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Paper: Houston Chronicle (TX)
Title: Fort Bend successes spur cold-case hope - Clearing of two old killings gives woman hope of a break in brother's 1996 slaying
Author: ERIC HANSON, THAYER EVANS
Date: January 5, 2006
Section: B
Page: 1 Metfront
MISSOURI CITY - With Fort Bend County police departments clearing two unsolved killings in the past two months, Mona Felts has renewed optimism that the cold case involving her brother can be cracked.
Steven Felts, 36, was shot three times in the back of the head in his Rosenberg home on Oct. 15, 1996.
Mona Felts said she knows it will be difficult to solve the case after nearly 10 years but hopes a person will come forward someday with the key bit of information.
"I will never give up hope for some justice," she said.
Police say two recent cases show why detectives will stay with an investigation for years, handing down bulky homicide reports to each succeeding generation of investigators and keeping in touch with victims' relatives.
Fort Bend County sheriff's detectives last month obtained a confession from Steve Carrington, 31, and charged him with murder in the 1998 death of Corey Brooks, 21, whose body was never found.
Police say Carrington also confessed to the slaying last month of his 12-year-old stepdaughter, Teketria Buggs, whose body was found in the Brazos River. Carrington has yet to be charged in that case.
And in November, a Rosenberg case uncleared for more than two decades was closed. Police said former Councilman Ronald Swallers, 66, committed suicide after failing a polygraph test in connection with the 1983 death of his sister-in-law, Penny Swallers. Detectives said they were close to filing charges when Swallers took his life.
"A new set of eyes looking at the case can certainly give you a new viewpoint to see if there is something you missed. Technology changes, procedural issues change, new tactics come about and when you overlay those on an old case, you may be able to solve it," said Missouri City Police Chief Ron Echols.
Mona Felts still is haunted by her brother's slaying. "It has been excruciatingly painful," Felts, of New York, said in a telephone interview. "There is hardly a day that goes by that I don't cry."
Steven Felts' wife, Linette, told police she found her husband dead when she returned from a trip to a fast-food restaurant. The couple's 6-year-old daughter was asleep in another room and was unharmed.
Police said guns owned by Felts and stolen at the time of his slaying were found in pawnshops in the Wharton area, southwest of Fort Bend County.
Mona Felts is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to a conviction in the death of her brother, who worked as a lab supervisor for a chemical company.
Rosenberg police Lt. Margaret Hedden said there have been no developments in the Felts slaying but said detectives will review it as is done periodically in all cold cases.
"Sometimes people who did not want to talk to us back then are willing to talk to us now," she said.
For example, police say the catalyst for solving the disappearance of Corey Brooks was the Teketria Buggs case.
When Teketria was reported missing last month, tips and calls about the Brooks case suddenly started to come in.
Beyond the daily torment for victims' family and friends, law enforcement officials such as Echols have a personal interest in some unsolved cases.
He was a detective on the night of April 17, 1990, when he was sent to a home in the 1400 block of Whispering Pines in Missouri City. "There are things that I will remember forever. I can vividly remember what the kitchen looked like," Echols said.
The kitchen was where a bleeding Kim Wildman, 38, grabbed a telephone about 11:45 p.m. and called 911.
Her last words were a brief description of her attacker and a plea for help. Wildman lived alone and was attacked in her house by an intruder who sexually assaulted her and then stabbed her numerous times as she fought for her life in several rooms of the two-story house.
"She really put up a fight," said Missouri City police detective Andi Wiltse who is now handling the case.
Wildman was barely alive when officers arrived. She was rushed by Life Flight Helicopter to Memorial Hermann Hospital, where she died.
Wiltse said police found DNA from the killer, which was entered into a national computer database called the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS).
Each time a new sample is introduced into the database, the computer checks it against all old cases. The computer has not found a match for the sample in the Wildman case.
Wiltse said the man entered the house through a window and probably attacked Wildman while she was sleeping.
Detectives checked with other police departments for possible connections to other cases but found nothing.
Investigators also talked to co-workers, friends and relatives, but no leads turned up.
"We don't know why she was targeted," Wiltse said.
At least two suspects were cleared by DNA evidence, Wiltse said.
"A lot of times in a case you think you know who did it and you are just waiting for them to make the wrong step so you can snag them. We don't have that in this case," she said.
No weapon was found and police were not able to determine if anything was stolen from the house.
In other cold cases, police sometimes have a suspect but can't come up with the evidence needed for an indictment.
Wiltse said she would like to solve the case while Wildman's elderly parents, who live in Illinois, are alive.
"The people in law enforcement truly don't forget and we truly don't stop looking," she said.
Anyone with information about the deaths of Felts or Wildman is encouraged to call Fort Bend County Crime Stoppers at 281-342-TIPS (8477).
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OTHER UNSOLVED KILLINGS IN THE COUNTY
May, 26, 1985: Anita Hancock, 36, and Michael D. Moore, 22, were found dead in a car in the 800 block of Brand in Stafford. Both had been shot, and a pistol was found in the car. Police said the pair had not been robbed.
Feb. 14, 1986: Marilu Geri, 33, was shot several times in the back at her home near Sugar Land. The victim's mother discovered her body in the bathroom.
Sept. 2, 1986: Pauline Duran, 72, was strangled in her Rosenberg apartment. Several pieces of jewelry were missing. An arrest was made, but the charge was dismissed.
July 19, 1991: Jerry Lynn Lewis, 25, was found shot in the head on an isolated road in Katy a few minutes before midnight. He died at a local hospital.
Sources: Katy, Stafford, Rosenberg police departments; Fort Bend County Sheriff
Caption:
Mugs: 1. Steven Felts (p. 3)<p></p><p></p>2. Kim Wildman (p. 3)
Author: ERIC HANSON, THAYER EVANS
Section: B
Page: 1 Metfront
Dateline: MISSOURI CITY
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle
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Paper: Houston Chronicle
Title: `Unsolved Mysteries' probes '86 murder here
Date: DECEMBER 21, 1988
Section: HOUSTON
Page: 10
Houston will get a chance tonight to help in the unsolved mystery of the death of Marilu Geri, a 33-year-old woman who was shot to death in her home in Sugar Land on Valentine's Day in 1986. ``Unsolved Mysteries'' will feature a re-enactment of the incident using local actors on the program at 7 tonight on Channel 2.
The Fort Bend County Sheriff's Department at one time offered an $80,000 reward for information and had as many as 16 persons working on the unsolved case. The victim's mother discovered her body.
Geri's husband, Stephen, will appear in this segment of the show, discussing the case. The victim's parents attempted to block Stephen Geri, 45, from collecting the insurance proceeds from their daughter's estate. They also filed a wrongful death suit, alleging that Geri was responsible for their daughter's murder. The suit was settled out of court with terms not disclosed and with a gag order placed on the relatives.
Last year, Stephen Geri was indicted for felony theft of $200,000 from a Houston savings association. The case is still pending.
Cynthia Buzzard, senior segment producer for ``Unsolved Mysteries'', said that the case was recommended to them by Houston police. The show employs a research staff of 12, who have communication with police departments across the country. Sometimes family members or police officers themselves call the show.
``I think the police have decided they can get a fair shake with us,'' said Buzzard. The number to call with information is (800) 876-5353. Lines are usually open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. from three to four days after the show, said Buzzard.
``Hot leads'' in the case are forwarded on to the appropriate law enforcement agency.
Mug: Marilu Geri wo was shot to death in her home in Sugar Land on Valentine's Day in 1986
Section: HOUSTON
Page: 10
Copyright 1988 Houston Chronicle
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Paper: Houston Chronicle
Title: Valentine's Day murder still unsolved
Date: FEBRUARY 14, 1988
Section: 3
Page: 4
RICHMOND - The parents of a 33-year-old woman slain in her Sugar Land home on Valentine's Day 1986 will not give up hope that her murder will be solved. ``It gets very frustrating to try to go on with your life,'' said Maria Serrato, mother of Marilu Serrato Geri. ``But I'm not going to give up. We don't want to think people can plan a murder and get away with it.''
Mrs. Serrato, expecting to arrive for her combination birthday and Valentine's Day party, found her daughter dead on a bathroom floor two years ago.
Mrs. Geri was shot four times in the back with two different guns.
At the time, Fort Bend County sheriff's Sgt. Jerry Clements said there was no sign of forced entry at the home and nothing was reported stolen.
``There was a table knocked over in the hall, but really nothing else was messed up in the house,'' Clements said. Although some drawers were pulled out in the bathroom, nothing was missing from the house. ``I'm in so much pain - I feel my heart is broken,'' the dead woman's husband, Stephen Geri, 45, said after his wife's funeral.
``The anger inside of me has not abated. There is nothing Marilu didn't do to make the house perfect. She wasn't just my wife, she was my friend, my lover.''
The Serratos later filed a wrongful death lawsuit against their daughter's husband, a self-employed insurance man.
The lawsuit was settled in May 1987 and a gag order placed on settlement terms. One month later, an $80,000 reward was offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the murder.
Despite the reward offer, which expired at the end of last year, sheriff's investigators said they received no information leading to an indictment in the murder.
``It's still an active case,'' Fort Bend County Sheriff's Sgt. Jerry Clements said. He said investigators still have not cleared everyone considered a possible suspect.
A Fort Bend County grand jury indicted Geri last November on a felony theft charge, alleging he stole nearly $200,000 from a Houston savings association by supplying false information on a loan application. That case is pending.
Mug: Marilu Geri (b/w, color, p. 1)
Section: 3
Page: 4
Dateline: RICHMOND
Copyright 1988 Houston Chronicle
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Paper: Houston Chronicle
Title: Gag order put on settlement of death suit
Author: PATTI MUCK
Date: May 27, 1987
Section: 1
Page: 15
RICHMOND - A civil lawsuit authorities believed could shed light on an unsolved 1986 Valentine's Day murder ended abruptly Tuesday, and a visiting state district judge placed a two-year gag order on the settlement.A jury was seated and ready to hear testimony in the civil lawsuit against Stephen G. Geri, 44, whose in-laws claimed he intentionally and wrongfully caused the death of their daughter, Marilu Serrato Geri, 33.
Mrs. Geri was found shot to death in her fashionable Sugar Land home where she had been preparing a combination Valentine's Day and birthday party for her mother, Maria Serrato.
There have been no arrests or indictments in the case.
Maria and Miguel Serrato filed a civil lawsuit against Geri last June to prevent him from collecting an estimated $800,000 worth of insurance pro ceeds.
Attorneys for both sides said Tuesday the lawsuit was settled, but they refused further comment.
"The civil case is over," said F.B. Harvie, attorney for the Serratos. "The settlement is dictated and sealed and there is a gag order."
Some of the slain woman's relatives present for the trial wiped tears from their eyes after attorneys emerged from a closed-door meeting with visiting state District Judge Daniel Sklar, but they said they could not discuss the case.
Sklar confirmed the gag order is in place for two years, but he would not say why.
"As a result of the settlement, there will be a reward offered for the indictment and conviction of the person responsible for Marilu Geri's death," the judge said. He said details of the reward and its amount are "forthcoming."
A private investigator who worked on the case on behalf of the dead woman's parents said the crime was a well-planned operation designed to look like a robbery.
In a previous interview, investigator Bill Elliott said the shooting was not a "heat-of-passion type murder." He said the victim may have learned something or seen something that led to her death.
Fort Bend County sheriff's detectives are continuing their investigation into Geri's death.
"The investigation is just as intense now as it was a year ago," said Lt. Marshall Whichard. As many as 16 officers have worked on the case at one time.
"Suspects have been established and cleared," said Whichard, adding that at least one suspect has not yet been eliminated from suspicion. He said detectives had no input in the civil case but were interested in the outcome.
At the time of his wife's funeral, Geri, a self-employed insurance man, said his heart was broken. In subsequent pretrial hearings, he told attorneys he would rather have his wife back than her insurance money.
Geri originally offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to an indictment and conviction in his wife's murder. That reward was later withdrawn.
Author: PATTI MUCK
Section: 1
Page: 15
Dateline: RICHMOND
Copyright 1987 Houston Chronicle
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Paper: Houston Chronicle
Title: Former Cougar star McVea fined in chicken theft scam
Author: Staff
Date: March 21, 1986
Section: 2
Page: 10
Former University of Houston and Houston Oilers running back Warren McVea was fined $75 after pleading guilty to a reduced charge of attempted theft of 42 chicken dinners from a fast food restaurant. McVea, sentenced by County Criminal Court-at Law Judge Shelly Hancock Thursday, had been charged with misdemeanor theft.
Assistant District Attorney Dennis Buckley said the charge was reduced because McVea never actually got the dinners.
He said the restaurant manager called police after McVea, posing as current Oilers player Tim Smith, telephoned last November and said he wanted the dinners for poor children.
McVea was arrested before the dinners were turned over to him.
Reward offer withdrawn
RICHMOND - Sheriff's deputies here said they have suspects in the Valentine's Day murder of a Sugar Land woman, but a $50,000 reward offered by the victim's widower has been withdrawn.
Stephen Geri, a 43-year-old insurance man, offered the reward two days after Marilu Geri, 33, his wife of three years was found shot to death Feb. 14 in the master bathroom of their fashionable Tealbriar home.
"He didn't have the money," said Geri's attorney, Dennis K. Powell. "At the time he made that original offer he was grief-stricken. He was really hurt, and he wanted to do whatever he could to help find the person who murdered his wife."
Fort Bend County Sheriff's Lt. Marshall Whichard said the investigation into the Valentine's Day murder probably will be a lengthy one. "There are suspects, but I'm not at liberty to go into any detail," he said.
Mrs. Geri was shot three times in the back and once in the side as she prepared for a combination Valentine's Day and birthday party for her mother, Marilu Serrato.
Geri was appointed administrator of his wife's estate in a probate hearing before County Court-at-Law Judge Thomas Culver III Wednesday. He is beneficiary of a $250,000 life insurance policy on his deceased wife.
Cabbie killer gets death
A Houston man who fought with courtroom bailiffs during the punishment stage of his capital murder trial was sentenced to death for killing a cab driver during a robbery.
The defendant, who uses the names Jimmy Jackson and Johnny Ray Carter, was sentenced Thursday for the slaying of Robert Lee Brown, 54, of 2214 1/2 Jenson.
Brown was shot July 6 in the 2600 block of Lee in northeast Houston.
Wednesday, during the punishment stage of his trial, Jackson, 20, called a deputy sheriff an obscenity and walked from the courtroom during arguments between attorneys. He was subdued after a struggle with officers.
Thursday, after final arguments, Jackson got into an argument with another prisoner in the holding cell.
Ghanan sues over firing
A former employee of the Texas Department of Human Services who said he was discriminated against because he is black and from Ghana, West Africa, has filed a federal lawsuit seeking undisclosed damages.
The suit, filed Thursday by George M. Ankamah, a former eligibility worker in the Houston food stamp office, accuses the state agency and four state employees of violating his civil rights.
The suit says Ankamah was wrongly disciplined, then fired in February 1985 on unrelated trumped-up charges that he sexually harassed women seeking food stamps.
The suit asks that Ankamah be allowed to return to his job and receive an undisclosed amount of back pay and damages.
A state agency spokesman declined to comment specifically about the lawsuit, but said Ankamah was fired for work-related and not racial reasons.
Also named in the suit are Donna Burns, local office supervisor; King Cox, regional director; Lindy Levit, program director, and Barbara Miller, also a supervisor.
Author: Staff
Section: 2
Page: 10
Column: COURTS/POLICE
Copyright 1986 Houston Chronicle
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Paper: Houston Chronicle
Title: Officers say they have suspects, but murder reward is withdrawn
Author: Staff
Date: March 20, 1986
Section: 2
Page: 17
RICHMOND - Sheriff's deputies here said they have suspects in the Valentine's Day murder of a Sugar Land woman, but a $50,000 reward offered by the victim's husband has been withdrawn. Sheriff's Lt. Marshall Whichard said the investigation into the murder of 33-year-old Marilu Geri, whose husband has withdrawn the reward offer, probably will be a lengthy one. "There are suspects, but I'm not at liberty to go into any detail," he said.
Mrs. Geri was found shot to death in the master bedroom of her fashionable Tealbriar home by her mother, Marilu Serrato, who had gone to the home for a combination Valentine's Day and birthday party.
Stephen Geri, the victim's husband of three years, offered a $50,000 reward two days later for information leading to the arrest, indictment and conviction of his wife's killer.
"It's been withdrawn," Geri confirmed today, referring all other questions to his Houston attorney, Dennis Powell.
"We were never involved in the coordination of the reward, and I don't believe there was ever any money put in escrow," said Whichard. "There were no guidelines established as to who would deliver the money."
Mrs. Geri was shot three times in the back and once in the side. Whichard said she was already dead when her mother found the body at 9:30 a.m. Feb. 14.
Author: Staff
Section: 2
Page: 17
Dateline: RICHMOND
Copyright 1986 Houston Chronicle
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Paper: Houston Chronicle
Title: $50,000 reward is offered in Valentine's Day shooting
Author: PATTI MUCK
Date: February 18, 1986
Section: 1
Page: 1
SUGAR LAND - Reminders of a Valentine's Day celebration that never took place still decorate Stephen and Marilu Geri's fashionable Tealbriar home. Wilting red roses and dishes of Valentine's Day candy sit untouched. Cards and holiday greetings adorn the fireplace.
Marilu Geri was buried Monday after she was shot and killed just before her Valentine's Day party was set to begin. Guests arriving at the Geri home shortly after 10:30 a.m. Friday were turned away by Fort Bend County sheriff's deputies investigating the crime.
Stephen Geri said he and his 33-year-old wife exchanged valentines the night before her death.
"I'm in so much pain - I feel my heart is broken," Geri said following his wife's funeral.
"Marilu was one of the sweetest people you'd ever want to meet in your life. She was the kind of person who loved to watch President and Mrs. Reagan hold hands. She used to tell me when we were old, we'd be like that."
Geri is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the indictment and conviction of his wife's killer.
The 43-year-old insurance man said he last saw his wife of three years at 6:30 a.m. Friday when he left for work.
Marilu Geri's body was discovered at 9:30 a.m. when her mother -
Marilu Serrato - arrived at the home for a combination Valentine's Day and birthday party in her honor.
Fort Bend County sheriff's Sgt. Jerry Clements said there was no sign of forced entry at the home, and nothing was reported stolen. The woman, found in the bathroom off the master bedroom, was shot three times in the back and once in the side, Clements said.
"There was a table knocked over in the hall, but really nothing else was messed up in the house," Clements said late Monday. Although some drawers were pulled out in the bathroom, nothing was missing from the house. Several pieces of jewelry remained on Marilu Geri's body, he said.
Detectives have no suspects or motives in the Valentine's Day murder, but sexual assault has been ruled out, Clements said.
"The anger inside of me has not abated," Geri said. As he surveyed the party decorations in his home, Geri talked of the couple's travels around the world and their work to decorate and landscape their home.
"There is nothing Marilu didn't do to make the house perfect," he said. "She wasn't just my wife, she was my friend, my lover." Marilu Geri worked with her husband in his insurance business.
The Geris were the first to move into the Tealbriar subdivision two years ago.
Located off Texas 6, the neighborhood is now full of expensive homes and manicured lawns - not the type of place associated with violence.
Instructed by detectives not to comment on the investigation, Geri would not say if the neighborhood experienced any crime problems in the past.
He did say a model home across the street from his attracted a lot of traffic.
Geri said he and his in-laws are cooperating to get the case solved as quickly as possible.
Holding the huge Valentine's Day card he gave to his wife before she was murdered, Geri remembered he often called her "Princess" because everyone thought she was so beautiful.
"She had such a good heart. We had planned to start a family soon," Geri said.
He said the reward money would be deposited in a local bank.
"We want to do as much as we can to get this solved," Geri said.
He said he will plant Indian hawthornes around his wife's grave in Houston since they are among the first flowers to bloom in spring.
Caption:
Mugs: Stephen Geri (color); Marilu Geri (color)
Author: PATTI MUCK
Section: 1
Page: 1
Dateline: SUGAR LAND
Copyright 1986 Houston Chronicle
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