In the quiet city of Port Arthur, Texas, the night of November 15, 1997, brought a tragic and violent end to the life of 87-year-old Etta Mae Stallings. She was at home with her husband when an intruder broke in. That intruder was Elroy Chester, a man who was in the midst of a six-month crime spree that terrorized the community. During the burglary, Stallings awoke and, in an act of bravery, retrieved a gun to defend herself and her husband.
However, she was fatally shot by Chester, who then proceeded to steal items from her home, including the very gun she had tried to use to protect herself.
The investigation into Stallings' murder was part of a larger effort by the Port Arthur police to solve a series of burglaries, sexual assaults, and murders that shared a similar and disturbing pattern. The perpetrator would often cut the phone lines and unscrew outdoor lights before breaking into homes. Elroy Chester was eventually identified as the man responsible for this reign of terror. Following his arrest for the murder of a local firefighter, Willie Ryman III, ballistics tests connected the. 380 pistol he possessed to the murder of Etta Mae Stallings and four other individuals. Faced with the overwhelming evidence against him, Chester confessed to the murder of Stallings, as well as the killings of John Henry Sepeda, Cheryl DeLeon, and his brother-in-law, Albert Bolden Jr.
Elroy Chester was indicted for the murder of Willie Ryman III on February 12, 1998, and pleaded guilty. His trial was marked by his own volatile behavior, including outbursts and threats toward the jury and law enforcement. The jury took a remarkably short amount of time, less than 12 minutes, to sentence him to death on August 24, 1998. Chester's confessions and the evidence gathered by investigators brought a resolution to the violent crime spree that had plagued Port Arthur. The case of Etta Mae Stallings' murder was closed with the conviction of a serial killer who had shown no remorse for his actions. Elroy Chester was executed by lethal injection on June 12, 2013, ending the final chapter in a series of brutal crimes that had left a lasting scar on the community.
