PORT NECHES—A 53-year-old Port Neches man was arrested early Saturday after a refinery executive and his wife were shot to death at their home inside the Texaco Plant complex.
Dead are James Thomas Yardley Jr., 57, and his wife, Sara Irene. Yardley was plant manager of the Port Neches facility. The shooting occurred in a company home occupied by the couple located inside the confines of the plant. The white, frame house is inside the refinery complex on Port Neches road.
Chief Criminal Investigator G. W. Woods said Yardley's body was found inside the house and had been shot four or five times. His wife was found next to a tree in the front yard of the home and appeared to have been shot three or four times.
Yardley was believed to have been in the bathtub when he was shot. Officers did not say which of the two victims had died first of what is thought to have been shots from a .32 caliber automatic pistol. Both victims were snot in the head, possibly after they had been hit by bullets in other parts of their body. Officers said a witness saw Mrs.
Yardley staggering across the yard. It was reported the witness saw a man following her and firing a shot into her back.
The man ran from the yard and drove away, with the witness giving chase, officers related. Yardley is thought to have struggled from the bathroom and into another part of the house before being shot several more times, officers said. Prior to the arrest, officers had a residence in Port Neches staked out where a suspect was said to be holed up. Officers from the Jefferson County. Sheriff's Department and policemen from Nederland and Port Neches were said to be on the scene. It was reported the man inside the house had asked to speak to a confidant "and no one else," according to Jimmie Weldon, justice of the peace. The man was reported to be a Texaco employee.
The suspect's son told officers that his father said he would talk to a local physician, apparently a family friend, but would talk with no one else. He said if any other person or persons attempted to enter he would kill them, officers said. Officers worked with investigator Wayne Wallace at the District Attorney's office in Beaumont in having a warrant prepared for the man's arrest.
The papers were brought to Port Arthur and signed by Judge Weldon.
Mr. and Mrs. Yardley are survived by two sons, Jimmy Yardley, of Palo Alto, Calif.; Harold Yardley of Brownsville, her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Harold Blackledge of Porter, Okla.; Mrs. Philip Brooks of Fayetteville. Ark., a sister. He has one brother, Jack Yardley, of Waco; and his mother, Mrs. J. T. Yardley, of Bryan. Yardley is a native of Port Arthur and Mrs. Hardley is a native of Oklahoma. He graduated from Texas A&M University. He was a member of the Port Neches Rotary Club and a Mason.
The sheriff's office was notified of the shooting at 6:45 p.m. by a telephone call thought to be from an employe at the Texaco facility who heard the gunshots. Assistant Chief Deputy Don Theriot said autopsies have been ordered by Justice of the Peace Jimmie Weldon. Both bodies were taken to Levingston Funeral Home.
The News 10.6.1973
BEAUMONT —A seven-man, five-woman jury in the capital murder trial of a 53-year old Port Neches man heard arguments Tuesday morning in the case following a touch-and-go question involving the sanity issue. The charge is due to be read to the jury in the trial of John H. DeVries who faces the death penalty in the shooting death of Mrs. Sarah Irene Yardley at her home at the Port Neches Texaco facility Oct. 5. Mrs. Yardley's husband, James Thomas Yardley Jr., the plant manager, also was shot to death The trial faced possible postponement Monday after the defense brought up the question of DeVries' sanity at present. Dr. Percy Bailey, a neuropsychiatrist who testified for the defense Friday afternoon, said that in his opinion DeVries was insane on Oct. 5 at the time of the double murder and now is unable to comprehend what is taking place and unable to assist counsel in his own defense. Joe Goodwin and Lum Hawthorn, defense attorneys, also tendered guardianship papers Friday afternoon which made the defendant's wife his guardian on the grounds he was of unsound mind. This paper was issued Nov. 26 by County Judge Chester C. Young as judge of the county court. Under Texas law, a person cannot be tried for a crime if he is not of sound mind and able to assist counsel with his defenses at the time of the trial. Judge George Taylor of the Criminal District Court, however, ruled that DeVries is mentally competent to stand trial. He also said that it was his opinion that the county court did not have jurisdiction in area of sanity after a person was charged with a crime. Taylor said that testimony in the case was not sufficient to ? that DeVries was not competent to stand trial at present. With this ruling, the judge eliminated the possibility of recessing the present trial until a jury would be picked to decide the issue of present sanity.
The News 1.22.1974
DeVries death penalty first under new law
BEAUMONT — A sparsely filled courtroom was still Wednesday at 5 p.m. as a 53-year-old Port Neches man became the first person under the new Texas Penal Code to be assessed the death penalty. As the Jefferson County courthouse employes were quietly leaving work for the day, Judge George Taylor assessed the capital punishment against John H. DeVries who received the decision quietly. Only minutes earlier, a seven-man, five-woman jury in the criminal District Court had answered yes to three questions which required that the judge assess the death penalty. Shortly before noon, the same jury had deliberated about two hours and 15 minutes before finding DeVries guilty of murder with malice while in the process of burglary. The Port Neches man, who sat quietly during both verdicts, was found guilty of killing Mrs. Sarah Irene Yardley at her home Oct. 5 at the Port Neches Texaco facility. Her husband, James Thomas Yardley, the plant manager, also was killed. After assessing the punishment in the case, Judge Taylor said ‘there will be no normal sentencing until the time allowed for filing a motion for a new trial has elapsed." Joe Goodwin, one attorney for DeVries, said that he expects to appeal the case to test the validity of the new Texas death penalty provision. The jury deliberated about 30 minutes before returning at 4:50 a.m. with unanimous answers to the three questions posed them on the punishment phase. The questions were: Whether the murder was deliberate. Whether it was likely that the defendant would commit criminal acts of violence again. Whether the murder occurred without provocation from the victim. As the clerk of the court read the questions and the jury's answer to each, the anticipation mounted. When this was concluded, Goodwin as he had done earlier on the guilt Or innocence phase asked that the jury be polled individually. Each juror stood and responded when asked by the judge that the verdict coincided with each member's vote. Members of DeVries' family cried silently When the judge asked if anyone had anything to say to the jury, the defendant said that he did. He did not speak, however, after Goodwin waved him back to his seat. During the arguments on punishment,DeVries took the stand for questioning by Goodwin. He said he couldn't "say if I killed Mrs. Yardley or not." DeVries testified that he did not have no recollection of doing it and had no reason for killing her. "I only saw her about three or four times all the time I worked at the Texas Company." When queried about what his native might have been, the slightly balding man said "Only God knows that." District Atty. Tom Hanna did not ask DeVries any questions. During arguments on punishment, Larry Gist, chief of the criminal prosecution division, talked about 10 minutes. He explained the procedure for responding and told them if "you can't fill in a blank, then there will be a mistrial and a new jury would have to be picked." Goodwin, in subdued tones, described the trial as "a trying time." He called a statement by Gist, that the state takes no pleasure in a possible death sentence, "ridiculous." In his 20-rninute talk he indicated the death penalty would be a plum for both Hanna and Gist. He also said that he did not think the legislative intent of the new law was to give the death penalty in an instance like this. Hanna in closing, said he was asking for the death penalty because it was his duty and responsibility. "Just because my oath of office demands and requires a course of action does not mean a person has to take personal pleasure in it." He said that "this is an age when we tend to make light of responsibility. If we substitute our opinion for what the law is or ought to be, then let's throw away the lawbooks, lock up the courthouse and deed it back to the Indians because we are entering an age of savagery." The- jury returned 30 minutes later with the answers to the questions.
The News 1-24-1974
John H. DeVries hangs self in Huntsville cell.
The News 7.1.1974
d/o Harold E. Blackledge, Cassie Gibson
Dead are James Thomas Yardley Jr., 57, and his wife, Sara Irene. Yardley was plant manager of the Port Neches facility. The shooting occurred in a company home occupied by the couple located inside the confines of the plant. The white, frame house is inside the refinery complex on Port Neches road.
Chief Criminal Investigator G. W. Woods said Yardley's body was found inside the house and had been shot four or five times. His wife was found next to a tree in the front yard of the home and appeared to have been shot three or four times.
Yardley was believed to have been in the bathtub when he was shot. Officers did not say which of the two victims had died first of what is thought to have been shots from a .32 caliber automatic pistol. Both victims were snot in the head, possibly after they had been hit by bullets in other parts of their body. Officers said a witness saw Mrs.
Yardley staggering across the yard. It was reported the witness saw a man following her and firing a shot into her back.
The man ran from the yard and drove away, with the witness giving chase, officers related. Yardley is thought to have struggled from the bathroom and into another part of the house before being shot several more times, officers said. Prior to the arrest, officers had a residence in Port Neches staked out where a suspect was said to be holed up. Officers from the Jefferson County. Sheriff's Department and policemen from Nederland and Port Neches were said to be on the scene. It was reported the man inside the house had asked to speak to a confidant "and no one else," according to Jimmie Weldon, justice of the peace. The man was reported to be a Texaco employee.
The suspect's son told officers that his father said he would talk to a local physician, apparently a family friend, but would talk with no one else. He said if any other person or persons attempted to enter he would kill them, officers said. Officers worked with investigator Wayne Wallace at the District Attorney's office in Beaumont in having a warrant prepared for the man's arrest.
The papers were brought to Port Arthur and signed by Judge Weldon.
Mr. and Mrs. Yardley are survived by two sons, Jimmy Yardley, of Palo Alto, Calif.; Harold Yardley of Brownsville, her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Harold Blackledge of Porter, Okla.; Mrs. Philip Brooks of Fayetteville. Ark., a sister. He has one brother, Jack Yardley, of Waco; and his mother, Mrs. J. T. Yardley, of Bryan. Yardley is a native of Port Arthur and Mrs. Hardley is a native of Oklahoma. He graduated from Texas A&M University. He was a member of the Port Neches Rotary Club and a Mason.
The sheriff's office was notified of the shooting at 6:45 p.m. by a telephone call thought to be from an employe at the Texaco facility who heard the gunshots. Assistant Chief Deputy Don Theriot said autopsies have been ordered by Justice of the Peace Jimmie Weldon. Both bodies were taken to Levingston Funeral Home.
The News 10.6.1973
BEAUMONT —A seven-man, five-woman jury in the capital murder trial of a 53-year old Port Neches man heard arguments Tuesday morning in the case following a touch-and-go question involving the sanity issue. The charge is due to be read to the jury in the trial of John H. DeVries who faces the death penalty in the shooting death of Mrs. Sarah Irene Yardley at her home at the Port Neches Texaco facility Oct. 5. Mrs. Yardley's husband, James Thomas Yardley Jr., the plant manager, also was shot to death The trial faced possible postponement Monday after the defense brought up the question of DeVries' sanity at present. Dr. Percy Bailey, a neuropsychiatrist who testified for the defense Friday afternoon, said that in his opinion DeVries was insane on Oct. 5 at the time of the double murder and now is unable to comprehend what is taking place and unable to assist counsel in his own defense. Joe Goodwin and Lum Hawthorn, defense attorneys, also tendered guardianship papers Friday afternoon which made the defendant's wife his guardian on the grounds he was of unsound mind. This paper was issued Nov. 26 by County Judge Chester C. Young as judge of the county court. Under Texas law, a person cannot be tried for a crime if he is not of sound mind and able to assist counsel with his defenses at the time of the trial. Judge George Taylor of the Criminal District Court, however, ruled that DeVries is mentally competent to stand trial. He also said that it was his opinion that the county court did not have jurisdiction in area of sanity after a person was charged with a crime. Taylor said that testimony in the case was not sufficient to ? that DeVries was not competent to stand trial at present. With this ruling, the judge eliminated the possibility of recessing the present trial until a jury would be picked to decide the issue of present sanity.
The News 1.22.1974
DeVries death penalty first under new law
BEAUMONT — A sparsely filled courtroom was still Wednesday at 5 p.m. as a 53-year-old Port Neches man became the first person under the new Texas Penal Code to be assessed the death penalty. As the Jefferson County courthouse employes were quietly leaving work for the day, Judge George Taylor assessed the capital punishment against John H. DeVries who received the decision quietly. Only minutes earlier, a seven-man, five-woman jury in the criminal District Court had answered yes to three questions which required that the judge assess the death penalty. Shortly before noon, the same jury had deliberated about two hours and 15 minutes before finding DeVries guilty of murder with malice while in the process of burglary. The Port Neches man, who sat quietly during both verdicts, was found guilty of killing Mrs. Sarah Irene Yardley at her home Oct. 5 at the Port Neches Texaco facility. Her husband, James Thomas Yardley, the plant manager, also was killed. After assessing the punishment in the case, Judge Taylor said ‘there will be no normal sentencing until the time allowed for filing a motion for a new trial has elapsed." Joe Goodwin, one attorney for DeVries, said that he expects to appeal the case to test the validity of the new Texas death penalty provision. The jury deliberated about 30 minutes before returning at 4:50 a.m. with unanimous answers to the three questions posed them on the punishment phase. The questions were: Whether the murder was deliberate. Whether it was likely that the defendant would commit criminal acts of violence again. Whether the murder occurred without provocation from the victim. As the clerk of the court read the questions and the jury's answer to each, the anticipation mounted. When this was concluded, Goodwin as he had done earlier on the guilt Or innocence phase asked that the jury be polled individually. Each juror stood and responded when asked by the judge that the verdict coincided with each member's vote. Members of DeVries' family cried silently When the judge asked if anyone had anything to say to the jury, the defendant said that he did. He did not speak, however, after Goodwin waved him back to his seat. During the arguments on punishment,DeVries took the stand for questioning by Goodwin. He said he couldn't "say if I killed Mrs. Yardley or not." DeVries testified that he did not have no recollection of doing it and had no reason for killing her. "I only saw her about three or four times all the time I worked at the Texas Company." When queried about what his native might have been, the slightly balding man said "Only God knows that." District Atty. Tom Hanna did not ask DeVries any questions. During arguments on punishment, Larry Gist, chief of the criminal prosecution division, talked about 10 minutes. He explained the procedure for responding and told them if "you can't fill in a blank, then there will be a mistrial and a new jury would have to be picked." Goodwin, in subdued tones, described the trial as "a trying time." He called a statement by Gist, that the state takes no pleasure in a possible death sentence, "ridiculous." In his 20-rninute talk he indicated the death penalty would be a plum for both Hanna and Gist. He also said that he did not think the legislative intent of the new law was to give the death penalty in an instance like this. Hanna in closing, said he was asking for the death penalty because it was his duty and responsibility. "Just because my oath of office demands and requires a course of action does not mean a person has to take personal pleasure in it." He said that "this is an age when we tend to make light of responsibility. If we substitute our opinion for what the law is or ought to be, then let's throw away the lawbooks, lock up the courthouse and deed it back to the Indians because we are entering an age of savagery." The- jury returned 30 minutes later with the answers to the questions.
The News 1-24-1974
John H. DeVries hangs self in Huntsville cell.
The News 7.1.1974
d/o Harold E. Blackledge, Cassie Gibson
PORT NECHES—A 53-year-old Port Neches man was arrested early Saturday after a refinery executive and his wife were shot to death at their home inside the Texaco Plant complex.
Dead are James Thomas Yardley Jr., 57, and his wife, Sara Irene. Yardley was plant manager of the Port Neches facility. The shooting occurred in a company home occupied by the couple located inside the confines of the plant. The white, frame house is inside the refinery complex on Port Neches road.
Chief Criminal Investigator G. W. Woods said Yardley's body was found inside the house and had been shot four or five times. His wife was found next to a tree in the front yard of the home and appeared to have been shot three or four times.
Yardley was believed to have been in the bathtub when he was shot. Officers did not say which of the two victims had died first of what is thought to have been shots from a .32 caliber automatic pistol. Both victims were snot in the head, possibly after they had been hit by bullets in other parts of their body. Officers said a witness saw Mrs.
Yardley staggering across the yard. It was reported the witness saw a man following her and firing a shot into her back.
The man ran from the yard and drove away, with the witness giving chase, officers related. Yardley is thought to have struggled from the bathroom and into another part of the house before being shot several more times, officers said. Prior to the arrest, officers had a residence in Port Neches staked out where a suspect was said to be holed up. Officers from the Jefferson County. Sheriff's Department and policemen from Nederland and Port Neches were said to be on the scene. It was reported the man inside the house had asked to speak to a confidant "and no one else," according to Jimmie Weldon, justice of the peace. The man was reported to be a Texaco employee.
The suspect's son told officers that his father said he would talk to a local physician, apparently a family friend, but would talk with no one else. He said if any other person or persons attempted to enter he would kill them, officers said. Officers worked with investigator Wayne Wallace at the District Attorney's office in Beaumont in having a warrant prepared for the man's arrest.
The papers were brought to Port Arthur and signed by Judge Weldon.
Mr. and Mrs. Yardley are survived by two sons, Jimmy Yardley, of Palo Alto, Calif.; Harold Yardley of Brownsville, her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Harold Blackledge of Porter, Okla.; Mrs. Philip Brooks of Fayetteville. Ark., a sister. He has one brother, Jack Yardley, of Waco; and his mother, Mrs. J. T. Yardley, of Bryan. Yardley is a native of Port Arthur and Mrs. Hardley is a native of Oklahoma. He graduated from Texas A&M University. He was a member of the Port Neches Rotary Club and a Mason.
The sheriff's office was notified of the shooting at 6:45 p.m. by a telephone call thought to be from an employe at the Texaco facility who heard the gunshots. Assistant Chief Deputy Don Theriot said autopsies have been ordered by Justice of the Peace Jimmie Weldon. Both bodies were taken to Levingston Funeral Home.
The News 10.6.1973
BEAUMONT —A seven-man, five-woman jury in the capital murder trial of a 53-year old Port Neches man heard arguments Tuesday morning in the case following a touch-and-go question involving the sanity issue. The charge is due to be read to the jury in the trial of John H. DeVries who faces the death penalty in the shooting death of Mrs. Sarah Irene Yardley at her home at the Port Neches Texaco facility Oct. 5. Mrs. Yardley's husband, James Thomas Yardley Jr., the plant manager, also was shot to death The trial faced possible postponement Monday after the defense brought up the question of DeVries' sanity at present. Dr. Percy Bailey, a neuropsychiatrist who testified for the defense Friday afternoon, said that in his opinion DeVries was insane on Oct. 5 at the time of the double murder and now is unable to comprehend what is taking place and unable to assist counsel in his own defense. Joe Goodwin and Lum Hawthorn, defense attorneys, also tendered guardianship papers Friday afternoon which made the defendant's wife his guardian on the grounds he was of unsound mind. This paper was issued Nov. 26 by County Judge Chester C. Young as judge of the county court. Under Texas law, a person cannot be tried for a crime if he is not of sound mind and able to assist counsel with his defenses at the time of the trial. Judge George Taylor of the Criminal District Court, however, ruled that DeVries is mentally competent to stand trial. He also said that it was his opinion that the county court did not have jurisdiction in area of sanity after a person was charged with a crime. Taylor said that testimony in the case was not sufficient to ? that DeVries was not competent to stand trial at present. With this ruling, the judge eliminated the possibility of recessing the present trial until a jury would be picked to decide the issue of present sanity.
The News 1.22.1974
DeVries death penalty first under new law
BEAUMONT — A sparsely filled courtroom was still Wednesday at 5 p.m. as a 53-year-old Port Neches man became the first person under the new Texas Penal Code to be assessed the death penalty. As the Jefferson County courthouse employes were quietly leaving work for the day, Judge George Taylor assessed the capital punishment against John H. DeVries who received the decision quietly. Only minutes earlier, a seven-man, five-woman jury in the criminal District Court had answered yes to three questions which required that the judge assess the death penalty. Shortly before noon, the same jury had deliberated about two hours and 15 minutes before finding DeVries guilty of murder with malice while in the process of burglary. The Port Neches man, who sat quietly during both verdicts, was found guilty of killing Mrs. Sarah Irene Yardley at her home Oct. 5 at the Port Neches Texaco facility. Her husband, James Thomas Yardley, the plant manager, also was killed. After assessing the punishment in the case, Judge Taylor said ‘there will be no normal sentencing until the time allowed for filing a motion for a new trial has elapsed." Joe Goodwin, one attorney for DeVries, said that he expects to appeal the case to test the validity of the new Texas death penalty provision. The jury deliberated about 30 minutes before returning at 4:50 a.m. with unanimous answers to the three questions posed them on the punishment phase. The questions were: Whether the murder was deliberate. Whether it was likely that the defendant would commit criminal acts of violence again. Whether the murder occurred without provocation from the victim. As the clerk of the court read the questions and the jury's answer to each, the anticipation mounted. When this was concluded, Goodwin as he had done earlier on the guilt Or innocence phase asked that the jury be polled individually. Each juror stood and responded when asked by the judge that the verdict coincided with each member's vote. Members of DeVries' family cried silently When the judge asked if anyone had anything to say to the jury, the defendant said that he did. He did not speak, however, after Goodwin waved him back to his seat. During the arguments on punishment,DeVries took the stand for questioning by Goodwin. He said he couldn't "say if I killed Mrs. Yardley or not." DeVries testified that he did not have no recollection of doing it and had no reason for killing her. "I only saw her about three or four times all the time I worked at the Texas Company." When queried about what his native might have been, the slightly balding man said "Only God knows that." District Atty. Tom Hanna did not ask DeVries any questions. During arguments on punishment, Larry Gist, chief of the criminal prosecution division, talked about 10 minutes. He explained the procedure for responding and told them if "you can't fill in a blank, then there will be a mistrial and a new jury would have to be picked." Goodwin, in subdued tones, described the trial as "a trying time." He called a statement by Gist, that the state takes no pleasure in a possible death sentence, "ridiculous." In his 20-rninute talk he indicated the death penalty would be a plum for both Hanna and Gist. He also said that he did not think the legislative intent of the new law was to give the death penalty in an instance like this. Hanna in closing, said he was asking for the death penalty because it was his duty and responsibility. "Just because my oath of office demands and requires a course of action does not mean a person has to take personal pleasure in it." He said that "this is an age when we tend to make light of responsibility. If we substitute our opinion for what the law is or ought to be, then let's throw away the lawbooks, lock up the courthouse and deed it back to the Indians because we are entering an age of savagery." The- jury returned 30 minutes later with the answers to the questions.
The News 1-24-1974
John H. DeVries hangs self in Huntsville cell.
The News 7.1.1974
d/o Harold E. Blackledge, Cassie Gibson
Dead are James Thomas Yardley Jr., 57, and his wife, Sara Irene. Yardley was plant manager of the Port Neches facility. The shooting occurred in a company home occupied by the couple located inside the confines of the plant. The white, frame house is inside the refinery complex on Port Neches road.
Chief Criminal Investigator G. W. Woods said Yardley's body was found inside the house and had been shot four or five times. His wife was found next to a tree in the front yard of the home and appeared to have been shot three or four times.
Yardley was believed to have been in the bathtub when he was shot. Officers did not say which of the two victims had died first of what is thought to have been shots from a .32 caliber automatic pistol. Both victims were snot in the head, possibly after they had been hit by bullets in other parts of their body. Officers said a witness saw Mrs.
Yardley staggering across the yard. It was reported the witness saw a man following her and firing a shot into her back.
The man ran from the yard and drove away, with the witness giving chase, officers related. Yardley is thought to have struggled from the bathroom and into another part of the house before being shot several more times, officers said. Prior to the arrest, officers had a residence in Port Neches staked out where a suspect was said to be holed up. Officers from the Jefferson County. Sheriff's Department and policemen from Nederland and Port Neches were said to be on the scene. It was reported the man inside the house had asked to speak to a confidant "and no one else," according to Jimmie Weldon, justice of the peace. The man was reported to be a Texaco employee.
The suspect's son told officers that his father said he would talk to a local physician, apparently a family friend, but would talk with no one else. He said if any other person or persons attempted to enter he would kill them, officers said. Officers worked with investigator Wayne Wallace at the District Attorney's office in Beaumont in having a warrant prepared for the man's arrest.
The papers were brought to Port Arthur and signed by Judge Weldon.
Mr. and Mrs. Yardley are survived by two sons, Jimmy Yardley, of Palo Alto, Calif.; Harold Yardley of Brownsville, her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Harold Blackledge of Porter, Okla.; Mrs. Philip Brooks of Fayetteville. Ark., a sister. He has one brother, Jack Yardley, of Waco; and his mother, Mrs. J. T. Yardley, of Bryan. Yardley is a native of Port Arthur and Mrs. Hardley is a native of Oklahoma. He graduated from Texas A&M University. He was a member of the Port Neches Rotary Club and a Mason.
The sheriff's office was notified of the shooting at 6:45 p.m. by a telephone call thought to be from an employe at the Texaco facility who heard the gunshots. Assistant Chief Deputy Don Theriot said autopsies have been ordered by Justice of the Peace Jimmie Weldon. Both bodies were taken to Levingston Funeral Home.
The News 10.6.1973
BEAUMONT —A seven-man, five-woman jury in the capital murder trial of a 53-year old Port Neches man heard arguments Tuesday morning in the case following a touch-and-go question involving the sanity issue. The charge is due to be read to the jury in the trial of John H. DeVries who faces the death penalty in the shooting death of Mrs. Sarah Irene Yardley at her home at the Port Neches Texaco facility Oct. 5. Mrs. Yardley's husband, James Thomas Yardley Jr., the plant manager, also was shot to death The trial faced possible postponement Monday after the defense brought up the question of DeVries' sanity at present. Dr. Percy Bailey, a neuropsychiatrist who testified for the defense Friday afternoon, said that in his opinion DeVries was insane on Oct. 5 at the time of the double murder and now is unable to comprehend what is taking place and unable to assist counsel in his own defense. Joe Goodwin and Lum Hawthorn, defense attorneys, also tendered guardianship papers Friday afternoon which made the defendant's wife his guardian on the grounds he was of unsound mind. This paper was issued Nov. 26 by County Judge Chester C. Young as judge of the county court. Under Texas law, a person cannot be tried for a crime if he is not of sound mind and able to assist counsel with his defenses at the time of the trial. Judge George Taylor of the Criminal District Court, however, ruled that DeVries is mentally competent to stand trial. He also said that it was his opinion that the county court did not have jurisdiction in area of sanity after a person was charged with a crime. Taylor said that testimony in the case was not sufficient to ? that DeVries was not competent to stand trial at present. With this ruling, the judge eliminated the possibility of recessing the present trial until a jury would be picked to decide the issue of present sanity.
The News 1.22.1974
DeVries death penalty first under new law
BEAUMONT — A sparsely filled courtroom was still Wednesday at 5 p.m. as a 53-year-old Port Neches man became the first person under the new Texas Penal Code to be assessed the death penalty. As the Jefferson County courthouse employes were quietly leaving work for the day, Judge George Taylor assessed the capital punishment against John H. DeVries who received the decision quietly. Only minutes earlier, a seven-man, five-woman jury in the criminal District Court had answered yes to three questions which required that the judge assess the death penalty. Shortly before noon, the same jury had deliberated about two hours and 15 minutes before finding DeVries guilty of murder with malice while in the process of burglary. The Port Neches man, who sat quietly during both verdicts, was found guilty of killing Mrs. Sarah Irene Yardley at her home Oct. 5 at the Port Neches Texaco facility. Her husband, James Thomas Yardley, the plant manager, also was killed. After assessing the punishment in the case, Judge Taylor said ‘there will be no normal sentencing until the time allowed for filing a motion for a new trial has elapsed." Joe Goodwin, one attorney for DeVries, said that he expects to appeal the case to test the validity of the new Texas death penalty provision. The jury deliberated about 30 minutes before returning at 4:50 a.m. with unanimous answers to the three questions posed them on the punishment phase. The questions were: Whether the murder was deliberate. Whether it was likely that the defendant would commit criminal acts of violence again. Whether the murder occurred without provocation from the victim. As the clerk of the court read the questions and the jury's answer to each, the anticipation mounted. When this was concluded, Goodwin as he had done earlier on the guilt Or innocence phase asked that the jury be polled individually. Each juror stood and responded when asked by the judge that the verdict coincided with each member's vote. Members of DeVries' family cried silently When the judge asked if anyone had anything to say to the jury, the defendant said that he did. He did not speak, however, after Goodwin waved him back to his seat. During the arguments on punishment,DeVries took the stand for questioning by Goodwin. He said he couldn't "say if I killed Mrs. Yardley or not." DeVries testified that he did not have no recollection of doing it and had no reason for killing her. "I only saw her about three or four times all the time I worked at the Texas Company." When queried about what his native might have been, the slightly balding man said "Only God knows that." District Atty. Tom Hanna did not ask DeVries any questions. During arguments on punishment, Larry Gist, chief of the criminal prosecution division, talked about 10 minutes. He explained the procedure for responding and told them if "you can't fill in a blank, then there will be a mistrial and a new jury would have to be picked." Goodwin, in subdued tones, described the trial as "a trying time." He called a statement by Gist, that the state takes no pleasure in a possible death sentence, "ridiculous." In his 20-rninute talk he indicated the death penalty would be a plum for both Hanna and Gist. He also said that he did not think the legislative intent of the new law was to give the death penalty in an instance like this. Hanna in closing, said he was asking for the death penalty because it was his duty and responsibility. "Just because my oath of office demands and requires a course of action does not mean a person has to take personal pleasure in it." He said that "this is an age when we tend to make light of responsibility. If we substitute our opinion for what the law is or ought to be, then let's throw away the lawbooks, lock up the courthouse and deed it back to the Indians because we are entering an age of savagery." The- jury returned 30 minutes later with the answers to the questions.
The News 1-24-1974
John H. DeVries hangs self in Huntsville cell.
The News 7.1.1974
d/o Harold E. Blackledge, Cassie Gibson
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See more Yardley or Blackledge memorials in:
- Oak Bluff Memorial Park Yardley or Blackledge
- Port Neches Yardley or Blackledge
- Jefferson County Yardley or Blackledge
- Texas Yardley or Blackledge
- USA Yardley or Blackledge
- Find a Grave Yardley or Blackledge
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