| Re: To Txgent
Posted: 9/26/2004 2:30:53 PM | Son charged in VA chaplain's death
Police responding to 911 call find man stabbed in west Oak Cliff home
07:51 PM CDT on Saturday, September 11, 2004
By MATT STILES / The Dallas Morning News
A chaplain at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Dallas was found dead
in his west Oak Cliff home overnight, and police have charged his 44-year-old son
in the slaying.
Officers responding to a 911 call found Russel Carver, 73, with multiple stab wounds
at his home in the 2400 block of West 10th Street. Police later arrested (texgent)Raymond Carver
– who made the emergency call to police – and charged him with murder.
"It was pretty obvious what had happened," said Sgt. Ken Sprecher,
a Dallas police homicide unit supervisor. "It's not clear if they had an argument. ...
I don't know if he just snapped or was high on something."
The younger Mr. Carver, who was being held Saturday night in the Dallas County Jail
in lieu of $250,000 bail, could not be reached for comment.
Sgt. Sprecher said the son was cooperating with investigators but hadn't told them what provoked the incident inside the house, which neighbors on the shady street said usually
was quiet and seemed normal.
"I've never seen them in any kind of argument," said next-door neighbor Gabriel Casas,
adding that he thought Raymond Carver lived at the home. "They were both very laid back."
Mr. Casas and his wife, Yesenia, described Russel Carver – a retired Church of Christ pastor – as an engaging and kind neighbor. They said he introduced himself when they moved in three years ago, inviting the couple over for coffee.
"I still can't believe it," Mrs. Casas said. "I'm shocked."
The news also surprised Mr. Carver's co-workers at the hospital, where Mr. Carver had worked part time for several years, said Norman Bouffard, another staff chaplain.
Mr. Bouffard said Mr. Carver, whom he had known for five years, was well liked among the employees and students who trained there. Mr. Carver also was interested the humanities, he said, and he had an excellent understanding of post-traumatic stress disorder.
He said Mr. Carver, who offered to work the weekends when other staffers weren't in the office, would preach in the hospital chapel. He also held services at a transitional care unit for disabled patients.
"He definitely saw it as a calling," Mr. Bouffard said. | |
|
Home
login