Diane Fanning - Through the Window: The Terrifying True Story of Cross-Country Killer Tommy Lynn Sells

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The book you are about to read is the latest bestseller from the St. Martins True Crime Library, the imprint the New York Times calls the leader in true crime! Each month, we offer you a fascinating account of the latest, most sensational crime that has captured the national attention. St. Martins is the publisher of bestselling true crime author and crime journalist Kieran Crowley, who explores the dark, deadly links between a prominent Manhattan surgeon and the disappearance of his wife fifteen years earlier in THE SURGEONS WIFE. Suzy Spencers BREAKING POINT guides readers through the tortuous twists and turns in the case of Andrea Yates, the Houston mother who drowned her five young children in the familys bathtub. In Edgar Award-nominated DARK DREAMS, legendary FBI profiler Roy Hazelwood and bestselling crime author Stephen G. Michaud shine light on the inner workings of Americas most violent and depraved murderers. In the book you now hold, THROUGH THE WINDOW, Diane Fanning traces the dreadful path of a serial killer that is not for the weak of heart.

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Whos there?

Herb flipped on the porch light and peered out the doors peephole. He saw a young girl with a bent head. He opened the door to a horrifying sight. The girls clothes were saturated with blood. She swayed in the glow of the porch light.

He opened the door and led her into the still-dark house. Marlene, take care of this little girl. I need to call 9-1-1.

Marlene stood in the doorway of the bedroom. She switched on the kitchen light. An intense image of red branded itself on the surface of Marlenes eyes. My God. My God. What happened to you?

For a second, Herb froze, unable to remember how to dial 9-1-1. Then he stabbed in the numbers. As soon as he heard the answering click, he blurted, I have a little girl... He glanced at the pathetic form desperately clinging to life. He thought of his own grandchildren. He could not utter the word dying. Shes covered in blood. I need an ambulance. I need police. Please hurry.

Krystal mimed a writing pen. Marlene stepped into the kitchen area for a pen and pad of paper. Herb hung up the phone.

Marlene handed the pen and paper to Krystal. Herb knelt by her side. He held her hand. He stroked her hair, trying to get it out of the blood caked on her face.

The young girl scrawled: The Harrises are hurt.

Who did this to you?

This guy, scratched across the paper ...

THROUGH
THE WINDOW

DIANE FANNING

St. Martins Paperbacks

NOTE: If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as unsold and destroyed to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this stripped book.

THROUGH THE WINDOW

Copyright 2003 by Diane Fanning.

Cover photograph of Tommy Lynn Sells courtesy AP/Wide World
Photos.
Photograph of window Steven Puetzer/Nonstock.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information address St. Martins Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

ISBN: 0-312-98525-8

Printed in the United States of America

St. Martins Paperbacks edition / April 2003

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

This book is dedicated to two heroic survivors,

Krystal Surles and Fabienne Witherspoon;

to Kaylene Harris, who made the final sacrifice;

and to all the known and unknown victims who preceded her.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

FOLLOWING the trail of crimes left by Tommy Lynn Sells was a complicated and sometimes contradictory journey. I intruded on the busy days of numerous members of law enforcement along the way. More often than not, I spoke with investigators with technically open cases who were restricted in the information they could impart. Nonetheless, this situation did not inhibit their generosity with their time.

Thanks to: Lt. Terry Ward, Little Rock, Arkansas; Detective Jeffrey Stone, St. Louis; Don Swann, Taney County, Missouri; Mike Curti, former Winnemucca Police Chief, and James Bagwell, former Humboldt County Sheriff, in Nevada; Detective Karen Wright, Tucson; Lt. Richard Podgers, Lockport, New York; Detective John Kemp, Jefferson County, Illinois; Capt. Diana Sievers, Illinois State Police; Investigator Donny Branch, Jackson County, Florida; Sgt. Rick Westfall, Charleston, West Virginia; Detective Sgt. Jim Arnott, Greene County, Missouri; Sgt. Buddy Cooper, Missouri Highway Patrol; Lt. Jimmy Hand, Gibson County, Tennessee; Detective Chris Schoonover, Lexington, Kentucky; Agent Steve Tanio and Public Information Officer Kym Koch, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation; and Lt. Larry Pope, Val Verde, Texas. A very special thanks to my two favorite lawmen, for whom I have the greatest respect for their dedication, tenacity and commitment, Texas Rangers Sgt. John Allen and Sgt. Coy Smith.

On the legal side, many thanks to Prosecuting Attorney Jim Kopp, Bexar County, Texas; Assistant District Attorney Ard Gates, Kingfisher County, Oklahoma; States Attorney Gary Duncan, Jefferson County, Illinois; Prosecuting Attorney Rodney Daniels, Taney County, Missouri; Mary Anne Wiley in Governor Perrys policy office in Texas; retired Judge George M. Thurmond, Val Verde County, Texas; Diana Hancock, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals; Brenda Loudermilk, Attorney Generals Office in Austin, Texas; and Larry Fitzgerald, Texas Department of Criminal Justice. And lots of appreciation to the private sector attorneys who helped me to understand the wran-glings of the law: Larry Sauer and Will Harrell in Austin and Ron Friesenhahn in New Braunfels.

Others who provided invaluable assistance in my research were Jeff Marcinik of the Humboldt County Public Library in Winnemucca, Nevada; Larry Sonntag, M.S., LPC-CCDS in New Braunfels; Iris Taber in Dallas; JoAnn Settle in Ina, Illinois: Fernando Perez and Noel Sanchez in San Antonio; Herb and Marlene Betz in Del Rio; Jenna Jackson, producer for 48 Hours; Claire J. Weinraub, producer for 20/20; Scott Fulmer of Investigations Across Missouri; and friend, former neighbor and top-notch investigator, Dan Phillips of Mission Investigations of Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, the Rio Grande Valley and Louisiana.

Thanks to Tommy Lynn Sells for hours of interviews, prolific correspondence and a mountain of legal documents. And thanks to his mother, Nina Sells, his great aunt Bonnie Walpole, and his mother-in-law, Virginia Blanco.

A compassionate acknowledgment of my gratitude to the family members of victims, who allowed me a glimpse into the blackest moments of their lives: Crystal Harris, Kathleen Cowling, Anna Walker, Joni Settlemeir, Joeann Dardeen, Anita Knapp, Inez Cowling, Pamela Surles, Lorene Bible and Susan Wofford. I will never forget you.