On October 6, 1990, during a family weekend an antique mall in Beaumont, Texas, Joe and Elaine Langley's life changed forever. Their 10-year-old daughter, Falyssa Van Winkle, disappeared while buying peanuts just a few yards away. Five hours later her body was found under a remote rural bridge 80 miles away, where she had been raped and strangled.
Starting with hundreds of potential witnesses and suspects who were at the mall, a team of investigators from throughout Southeast Texas quickly narrowed their focus to a 44-year-old vendor and family acquaintance named James Rexford Powell.
Seen through the eyes of a veteran sex crime detective who helped lead the search for Falyssa Van Winkle's killer, this is a chronicle of the investigation, arrest, subsequent trial, and execution of a man whose profile is all too familiar to police, and can be found much closer to home than any parent can bear to imagine.
At Powell's trial, he was convicted of capital murder in 45-minutes and sentenced to receive the death penalty in 35-minutes.
So Innocent, Yet So Dead, was published in hard copy December 12, 1998 (ISBN 0-9669502-0-8). Powell was finally executed on October 1, 2003. The execution was witnessed by the author, who then wrote the final chapter to the book.
Sgt. Bill Davis, a 36-year police veteran with the Beaumont, Texas Police Department, retired January 31, 2008. During his tenure with the Beaumont Police Department, he investigated over 7,000 child abuse and sex crimes cases. As an internationally recognized motivational speaker and consultant, Sgt. Davis has conducted seminars, lectures, and workshops on the awareness, prevention, and intervention of child abuse, sex crimes, and safety to over 300,000 people during the last thirty years. He has received numerous awards for his investigative skills, speaking abilities, and efforts to save lives.
Starting with hundreds of potential witnesses and suspects who were at the mall, a team of investigators from throughout Southeast Texas quickly narrowed their focus to a 44-year-old vendor and family acquaintance named James Rexford Powell.
Seen through the eyes of a veteran sex crime detective who helped lead the search for Falyssa Van Winkle's killer, this is a chronicle of the investigation, arrest, subsequent trial, and execution of a man whose profile is all too familiar to police, and can be found much closer to home than any parent can bear to imagine.
At Powell's trial, he was convicted of capital murder in 45-minutes and sentenced to receive the death penalty in 35-minutes.
So Innocent, Yet So Dead, was published in hard copy December 12, 1998 (ISBN 0-9669502-0-8). Powell was finally executed on October 1, 2003. The execution was witnessed by the author, who then wrote the final chapter to the book.
Sgt. Bill Davis, a 36-year police veteran with the Beaumont, Texas Police Department, retired January 31, 2008. During his tenure with the Beaumont Police Department, he investigated over 7,000 child abuse and sex crimes cases. As an internationally recognized motivational speaker and consultant, Sgt. Davis has conducted seminars, lectures, and workshops on the awareness, prevention, and intervention of child abuse, sex crimes, and safety to over 300,000 people during the last thirty years. He has received numerous awards for his investigative skills, speaking abilities, and efforts to save lives.
