Murder in the Piney Woods Part 2: Megan Winfrey goes to trial

On the morning of Aug. 7, 2004, the brutalized body of Murray Burr, a Coldspring High School janitor, was found by relatives.

In October 2008, 20-year-old Megan Winfrey was convicted of capital murder and conspiracy to commit capital murder in the case, and was sentenced to life in prison, plus 45 years.

Attorney Shirley Baccus-Lobel appeared before the Texas Court of Appeals on Wednesday, April 18, to try to have Winfrey's convictions overturned.

A date for the court's decision has not been set.

This is the second of a three-part series on the case.

WINFREY SR. CONVICTED

Richard Winfrey Sr., Megan Winfrey's father, was convicted of the murder of Murray Burr in December 2007, largely based on dog scent lineup evidence.

He was sentenced to 75 years in prison.

At that time, Megan Winfrey and her brother Richard Winfrey Jr. remained in jail, awaiting their own trials.

EX-BOYFRIEND COMES FORWARD

In May 2008, Megan Winfrey's ex-boyfriend, Jason King — who was married and living in Iowa at the time — contacted the San Jacinto County Sheriff's Office.

King told authorities he was told some things by Winfrey concerning the Burr murder that he "needed to get off his chest."

During the time they were seeing each other, King said Megan told him she and her brother would take Burr to church occasionally, and that Burr was an "easy lick."

He told investigators he was with Megan when she received the phone call informing her that her brother had been arrested, and asked him to take her to her ex-husband's house to discuss their child. (Megan had married Chris Hammond, given birth and divorced during the time period between Burr's death and when the case was reopened).

King said after they arrived at Hammond's house, the only thing discussed was that Megan and Hammond had been at a concert the night of the murder.

King also said he had information that when Megan found out she would be required to give a pubic hair sample, she shaved to avoid giving one.

MEGAN WINFREY'S TRIAL BEGINS

At Megan's 2008 trial, jurors were shown video of the dog scent lineup performed by Fort Bend County Sheriff's Deputy Keith Pikett, a certified expert on bloodhound trails.

Jurors watched as two of Pikett's dogs "alerted" to Megan's scent out of five other samples.

According to court documents, Pikett testified that his dogs had a nearly perfect record.

Under cross-examination, Pikett agreed that a person's scent could be transferred to another person indirectly, even when the two persons "have not had direct contact."

The Texas Ranger who interviewed Megan after the murder testified that during the interview, Megan stated she had last seen Burr "face to face" two weeks prior to his death. She told him she had been to Burr's house on occasion, but denied any inappropriate contact between herself and Burr, and denied any involvement with his death.

The Ranger said he didn't observe any physical evidence at the time that would indicate Megan had recently been involved in a struggle.

Two Coldspring High School teachers testified that they had seen Megan interacting with Burr at school prior to the murder.

One of the teachers said she had seen Megan having a conversation with Burr in the school hallway but couldn't hear what they were saying.

She testified that as Burr turned away from Megan, "she clenched her fist and said, 'Somebody should beat the s*** out of him.'"

According to the teacher, Megan looked angry and Burr looked distraught, saddened or "like he really didn't understand." Me then followed Burr into the classroom and apologized.

The teacher said Winfrey told her that she "didn't mean to say that aloud," and explained that "she lived near (Burr) and was tired of all his cats."

Another teacher testified that during summer school in 2004 — roughly a month before Burr's murder — Winfrey saw the janitor in the hall and, "jumped up and run and grabbed him by the arm and said, 'Oh, Murray, Murray, when are you going to take me out and spend some of that money that you have? We know you have that money hid at home."

Winfrey Sr.'s former cellmate, David Campbell, testified concerning information he overheard from Winfrey's father when they were incarcerated together in 2006.

According to his testimony, Campbell said the subject of Burr's murder first came up when Winfrey Sr. kept using the phone "over and over" wanting to talk to his mother.

"When he would hang up off of that, it was over his kids, I think, Little Richard and Megan," testified Campbell.

"His biggest thing was he was mad after he got off the phone, frustrated because this county was going to put his kids away for murder and lock them up."

Campbell was asked if Winfrey Sr. had ever indicated "that he had been present or knew what may have happened in that murder or did you get that impression?"

"I got that impression after him talking over and over," replied Campbell. "The things that he was saying that the only way he would be able to know exactly what he was saying would have been to put him at the murder."

When asked what Winfrey Sr. had conveyed to him, Campbell said, "That his children — that Murray was a janitor at their school; that they frequently would go over there and visit with Richard; and one of them used — one of them, when he got out of wherever he was at, they went to this house and was supposed to have opened a door or window — I don't know if it was a door or the window — in the back of his house."

Campbell confirmed other information he said Winfrey Sr. told him regarding the murder scene, including the sexual mutilation of Burr, which had prompted him to notify authorities.

Jason King took the stand and testified that he and Winfrey had "dated for six or eight months," approximately a year earlier.

King testified that Winfrey would make comments related to Burr's murder when they were "partying."

"She told me that they used to take him to church," testified King. "They would pick him up and take him to church."

"Did she indicate why they would do anything to Murray or why they would go over there to the house?" asked the late Bill Burnett, San Jacinto County criminal district attorney at the time.

"Her words were it was an easy lick," replied King.

"And what did you take "easy lick" to mean?"

"I guess..."

"Did they think they would get money?"

"I think so," said King.

King also testified about being with Winfrey when she received the phone call about her brother's arrest, taking her to see Hammond, and the discussion about them being at the concert the night of the murder.

"And prior to that, to your knowledge, did Megan receive information that a search warrant was going to be conducted regarding pubic hair?" asked Burnett.

"Yes, sir," King replied.

"Okay. Do you know — did she get a phone call?"

"I can't tell you, sir."

"Okay. Do you know when she got that information?"

"Yes, sir."

"What did she do?"

"She shaved herself."

"And since you were having sexual relations with her, you were aware of that?"

"Yes, sir."

"Okay. And she remained shaved for a period of time after that?"

"Yes, sir," confirmed King.

According to King's own testimony, he and Winfrey dated for six months, approximately a year earlier. However, the pubic hair sample incident occurred in August 2006, a full year before he and Winfrey began dating.

COMING NEXT WEEK: Look in next week's edition for the third and final installment of "Murder in the Piney Woods." Megan Winfrey takes the stand in her own defense, but is still convicted. With her brother acquitted and her father's conviction overturned, Megan's appeal hangs in the balance.

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