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Thursday, February 23, 2012

She Now Wears Prison Whites!

You know at my age rarely should anything shock me anymore. Do most of us think that when we get older? Maybe it is because in our lives we have seen so much or even experienced it first hand.

Then out of the blue something will happen and you are blown away by it and realize you have not heard or seen it all there is will always be someone or something to shock you.

In this case it was a co-worker of mine at the prison I worked named Sherry.  My first position at the prison was an entry level one to get my foot in the door. Never did I dream that once that foot was in that door it would be there for years.  Sherry came into my life a few months after I was already working in the Mail Room.

I have to tell you the Mail Room position was the funniest job I have ever had in my life. We read both incoming and outgoing mail written to and by the inmates. It was hilarious to read their mail.

Each clerk was given a section of the alphabet to read. I am thinking mine was like S thru Z. The reason for a clerk to read one section day in and day out was to get to know the inmate and the people writing him. We were looking for anything that might set an alarm off that things were not right such as escapes, drugs, thoughts of suicide and of course gang related.

It was a full day because you not only read incoming and outgoing but you had other clerical duties in the mail room. Sherry and I sat next to each other in a very small working area.

This was in the late 80’s so smoking was the permitted everywhere. There were eight of us clerks in the small room with a nutty supervisor. None of us smoked thank goodness until the day Sherry came into our lives. She was a smoker and a chain smoker to boot.

Since the room was not the size of some people’s big walk in closets we were in trouble.
Each of us asked Sherry not to smoke in the room but to go out in the lobby which was right there by our office. When I look back now and know what I do about her I can see that she was the kind of person that could care less about anyone else. Obviously now I know she was one of those people that was living only for her self.

She ignored our pleas for not smoking in the office. We each suffered because of her selfish character.
I honestly believe she was one of the reason’s I had breast cancer. 

So you get the picture for the next nine months that I worked in the Mail Room I got to know all the ladies pretty well and have fond memories of most.  The very first week working with Sherry we found out she had two girls by a previous marriage and her first husband was raising her children. Having gone through a divorce years before this and raised my three children by myself until I remarried I could not even imagine not raising my kids. I worked three jobs to keep them with me. This thing about Sherry bothered me mainly because I could tell it was no big deal to her. She seemed to me not to be upset that she was not part of her daughter’s lives.

After the mailroom I went into Security where I started a whole new life of being a Correctional Officer. Several years later Sherry divorced her husband and became an Officer too.  Our paths crossed little during this time. We worked different shifts but would see each other at functions given by the Unit.

You are probably by this point get on with this story Maggie….geez enough. Haha
 
Well a few years ago through my friends still at the prison I found out Sherry had been divorced again and remarried a retired Sargeant. She also had left TDCJ-ID and was living on a small farm with her husband and his father.

Turns out one morning Sherry murdered both of them while they were in bed a sleep. She had taken one of their rifles and heartlessly walked into their rooms and shot them. Cold blooded killer was now what she had turned into. 

Also charged but not for murder was the ex-husband of Sherry's that raised her daughters. It seems he had moved to this area and he and Sherry were together a lot and she confided in him about killing her husband.

Thank goodness Sherry was careless and ended up being caught for the murders. You can read her story here at http://www.cca.courts.state.tx.us/OPINIONS/HTMLOPINIONINFO.ASP?OPINIONID=20578. She now sits in a female prison here in Texas a little over a hundred miles from where the prison we both worked. Sherry is serving a Life for Capital Murder. 

Was I shocked finding out she had killed her husband and father-in-law for insurance money. Yes of course I was even though I knew she was selfish I never dreamed she could kill someone.

It bothers me that I think of her sometimes when I doing the smallest things around the North Forty. I guess as long as I live I will never wrap my mind totally around what she was capable of doing.

Now she has traded one honorable uniform for another. She is the one being guarded now and yes even her mail is as I write this being read by a mail room clerk.

I must go now and catch up around the North Forty. We are having unseasonable warm weather this week with every other day rain. Today we have a 75 percent chance so I may not get to mow.

Love to all
Maggie





35 comments:

Libbie said...

Hey Maggie...that is so strange!!! I knew someone who ended up killing a little boy and it is just the worst sickening feeling isn't it!!! All the way down to your gut & it just makes you want to vomit! I just don't know how people can do that!!! It even upsets me when I accidentally knock one of my kids down when I don't see them in the way or something but to not only hurt someone intetionlly but to kill them! Oooooo I just can not understand!

I also looked at the guy who did it & you really could see evidence of selfishness ALL OVER HIM....we kept begging his girlfriend to leave him...but he left her & within a month...killed his next girlfriends son. It all comes down to selfishness. It's an ugly thing.

Anonymous said...

guess she missed out on that insurance money...huh???!!!

Tam said...

Maggie
OH I am like Libbie how can anyone kill another human being. But she was speaking of a child even more horrendous.
Glad you writing stories of your life in prison ...well you know what I mean.
I bet you could share some funny stories about their letters.
Think about doing a post on that for us
Tam

Nezzy (Cow Patty Surprise) said...

I have to tell ya it give me chills just thinkin' that you were workin' so closely with someone capable of such a horrifically heartless crime.

Oh, the stories you tell!!!

God bless ya and have a terrific day sweetie!!! :o)

Sweet Tea said...

I always wonder about people who are capable of commiting such horrendous crimes. Were they born that way or did they just wake up one morning and decide to go wild. I guess, in most instances it does begin with selfishness and callous emotions and continue to slide. Besides being very sad, I find this very interesting.

Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions said...

Wow! You must have been stunned, Maggie! I could just imagine trying to think back and wondering if there was anything to pick up on. I guess her other two husbands counted themselves lucky!

Susan Anderson said...

Unbelievable and crazy story, Maggie. I can't imagine having worked at such close quarters with someone that turns out to be a murderer.

Sheesh! Your life is never dull, is it?

"/

Delena said...

Maggie, I always say strangers walk amongst us. When I worked a woman in our office (the sweetest woman I have met) had a only son who ended up murdering a man for drugs. Now he is in jail and this mother almost committed sucide because of it. She is alright now, quit her job and moved near to the prison where she could visit him every day. Too sad....

Sush said...

Wow Maggie...I've worked with some gems, but hopefully none of them have ended up in jail. I'm thinking the two ladies that called each other out at the insurance company and duked it out in the parking lot might have...
Hugs~

Darlene said...

It must be hard knowing that someone you have known actually killed two people!! That seems so strange to me. It's amazing what some people are capable of doing. I think you are definitely right about her personality. She truly didn't care for anyone but herself. I wonder that she told her first ex about it. I also wonder how this murder came to light. Maybe you will let us know, if indeed you know yourself.

Julia said...

Oh my, Maggie. I went back and read most of the story on the link that you gave and it's unbelievable how callous this woman could be and selfish. I didn't get to read it all but want to finish reading the long story.

Just to think that you work as a co-worker with her gives me chills.

Your life certainly hasn't been boring. Thanks for sharing this, Hugs. JB

Paula said...

Found your interesting blog at another blog. My companion's brother-in-law just visited us and told us about a serial killer he had worked with and was even in the man's basement at one time. They are supposed to send me the book that was written about him. Nice to meet you Maggie from Paula in south Texas

yaya said...

Wow, that experience would have me looking at every one I know and thinking.."do I really know them?"..scary!

Gorges Smythe said...

To take a life because you HAVE to would be bad enough. But in cold blood? Only being possessed by the devil can explain that.

Susie Swanson said...

So chilling, So glad I finally got time to drop in..been alot on my plate lately..didn't mean to ignore you..Hope all is well..Love, Susie

Chatty Crone said...

What an interesting story - she turned he life around the wrong way. sandie

Cherrie said...

Wow some people are just so cold blooded they don't care about any one or any thing.

Marsha Young said...

Holy Cow! I've known a few real rotters in my time, but this is just horrible beyond all telling.

I would think it would be creepy for you to know that you worked with someone so cold-blooded for years.

Good line - "she traded one uniform for another."

Unknown said...

This makes me sick! There is no just punishment for someone who kills a child.

cindy

Debbie said...

Maggie, What stories you have!! You could write a book for sure!! I love reading the stories you have. You have lived such a interesting life!!!

God Bless~
Debbie

Rocky Mountain Woman said...

Great story sweetie!

It makes you kind of sick to your stomach, doesn't it?

I don't think I've ever personally known a murderer...yikes!

Tracy said...

Oh my gosh Maggie...you just never know, do you? I swear some of my students will end up in jail. I see it in their behaviors and responses to consequences as well as their parents response; always bailing them out...it is NEVER their fault! hah, tell a judge that in a few years!

deb said...

WOW that is crazy!
*hugs*deb

Auntie Cake said...

Hi Maggie,
Just wishing you a wonderful weekend!
Kate
PS- she probally doesn't get any mail!

Linda @ Itsy Bits And Pieces said...

Wow, what a story...sounds like something off TV! Not too much shocks me either, but sometimes something weird happens you didn't see coming...sounds like you had her pegged right all along...

Dr. Kathy McCoy said...

Wow, Maggie! That's quite a co-worker you had there! In my antibiotic/painkiller stoked state of late, I've had some really weird dreams about former places of employment -- but in reality or my dreams I've never had a co-worker like you did!

Thanks so much, by the way, for letting your readers know about my accident. Some very kindly visited my site and one or two even joined! Thanks for taking such good care of me, dear Maggie!

Pat MacKenzie said...

You never know the heart of a person until something like that happens do you, even though you may see undesirable traits beforehand. I can't understand wshy people think they can get away with killing another human being. You're right about selfishness being at the root of it.

June said...

This is crazy Maggie!!! Isn't it weird when someone you know murders someone? I have had two people that I have known well, actually murder before. One was a 15 year old who killed her mom and dad because they wouldn't let her see her loser boyfriend anymore.Her dad and I worked together and so I knew Alan well and knew Sarah (the daughter) because we all socialized together.
The one that rocked my world, was when the brother (18) of my daughter's first husband aided in killing a woman. He will be up for parole in about fifteen years..but Alan's daughter Sarah has life without parole. I think she was the youngest Idahoan to ever get that kind of sentence. Of course, whenever I watch a news program that the networks have done of her story, I am always so saddened by her choice to murder such wonderful parents.
I hope you don't think I hang out with the wrong crowds after reading this :o these were definitely families that had everything going for them. In fact, it was more about the kids never being told no before that led to there decisions.
They were both very self-centered.

You made me laugh when you told about reading the inmates mail. That would have been a revealing job I think :)
sending hugs from here...

~Anchored In Christ~ said...

hello. are you the one that comment from grandma yellow hair blog b/c if not i am sorry. i'm trying to find this blog in order to respond and cant find it.

Jennifer Richardson said...

I always wonder what makes a person
that kind of hard
and indifferent
and cold of heart...
what must've happened
or not happened
in the wee hours of their beginnings.
Sure makes you appreciate the love
and kindness
of the ones we're given
who touch us with tenderness.
I love love.
Sad when someone shuts it out.
Thankful for you, dear fascinating Maggie:)
-Jennifer

Gypsy Heart said...

First, if she just walked in the room and shot them, how was she going to get the insurance money? She had to know there were no indications that this was self-defense. But who knows what goes on in someone's mind that can actually kill. I can't wrap my head around it at all. I can only imagine the thoughts you have about her and yes, I do understand that they can flit in and out of your mind at anytime. I feel for you!

xo
Pat

Rick Watson said...

That's an interesting story but as I began to think back, I remembered a kid when I was in grammer school that killed his father with a butcher knife.
The circumstance were way different because his dad had come home in a drunken rage and was beating his wife (the kids mother).
He couldn't stop his father, so he stabbed him. They sent the kid to reform school and I never saw him again.
I hadn't thought of him in years, until reading your note.

Ann said...

Just found your blog and I was intrigued by your post. I often wonder who are the kind of people who do these things. How ironic that she now gets her mail read.
Ann from Tin and Sparkle.

Welcome to the Garden of Egan said...

Wow!
That is so unbelievable.
Interesting the uniforms that she's created for herself huh?

Your life.

So. NOT. Boring.

Anita at Cedar Hill said...

What a sad story. Wow, that's scary to know you worked with someone who turned out to be a murderer. I remember hearing about someone who worked with Ted Bundy and said he walked her out to her car every night and warned her to be safe, creepy!!