Billy Dean Battenfield: Serial Killer Across Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma
Overview
Billy Dean Battenfield was an American serial killer whose known murders stretched across more than three decades. His confirmed victims were killed in Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma, with the earliest known crimes occurring in the late 1970s and his final murder taking place shortly after he was released from prison in 2011. Battenfield was convicted of four murders and spent most of his adult life incarcerated.
A disturbing feature of Battenfield's crimes was his repeated willingness to involve other people. During the murders of the 1970s, authorities said he traveled with a teenage accomplice. More than thirty years later, he committed his final known murder with another young accomplice, Brandon Ke Reed. Former FBI profiler Gregg McCrary publicly described Battenfield as a serial killer following the 2011 murder investigation.
The Murder of Thelma Ruth McCarty
Thelma Ruth McCarty, 51, disappeared from the McKinney, Texas, area in June 1977. Contemporary reporting stated that she had been missing since June 3, 1977. Battenfield was accompanied during this period by a teenage boy who was approximately 15 years old. Later accounts of the investigation described McCarty as having been abducted and killed before her body was concealed in an abandoned water well outside McKinney.
McCarty's disappearance remained unresolved for more than a year and a half. Her fate was finally uncovered after investigators received information from Battenfield while he was already imprisoned in New Mexico. He provided authorities with information and a map directing them to an abandoned well approximately four miles east of McKinney.
Investigators searched the well in early February 1979. After another set of skeletal remains was removed on February 3, officers went deeper into the well early on February 4 and located the remains believed to be McCarty. A purse containing her identification was discovered near the bottom of the well, helping investigators establish her identity. Authorities said robbery appeared to have been a motive in the killings connected with the well.
The Murder of Jess Leroy Lovelady
Jess Leroy Lovelady, 75, of McKinney disappeared on May 3, 1978. His name was sometimes shortened in contemporary newspaper reports to Roy Lovelady. Battenfield was ultimately charged with and admitted responsibility for Lovelady's murder.
Accounts of the crime state that Lovelady was robbed and killed, after which his body was disposed of in the same abandoned well used to conceal McCarty. Reports concerning the case said Battenfield was interested in money Lovelady possessed or expected to receive, including a Social Security payment.
On February 3, 1979, Collin County investigators recovered skeletal remains from the well that were believed to be Lovelady's. McCarty's remains were found several feet deeper the following morning. The placement of the bodies demonstrated that the isolated well had been used as a concealed disposal site over an extended period.
The Murder of Edward Elkington
Battenfield's next confirmed murder took place in New Mexico in 1978. The victim was Edward Elkington, an 83-year-old California man associated with Los Gatos. Elkington encountered Battenfield and the teenage accomplice while traveling through the Southwest near Tucumcari, New Mexico.
Elkington was killed during the trip, and Battenfield was subsequently arrested and prosecuted for his murder. The teenage companion provided investigators with information concerning the killing. Battenfield was convicted in New Mexico and received a prison sentence of approximately 10 to 50 years for Elkington's murder.
Surviving accounts consistently identify 1978 as the year Elkington was killed, although publicly accessible historical reports are inconsistent regarding the precise day and some later summaries also disagree about the exact manner of death. For that reason, an unverified exact date should not be treated as established fact. What is firmly documented is that Elkington was an 83-year-old California victim, that Battenfield was convicted of killing him in New Mexico, and that the conviction placed Battenfield in prison before the Texas murders were formally resolved.
The McKinney Investigation Reopens
While imprisoned in New Mexico, Battenfield began supplying investigators with information about missing people in the McKinney area. His information proved significant because he was able to direct investigators to the abandoned well containing McCarty and Lovelady.
The discovery transformed two disappearances into murder cases. Investigators had previously been unable to determine what happened to either victim. Once the remains were recovered, authorities were able to connect Battenfield directly with both deaths.
In November 1981, Battenfield appeared in Texas and admitted killing McCarty and Lovelady. He received two additional 50-year prison sentences. By that point, he had murder convictions involving three victims in two states.
Escape and Continued Criminal Activity
Imprisonment did not end Battenfield's criminal behavior. In February 1982, he escaped from the New Mexico prison system and traveled across several states while attempting to avoid capture. Authorities linked him to additional violent crimes during the escape period, including robbery and sexual assault.
Battenfield eventually reached Fresno, California, where he used the alias John Riggs and reportedly worked as a mechanic. Authorities located him in 1983, but an initial attempt to take him into custody was unsuccessful.
On March 15, 1983, law enforcement officers surrounded the Fresno residence where Battenfield was hiding. Armed and refusing to surrender, he barricaded himself inside and engaged authorities in a standoff lasting approximately five hours. Police used tear gas in an effort to force him from the house, while Battenfield fired a weapon toward officers. He was ultimately overcome by the effects of the gas, came outside and was arrested.
Another Escape Attempt
Battenfield continued to demonstrate a willingness to escape custody. On May 9, 1986, he and fellow prisoner Hercules Gann attempted to escape from the Wynne Unit in Texas by hiding inside a tractor-trailer. Their plan failed when the truck's movements ultimately brought them back under prison control, where both men were discovered.
Release After Decades in Prison
Battenfield remained incarcerated for most of the next quarter-century. He spent time in both the Texas and New Mexico prison systems while serving sentences connected with his murders and other crimes.
Despite his record of three murder convictions, escape attempts and other violent offenses, Battenfield eventually became eligible for release. He was released from New Mexico custody in June 2011 and moved to Norman, Oklahoma. Reports following his release indicated that he reported to a parole officer but was not subjected to unusually restrictive supervision despite his history.
Clair Owen Pollard and Brandon Reed
After moving to Norman, Battenfield became acquainted with 19-year-old Brandon Ke Reed. Reed had been receiving assistance from Clair Owen Pollard, an 80-year-old retired social worker and longtime Norman resident. Pollard had devoted much of his professional life to rehabilitation and helping others and continued volunteering after his retirement.
Pollard's willingness to help Reed ultimately placed him in contact with the men who would kill him. On November 20, 2011, Pollard was attacked inside his Norman home. Investigators determined that Battenfield and Reed were involved in the crime. Police and prosecutors said multiple weapons were used during the assault, and Pollard suffered fatal injuries that included stabbing.
After the killing, property was stolen from Pollard's residence, including credit cards. The stolen cards quickly provided investigators with a trail. Surveillance recordings from stores captured activity involving Pollard's cards, helping authorities identify and connect Battenfield and Reed with the homicide.
The Arrests in the Pollard Murder
Battenfield and Reed were arrested only days after Pollard's death. Investigators learned immediately that the older suspect was not simply an ordinary parolee. Battenfield had already been convicted of killing three people before his release from prison only months earlier.
Reed admitted participating in the attack and provided investigators with information about the circumstances surrounding Pollard's death. Prosecutors formally charged both men with first-degree murder. The possibility of seeking the death penalty against Battenfield was considered because of the brutality of the killing and his extensive history of violent crime.
Guilty Plea and Life Without Parole
On September 5, 2012, Billy Dean Battenfield pleaded guilty to murdering Clair Owen Pollard. The plea avoided a trial and ensured that Battenfield would never again be released into the community. He was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
The conviction was Battenfield's fourth known murder conviction. The Pollard case was particularly striking because Battenfield had spent roughly three decades incarcerated for previous murders and had been free for only several months before killing again.
Confirmed Victims
- Thelma Ruth McCarty, 51 - Killed in June 1977 in the McKinney, Texas, area. Contemporary reporting states she had been missing since June 3, 1977. Her remains were recovered from an abandoned water well approximately four miles east of McKinney on February 4, 1979. Battenfield later admitted killing her.
- Jess Leroy "Roy" Lovelady, 75 - Killed on or about May 3, 1978, in McKinney, Texas. He disappeared on May 3, and his skeletal remains were recovered from the abandoned well east of McKinney on February 3, 1979. Battenfield admitted responsibility and was convicted of his murder.
- Edward Elkington, 83 - Killed in 1978 near Tucumcari, New Mexico. Elkington was a California resident associated with Los Gatos who encountered Battenfield while traveling. Battenfield was convicted of his murder and sentenced to approximately 10 to 50 years in New Mexico. The exact day of Elkington's death is not consistently established in surviving public historical reporting, so only the verified year is listed.
- Clair Owen Pollard, 80 - Killed November 20, 2011, inside his home in Norman, Oklahoma. Pollard was attacked and stabbed during a robbery involving Battenfield and Brandon Ke Reed. Battenfield pleaded guilty to Pollard's murder on September 5, 2012, and received life imprisonment without parole.
Pattern of the Crimes
Battenfield's known murders shared several characteristics despite the enormous period separating them. Most of his victims were older adults, robbery was repeatedly associated with the killings, and Battenfield frequently operated with a younger accomplice rather than entirely alone.
The Texas murders showed his willingness to conceal victims in an isolated location where discovery could be delayed for years. The Elkington murder demonstrated that his violence was not restricted to his hometown or even to Texas. The Pollard murder, committed more than three decades later, showed that the long period of incarceration had not eliminated his willingness to use lethal violence for financial gain.
Legacy of the Case
Billy Dean Battenfield's criminal history is unusual for the length of time separating his first and last known victims. His first confirmed murders occurred during the 1970s, followed by decades in prison. After being released in 2011, he returned to murder within months.
The cases of Thelma Ruth McCarty and Jess Leroy Lovelady also demonstrate how offender information can transform long-term disappearances into solved homicide investigations. Their remains might have remained hidden indefinitely had investigators not been directed to the abandoned Collin County well.
By the time Battenfield pleaded guilty to Clair Owen Pollard's murder in 2012, he had accumulated four murder convictions across Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma. His sentence of life without parole finally ensured that the man who had repeatedly killed, escaped custody and returned to violence after release would remain imprisoned permanently.
