From the files of the "Eunice News," November 1962:
Mary Horton Vail of Lake Charles drowned in Calcasieu River while she and her husband were running trot lines. She was 1957 Eunice High Homecoming queen and editor of the school newspaper.
From Find A Grave member Moneyroe:
FYI from The Guardian Express
Mary Horton Vail drowned on October 28, 1962. Her husband, Felix, said she had fallen out of their boat when he swerved to avoid a stump. He was unable to save her. Fifty years later, Felix Vail was arrested in Texas for her murder.
The incident happened in Louisiana on the Calcasieu River while they were fishing. A Calcasieu Parish grand jury failed to indict Vail in January 1963. But an autopsy report showed Vail had bruises on her neck, right calf, and left leg before falling into the water that suggested a struggle. Authorities also found a scarf around her neck and in her mouth which suggested she may suffered traumatic asphyxia, a form of suffocation.
The story was retold in the The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Mississippi in May 2012. It also reported that two other women with relationships to Vail had gone missing. Sharon Hensley, a girlfriend disappeared in 1973, and another wife, Annette Craver Vail, disappeared in 1984. A November 11 report prompted authorities to re-open the investigation.
“It’s been a long time coming. That family has suffered for many, many years,” said Calcasieu Parish District Attorney John Derosier. “This process is just beginning, but hopefully this will give the family some closure.”
Mary Horton Vail’s brother Allen, who is now 80 years old, was pleased to hear that Vail had finally been charged with his sister’s murder. “I wish my sister, mother, and father were here to see this. However, I’m confident that they are very aware of what’s happening,” he said.
Vail sold his Mississippi property in 2012 and disappeared. He was finally traced to Canyon Lake, Texas.
Mary and Vail were married in July of 1961. A year later, they had a baby boy. Just after her son was born, she told her family that the marriage was a mistake, and that she was thinking of leaving him. She decided to try and make it work, only to drown in the lake two months later. The former homecoming queen was just 22 years old when she died.
Enzo Yaksic, founder of the Serial Homicide Expertise and Information Sharing Collaborative, says that the length of time between Vail’s arrest and the murder, is the longest in American history.
The unsavory record was previously held by Dennis Rader, also known as the “BTK Killer." Rader is serving 10 consecutive life sentences in Kansas. He was arrested 31 years after his crimes.
James Turnage
The Guardian Express
From Find A Grave member Misty Dawn:
https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2016/08/12/felix-vail-trial-day-five/88604212/
Mary Horton Vail of Lake Charles drowned in Calcasieu River while she and her husband were running trot lines. She was 1957 Eunice High Homecoming queen and editor of the school newspaper.
From Find A Grave member Moneyroe:
FYI from The Guardian Express
Mary Horton Vail drowned on October 28, 1962. Her husband, Felix, said she had fallen out of their boat when he swerved to avoid a stump. He was unable to save her. Fifty years later, Felix Vail was arrested in Texas for her murder.
The incident happened in Louisiana on the Calcasieu River while they were fishing. A Calcasieu Parish grand jury failed to indict Vail in January 1963. But an autopsy report showed Vail had bruises on her neck, right calf, and left leg before falling into the water that suggested a struggle. Authorities also found a scarf around her neck and in her mouth which suggested she may suffered traumatic asphyxia, a form of suffocation.
The story was retold in the The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Mississippi in May 2012. It also reported that two other women with relationships to Vail had gone missing. Sharon Hensley, a girlfriend disappeared in 1973, and another wife, Annette Craver Vail, disappeared in 1984. A November 11 report prompted authorities to re-open the investigation.
“It’s been a long time coming. That family has suffered for many, many years,” said Calcasieu Parish District Attorney John Derosier. “This process is just beginning, but hopefully this will give the family some closure.”
Mary Horton Vail’s brother Allen, who is now 80 years old, was pleased to hear that Vail had finally been charged with his sister’s murder. “I wish my sister, mother, and father were here to see this. However, I’m confident that they are very aware of what’s happening,” he said.
Vail sold his Mississippi property in 2012 and disappeared. He was finally traced to Canyon Lake, Texas.
Mary and Vail were married in July of 1961. A year later, they had a baby boy. Just after her son was born, she told her family that the marriage was a mistake, and that she was thinking of leaving him. She decided to try and make it work, only to drown in the lake two months later. The former homecoming queen was just 22 years old when she died.
Enzo Yaksic, founder of the Serial Homicide Expertise and Information Sharing Collaborative, says that the length of time between Vail’s arrest and the murder, is the longest in American history.
The unsavory record was previously held by Dennis Rader, also known as the “BTK Killer." Rader is serving 10 consecutive life sentences in Kansas. He was arrested 31 years after his crimes.
James Turnage
The Guardian Express
From Find A Grave member Misty Dawn:
https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2016/08/12/felix-vail-trial-day-five/88604212/
From the files of the "Eunice News," November 1962:
Mary Horton Vail of Lake Charles drowned in Calcasieu River while she and her husband were running trot lines. She was 1957 Eunice High Homecoming queen and editor of the school newspaper.
From Find A Grave member Moneyroe:
FYI from The Guardian Express
Mary Horton Vail drowned on October 28, 1962. Her husband, Felix, said she had fallen out of their boat when he swerved to avoid a stump. He was unable to save her. Fifty years later, Felix Vail was arrested in Texas for her murder.
The incident happened in Louisiana on the Calcasieu River while they were fishing. A Calcasieu Parish grand jury failed to indict Vail in January 1963. But an autopsy report showed Vail had bruises on her neck, right calf, and left leg before falling into the water that suggested a struggle. Authorities also found a scarf around her neck and in her mouth which suggested she may suffered traumatic asphyxia, a form of suffocation.
The story was retold in the The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Mississippi in May 2012. It also reported that two other women with relationships to Vail had gone missing. Sharon Hensley, a girlfriend disappeared in 1973, and another wife, Annette Craver Vail, disappeared in 1984. A November 11 report prompted authorities to re-open the investigation.
“It’s been a long time coming. That family has suffered for many, many years,” said Calcasieu Parish District Attorney John Derosier. “This process is just beginning, but hopefully this will give the family some closure.”
Mary Horton Vail’s brother Allen, who is now 80 years old, was pleased to hear that Vail had finally been charged with his sister’s murder. “I wish my sister, mother, and father were here to see this. However, I’m confident that they are very aware of what’s happening,” he said.
Vail sold his Mississippi property in 2012 and disappeared. He was finally traced to Canyon Lake, Texas.
Mary and Vail were married in July of 1961. A year later, they had a baby boy. Just after her son was born, she told her family that the marriage was a mistake, and that she was thinking of leaving him. She decided to try and make it work, only to drown in the lake two months later. The former homecoming queen was just 22 years old when she died.
Enzo Yaksic, founder of the Serial Homicide Expertise and Information Sharing Collaborative, says that the length of time between Vail’s arrest and the murder, is the longest in American history.
The unsavory record was previously held by Dennis Rader, also known as the “BTK Killer." Rader is serving 10 consecutive life sentences in Kansas. He was arrested 31 years after his crimes.
James Turnage
The Guardian Express
From Find A Grave member Misty Dawn:
https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2016/08/12/felix-vail-trial-day-five/88604212/
Mary Horton Vail of Lake Charles drowned in Calcasieu River while she and her husband were running trot lines. She was 1957 Eunice High Homecoming queen and editor of the school newspaper.
From Find A Grave member Moneyroe:
FYI from The Guardian Express
Mary Horton Vail drowned on October 28, 1962. Her husband, Felix, said she had fallen out of their boat when he swerved to avoid a stump. He was unable to save her. Fifty years later, Felix Vail was arrested in Texas for her murder.
The incident happened in Louisiana on the Calcasieu River while they were fishing. A Calcasieu Parish grand jury failed to indict Vail in January 1963. But an autopsy report showed Vail had bruises on her neck, right calf, and left leg before falling into the water that suggested a struggle. Authorities also found a scarf around her neck and in her mouth which suggested she may suffered traumatic asphyxia, a form of suffocation.
The story was retold in the The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Mississippi in May 2012. It also reported that two other women with relationships to Vail had gone missing. Sharon Hensley, a girlfriend disappeared in 1973, and another wife, Annette Craver Vail, disappeared in 1984. A November 11 report prompted authorities to re-open the investigation.
“It’s been a long time coming. That family has suffered for many, many years,” said Calcasieu Parish District Attorney John Derosier. “This process is just beginning, but hopefully this will give the family some closure.”
Mary Horton Vail’s brother Allen, who is now 80 years old, was pleased to hear that Vail had finally been charged with his sister’s murder. “I wish my sister, mother, and father were here to see this. However, I’m confident that they are very aware of what’s happening,” he said.
Vail sold his Mississippi property in 2012 and disappeared. He was finally traced to Canyon Lake, Texas.
Mary and Vail were married in July of 1961. A year later, they had a baby boy. Just after her son was born, she told her family that the marriage was a mistake, and that she was thinking of leaving him. She decided to try and make it work, only to drown in the lake two months later. The former homecoming queen was just 22 years old when she died.
Enzo Yaksic, founder of the Serial Homicide Expertise and Information Sharing Collaborative, says that the length of time between Vail’s arrest and the murder, is the longest in American history.
The unsavory record was previously held by Dennis Rader, also known as the “BTK Killer." Rader is serving 10 consecutive life sentences in Kansas. He was arrested 31 years after his crimes.
James Turnage
The Guardian Express
From Find A Grave member Misty Dawn:
https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2016/08/12/felix-vail-trial-day-five/88604212/
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