Crowder’s file up for parole review
Long County case became infamously known as Tomato Patch
Murders
Patty Leon
After serving 14 years of a life sentence Billy Crowder has
become eligible and is currently under review by the Georgia Department of
Pardon and Paroles Board.
Crowder garnered unwanted notoriety during his murder trial
held in the summer of 1998 in Long County Superior Court. He, his family and
his friend Jason Jordan stood accused of a heinous crime against his grandfather,
Thurman Martin.
The trial and subsequent series of events placed the small
community of Ludowici on the map as events unfolded on the local news and later
became a national sensation when a documentary about the family, murder and
trial aired on A&E, Court TV and even 20/20.
The story involved the alleged abuse of an entire family, a
murder and a cover-up; all culminating to Crowder’s verdict and what even some
of the jurors called a miscarriage of justice in the sentencing.
Crowder, who was 19 at the time, was convicted of voluntary
manslaughter and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and
was sentenced to 10 years. But it was his life sentence for his conviction on
armed robbery; the removal of $600 from Martin’s wallet after being killed that
caught the jurors off guard. And the story of abuse he and his family faced at
the hands of Martin captured the nation’s attention.
Crowder’s life was dramatically altered in the summer of
1997.
Case background
According to earlier print and television news reports and
transcripts from A&E’s “American Justice: Justifiable Homicide,” program
recounting Crowder’s case, Billy Crowder and his sister Katie, then 18, were
living at Martin’s house in Ludowici during the summer of 1997. Crowder’s
mother Diane Stanton and step-father John Stanton lived in a trailer at the
rear of Martin’s house. All appeared normal but on May 19, 1997 Crowder called
the Long County Sheriff’s Office to report his grandfather was missing. Not
having any reasons to suspect foul play the Sheriff’s Department, the City of
Ludowici Police Department and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation opened a
missing person’s case.
Some of Martin’s clothes were missing and being that Martin
was a former auto mechanic and truck driver it looked as if he had left on his
own accord. But subsequent visits to the family’s house and a sudden shocking
and untimely allegation by Martin’s daughter, who claimed she had been raped by
her father multiple times, led authorities to believe the family knew more
about his disappearance than they led on.
Authorities eventually got a break in the case. Crowder’s
friend Jason Jordan, then 17, went to vacation in North Carolina shortly after
Martin disappeared. After a night of heavy drinking he reportedly bragged to
his friends saying he witnessed a murder in Ludowici.
That information made its way to the GBI and all the parties
involved were brought in individually for questioning. After failing a polygraph test administered
on June 30, 1997 Jordan reportedly confessed they he had been involved in
Martin’s murder. Shortly afterwards Crowder also failed a polygraph and when
pressed by police he gave a voluntary confession to murdering his grandfather,
saying that he, John Stanton, and Jason Jordan had shot and killed Martin in
his sleep.
On July 3rd, 1997 Crowder and Jordan were
arrested and police found Martin’s body, wrapped in a plastic shower curtain
and buried under a freshly planted strip of tomato plants in his back yard - the
case of the Tomato Patch Murder was born.
John Stanton later confessed to his role in the murder and
Diane Stanton and Katie Crowder later pled guilty to their role in concealing
the crime.
The Trials
Jordan was tried and found guilty of murder and hindering
the apprehension of a criminal. Long County Judge Robert Russell sentenced
Jordan to life. Katie Crowder pled guilty to hiding evidence, was sentenced to
100 days in a detention center and five years probation. Diane Stanton pled
guilty but mentally ill to hindering the apprehension of a criminal. She was
sentenced to 360 days in a detention center, 12 months of psychological
treatment at a Florida hospital and five years probation.
John Stanton and Crowder were tried last and together.
It was during their trial that the Crowder testified to years
of abuse at the hands of Martin. Crowder’s defense attorney Hal Peel, since
deceased, hired an expert on domestic abuse, psychologist Daniel Grant who
interviewed Crowder and his family and it painted a grim picture of Martin. The
interviews and testimony were presented during Crowder’s trial.
According to reports the abuse began when Crowder’s mother
was a child and allegedly subjected to physical, emotional and sexual abuse
throughout her life. By the time she reached 19 Diane Stanton moved out of her
father’s house but already struggled with drug addiction and mental illness.
Shortly after she moved out she gave birth to Billy.
It was reported that Martin took Billy away from his mother
and raised him as his own. Crowder said as he became older he began to
experience his grandfather’s abuse.
“He just slapped me and kicked me and punched me; hit me
with wrenches, hammers, welding rods, fan belts, water hoses, just whatever was
in arm's reach,” Crowder told the news crew during the documentary.
It appeared that Crowder had only one nurturing influence in
his life during these troubled times, his grandmother Lula Kate.
When Crowder’s beloved grandmother, who was suffering from
lung cancer, became too ill to manage household chores in 1991, Martin reportedly
called Crowder’s mom and demanded she send Crowder’s younger sister Katie, then
only 12 to live with him. Diane Stanton reportedly feared her father so much
she obeyed.
During the trial Crowder recounted beatings he took for
simply waxing the car incorrectly. Abuse he, his mother and other relatives
that testified said went on for several years.
Years of torment that eventually trickled down to Katie and abuse
against his beloved grandmother Lula Kate.
Crowder said they couldn’t flee, couldn’t leave because
Martin always threatened to find and kill them.
“He come out there and basically put a gun to our head and
said, ‘If you don't come back, I'll kill you,’” Crowder told reporters. “Plus I
had my sister there with me, and I just couldn't leave her with him.”
Crowder’s grandmother died in February 1997, just three
months before Crowder took measures into his own hands.
Shortly after Lula Kate’s death Crowder’s sister begged her
mother to move into the trailer behind Martin’s house saying she was terrified
of the old man.
Diane and her husband John Stanton moved in. Crowder’s mom
said the abuse she experienced as a child soon resumed.
Crowder testified that shortly after waxing his
grandfather’s car, on May 18, 1997, Martin lost his temper and lashed out at
him for using the wrong type of wax.
“He sat there and beat me and busted my nose, mouth,”
Crowder told new crews. “I had blood all down my T-shirt and all. And he just
kept on beating me.”
Something Snapped
Crowder said something just happened that night. He called
his friend Jason Jordan and he worked out a plan.
Crowder reportedly got some guns, picked up Jordan and went
back to his mother’s trailer. John Stanton agreed to be a part of the plan and
joined the two young men. Crowder crept in Martin’s house through the back
window and let his accomplices in through the front door. Jordan stayed in the
kitchen while Crowder and Stanton walked toward Martin’s bedroom. Crowder reportedly
walked in the room, found his sleeping grandfather and shot him several times
in the head.
Stanton then took his turn shooting Martin. Jordan
reportedly turned down his turn to shoot saying Martin was already dead. The
trio started to cover up their tracks wrapping Martin up in a shower curtain
and buried him in a shallow grave in the back yard.
Then they made it appear as if Martin had left town. As he
threw Martin’s belongings in a bag Crowder found his wallet. It contained $600
and Crowder said he used the money to buy groceries and pay some household
bills. It was the taking of the money that would lead to the armed robbery
charge and a life sentence.
The next morning May 19, 1997 Crowder reported the old man
missing.
Crowder’s mother and sister learned the truth about the
murder and allegedly cleaned up the crime scene.
Realizing the shallow grave would give them away; Crowder
and Jordan went to the garden store and found some tomato plants. It was later
reported that Crowder got the idea from a 1995 movie called “The Last Supper.”
The film featured a group of young friends who killed unsuspecting dinner
guests and buried them in a tomato garden.
As the story unfolded in the court room the local news and
print media dubbed the trial – The Tomato Patch Murder.
Stanton was found guilty of murder but acquitted of armed
robbery. Being frail and battling bone cancer throughout most of the trial and
the latter part of his life Stanton died while serving his prison sentence.
Crowder was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and
possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and was sentenced to
10 years. But the jury also found him guilty of armed robbery and Judge Robert Russell
sentenced Crowder to life for the offense.
Many jurors felt the sentence was excessive and filed a
letter of appeal asking the judge to reconsider his life sentence for armed
robbery, to no avail. An appeal was also filed by Crowder’s attorney
challenging the charge of armed robbery but it was denied.
Crowder was taking to Telfair Prison but was transferred to
Wilcox state Prison in December 2009. He is now 34 years old.
Currently
Current Atlantic Judicial Circuit District Attorney Tom
Durden was the prosecutor for the state during for Crowder’s trial. He said he
can’t believe it’s been 14 years since Crowder’ s hearing and sentencing but
added he stands by the jury’s and judge’s decision.
“It was interesting trying the case and interesting watching
press coverage of the trial,” Durden said. “However it is what it is and the
evidence stands for what it is. I can’t quarrel with what the jury did or what
the judge did nor would I. That is not my place in this system. It was a tough
decision for the jurors, it was a tough decision for the judge in sentencing
and I still believe that justice was done.”
The Coastal Courier newspaper received a hand written letter
from Billy Crowder on Jan. 27, 2012. He said he has spent his time in prison
developing his working skills.
Before his life changed forever Crowder had graduated high
school and was attending a technical college to pursue his passion for
automotive technology. In his letter Crowder said he has completed his studies
in automotive technology. He has also studied computer technology and
electrical and mechanical engineering among other things.
He said he longs to
open up his own automotive repair shop but more importantly he longs to be with
his new wife and family who live in Alabama. Crowder got married this past New
Year’s Eve.
“I have all his certificates and all the things he has done,”
Tonia Crowder, Billy’s new wife said. “He’s actually worked for the warden and
his staff. I’ll tell them (parole board) who I am and that he has a good family
to come home to. “I met Billy in 2004. I had watched the show just like
everybody else…the one that aired on A&E. I watched it…my grandmother had
raised me and I just wrote Billy a letter telling him that I had seen the show
and was sorry for what happened (to him).”
Tonia Crowder said her three children were much younger when
she and Crowder started corresponding. She said at that point in her life her
kids and job were her first priority but they wrote letters to each other and
she visited him a few times maintaining a cordial friendship.
“She has been in my life for the last year but first came
into my life in 2004,” Crowder wrote in the letter. She has always been a
magnificent woman…always wanted to stand by me...I just wouldn’t allow her (at
first). I did not want to rob her of her life back then. I had a long time to
go before parole.”
But back in February 2011, and with her kids now grown up, Billy
and Tonia Crowder reconnected and their relationship intensified. On New Year’s
Eve the couple exchanged vows at Wilcox State Prison.
“She has always been so supportive of me,” Billy Crowder
wrote. “She is a fairy tale come true and has always been there for me…and she
has shown me true love.”
“He still has a lot of compassion and has a positive outlook
and just wants to make something of himself,” Tonia Crowder said. “Even after
all that has happened…He is looking forward to getting out and pursuing his
automotive career and start a small business. Billy is very smart and everyone
who knows him knows he is an intelligent person. I still see that in him. He
has a big heart and is a caring person.”
Crowder has expressed remorse for his actions.
I am sorry that I took a human life,” he wrote in the
letter. “I wish I had not snapped.” Crowder said, given the knowledge he has
now, he would have somehow captured the abuse on video, cell phone or other
means. He said that way he would have something concrete and credible to
present and maybe it would be Martin serving time in jail not him.
“People knew he was being abused but they were actually
afraid to confront anybody fearing that he (Martin) would turn around and hurt
them,” Tonia Crowder said. “People knew of the abuse but they were scared to
bring it to anybody’s attention because they didn’t want something bad to
happen to Katie and them.”
Parole Process
The fate of Crowder’s parole lies in the hands of the five
people that make up the parole board. According to Georgia Pardon and Paroles
Public Affairs Director Steve Hayes the entire process begins with the clemency
division preparing the offender file for the boards review and consideration.
The file contains the entire case transcripts, Crowder’s
prison files listing his work, behavior and accomplishments during his
incarceration, submitted information from his wife about where he would live
and work if released. Offender files may contain victim impact statements and
previous correspondence from victims as well as any other pertinent information
submitted into his file.
“And in this case, on
a life case, it would be to either grant parole or not to grant at this time,”
Hayes said. “They individually will review all the material and then they will
make their individual decision. When it’s a majority decision, three out of
five board members, once you get a majority decision to grant or not to grant
that is the final decision.”
If Crowder is denied parole his case would be reconsidered
at a future date, decided by the board, which could span a period between 1-8
years.
“If they decide to grant parole and there are victims, there
is a process for victims,” Hayes explained. “Our office of Victim Services will
notify registered victims and let them know that the board is considering the
case.”
Hayes said the victims would then have a specific period of
time to submit information to the board for consideration.
“If they grant parole
they may make a condition of work release so it would be a conditioned upon the
completion of a Department of Corrections work release program,” Hayes said.
The Department of Corrections assigns the offender to a transitional center
work release program to acclimate that offender back into the community and a
working environment. He would go to work during the day and go back to the
center at night and they could make that a pre-condition to his parole… if he
wasn’t able to complete that for some reason it could lead to the board
rescinding his parole grant. The board can rescind a parole grant at any time
up until the actual release.”
Tonia Crowder said she is looking forward to the day she and
Billy can be a normal loving family.
“He has been locked up for 14 years after going through all
the stuff that he did,” she said. “But he has turned out to be a really good
man. He is good with my kids. My youngest daughter absolutely loves him. She
actually wears him out during a visit. She is all over him and he loves it. He
just wants to have a family and he is looking forward to being with all of us.”
Tonia Crowder said if Billy is released there is one place he
does wants to go to first.
“The first place he did tell me he wants to go to if he gets
out is to go visit his grandmother’s grave,” she said.
As for re-connecting with his family, Tonia Crowder said
Crowder’s sister has been somewhat estranged from Billy and he hardly talked to
his mom.
“I think he got one phone call from his mom and she was ugly
about his grandmother and he hasn’t talked to her anymore,” she said. “He has
no plans to look back. He doesn’t want to look back.”
She is also determined to stay on top of things should her
husband be denied parole.
“I told him as far as that goes we would still hang in there
and be positive about it. I want to do everything possible that I can to get
him out. He has done enough time. We are still going to try and be positive and
pursue every option that we can. What can we do? Fourteen years was
mandatory….so if he is denied…it can up again anytime again after that,” Tonia
Crowder said. “I will probably be staying on the parole board pretty hard. They
will know me personally. I will be there
for every little thing and they will probably get tired of dealing with me.”
“I pray that this year I get the chance to finally start my
life,” Billy Crowder wrote.
