Double Homicide

(This story is based on a true events, and factual evidence. The names and various locations have been changed for the sake of the families involved. )

I have had a very curious interest in law enforcement, crime fighting, and justice since my early teens. Around the age of 13 or so I was especially intrigued with the idea of being a private detective, the “private-eye!” There were actually some crazy private detective magazines that I would buy every chance I could get. Little did I know where my life and experiences would take me into the reality of it all.

I was about 13-14 years old when on a violently rainy night in 1983 Tobias Vicente Jr. and his girlfriend Kelly Sheffield were murdered in cold blood. They had been brutally shot to death in the small country town of Fort West, Texas at the hands of a murderer wielding a shotgun. The horrifying tragedy occurred in the parking lot of an old schoolhouse just southwest of the town square. It was a very isolated location just on top of a hill with an enormous dirt parking lot. The old dilapidated brick schoolhouse was extremely eerie and haunting itself. It was literally something you would see in a horror movie! However, it was a common place for teenagers to go “park” and do what teenagers do when on a date.

Tobias Jr. was a young, bright, 17 year old Hispanic boy, and Kelly Sheffield was about a year or so younger, and white. My point in mentioning their races will soon reveal itself. I have no information about Kelly’s family, and I have done no research for this tale. Instead I have chosen to write this recollection by memory based on my personal experiences with the Vicente family themselves, my future career choice, and the case itself. Another reason is because of the multitude of inaccuracies and poor reporting by the press at the time.

I remember being terrified, as Tobias Jr. and Kelly were upper classmen in my high school, and the murders happened only a short distance from my home. Rumors began to spread like wild fires. At one point there was a ridiculous accusation that the County Sherriff was involved because he was a drug lord and Tobias Jr. and Kelly were at the wrong place at the wrong time. I personally never bought that one from the beginning, and neither did the investigators at the Fort West Police Department, who I can say were very honorable, and honest men and women. As you will learn, I ended up personally knowing them.

The case went unsolved, and to this day officially remains a cold case with a reward of over $15,000 for information leading to the arrest of the guilty person or persons. It is in the custody of the County Attorney’s office, and held permanently under the protection of the County Sheriff’s office. At the time it seemed that the Fort West Police‘s efforts to solve the case were doing nothing but hitting dead ends. However, if you have watched any true-crime program you must realize that one never knows what is really going on behind the scenes in a homicide investigation.

A few years later, while I was still in high school, Tobias Jr.’s family, Tobias Sr., Teresa, and their daughters, started attending my family’s church. I’m not sure how my parents developed a relationship with the Vicente’s, but eventually they were often invited to our home for lunch after church on Sundays. During this time I became aware that they were the parents of Tobias Jr. I was intrigued. The relationship grew, and they would often randomly drop by for a visit, and eventually we were invited to their home for Sunday lunches. Tobias’ mother took to me very kindly, and she often spoke of Tobias Jr. Tobias Sr. was a man of few words, and often seemed perplexed or confused. It was almost as if he did not speak English, but I knew that he did.

I was often invited to their home to spend time after church and to have lunch even when my parents could not go. I often found myself going, and spending hours there. Looking back I think it was because of my intrigue into Tobias Jr.’s case, and what happened to him. I recall mostly listening to Teresa and her daughters talk about Tobias Jr. Teresa often had this strange, but understandable silence about her after talking about Tobias Jr. It was as if she was not only saddened by the death of her son, but also by something else that was haunting her soul.

I suppose what eventually followed may seem morbidly strange to most, and I do not know how it even transpired, but I was eventually shown Tobias Jr.’s bedroom. His room was exactly as he had left it the night of his murder several years before. Although I never knew him, I often spent time in his room, looking at his things, and wondering who would have killed him. Something just drew me to it. I remember his tennis shoes, with socks stuffed inside them, sitting next to his bed as I sat on the edge of it. I do not know if I felt a connection, or if something was telling me that one day I would discover the truth.

As the years passed I only occasionally saw the Vicente’s. During this time it just so happened that while in high school I was involved with a City of Fort West youth program where students in my senior class acted as liaisons between the school and each of the top tier departments within the city. I just so happened to be elected the “Youth Chief of Police.” I got to know the Chief of Police, the Mayor, the City Council, and most of the police officers. It was a very exciting and enlightening experience.

Finally in 1987 it was time to graduate from high school. Little did I know where my career path was going to take me, and what I would learn. At the age of 18 I went to work for the Fort West Police Department. I wanted to be a police officer, but in the State of Texas a person had to be 21 years of age to qualify. So, I did the next best thing. I became the youngest police dispatcher and 911 operator that the City of Fort West had ever had. The city population was only around 10,000, so the department was very small, and only one dispatcher/operator was on duty at a time. I learned to multi-task very quickly, and became very good at the job.

I grew close to many of the officers, and the “police business” became a very significant part of my life. I ended up spending 17 years in law enforcement communications. Several years were spent with the FWPD, and the remainder with a much larger city with a population nearing one million residents. The nice thing about working in a small town police department in communications was the opportunity to actually assist in investigations. I was privy to information, and given tasks that were never given to telecommunicators in larger cities.

One day while I was on duty at the Fort West Police Department Teresa Vicente walked through the front door. She told me she was there to meet with one of our detectives. I was surprised to see her, so I invited her past our security door so that we could visit face to face instead of through the bulletproof window between our lobby and communications center. She told me that she was there to see a certain detective, so I called his office and advised him that Teresa was there. A few minutes later he showed up with a large brown paper bag. It was the kind of sack that grocery stores used to bag up groceries in the good old days. The contents were unknown to me at that moment. There was no paperwork, and nothing to sign. He just gave her the bag, said something, and left. By this time Tobias Sr. had passed away from cancer.

Teresa stayed a while to visit with me and do some catching up. It was a nice visit. Eventually I asked her what was in the bag. Without hesitation she told me it contained the clothes that Tobias Jr. was wearing the night he was murdered. I was instantly shocked as to why Teresa would even want the bloody clothes from that horrific night. I was also extremely confused as to why evidence from an unsolved homicide would be given to the victim’s mother instead of kept in evidence. All I could think was “evidence given away forever.” It crossed my mind as to how can a case be solved without evidence this significant, or had the case actually been solved and no one was told.

Later in the 90’s things got loose lipped around the FWPD. One of my good friends was a detective on the case, and I found out about details regarding Tobias Jr.’s murder that were not common knowledge. I learned that detectives were never allowed to investigate Tobias Sr., who had discovered the brutal murder scene. They were never allowed to seriously investigate the one lone person who found the massacred bodies of Tobias Jr. and Kelley. Now days we know that homicide 101 says that you first investigate the person who discovers the crime, and the family of the victims. Why did this not happen I asked. Simple, said the detective, the Chief would not allow it! Why would the chief do that? Why give away evidence? I suddenly realized that perhaps the crime had been solved, and the murderer was already dead, but never blamed. Remember, this was the 1980’s.

My friend, the detective, reluctantly shared more details with me about the evidence. I learned that Tobias Sr. was not fond of Kelly, and did not want Tobias Jr. to date her. Although I never felt Tobias Sr. was racist, I just believed that he wanted his son to eventually marry within the Hispanic community. I also knew that he was an alcoholic, and that he had a terrible temper when he was intoxicated. That night in 1983, during that violent rainstorm, Tobias Sr. supposedly got in his vehicle and happened to find Tobias Jr. and Kelly parked in the parking lot of the old dilapidated schoolhouse. Which by the way was probably 15 or more miles from their residence. His statement to the police was that he opened the door to the vehicle and found them both shot to death. Apparently he panicked, left to find a payphone, and called the police.

The detective shared with me that the evidence collected at the scene indicated that Tobias Sr. was lying about his account of the events that night, and that he was actually the coldblooded killer of his son Tobias Vicente Jr., and Kelly Sheffield. After hearing the evidence I was convinced myself. Everything seemed to fall into place.

When Tobias Jr. and Kelly were riddled with multiple shotgun fire they were undressed. There were no holes in Tobias Jr.’s shirt or jeans, but I am not sure about Kelly’s clothes. When the bodies were found Tobias Jr.’s jeans were pulled up, backwards, with no holes in them, and his belt was buckled. This could indicate two theories. First is that Tobias Sr. did not want his son to be found dead and naked, presumably having intercourse with Kelly, so in a panic he pulled up his jeans backwards, buckled his belt, and then went to call the police. I did not ask about Kelly’s clothes. It is obvious that a random murderer or murderers would not take the time to do this. There would be no reason to do so. They would flee the scene as quickly as possible.

The second theory is that Tobias Sr., intoxicated and in such a rage, took his shotgun, left his residence, and knew exactly where to find the teens. When he found them he opened the door to the vehicle, and was even more enraged upon witnessing them unclothed and being intimate. He must have then opened fire, callously shooting to death both Tobias Jr. and Kelly. After realizing what he had done he most likely panicked, pulled Tobias Jr.’s jeans up backwards, buckled his belt, and fled the scene to call police. Tobias Sr. never commented on pulling up Tobias Jr.’s jeans, and buckling his belt.

Although investigators were not allowed to officially investigate Tobias Sr. for the double homicide it was widely known that he owned a shotgun. During the investigation witnesses who knew Tobias Sr. volunteered information indicating that after the murders they never saw the weapon again. Additionally, no other minor or solid leads ever lead to any other suspect, or suspects.

Consequently, after learning of the physical and circumstantial evidence, the fact that the Fort West Chief of Police would not let investigators look into Tobias Sr., my personal relationship with and observation of the family, the disposition of Tobias Sr., and the fact that evidence was released after Tobias Sr.’s death, I was convinced that he was indeed the individual responsible for the horrific slayings of Tobias Vicente Jr., and Kelly Sheffield.

To this day the case sits in the cold case files of the FWPD in the city of Fort West, Texas. With the exponential advancement of DNA technology we may have learned the truth about what happened that tragic night in 1983 if evidence had not so carelessly been given away. We may never know whether this is truly a “cold-case,” or an overlooked “closed-case.” The mystery remains, for now…

EPILOGUE: I have recently come to learn that the County Attorney, where Fort West serves as the County Seat, is an acquaintance of mine whom I graduated from high school with, and am friends with on Facebook. I recently read an article that indicated he had dealings with the case of Tobias Jr., and Kelly. I plan on contacting him to see if he is aware of the missing evidence, where it ended up, and how it ended up there.