The Murders of Buford and Myrtle Vester

On June 16, 1988 eight prisoners escaped from the Kentucky State Penitentiary in Eddyville Kentucky. While I did not live near the Indiana/Kentucky border then, as I do now, I have to say I have often been amazed at the stories of prison escapes coming out of Kentucky. It appears to happen fairly often although most seem to be no more than one or two people. I am also surprised at how long it seems to be discovered as well as how elaborate the planning seemed to be. In a few it has amazed me that someone, somewhere, had not caught on that things were going on. I remember one case where I believe two or three escaped and had dug a hole through a wall. Obviously this took time to do... yes, we know Andy Dufresne did it in the movie, but this is real life. That being said, just how the eight men escaped was not made clear.

Within a few days three of the men were captured within a short distance from the prison. This left William Hall, Derrick Quintero, James Blanton, Joseph Montgomery and Ronnie Hudson on the run. The five men proceeded to steal a truck and take I over the state line and into Stewart County Tennessee. Stewart Count was full of residents that were retirees and many of the homes were seasonal homes and not necessarily permanent residents. Burglaries were first being reported in the area sometime on June 18^th. One resident of the area, Zachary Pallay had informed the sheriff's department that he knew Quintero and that Quintero was familiar with the area and this may be an area in which the escaped prisoners would go. There was some speculation that Pallay may have been involved in some of the burglaries because of his criminal past, some involving Quintero. There seemed to be evidence that Pallay had changed his ways and that his information was legitimate and that he was not involved.

On June 18^th, Stewart County resident, Jim McMinn returned home to find a gun missing, his phone line cut and the ignition to his truck “destroyed.” On the following day a man by the name of Thomas Harris came home to find items such as quilts and knives missing. It seemed apparent that his home had been used for someone or someones to eat and clean up. His sink was full of dirty dishes and he found sheets and wet towels thrown about the home. He would later discover that three long distance telephone calls had been made from his home. On that same day a man named Alfred Cherry returned home to find that he had been robbed. He assessed that six knives and two distinct paperweights with the logo “Cumberland Electric” were missing.

On June 21^st a man named Neal Foster returned home after last being home on June 16^th to find his home had been robbed. He was missing a 30-30 rifle, a 20 gauge shotgun with the barrel sawed off, various calibers of ammunition, and several silver dollars. On the 23^rd John and Virginia Crawford returned home after being gone since mid-afternoon on June 19^th to find several items of food missing.

At some point, whether on accident or on purpose Hudson and Montgomery got separated from the other three men. They had stolen a vehicle from the home of an Essie Settles, a Ford Fairmont, and had driven to Lebanon Kentucky, near Louisville to meet with Hudson's family. On June 22^nd the two were apprehended after “an exchange of gunfire” with authorities. Inside the vehicle investigators found a gun stolen from the McMinn home and items from the Foster home also.

In the meantime on the evening of June 19^th Wayne Vester has visited his parents and taken them a few things. He tried to reach them on the 21^st and the 22^nd but he could not get a hold of them. Wayne call his parents' neighbor, Howard Allor and asked him to go check on them. It is unclear if Allor called the police before seeing anything other than a few suspicious things at the the Vester house or if Allor actually discovered the bodies of Buford and Myrtle Vester. Stewart County investigators, and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations went to the home and discovered that among other things, the Vester's vehicle was missing.

Investigators believed that the perpetrator, or perpetrators had entered the home through a back bedroom window and into a room where Buford slept. Buford had been shot at least once from outside the home but his body had been penetrated by two bullets. Myrtle was found in a separate bedroom. She had been shot three times by two different weapons and stabbed thirteen times. A newspaper dated June 20^th was found on the couch of the home. Two fishermen would tell authorities that on that evening they had heard five gunshots between 11 pm and midnight coming from the direction of the Vester home. The coroner believed the couple had died within two hours of their last meal on the 20^th.

It is not clear if it was then, or prior to this that the Stewart County Sheriff's department had already brought out helicopters, four-wheelers and tracking dogs to search the area for the escaped convicts, who everyone by now believed was responsible for the crime spree going on in the county. It had been discovered that the long distant calls Harris home had been made to Springton Texas and Hopewell Pennsylvania. The calls had gone to Derrick Quintero's brother in Texas and William Hall's girlfriend, Barbara Vasser, in Pennsylvania.

William Hall had contacted Vasser several times after his escape. After the third call her mother called the Pennsylvania State Police and reported them. Authorities talked to Vasser and she agreed that if he called again she would set up a time and place to send money. Once again Hall called and Vasser agreed to send him money through Western Union to El Paso Texas. Law enforcement arrested him when he went to get the money, but he was alone. Quintero and Blanton would be captured four days later across the border in a hotel in Juarez Mexico. Quintero was carrying a wallet with Neil Foster's drivers lisence.

Quintero and Hall would be tried together while Blanton would have a separate trial. It appears by Department of Correction records that Blanton's trial would be first. He was charged with two counts of first degree premeditated murder, four counts of grand larceny, and three counts of first degree burglary He would be convicted it seems in July of 1991 and was sentenced to death. I am sure he was also sentenced years for other charges but that was not made clear. Blanton would die in prison in 1999.

Quintero and Hall would each be charged with two counts of first degree murder, three counts of grand larceny, one count of petty larceny, and three counts of first degree burglary. They both two would be convicted of all charges in December of 1991. They would be given a death sentence in the murder of Myrtle Vester and a life sentence in the murder of her husband, Buford. They would also received eighty additional years for the other crimes that were ordered to be served consecutively with the life sentence.

Now normally I would not have gotten this far without giving you details of their trial, but this was an unusual case first in the fact that there were so many different crime scenes really considering, as you will see, the authorities were able to connect the dots from many of the burglaries to each other. Secondly, I initially did this search using William Hall as the keyword so I discovered things on his case first and because he was tried with Quintero most of the appeals actually included them both also but because Blanton was tried separately and I did not search him alone I did not come across any papers of his. I can tell you what evidence was presented at the Hall/Quintero trial and what evidence was said to be discovered, even that including Blanton. But, to be fair I cannot say the same witnesses were presented at his trial. This is why you already know the outcome of their trials and will now be allowed to know the evidence, and there was a lot, so lets get started.

At the Vester home a glove was discovered. The matching glove was found a the home of John and Virginia Crawford. Also at the Crawford home William Hall's prints had been found on food items and James Blanton's prints were found on a candy wrapper. At Neil Fosters home prints belonging to Quintero and Hall were found on boxes of ammunition with additional prints belonging to Quintero were on the barrel of the stolen gun that was taken. Halls prints were found in the Foster home on a soda can. We have already discussed that the phone calls made from Thomas Harris' home went to family members, but also the paperweights taken from Alfred Cherry's home were also found and connected to the men. Seventeen months after all of this had occurred, the truck the five men had stolen in Kentucky was discovered under tree branches in Stewart County. Inside the truck were the paperweights and other items connecting all of the burglaries were found. This truck obviously connected the men to the burglaries and items from the burglaries could be connected to the Vester crime scene.

In addition to this the Vester's car had been found in the parking lot of a Memphis funeral home. Although defense attorney's would attempt to argue that the funeral home employees had not completely and accurately described the three men they claimed they saw with the vehicle, there was plenty of evidence found inside. The 20 gauge shotgun stolen from the Foster home was found in the Vester vehicle. It was also determined that a shotgun shell found at the Vester home was proven to have come from this gun. At least Blanton's fingerprints were found on a beer can in the car and once again other items from the Vester home and some of the other burglaries were found. It is unclear if the men were really just that careless or if the investigators were just that good in finding all the evidence and even more witnesses.

A woman by the name of Shirley Morrow testified that she identified the three men as being in an adult bookstore and entertainment venue where she worked as a cashier. Morrow said the men came in on the morning of June 21^st and traded in some silver dollars for tokens. Those silver dollars had come from Neil Foster's home. A dancer by the name of Darlene Christof also identified the men as being in the establishment. In fact, Christof called the police as the men were leaving as she believed she recognized them as the escaped prisoners that were being looked for. The problem is that Christof actually mentioned to the men that she thought they looked like the wanted men and they got away before the police could arrive.

A man by the name of Curtis Jones worked as a security guard at a Greyhound bus station in Memphis. He testified that between eleven in the morning and one in the afternoon on either June 21^st or 22^nd he saw three men, who he later identified as Hall, Quintero and Blanton, as using a phone at the station. Jones asked the men if they had tickets and they stated they would be leaving after making a phone call.

By the time it was said and done it appears that prosecutors had all the pieces they needed to connect the men to pretty much everything they did while out on the run. While as I stated Blanton died in 1999 in prison, Hall and Quintero remain on death row in Tennessee. It appears their initial sentences in Kentucky were long ago carried out or at the very least Kentucky just simply agreed to allow Tennessee to house the men.