Property Dispute Leaves Three Dead

"APPLEBY, TX - Two Nacogdoches County women and a man were fatally shot near their adjacent Appleby residences Friday in what officials are calling a double homicide-suicide.

"The two women, Connie Moses, 58, a retired teacher, and Helen Meeler, 59, a retired surgery nurse at Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital, were discovered fatally shot in the front yard of their Appleby home in the 1700 block of CR 262, after an apparent dispute over a property line with their neighbor turned deadly, according to officials.

"The neighbor, 73-year-old Preston Skelton, was found some time later in the woods near his home, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Nacogdoches County Sheriff Thomas Kerss said.

"The two women and a hired male worker were in the process of constructing a fence along the disputed property line when the shooting began, Kerss said.

"`The man was driving T-posts to construct the fence, which went across a driveway leading into Mr. Skelton’s residence, when the man (the worker) said he was instructed (by Skelton) to drop the T-posts he had and the ladies were instructed to drop the T-posts they were holding,` Kerss said. Skelton `raised the rifle and began shooting, at which point (the worker) fled into a wooded area on foot.`

"Skelton, likewise, fled into the woods and, following an hours-long search, was discovered dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, officials said.

"Kerss said authorities located a .22 caliber rifle Skelton used to shoot himself and the women in the woods.

"`This act was a sad, unnecessary ending to three lives,` he said. `It is hard for any of us to understand how something this tragic could result from a dispute of this nature, and our hearts go out to the families of everyone involved.`"

From The Lufkin Daily News...