal record. Texarkana, Ark., police confirmed Thursday he was arrested in November 2002 on charges of theft of firearms, a felony in Arkansas. He had also been arrested on misdemeanor charges in 2000 and 2001.

Joe Kadow, senior vice-president for Outback, released a statement Thursday expressing the company’s gratitude to the police department.

“We express our sincere gratitude to Chief Alexander and the entire Texarkana Police Department for their excellent work in promptly identifying and speedily apprehending these suspects,” he wrote.

Alexander referred questions about security cameras at the restaurant and the circumstances surrounding Henson’s leaving the restaurant to Outback officials. However, Kadow declined Thursday to answer any more questions regarding the shooting.

Kadow had previously announced the company was offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrests and conviction of the killers. Receiving the reward was not the primary reason the relative gave information to police, Alexander said.

“That (money) was not an overriding factor. He (the relative) was extremely concerned and was encouraging him (Henson) to come forward.”

More than 70 people were interviewed during the investigation and eight tips were obtained through CrimeStoppers. Henson and Walter were both on the list to be interviewed but had not been interviewed prior to their arrests, Alexander said.

Many rumors about the case kept detectives busy trying to eliminate fiction, Alexander said.

“We had a pretty good system of reviewing calls. We did receive some strange calls. You prioritize it and see what you need to follow up on,” he said.

Alexander said he notified the families of the victims on Thursday and they were pleased with news of the arrests.

“It does bring them closure,” he said.

He credits an “excellent investigative staff” for the quick arrests.

“They have worked long hours, 17 hours, 19 hours, 21 and a half hours yesterday. They sacrificed family, lunch, supper, food to solve this case. They did whatever they had to do to put it to rest,” Alexander said.

He said working with the FBI and Texas Rangers was extremely beneficial to the investigation of what he called a “heinous crime.”

“Everyone has been extremely cooperative. We don’t care who gets the glory. It’s about justice,” he said.