Emmett Shelton Sr. tells stories of two Murder trials in Austin criminal courts. Emmett's father and Emmett and two of his brothers were prominent criminal lawyers in Austin. In the 1920s, Uncle H.C. Greer caught an ex-employee stealing feed from his Austin feed store. The thief shot Uncle Greer and was indicted. Uncle Greer died without filing a statement and the only evidence was a track of a cracked shoe. Dan Moody was a hot-headed prosecutor and this case resulted in a mistrial. It was not retried.
The second case was in 1933 - the tragic death of Belton mechanic Cal Yarborough's daughter. She was about 9 when she was burned to death. An insurance claim resulted an indictment. Emmett assisted Mr. Bomer defend Cal. He had spent 6 months in jail before the trial. We had a strong defense but Emmett and Bomer tried to prepare Cal for prison time, but Cal told Emmett "This jury cannot punish me at all." The jury returned a guilty verdict and Cal was sentenced to 30 years. We appealed but Cal had to go to prison. We won on appeal, but Cal had lost everything - his life was forever changed.
Music: Theme song from Matlock
For maps and other info check out our Facebook page: Our Westlake
Stories told by Emmett Shelton / compiled and submitted by Cynthia Shelton.
Emmett Shelton Sr. tells stories of two Murder trials in Austin criminal courts. Emmett's father and Emmett and two of his brothers were prominent criminal lawyers in Austin. In the 1920s, Uncle H.C. Greer caught an ex-employee stealing feed from his Austin feed store. The thief shot Uncle Greer and was indicted. Uncle Greer died without filing a statement and the only evidence was a track of a cracked shoe. Dan Moody was a hot-headed prosecutor and this case resulted in a mistrial. It was not retried.
The second case was in 1933 - the tragic death of Belton mechanic Cal Yarborough's daughter. She was about 9 when she was burned to death. An insurance claim resulted an indictment. Emmett assisted Mr. Bomer defend Cal. He had spent 6 months in jail before the trial. We had a strong defense but Emmett and Bomer tried to prepare Cal for prison time, but Cal told Emmett "This jury cannot punish me at all." The jury returned a guilty verdict and Cal was sentenced to 30 years. We appealed but Cal had to go to prison. We won on appeal, but Cal had lost everything - his life was forever changed.
Music: Theme song from Matlock
For maps and other info check out our Facebook page: Our Westlake
Stories told by Emmett Shelton / compiled and submitted by Cynthia Shelton.