Suspect in the 1991 murder of Bill Henderson

[Kane]

I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that while searching through Google News, I came across a link about the news about a suspect in the 1991 murder of Bill Henderson. The bad news is that I couldn't get access to the article because you have to be signed up as a member at the web site (amarillo.com) in order to read the article.

For this reason, I don't know the name of the man who has been named as a suspect in Bill Henderson's murder. However, it is a relief to know that there has been a development in the case.

I had no doubt that the murder was solvable because the killer left a bloody palm print at the crime scene. In addition, there was the composite drawing of the suspect whose numerous ponytails made him stand out. (That sketch gave me the creeps.)

I can still remember the detective saying on UM that finding Bill Henderson's killer was "extremely important." He also noted that anyone who attacks and kills a defenseless eldery man is capable of attacking and killing anyone. More likely than not, the detective is right.

[Kane]

Good news: some additional articles have become available. And they are from sites that don't require signing up. Here are the links.

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/state/15137183.htm

http://www.kten.com/Global/story.asp?S=5206439

The suspect's name is Lawrence Tutt. He is incarcerated in Ohio for an unrelated case. DNA has linked him to the murder of E.J. "Bill" Henderson. He has been charged with the murder, and is awaiting extradition to Texas, where the murder took place.

[crystaldawn]

Another great update - thanks Kane!

I would be interested to see a picture of the guy and see if it in any way resembles that creepy composite sketch. I also wonder if the two hitchhikers who were cousins were a key in identifying him as the man who gave them a ride.

[skunk ape]

Wow! That's great news. This is another case that creeped me out (as well as the hitchhikers that were picked up by the guy). I wonder who else the suspect has killed. He didn't seem like the type that would have only killed once.

[Kane]

Another great update - thanks Kane!

I would be interested to see a picture of the guy and see if it in any way resembles that creepy composite sketch.

Because 15 years have past since the Henderson murder, I wouldn't be surprised if he looked somewhat different from the sketch. But even if he is the guy from the sketch, it's likely that his hairstyle is different from the way it looked in 1991. There's a good possibility that he no longer sports any ponytails.

Skunk Ape has suggested that Bill Henderson may not be the killer's only murder victim. That's a frightening possibility, but we'll know more about Lawrence Tutt as more information comes to light.

[Beardsley_Mantooth]

hmmmm very interesting. Its nice to see that even though its been 15 years that this case can still be solved, I would imagine it lends a little hope to those still waiting for justice in some of these older cases. Anyway Im glad to hear they found a suspect this is one of those cases that always stood out in my mind but I thought we would never see solved :)

[crystaldawn]

I always admired the two hitchhikers for thinking something was wrong and actually following up on it by calling the police. Then when they contacted the telecenter and offered to be hypnotized as well to try and remember more details.

I was rewatching this segment tonight and was reminded that they found a bloody handprint at the scene of the crime. Probably part of the evidence that helped them arrest the suspect.

[kadrmas15]

Hey Lawrence Tutt, he does look similar to the composite except his hair is in a buzz cut but his face looks similar. If you want to see his picture go to the Ohio Department of Corrections inmate search and then put Tutt in the last name search option and then search and it will come up he is at the very top. Tutt was born on March 9th, 1969. Tutt was sent to prison for robbery in 2001 but escaped from prison and was re sentenced for that in 2002. Tutt is now serving a 13 year prison sentence that expires in 2014 and in which he will be eligible for parole after serving 8 years.

[skunk ape]

Does anyone have a link to the composite of Bill Henderson's killer with the braids?

[kadrmas15]

How did they find Bill Henderson's killer? Did they just do a random DNA search of prisoners in this country and they found a match or what?

[kadrmas15]

The composite sketch of this guy scared the crap out of me. I just remember his crazy face and the little pony tails he had. Yes his hair cut is much different as I said before his hair is now in a buzz cut or at least it was in his prison photograph although I dont know when it was taken. However his face looks pretty much the same he has aged a bit, he was in his early 20's at the time of Bill Henderson's murder and is now in his late 30's. If you get a chance to look at his picture you can tell it is the same guy in the composite the hair is just different.

[Kane]

How did they find Bill Henderson's killer? Did they just do a random DNA search of prisoners in this country and they found a match or what?

The articles I discovered mentioned that a woman had received a call that might have been Henderson's killer. The call came from a truck stop, and although the woman in question vaguely remembered the caller's hometown, she knew the man's first name. This information led investigators to Lawrence Tutt.

As for the DNA question, I only know the general fact that Lawrence Tutt was linked to the case through DNA.

[teacherkoe]

ej henderson was my grandfather.. i was in the unsolved mysteries show .. i played my cousins part... the mans name is lawrence tutt.. and you can see his picture on the following website.
www.newschannel10.com/Global/story.asp?S=5202998 - 59k

[DP1]

I vaguely recall this case. What was it about again?

[Kane]

I vaguely recall this case. What was it about again?

E.J. "Bill" Henderson was the old man who was found beaten and strangled to death in his Texas home in the spring of 1991. The killer then stole Henderson's pick-up truck.

Two people later came forward to report the suspicious driver who gave them a ride. They tried to get him arrested, reporting that the truck they were in was stolen, only to be told that the vehicle in question had not been reported stolen. It was later determined that it was because Henderson had not yet been found dead.

The two hitchhikers, who were cousins, described the suspect. The details they gave included the suspect being barefoot and sporting ponytails on his head. The composite drawing of the murder suspect was one of the creepiest ones I've ever seen on UM. :eek:

UM first aired the segment during the 1991-92 season.

[DP1]

Thanks. I do remember the case now.

[kadrmas15]

Well I will tell you, I will never forget the composite of this piece of garbage with his little bowes in hair and stuff. That just scared the living crap out of me, still does if I would see it. I am against the death penalty, although if he is sentenced according to 1991 laws that is before they had LWOP in Texas and so after the DP the next thing he would have is life with parole eligiblity after 15 years.

[Kane]

I am against the death penalty, although if he is sentenced according to 1991 laws that is before they had LWOP in Texas and so after the DP the next thing he would have is life with parole eligiblity after 15 years.

To me, that would justify seeking the death penalty against the guy. As far as I'm concerned, Henderson's killer is a rabid animal that needs to be put to sleep.

[Carrie F]

Hi,
I noticed several people mentioning that larry Tutt sounds like the type of guy who has probably killed more than one person.

I can confirm this for you. He murdered my brother, William freitag, dec 18th 1998. He doused him with accelerant and set him on fire. He then set the rest of the house on fire to try to cover the murder, leaving two other people sleeping in the burning house. Had it not been for two passerby's who spotted the fire, my mother and a friend of my brother's would have also died that night.

He was convicted of murder and arson in New York state. He escaped in Ohio while being transported to NY to begin this sentence. This is how he ended up serving time in Ohio.

Every intuition I have says that Bill freitag and Bill henderson are not larry Tutt's only victims.

Thank you for your interest in this case.

Take care,
Carrie

[ididn'tdoit]

I just rewatched this sad case. Man that composite sketch was creepy!!! :eek:
The links you posted Kane are now dead but I was looking at his Offender detail information and it only shows he was convicted of robbery and escape in 2002? :confused:

Also don't you think it's weird that anyone would want to pick up hitchhikers after committing a murder? Why would he want to draw attention to him like that? By the way UM described him it seemed like he was on drugs IMO, anyway the hichhikers were lucky they got out alive.

[mozartpc27]

I just rewatched this sad case. Man that composite sketch was creepy!!! :eek:
The links you posted Kane are now dead but I was looking at his Offender detail information and it only shows he was convicted of robbery and escape in 2002? :confused:

Also don't you think it's weird that anyone would want to pick up hitchhikers after committing a murder? Why would he want to draw attention to him like that? By the way UM described him it seemed like he was on drugs IMO, anyway the hichhikers were lucky they got out alive.

Yeah, this was by far the weirdest part of this story. I never understood that myself.

[Kane]

I just rewatched this sad case. Man that composite sketch was creepy!!! :eek:
The links you posted Kane are now dead but I was looking at his Offender detail information and it only shows he was convicted of robbery and escape in 2002? :confused:

Lawrence Tutt was sentenced to 13 years in prison for robbery and escape in Ohio. He also has criminal convictions in New York; in that state, he was convicted of criminal impersonation and a 1998 arson murder. Those New York convictions earned him prison sentences of one year and 25 years, respectively. Tutt is expected to complete his prison sentences in New York and Ohio before he begins serving his time in Texas for killing E.J. 'Bill' Henderson.

Also don't you think it's weird that anyone would want to pick up hitchhikers after committing a murder? Why would he want to draw attention to him like that? By the way UM described him it seemed like he was on drugs IMO, anyway the hichhikers were lucky they got out alive.

Drugs or no drugs, criminals make mistakes. But even if the killer hadn't drawn attention to himself in the way that he did, it would hardly have mattered since he had already lmade the mistake of leaving his bloody palm print at the murder scene.

I agree that the hitchhikers were lucky to be alive. Refusing to acompany the killer any further might have saved their lives. I'm sure they feared for their lives, even after they parted ways with the killer.

UM has sometimes been justified in not mentioning names of certain people, and the update part of the Henderson segment is no exception. The names of the hitchhikers were probably withheld from the public anyway.

[ididn'tdoit]

OK, thanks for clearing that out for me, Kane! :)

:wave:

[Gianttess]

Not sure if you're still following this story but anyway: a little more on Larry Tutt's 1998 crime...
He murdered his best friend by setting him and his family's home on fire in order for Larry to avoid a drug charge. I had known both Larry and his friend (Bill Frietag) for a short time when we were kids. I believe at this point there are a number of murders under Larry's belt. His sister wrote an impact statement of the sentencing which gives a lot of detail of the crime - quite a disturbing but interesting read: http://www.murdervictims.com/Impact/FreitagImpact.htm

[TracyLynnS]

Not sure if you're still following this story but anyway: a little more on Larry Tutt's 1998 crime...
He murdered his best friend by setting him and his family's home on fire in order for Larry to avoid a drug charge. I had known both Larry and his friend (Bill Frietag) for a short time when we were kids. I believe at this point there are a number of murders under Larry's belt. His sister wrote an impact statement of the sentencing which gives a lot of detail of the crime - quite a disturbing but interesting read: http://www.murdervictims.com/Impact/FreitagImpact.htm

What an excellent impact statement. If Tutt could be convicted in all the states where he's committed crimes, this victimized family would never have to worry about him being paroled (which is of great concern to them) on this 2nd degree murder conviction. He would just leave one prison to serve his time in another state, and so on, until he was dead.

[kadrmas15]

Well, it is unclear to me whether or not Tutt would face the death penalty in Texas if convicted in this 1991 murder. Under 1991 law in Texas only certain types of first degree murder were eligible for the death penalty. While the case could be made that Tutt did the murder in the commission of another felony (burglary) or in the commission of a robbery, the problem is the statue of limitation long ago expired on any burglary or robbery charges. So my guess is that at most Tutt would face up to life in prison in Texas. To be honest, I think spending life in a Texas prison would be worse than facing the needle. With all the havoc he has caused throughout his life, I personally hope he remains in prison the rest of his life and hopefully it is in a Texas prison.

[kadrmas15]

Yes, as Kane mentioned above, Tutt will have to finish his time in Ohio and New York before he would begin serving time in Texas. http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18988335&BRD=517&PAG=461&dept_id=473182&rfi=6

Tutt pleaded guilty to killing Bill Henderson and was sentenced to 45 years in prison. Tutt I believe has a release date of 2014 in Ohio although he might be paroled earlier than that so they can ship him off to New York where a sentence of 25 to life is waiting for him. Only if he were ever paroled from New York would he be sent to Texas to serve his sentence there.

[sdb4884]

a case that made me stand up and take notice

[everybodylovesrs]

Hi,
I noticed several people mentioning that larry Tutt sounds like the type of guy who has probably killed more than one person.

I can confirm this for you. He murdered my brother, William freitag, dec 18th 1998. He doused him with accelerant and set him on fire. He then set the rest of the house on fire to try to cover the murder, leaving two other people sleeping in the burning house. Had it not been for two passerby's who spotted the fire, my mother and a friend of my brother's would have also died that night.

He was convicted of murder and arson in New York state. He escaped in Ohio while being transported to NY to begin this sentence. This is how he ended up serving time in Ohio.

Every intuition I have says that Bill freitag and Bill henderson are not larry Tutt's only victims.

Thank you for your interest in this case.

Take care,
Carrie

Thank you for posting.

[kadrmas15]

Well in regards to Tutt, I do not blame him for taking that deal. I guess part of that deal was that if he took it, he would go to New York after finishing his sentence in Ohio instead of going to Texas. Of course no one wants to do time but if you had to, it would be much easier to do time in New York than Texas. In Texas, even lifers get placed on chain gangs and the like and the weather this time of year especially is brutal. So yeah I would think New York would be substantially easier to do time in, in prison than Texas would be. Plus Tutt, was sentenced to 45 years in prison in Texas under the laws in effect in 1991 which means that at some point he would have to be released on mandatory supervision. These days in Texas you have to serve at least half of your term (if it is a non life or non death term) before you can become eligible for parole. However that law was not put into effect until 1996, so until that time, you become eligible for parole after serving a fraction of the time. Heck, I bet Tutt would become eligible for parole after serving, perhaps not even 10 years and his mandatory supervision release date would be somewhere in the neighborhood after serving 20 years. Texas law is interesting to say the least. The mandatory supervision law was changed in Texas for all crimes committed on or after September 1st, 1996. Before that, you had people that lets say were sentenced to 20 years in prison and then after sometimes only a few months in prison, the parole board would recommend them for release and because the sentencing guidelines were so open ended at the time, nothing really could be done about it. It was not unusual to see people sentenced to 20 years and get released after serving a year or two and things of that nature.

[peachysquirt21]

After reading all the crimes this guy has comitted, I am really surpised those hitchikers did not get killed. They was smart not to travel with this guy any further cause who knows what would have happened to them if they had.

[daeclipse03]

Wow! That's great news. This is another case that creeped me out (as well as the hitchhikers that were picked up by the guy). I wonder who else the suspect has killed. He didn't seem like the type that would have only killed once.


Hes not.. He was convicted in 2000 of Murdering a friend of mine in Skaneateles NY.. The guy is a dirtbag. He poured accelerant all over his supposed " best friend " and all over his house and lit him on fire.

He was willing to take his best friends life because he took his identity to try and escape drug charges in New Mexico in 1998. He got caught smuggling 188 lbs of marijuana into the country and thought by killing his friend the heat would come off from the police.

The worst part about it. He was staying in our house after the murder because we all thought it was an accident and he needed a place to stay for awhile :(

[daeclipse03]

ej henderson was my grandfather.. i was in the unsolved mysteries show .. i played my cousins part... the mans name is lawrence tutt.. and you can see his picture on the following website.
www.newschannel10.com/Global/story.asp?S=5202998 - 59k


I'm sorry for your loss. Your not the only one to have a loved one taken from you by this man. He murdered a close family friend of mine in 1998 and was convicted of 2nd degree murder in 2000 and sentenced to 25 to life in New York State Prison. My mother had to testify at the murder trial because he was staying at our house after what we thought was an " accident "

God do I feel grateful to be alive today who knows what else this man was capable of!