Murder, Arson and Jealousy

   

Two 18-year-old boys, from Pulaski, Tn., William Charles Angel, Jr. and Matthew Wood, are sitting in the Giles County jail. They are both charged with 3 counts of first degree murder in the deaths of 38-year-old Desere Thornton and her two sons, 16-year-old Jerrod Thornton and nine-year-old Anthony Thornton. The two teens are also charged with arson, accused of burning down the home of the three murder victims.

One of the teens, Matthew Wood, was burned so badly while trying to set the house ablaze that his mother had to call 911 for emergency assistance. That call was what caused investigators - who had just received another 911 call about a house on fire - to zero in on the teens.

The two 911 calls were placed in the early morning hours of October 23, minutes after a home on Milky Way Drive in Pulaski, Tn. caught on fire.

The first call came in at 1:34 a.m. from a neighbor, Robin Hernandez, of the Thornton's saying: “The house across the road from me is on fire, the woods are on fire.....and there was just some kind of explosion down there.”

The second call came in at 1:59 a.m. from Matthew Wood's mother, Janet Thomlin, saying: “My son just called me and said him and a friend of his was playing with fire and he is burnt really bad and he’s screaming and crying....he said him and a friend were playing with fire, with gasoline, and he got too close and it burnt all of his face.”

The authorities won't release any information on how the family was killed but said that the fire was an attempt to cover up the murders.

Apparently Wood and Angel went to the Thornton's house to look for the 16-year-old Jerrod. Wood was jealous and thought that Jerrod was involved with an ex-girlfriend of his. They all knew each other because they went to the same school, Richland High School. In fact Wood had asked Jerrod's girlfriend, Tessia Tibbs, about it just days before:

Giles County Sheriff, Kyle Helton, said it's one of the worst crimes he's seen.

"It's a small county, almost everybody knows each other and it's just a shock that somebody would commit such a heinous crime....It's tough for the community and it's just going to take time to heal"

According to neighbors, the family had recently moved into the home. Desere Thornton owned a local gym and her two sons attended school just a few miles from the now charred home.

Wood and Angel will be back in Giles County court on December 8th.

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Keith Bardwell Resigns, Faces Lawsuit

In the face unanimous and universal condemnation from politicians to civil rights organizations, Justice of the Peace Keith Bardwell did what everyone was telling him to do - he resigned. Read the background story here.

The office of Louisiana Secretary of State Jay Dardenne said it had received a statement from Mr Bardwell saying: "I do hereby resign the office of Justice of the Peace for the Eighth Ward of Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, effective November 3, 2009."

Keith Bardwell was the JP who refused to marry an interracial couple in Louisiana because of his concern for the kids of such a union. He was unapologetic about his attitude and genuinely did not seem to realize what all the fuss was about, as seen in this interview with CBS:

Bardwell was first elected in 1975 as justice of the peace in Ponchatoula, La., a town 55 miles north of New Orleans. His term was set to run through 2014, and he had said that even before the flap, he hadn't intended to run for re-election.

The couple Mr Bardwell refused to issue a license for - Beth Humphrey, 30, and Terence McKay, 32 - have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against him.

"We're saddened that it took national attention to this issue, which was decided back in 1967 by the Supreme Court, and also that it took public admonishment from other elected leaders in order for him to resign," said Laura Catlett, a lawyer for Humphrey and McKay.

The Governor of Louisiana Bobby Jindal who had previously called for Bardwell to resign, said Bardwell made the right decision.

"What he did was clearly wrong and this resignation was long overdue," the governor said in a statement.

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) said Bardwell's refusal to marry the couple reflected terribly on the state.

"I am deeply disturbed by Justice Bardwell's practices and comments concerning interracial marriages," she said. "Not only does his decision directly contradict Supreme Court rulings, it is an example of the ugly bigotry that divided our country for too long.

"By resigning ... and ending his embarrassing tenure in office, Justice Bardwell has finally consented to the will of the vast majority of Louisiana citizens and nearly every governmental official in Louisiana ... We are better off without him in public service," she said.

Catlett said the resignation won't stop the lawsuit, which also names Bardwell's wife as a defendant.

"This does not in any way change the fact that he, with his wife's help, discriminated against an interracial couple while he was a public official," Catlett said.

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