Sheriff: Slain Student Burned on Grill
Pastor Dale Morgan
Mar 24, 11:33 PM EDT
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Sheriff: Slain Student Burned on Grill*
By JOE STINEBAKER
Associated Press Writer
HOUSTON (AP) -- A 19-year-old Texas A&M University student was killed by
her ex-boyfriend, who then dismembered and burned her body on a patio
grill, authorities said Saturday.
Investigators say Timothy Wayne Shepherd, 27, confessed Wednesday to
strangling Tynesha Stewart because he was angry she had begun a new
relationship. Shepherd, who is charged with murder, is being held on
$250,000 bond.
"We have determined through this investigation that the defendant
dismembered Tynesha Stewart and . . . he burned the body parts," Harris
County Sheriff Tommy Thomas said. "There are no remaining body parts."
The announcement was the latest in a debate that has raged since
Thursday in the Houston area, when authorities said they would not
search for Stewart's body because there was little chance of success.
Officials first thought that the body had been disposed in a large
commercial trash bin that had since been emptied. Authorities believed
her remains were scattered in several overflowing landfills, and that
the search would be expensive and nearly impossible.
The decision angered family and friends, and complaints from activists
and lawmakers prompted Thomas to get emergency approval to spend up to
$500,000 for a search. But the search never began.
Thomas said he knew, but could not disclose, that there were no body
parts to find. He said investigators were unable to release that
information to the public or to Stewart's family because of the
investigation. Stewart's family has since been advised, and understands
why there will be no search, Thomas said.
Stewart, a college freshman from Houston, was last seen with Shepherd on
March 15 while she was home for spring break visiting her mother.
Friends have said Stewart and Shepherd quit dating at the beginning of
this school year.
Shepherd's attorney, Chip Lewis, has not returned calls for comment. A
call seeking comment was made to Stewart's mother Saturday night, but
there was no way to leave a message. Thomas said the family had asked
for privacy and would not respond to media calls.
Authorities did not give any more details about how they believe the
slaying occurred, but said nothing remains of Stewart. Although human
remains generally require extremely high temperatures to destroy, Thomas
would not discuss how he believed the body could be burned to nothing.