What makes certain people so evil? What would make someone do the unthinkable? How could such evil and savagery exist within an individual? God bless Tynesha, our hearts go out to her family. Nothing like this should ever, ever occur. Her family and friends are in our prayers. May the peace of the Lord help you get through such a terrible ordeal.
(Tynesha Stewart & Timothy Wayne Shepherd)
The death of Texas A&M student Tynesha Stewart is one of the most heinous and shocking heard in quite some time. The details of her murder are beyond comprehension. The manner in how suspected murdered, Timothy Shepard, strangled, cut up, barbecued and disposed of defies all sense or humanity.
The search for Tynesha was called off yesterday by the Sheriff’s Department as they shared some of the information that they had gained that Tynesha could never be recovered as she was cut up and burned.
“There are no remaining body parts,” Thomas said at a news conference. “We have determined through this investigation that the defendant dismembered the victim and burned her body parts. There is no body to be found. Based on that information, there will be no search. The family is aware of this, and they understand.”
Thomas, who called on local media to give the Stewart family privacy, said Timothy Wayne Shepherd burned Stewart’s body in two barbecue grills on his patio at his apartment in the 17700 block of Red Oak in northwest Harris County. (Houston Chronicle
In a conversation we had with Tim Miller of Texas Equusearch this morning Tim stated the following, “after doing searching for so many years and being exposed to so much, I thought I had seen everything, until this.” Some crimes defy all that is normal and sane. What would possess some one to cut up an individual and then cook them to get rid of a body? How souless an individual must you be? There is a special spot in hell reserved for you Timothy Wayne Shepherd. And you can’t get there soon enough.
(Timothy Wayne Shepherd, the face of evil)
Later Friday, investigators said Shepherd may have dismembered her body. And on Saturday, the sheriff announced there would be no search because all the remains had been burned.
Shepherd’s neighbors said Saturday that he was barbecuing at all hours of the day, for days at a time, at his apartment, No. 224.
James Hebert, 18, often played video games and barbecued with his “nice” next-door neighbor. In fact, they cooked out together so frequently Hebert kept his grill at Shepherd’s.
But starting March 15, he noticed Shepherd was cooking — on his grill and on Hebert’s pit — “nonstop” for two days.
This time, however, Shepherd hadn’t invited him over, nor did he share.
When he asked for some of what he was cooking, Shepherd refused, saying it was for a wedding.
On March 16 about 7:45 p.m., Hebert and his roommate, Cithara Gomez, became alarmed when they looked over and saw dark-colored smoke billowing from Shepherd’s patio. (Houston Chronicle)
UPDATE I: TOTAL ACT OF SAVAGERY: Houston man dismembered and burned Tynesha Stewart on BBQ grill.
This is one of the sickest stories we’ve come across in a while. Houston authorities have charged a man for murdering his girlfriend and burning her remains in a patio grill.
UPDATE II: Man Accused of Killing & Cremating Ex-Girlfriend
Members of Texas Equusearch, a search and recovery organization, had planned to conduct their own search for Tynesha Stewart’s body after Shepherd’s original confession, but now say they will focus on supporting her family instead.
Tension had arisen between Stewart’s family and police after Shepherd’s original confession. The family had wanted a search of several Houston area landfills in hopes of finding Tynesha’s body. The Sheriff’s office had decided not to start such a search based on facts uncovered during their investigation, but say they could not tell the family why the landfills weren’t being searched until they were sure her body had been burned. (First Coast News)
UPDATE III: According to sources there is going to be a protest by black activists in response to the Sheriff’s Department not wanting to do the search. Quanell X, US RepresentativeSheila Jackson Lee and other black leaders are unhappy that even though the suspect Timothy Shepherd states he cut up and burned Tynesha, that bones and other material still may be present to find. According to sources the activists have asked whether Texas EquuSearch was still interested in searching in the landfill. The protest rally according to reports is supposed to take place at the WM landfill.
This situation really needs to be handled before it escalates out of control. We certainly understand the families grief, pain and want to have Tynesha’s remains to bury. It also cannot be finding a needle in a haystack event. Cooler heads need to prevail. Our thoughts and prayers are with Tynesha Stewart and her family.
UPDATE IV: Group to demand search for A&M coed’s body
As reported yesterday, community activists are asking for a search of the landfill.
VIDEO
Monday’s search came just as community activists are scheduled to hold a news conference Tuesday morning demanding Harris County Sheriff’s deputies search a landfill for the remains of Tynesha Stewart.
The activists say they don’t believe Shepherd’s story about the death of the young Aggie coed and think there could be more evidence to be found. Stewart’s family members though said Monday night that a search would be “too traumatic” and that they do not support the push for a new search.
The Harris County District Attorney was also not confirming or denying a report that a search of a trash dumpster last week uncovered a knife in a bag as well as a pair of sweatpants. (KHOU)
UPDATE V: Activists Call for New Search for Tynesha Stewart
Community activists held a news conference concerning the Tynesha Stewart case today. Stewart is the young Texas A&M student brutally murdered, allegedly by her ex-boyfriend, Timothy Shepherd.
There were some strong and harsh words from several prominent community leaders at the news conference. Those words were aimed at Harris County Sheriff Tommy Thomas and his team of investigators.
Everyone speaking today is extremely critical of how investigators handled the Tynesha Stewart case. One person in particular went as far as to call the investigation and the investigators incompetent.
They are now demanding that a search for Stewart’s remains in the landfills be allowed to take place. No one at the news conference is satisfied with what investigators have come up with so far or any statements that Timothy Shepherd may have made to investigators. (ABC-KTRK)
UPDATE VI: Community activists still want search for student’s remains
Even though investigators say Tynesha Stewart’s ex-boyfriend burned her remains after killing her, some community activists still want the Sheriff’s Department to look for her body in a landfill.
“Without a thorough search of the landfill… we don’t know if they (the sheriff’s office) can make the case,” Robert Muhammad of the Nation of Islam said Tuesday at a news conference.
“There are no remaining body parts,” Thomas said.
Although human remains generally require extremely high temperatures to destroy, Thomas would not discuss how he believed the body could be burned to nothing.
The Sheriff’s Department had no response to the persisting calls to go forth with a search, spokesman Lt. John Martin said Tuesday. “Nothing the sheriff said has changed.”
Stewart’s family initially pushed for the search but has since retreated from that position as the investigation unearthed more details about the killing. (Houston Chronicle)
ALL UPDATES AND PREVIOUS STORIES CAN BE READ HERE
March 26th, 2007 at 03:40pm
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Houston officials have done an about face and reversed their initial decision not to search the landfill/landfills for missing Tynesha Stewart.
Authorities in Houston have approved spending up to $500,000 to search area landfills for the remains of a Texas A&M student whose ex-boyfriend confessed to killing her.
The request comes after angry complaints about the decision not to search for the remains of 19-year-old Tynesha Stewart, who disappeared last week.
Officials reversed their initial decisions to not search the landfills due to cost and improbable outcome of not finding her due to pressure and complaints brought up by black local leaders and activists. Personally, the Houston officials were crazy for not going forth with this search from the outset causing racial unrest especially when volunteer search team Texas EquuSearch had stated they would conduct the search at no cost.
Investigators reconsidered after several high-profile complaints from US Representative Sheila Jackson Lee, state Representative Sylvester Turner and community activist Quannel X. (KWTX)
However, the plans go forward to begin the search for Tynesha Stewart as soon as possibly Wednesday.
Plans are underway to conduct a series of searches for Tynesha Stewart, the Texas A&M coed believed to have been killed by her ex-boyfriend. However, those searches may be difficult after word that the 19-year-old’s body may have been dismembered and spread out in landfills across the region.
The volunteer search organization Texas Equusearch announced Friday it was set to launch an extensive search for Stewart. The search could begin as early as Wednesday said Texas Equusearch founder Tim Miller.
On Monday the sheriff’s office, Texas Equusearch and the landfills’ operator Waste Management will meet to go over a plan. Already an area of a landfill in Atascocita had been marked off in preparation for a search. The same was being done at a landfill in Brazoria County. Miller already put out a call for volunteers. (KHOU)
UPDATE I: Houston Authorities reverse Search Decision Again, Authorities call off search for A&M student’s body
Even with Texas EquuSearch’s offer to search for Tynesha Stewart, the authorities have called off the search.
Tim Miller, the director of Texas Equusearch, which had hoped to begin assisting in a search of an Atoscocita-area landfill next week, said he was deeply saddened they would not be able to return Stewart’s body to her family.
“We did everything we could,” he said. “It just wasn’t meant to be.”
…
Harris County Sheriff’ Tommy Thomas announced Saturday night there will be no search for the body of Tynesha Stewart, the 19-year-old Texas A&M student who was murdered March 15.
“There are no remaining body parts,” Thomas said at a press conference. “We have determined through this investigation that the defendant dismembered the victim and burned her body parts. There is no body to be found. Based on that information, there will be no search. The family is aware of this and they understand.”
Thomas, who called on local media to give the Stewart family privacy, said Timothy Wayne Shepherd burned Stewart’s body in a barbecue grill on his patio at his apartment in the 17700 block of Red Oak in northwest Harris County. (Houston Chronicle)
From the Texas Equusearch Web site …
We are deeply saddened to report that no search for Tynesha’s body will be made. Authorities state there are no remains to be found. We want to thank all of our members that worked so hard, the wonderful people that volunteered, and all the people of the entire community that expressed their concern and wanted so badly to help. The outpouring support came from everywhere and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Please keep Tynesha’s family in your prayers during this time. We want to express a very special thank you to Cindy Wisdom who selfishly devoted all of her energy and time into helping this family. She’s one of our biggest heroes. Thank you and God Bless you all.
March 24th, 2007 at 11:48am
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All Current Updates can be read HERE.
Tynesha Stewart, a 19 year old freshman student at Texas A&M has been missing since last Thursday, March 15, 2007. Tynesha Stewart was last seen between 3:00 and 4:00 pm at her former boy friend,Timothy Shepherd’s, apartment located off of F.M. 1960 on Red Oak Drive. However, it appears that Timothy Shepherd has unofficially confessed to the murder.
Tynesha Stewart
Timothy Shepherd, Stewart’s ex-boyfriends, previously denied having anything to do with her disappearance but led authorities to a garbage bin at the Polo Club Apartments off Kuykendahl Road in northwest Harris County Wednesday afternoon. Investigators did not find a body in the garbage bin, which they speculate was last emptied on Friday. (My Fox Houston)
Texas Equusearch has been involved in the search for Tynesha Stewart.
On Wednesday, Texas EquuSearch volunteers along with friends and family focused their search for Stewart on area creeks. “I was not aware until this morning that they actually did have crime scene in his apartment and had taken some things from the apartment,” EquuSearch volunteer Cindy Wisdom told FOX 26 News.
As per our conversation with Tim Miller, Founder of Texas Equusearch, they plan to search the landfill if all goes according to plan. The trash bins that the ex-boyfriend lead police to had previously been picked up and removed. This creates the arduous task of doing a land fill search.
Video of ex-boyfriend confessing to Stewart’s murder and where he put her.
The ex-boyfriend of Tynesha Stewart lead investigators and community activist Quanell X to dumpsters where he claimed to have put her. However, the dumpsters had been picked up since the event occurred.
The ex-boyfriend of a missing Texas A&M student led investigators and community activist Quanell X to the 14600 block of Ella in northwest Harris County, where he pointed out a Dumpster that investigators now believe might have been used to dispose of her body.
The ex-boyfriend has not made any confession, but investigators took custody of the Dumpster and plan to search area landfills for the woman’s body.
Texas A&M University student Tynesha Stewart, 19, was last seen March 15. She was spending spring break at her mother’s apartment in the 17700 block of Red Oak when she left with her ex-boyfriend, authorities said.
Investigators had previously questioned Stewart’s ex-boyfriend, whom they have characterized as “cooperative.” (Houston Chronicle)
Tynesha Stewart has two uncles who play in the NFL, one for the Dallas Cowboys and the other for the Minnesota Vikings. One of whom arrives in Houston to help search for Tynesha.
UPDATE I: Ex-boyfriend charged in death of missing Texas A&M student
A murder charge was filed against the ex-boyfriend of a missing Texas A&M student after he led investigators to a trash container where he allegedly put her body, authorities said.
Timothy Wayne Shepherd, 27, was charged with murder Wednesday in the death of Tynesha Stewart, said Lt. John Denholm of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office homicide division.
Stewart, a 19-year-old college freshman, was last seen with Shepherd on March 15 while she was home for spring break visiting her mother.
Authorities said it will be difficult to find Stewart’s body because the trash bin has been hauled off at least twice since last week and taken to different locations. (The Eagle)
UPDATE II: Tynesha Stewart Strangled during argument over another Man
“They had a fight about their relationship, and her relationship with a new boyfriend,” said Lt. John Denholm with the Harris County Sheriff’s homicide division. “He said he choked her…He said he put her in a large plastic tote, and then put her in his car and took her to the Dumpster.” (Houston Chronicle)
There has been preliminary discussions as to a landfill search; however, they are usually immense in scale and costly. There is never a guarantee that a body will be found, nor any expectation as to the time it could take to perform.
Stewart’s body, which could be buried under an estimated 50,000 tons of waste and dirt, probably never will be recovered, he said.
Excavating the two landfills where Stewart’s body might be -, one is in the Atoscocita area and the other is in Brazoria County — would run at least $350,000, Denholm said.
And, he said, it would take time and would probably require approval from county officials because taxpayers would likely have to pay for it.
“Any expenditure like that would most likely have to be approved by commissioner’s court,” Denholm said.
Such approval, he said, could delay the search and drive excavation costs up further, as 5,000 to 6,000 tons of waste are hauled to the two sites per day.
Private companies charge $6 to $7 per ton to excavate.
“Even as we speak, hundreds of tons of trash have been dumped, just during this conversation,” he said.
Further complicating the recovery of the body are landfill regulations.
Denholm said Stewart’s family has been told the body probably will not be recovered.
UPDATE III: Family of missing Texas A&M student wants search conducted
Murdered and dumped, and right now there are no plans to even look for the body of a missing Texas A&M student. Meanwhile, her ex-boyfriend sits behind bars this evening, charged with her murder.
We know investigators have not yet searched the two landfills Tynesha Stewart’s body may be in. Tonight the question on Stewart’s mother’s mind is will they?
“We want her body so we can give her a proper burial,” said Gale Shields. “She’s not trash.” (ABC 13)
However, police are not sure whether they are going to do the search due to the shere volume and magnitude of the search.
We’ve learned that dumpster’s contents were likely taken to an Atascocita landfill or possibly to one in Angleton.
“I don’t know that we can positively say that any particular item as gone to either one of those landfills,” said Lt. John Martin of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
Because of that and the sheer volume of trash needed to be searched, sheriff’s officials say they are considering not searching the landfills at all. In addition, the search could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“You can see how this is going to be expensive, and there is little confidence that it would even turn up anything,” said Lt. Martin.
March 21st, 2007 at 11:24pm
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