Arrest warrant affidavit said Bullard woman killed with a tire knocker, body disposed in trash can
Published 3:22 pm Tuesday, July 10, 2018
- Charles Edward Lennon III (Courtesy of Smith County)
A woman found dead at a Bullard home last week was hit with a tire knocker by one of the men charged with capital murder in her death and her body then was taken to a trash can on the property, according to an arrest affidavit in the case.
The body of Rachel Lynn Jackson, 31, was found Thursday in a trash can in the 300 block of Timberline Drive, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.
The document said Charles Lennon Jr. called the Bullard Police Department Thursday morning to report he had found a body in a trash can on his property and he believed his son Charles Lennon III, known as “Trey,” did it.
Lennon Jr., 56, of Tyler, told police his son was at a residence on Brentwood Drive in Bullard. Police found Lennon III in a concealed location under the floor of the mobile home, according to the arrest warrant.
Lennon III, 29, of Bullard, was taken into custody on an outstanding warrant for burglary out of Smith County. He was later taken to the Smith County Sheriff’s Office for questioning related to Jackson’s death.
Meanwhile detectives were processing the crime scene at the Timberline Drive property when they found the body in a large blue trash can.
Investigators also recovered a trash bag containing bloody clothing, bloody rags, a wooden bat, a woman’s purse, a wallet and other clothing items on top of Jackson’s body.
Four suspects including Lennon and his son were taken to the Smith County Sheriff’s Office for questioning.
Lennon Jr. told investigators his son asked him to go to Jacksonville on July 2 to pick up Jackson and bring her to the mobile home on Timberline Drive in Bullard, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.
The affidavit went on to say Lennon Jr. got several phone calls from his son while he was out eating.
“Lennon III stated the he had a mess at the house involving Rachel and told Lennon Jr. to not allow anyone else into the residence when he arrived,” the affidavit reads.
Lennon Jr. told investigators he found Jackson’s body wrapped in a blanket on the porch of the mobile home, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.
The affidavit said Lennon Jr. watched his son put Jackson’s body in the trash can on the night of July 2. Lennon Jr. then moved the trash can to the southern edge of his property and a day or two later put a trash bag into the trash can to conceal the body, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.
Lennon III told authorities he got into an argument with Jackson regarding her being contacted by police about their involvement in a burglary, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.
The affidavit went on to say that Jackson slapped Lennon III during the argument. Lennon III then hit Jackson with a tire knocker, a wooden tool that resembles a sawed-off bat and is used by truckers to check tire pressure, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.
Lennon III told police Jackson fell next to a chair and was “bleeding a little bit from the head,” the arrest affidavit read.
The warrant goes on to say Lennon III called his father to tell him what had happened.
Lennon III went on to tell investigators he later observed Jackson’s body wrapped in a blanket on the back porch and watched his father move the body into the trash can and away from the mobile home, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.
Lennon III was charged with burglary and with capital murder by terror threat. Lennon III was being held on bonds totaling $2.25 million.
Lennon Jr. was charged with capital murder by terror threat and for tampering with evidence. His bonds were set at $2 million.
Both Lennons were charged with capital murder in connection with Jackson’s death because Texas law has a “law of parties” in criminal cases. The Texas Penal Code describes law of parties as the ability to hold a person criminally responsible for an offense committed by another person if the person was acting with intent to promote or assist in the offense by soliciting, encouraging, directing, aiding or attempting to aid a person in committing an offense.
As of Tuesday, the Lennons remained in the Smith County Jail.
