6/12: Not the Mack Herring . Sullivan tried to establish jealousy as a motive by calling to the stand Bill Rose, the popular football player whom Betty had parked with when she was dating Mack. A meager yard of packed dirt and weeds led to the street, and an old rusted pickup sat in the driveway. He worked in a variety of blue-collar occupations professionally. If I am to live I have to fight [or] else it will pull me down, down, down into that thankless pit of fear, pain, and agonized loneliness. He has vowed not to step down as governor. MyHeritage Family Trees; Geni World Family Tree; South Carolina, Deaths, 1915-1943; . And no, he hadnt waited to see that shed gotten inside safely. But because of our ignorance and glib attitudes and because we did not have an appreciation for the experiences and perspectives of others we dressed up and put on wigs and brown makeup., This was a onetime occurrence and I accept full responsibility for my conduct.. You can read his full statement about that here. The football player told a plausible-enough story: He had dropped Betty off outside her parents house at midnight and had not seen her since. I wish it were that simple. It was a game of chicken, and she never backed out., March 20, 1961I want everyone to know that what Im about to do in no way implicates anyone else. I remember a teacher taking me aside afterward and asking me, Was Betty pregnant? And I said, No. There was already enough pain in 61. It was a carnival, says former Winkler County clerk Virginia Healy. We get our Senior rings Wednesday. She made no secret of the fact that she was not a prude and that she was willing to prove it. In bedrock-conservative, blue-collar Odessawhere the John Birch Societys crusade against communism and other un-American influences had struck a chordshe was seen as an oddball. .I love you Dick, for all that you have meant to me. Read more here about our archive digitization project. [2], Last edited on 14 November 2022, at 05:36, OBITUARY John Mack Herring September 23, 1943 January 5, 2019, "FIRST ON CBS7: "Kiss and Kill" killer has died", "Prosecution Rests Case in Kiss-and-Kill Trial", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kiss_and_Kill&oldid=1121797351, This page was last edited on 14 November 2022, at 05:36. Its ruined two lives. Inside Friscos Lavish, Enormous New Golf Resort. Dan Solomon writes about politics, music, food, sports, criminal justice, health care, film, and business. Because the burden of proof fell on Burnett to prove that Mack was insane when he pulled the trigger, the hearing began not with witnesses for the state but for the defense. September 2022 Reader Quiz: What Did You Learn? Betty said that the situation at home was bad, says the friend, who asked not to be named. Even when she began acting more erratically during rehearsals for Winterset, her peers wrote off her overwrought confessions about wanting to die as nothing more than a theater girls high school histrionics. He was allegedly the ex-boyfriend of the victim, Betty Williams. If they determined that he had been temporarily insane, he should not have to stand trial for murder. In the meantime, journalists had gathered at the scene. 5. A sophomore, Jim Mercer, also deflected the invitation. McAlpine also felt sure that Betty would not have wanted to sneak back into the house through the front door. Jurors would not determine Macks guilt or innocence; they would only render a decision as to whether he had been insane at the time of the crime. After she began acting even more erratically than usual, John searched Bettys bedroom looking for an explanation. The pre-trial took place in the nearby town of Kermit. Mack, who had once worried aloud to a reporter that he would be sent to the electric chair, was a free man. Mark Herring is the attorney general of Virginia. Ill not trouble you again, and Mack, I havent forgotten the good times we had. Facebook gives people the power to. Her work as a dancer allowed her to meet John F. Kennedy and his wife Jackie, and she was good friends with Rita Hayworth. As the booms and busts of the oil patch have brought new people to Odessa and taken others away, Mack has faded into the background. He was born in Johnson City, Tennessee, in the Appalachian Mountains. Heres to all the stories we never wrote. I wanted to help, but I didnt know what to do. But she asked him for one last favor: to kill her. His own neighborhood lacks the gracious lawns and spreading trees of his childhood; the house, which is a bit down at the heels, looks like the province of a man who lives alone. Virginia governor Ralph Northam has faced calls to resign ever since his medical school year book surfaced. Besides, Bill maintained, the incident had not had much of an effect on Mack. Theres still a lot I want to accomplish as attorney general, but when the time comes Ill be ready.. We sat there in the theater seats, in the dark, and we applauded for her.. . He died on January 5, 2019, at the age of 75, according to CBS. During the fall, Betty made a move on Bill Rose, one of Macks best friends. Mack, in effect, would have a chance at acquittal before his murder trial had even begun. Herring also says hes proud of his offices work reducing Virginias backlog of untested rape kits. If anything, he became more popular than ever even. Mary called the school but she hadnt arrived yet. The first person Burnett called to the stand was Macks father, O. H. Herring, who told the jury that on the day of his sons arrest, Mack had handed him a letter Betty had written. Most claimed that Mack had to have been insane at the time to do such a thing. I remember seeing how she struggled with some of the hardships raising my sister and I, he told Richmonds Style Weekly. He married twice, and both ended in divorce. [3] Herring died on Saturday January 5, 2019,[5] at the age of 75. He became so mixed up and so sick that he felt pulling the trigger was what he should do for her, Grice testified. About 1811, he and his family moved to Camden County where he was Farm Overseer for Burwell Atkinson. Herring had previously announced he would seek the democratic nomination for Governor following Northams term. She was happy, he recalled. Shelton Williams assisted the making of the program. Warren Burnett was the best lawyer around. I remember her saying, in a very ugly way, That girl was nothing. To some observers, it seemed as if Bettys transgressions had eclipsed those of the teenager whod killed her. On a different occasion, she took four aspirins hoping it would kill her. [3], Herring was tried for murder but was acquitted. Next year??? Herring Jr. and wife Mary of Fayetteville; two daughters, Patricia Ann Blanton and husband John of. Sometimes I think it was real. She had been partially decapitated by a single shotgun blast to the head. She began making comments to her friends about wishing to die so she could leave this world for a better place. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Evelyn Page Herring of the home; a son, Mack B. I dont know, Mack stammered. Youve made me realize that instead of being smart and sophisticated like I thought, I was only being cheap and ugly and whorish.Forgive me for writing this last note and thank you for reading it. Fairfax has denied the accusation. Even after nearly 60 years, Betty Williams is not forgotten in Odessa. John Mack Herring was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the 1961 murder of his ex-girlfriend Betty Williams who, its reported, asked him to kill her. Mack recounted the event and the next day the whole town knew about the kiss and kill murder. After they talked, she turned to her friend and said, Its been nice knowing you. Nonetheless, his reputation around town did not suffer. Rose told him about the incident and Mack promptly broke up with Betty. Join Facebook to connect with Mack Herring and others you may know. She is the daughter of the late Thomas Dale Huff and Margie Huff. Mack had been a stellar student, one of his teachers told the jury, and added, Ive never known a more brilliant mind. His football coach testified that Mack had never used profanity. Worse, she learned that Mack would be playing one of Wintersets lead roles, a remorseless killer named Trock Estrella. I take upon myself all blame, for there it lies, on me alone! She said she wanted to die if she couldnt be with Mack, remembers her cousin Shelton, who was a year her junior at Odessas Permian High School. Herring, born in Sampson County, was the son of Lonnie Glen Herring and Lee Ann Faircloth Herring. Mack wept when he heard the verdict and dozens of people rushed to his side. He married and divorced, twice. While she aspired to one day appear on the Broadway stage, in the meantime she planned to live at home after graduation and attend Odessa College, just up the street. They have an apartment in Richmond and a house in Leesburg, Virginia. We have left it as it was originally published, without updating, to maintain a clear historical record. She would hold the gun to her head, she said, while he pulled the trigger. He was so good that none of his clients had ever gone to prison even the murderers. I thought, Good Lord, they must be talking about Betty Williams., . In the presence of lawmen, he had shown little emotion for his victim. Heaven must be a nice place, she told junior Howard Sellers. She informed at least five students working on the play that she wanted to kill herself but didnt have the nerve. John Mack Herring attended Texas Tech University, married and divorced twice, and worked as a dock foreman, a carpenter, a welder, and spent 25 years as an electrician. Nine character witnessesincluding Odessa Highs head football coach, Lacy Turnerspoke on Macks behalf; many of them concurred that Mack must have been temporarily insane at the time of the crime. Now!. . According to reports, her situation was covered in nearly every newspaper in the world. They reside in Leesburg, Virginia. view all Enoch Herrin's Timeline. True Crime and Unbelievably Real Stories; we aim to shine a light on the forgotten and unknown. Several sources, however, allege that Betty asked her ex-boyfriend to murder her. The Fort Worth Star-Telegrams banner headline about Bettys death. According to reports, she was less popular than her former partner. If Mack wounded an animal when we went hunting, he would pursue it and dispatch it, says Larry Francell, who grew up across the alley from him. Universal Studios Is Coming to Frisco. Mack Herring December 15, 2009 Mr. Mack B. Not Mack! a sixteen-year-old girl shrieked as she collapsed in tears against a wall in the police station. Her mother Mary worked at a JCPenney while her father John was a carpenter. Herring shot and killed Betty Williams in 1961 after she had allegedly told him to do it. According to Ike, she was surprised to see Mack there. When he reached the center, Mack oriented himself by looking at the mesquite trees on either side; then he dove under the water and came back up. Though other classmates had believed that Betty was joking when she had asked them to kill her, Mack maintained that her pleas had had a profound effect on him. . If anything, he became more popular than ever even gaining a group of fangirls who were dubbed Macks Girls. At Kiss and Kill, John Mack Herring was the primary character. According to the Texas law, an offender was allowed to be set free if proven they had been temporarily insane at the time of the crime. Whenever something unexplained happensa book falls on the floor in my classroom or the light board goes out during a technical rehearsalsomeone always jokes, Its Betty., What may be nothing more than just a ghost story can also be seen as something more complicatedas a metaphor, perhaps, for the way that one crime has lodged, uneasily, in Odessas collective memory. Few of his former classmates still see him; most have moved away or fallen out of touch. Nevertheless, Betty sat in the car and wrote a letter for Mack to keep. Herring says that, as attorney general, his priorities are cracking down on heroin dealers, and going after violent gang members, gun runners, and human traffickers. One time she wrote about sports. Go around and take the witness chair. It appeared that Burnett was calling his client to the stand for rebuttal, but no sooner had Mack been sworn in than Burnett, for further dramatic effect, roared, Pass the witness! She may have been shunned at the time, but many of the girls who knew her were inspired to become school counselors, her death having had a profound effect on them. Arguing for the state was 32-year-old district attorney Dan Sullivan, an earnest, if not particularly seasoned, lawyer who was out of his depth; in his sixteen months in office, he had prosecuted mostly oil-field theft cases and DWIs. The jury in the trial, held in Winkler County https://t.co/mXzLlq1sfe, Denise Mercado Sanders (@trippingbandit) January 12, 2019. So many teenagers made the late-night pilgrimage to see Betty that the high school deemed it prudent to paint over the windows of the school auditorium. He has attracted growing attention in recent days, because of the growing scandals engulfing both the governor and the lieutenant governor of Virginia. According to his lawyers, he suffered from a disease known as temporary insanity. She was ad-libbing all the way, and it spun out of her control. But in 2014, after being elected to his first term as attorney general, he announced that he had changed his position. The two became lovers, but Herring later broke up with her. After graduating he returned to Odessa where he married and divorced twice. By the winter, Betty had started telling friends that she would be better off dead. Betty was hardly Tri-Hi-Y material; in the high school pecking order, her classmates remember her as a nobody, a nonentity, and someone on the outside looking in. But while she struck an antiestablishment pose, the rejection she felt from the other girls still stung. She checked Bettys bedroom but she wasnt there. The two started a romantic relationship during the summer of 1960, though from the outside it didnt seem like it. [3], Odessa High School staff did not provide counseling after the homicide occurred. According to legend, by parking across the street from the school at midnight and either flashing the headlights three times or honking and calling out her name, Betty would appear in the auditoriums windows. His lawyers argued he had temporary insanity. . He was the back of the Bronchos, belonged to a middle-class family, and was an avid hunter with his father O.H. 9: Daughter: Sara Herring. Following graduation, John enrolled at Texas Tech University. Sullivan put on the best case he could given the extraordinary limitations he was working with. In the summer of 1960, they started dating, and Betty wondered if she might be falling in love; Mack, she told friends, really listenedto her. People around the nation were fascinated by the case, especially since Herring came out and admitted to killing his then girlfriend. This time, various teachers testified. The ex-marine was known to persuade judges with his dramatic arguments involving Shakespeare and Scripture. . Wikipedia & Age Details. As he got closer, officers saw he was holding onto Bettys feet. Around her waist was a rope which Mack had attached to the weights to submerge her body. Arrangements entrusted to Charlet Funeral Home Inc., Zachary. Although Mack was near the top of the high school caste system and Betty was at the bottom, they managed to strike up a friendship when she was a junior and he was a sophomore. October 2022 Reader Quiz: What Did You Learn? Upon hearing the verdict, Mack slumped in his chair and wept, while friends and classmates rushed to his side to embrace him. At seventeen, Betty was pretty in an unremarkable way, with sandy-blond hair that brushed her shoulders and big, expressive blue eyes that could feign sincerity when talking to authority figures but were alive with irreverence. Mack laughed at the absurdity of the idea, and Betty laughed with him. If he was going out there to hunt, he was going to kill.. Oh, my God, I didnt think hed come, she had exclaimed. He sold his 400 acres of land to Atkinson in 1813 for $400. In his cross-examination, the district attorney pressed Mack to explain at what moment, exactly, he had decided to kill Betty. People Projects Discussions Surnames As promised, at ten-thirty Betty had snuck out the back door and slipped into his car. I have stayed awake at night trying to think so I could explain it to other people, he said. The 17-year-old was now telling her schoolmates shed rather be dead. But she asked him for one. Northam initially said that he was one of the people in the photograph, but later said he was not in the photo at all. Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax is also expected to run for governor, although he has not officially announced plans yet. John Mack Herring attended Texas Tech University, married and divorced twice, and worked as a dock foreman, a carpenter, a welder, and spent 25 years as an electrician. Does the evidence show you any possible explanation? he challenged the jury. . Perhaps because he had wounded her pride, or maybe just to make him jealous, Betty tried to even the score one night when she parked with one of his best friends, a popular football player who had been voted the most handsome in his class. According to Ike, she had been wearing only pale-pink shorty pajamas and a blue-and-white-striped dusternot the kind of clothes a boy would leave a girl standing in on her front porch at midnight. Genealogy profile for Alfred Mack Herring Alfred Mack Herring (1890 - 1962) - Genealogy Genealogy for Alfred Mack Herring (1890 - 1962) family tree on Geni, with over 230 million profiles of ancestors and living relatives. Mack Herring was a handsome football player with all the right friends. I have to fight it! Plenty of girls were flirts, but few of them were as assertive as Betty. During this time, she also won $10,000 on a game show . His name is Mack Herring and I pray that he will not have to suffer for what he is doing for my sake. 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