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Convicted by lies, Michael Toney tells his story with a plea for help to save him from being killed by the state of Texas. If you are persuaded that he is innocent, please help.
MICHAEL R. TONEY CASE ACCOUNT
As told to Justice Denied Magazine by Michael Tony
Edited by Clara A. Thomas Boggs
My name is Michael Roy Toney. I'm on Texas death row awaiting execution. I was convicted in May of 1999 of a bombing that occurred in Lake Worth, Texas on November 28th, 1985. This terrible crime took the lives of three people. Their names are Joe Blount, 42 years old, his 15-year-old daughter, Angela, and his nephew, Michael Columbus, who was 18 years old. This bombing happened on the evening of Thanksgiving 1985 and the crime went unsolved for 14 years. The crime is still unsolved but the case has been closed because of my conviction. To say my conviction and subsequent death sentence is a miscarriage of justice would be a definite understatement. I AM INNOCENT and can prove it!
Shouldn't every effort be made to keep an innocent man from being put to death? I don't like to use the word executed because it's not an execution when the person being put to death is innocent. It's MURDER! Shouldn't every effort be made to bring the true murderers to justice? I hope the things I'm going to tell you in this letter cause you to answer yes to both of these questions.
The crime I've been convicted of, and sentenced to death for, is a briefcase bombing on a home in Lake Worth, Texas. This crime was the longest running investigation in the history of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. It was featured on the television shows "America's Most Wanted" and "Unsolved Mysteries." The reports say someone put a briefcase on the Blount family's porch and they carried it inside and opened it. When it was opened, it exploded and they were killed. There were two survivors, Joe's wife, Susan, and their son, Robert. During the long investigation, no motive was determined and no arrests were made. At least not until my indictment and arrest on December 4th, 1997.
During the charade of a trial, no motive was proven. I say charade of a trial because that's exactly what it was. The entire trial centered on lies. I'll get to that later. There were only theories as to why the bombing happened and no evidence to support any theory.
Since the trial, I have received numerous letters from people saying they know I'm innocent because they know who really did the bombing and why it was done. Yes, I have learned who really did the crime and why they did it. The real murderers will remain free to commit more murders if I don't somehow get people to listen to my pleas and get the investigation reopened.
I spent Thanksgiving 1985 at my friend, Chris Meek's, home in Keller, Texas. Present that day were Chris, his mother, his stepfather, his girlfriend and I. That evening I received a phone call from my girlfriend, Kim, who I later married on March 4th, 1986. We divorced in 1989. Kim called to tell me she was leaving her family get together and was going to her apartment. We had agreed to meet at her apartment that evening. I got in my car and left Keller by myself. Chris stayed home with his family. Kim and I had just met less then a month prior so we were still in the phase of our relationship where we spent about every minute we could together.
I have to jump ahead to 1997 now. In June of 1997, I met a man named Bennie Joe Toole. This was actually the second time we had met. We first met in 1990 but we didn't realize that until we talked for a little while. Bennie was telling me about a polygraph test he had just taken regarding the Lake Worth bombing. I believe I asked him what that was all about. He said that he and his friend, Mikey Huff, were suspects in a briefcase bombing in Lake Worth. At this point, I'm all ears because I hadn't heard about any bombing other than the Oklahoma City bombing. Mr. Toole later said that he told me about it in 1990 when we first met. To this day, I don't remember him telling me about it prior to June of 1997. Toole went on to tell me that "someone had dropped a briefcase off on someone's porch in Lake Worth and that it exploded killing the whole family." He didn't give me any more details. It was all new to me. I hadn't heard about it on the news or read about it.
The following month, I told a man named Charles Ferris everything that Toole had told me. To make a very long story a little shorter, on December 4th, 1997, I was indicted for capital murder of multiple victims in regard to the bombing. When the ATF agent and the Texas investigators served me with the indictment, I told them the exact truth. I told them about what Mr. Toole had told me and that I didn't know anything other than what he told me. At that point, I was in shock and couldn't believe what was happening. I especially couldn't believe that I had been indicted of something another man told me about. I didn't even know where in Lake Worth the crime happened or that it happened in 1985. They asked me where I was on November 28th, 1985. I couldn't remember where I was 12 years prior. I wasn't even sure if I was in the state of Texas or if I was still working in Alaska. It took me a few days to put things together and get over the shock of being indicted for capital murder and the fact that I was facing the death penalty. I finally realized that I had returned to Texas in October of 1984. I had to find a major event in my memory that happened after I came to Texas and then organize dates around that. I knew it was around Halloween when I came back to Texas but I wasn't sure what year it was. I remembered the Delta flight 191 crash at DFW airport. That stuck in my mind because I was close by when it happened and it left a serious imprint on my memory. I knew it happened in the summer because it was really hot and it was my first summer back in Texas. I did a little research and found out the crash happened on August 5th, 1985 which meant I had come back to Texas in October of 1984. That made it clear that I was in Texas when the bombing happened.
When I told the investigators that a man named Toole told me about the bombing, it was obvious that they were surprised or angered by that information. I think back on it now and I believe they were surprised because of the fact that Toole had been a suspect. I told the investigators that I was willing to take a polygraph or whatever it took to prove I didn't know anything about the bombing.
A few days later on a Friday evening about 9 p.m., they brought Mr. Toole to the jail. When I saw him, I was happy and said, "Yes, I told you I was telling the truth. That's the man that told me about the bombing." Mr. Toole looked at me, shook his head yes and said "Yeah that's him. I told him about it."
The following Monday evening, they took me to Dallas to a man named John Lehmon's office. He was a forensic psychologist and polygraph examiner. When we first got there, I met my attorney and filled out a questionnaire that asked me about my health, what medications I took and some other personal questions. After that, my attorney and I went into another office and went over the paper work that had to do with the test. It seemed like this took about two hours. I know it was getting pretty late. We waited for them to prepare the test. Finally, they came and took me into another office where the polygraph machine was. I sat down in the examining chair and Mr. Lehmon said he'd be right back, walked out and shut the door behind him. I sat there and looked around the room and realized they were watching me on closed circuit television. The camera was mounted in the corner. After about ten to fifteen minutes, Mr. Lehmon came back in and sat down like we were about to start the test. He said something like, "There's more to this then what someone told you" and went on to tell me all about his credentials and how he would get to the truth. I remember saying "I'm counting on that and I'm ready to take the test." These aren't exact quotes but they are close. The next thing he said was something like "I believe you'd be a fascinating subject and I would really like to get to know you but I'm sorry I can't test you." He then got up and walked out of the room. I never saw him again. The investigators told us they needed a doctor's release before they could test me. I got the release the next day but to this day, I've never been tested.
About 18 months later the trial started. During the eighteen months before the trial, I had investigators and my attorney try to locate my ex-wife, Kim, and my old friend, Chris Meeks. I hadn't seen Kim since 1989 and I hadn't seen Chris since the spring of 1986. I thought for sure if we could find them the whole matter would be resolved. I thought they would tell the truth and the whole nightmare would be over. Boy, was I ever wrong!
Kim and Chris were the State's star witnesses. They were the entire case. Kim testified that when the ATF agents first questioned her, she didn't know anything about the bombing and just like me hadn't heard about it. She said, "Mike never mentioned it and I don't know anything." A few weeks after investigators questioned her, she went to the public library and read all the old news stories about the bombing. Kim said that while she was reading the newspapers she realized that the bombing happened within a couple miles of a place that we went fishing. She called the ATF back and told them about going fishing at the nature center in Lake Worth. I can't quote her exact trial testimony but it went something like this:
"On the night of Thanksgiving 1985, Mike and Chris came to my apartment and we decided to go fishing. We all got in the truck and went to Lake Worth. When we got there, we stopped at a propane place and Mike got out and got a briefcase from under the toolbox that was in the bed of the truck. He walked off with the briefcase and came back without it. We then went down the road into the nature center where we hung out for a few hours until after midnight. Just before we left there was a splashing noise in the water so Mike and Chris went and got their rifles out and Mike shot a beaver, then we left."
Under cross-examination, she said that she didn't hear any sirens, see any emergency vehicles or hear an explosion; nor did she ever see a bomb. Why didn't she hear an explosion or hear sirens, etc? I'll tell you exactly why not!
1. We didn't go fishing on Thanksgiving.
2. We didn't even leave her apartment on the night of Thanksgiving.
What else is wrong with her testimony?
1. I didn't have the truck on November 28th, 1985. I didn't get it until December.
2. According to the National Weather Service, November 28th, 1985 was the coldest day of November. The high was 42 degrees and the low was 31 degrees with winds up to 15 miles per hour.
3. The two rifles weren't purchased until December 18th and December 19th, 1985, per ATF gun register records.
4. The toolbox that she said was on the truck was bought for my birthday on December 29th, 1985, per check records.
At this point, it's pretty clear what I'm getting at but I will explain anyway. We didn't go fishing on the night of Thanksgiving. I don't know anyone that would. It's not even possible for things to happen the way Kim said. We couldn't go to the lake in a truck that didn't exist at the time. I couldn't get a briefcase out from under a toolbox that was in the bed of a truck that didn't yet exist and I sure couldn't shoot a beaver with a gun that didn't exist yet. It just doesn't make sense for anyone to "hang out" at the lake for hours in the middle of the night when it's 30 some degrees.
We did go to Lake Worth Nature Center and go fishing one night but it wasn't on Thanksgiving. How can I be so sure about something that happened so long ago? It's simple. The records prove I'm telling the truth. When we did go to the lake, it was in the truck that we got in December. I did shoot a beaver with the Ruger model 10/22 that was bought on December 19th, 1985. I didn't know it was a beaver at the time. I thought it was a muskrat or a nutria rat.
Chris Meeks' testimony was different from Kim's but it did corroborate her testimony. They both committed perjury and got an innocent man sentenced to death for a crime another man told him about. Chris couldn't answer a single question without looking to one of his three statements as if they were a script. He didn't have any idea what was going on and he was scared to death. Somehow he was forced to testify falsely. By whom, I'm not positive but I have a good idea.
I was convicted of a crime another man told me about. I was convicted solely by the lies of two people. Perjured testimony got me sentenced to death.
If you're like most people, you're thinking why would someone voluntarily lie and get an innocent man sentenced to death. This is where I have to speculate on a few things. I have a few different theories but one of them seems to prove more correct than the others.
I think Kim talked to her boyfriend after the ATF interviewed her and they went together to the library. I think they may have even gone to the scene of the crime to put a story together. I think the agents told her about the substantial reward and she relayed that information to her boyfriend and he talked her into lying for the reward. I'm speculating when I say that but that's the only thing that makes sense. Some of the things she said were absolute lies. For instance the briefcase. I didn't own a briefcase until 1988 or 1989 and everything she said about stopping at a propane place is a complete lie.
I've never in my life been to the place where this crime happened. I didn't even find out exactly where it happened until just before my trial. What really confuses me is why Chris Meeks lied. I don't understand that at all. The only explanation is that he just went along with whatever the investigators said. The only way I can see that happening is if he was somehow threatened.
After the trial and after I was sentenced to death, Kim brought my twelve year old daughter to the jail to see me. It was a very intense emotional experience for me because I hadn't seen her in ten years. I had tried everything to see her but couldn't ever find her. The first thing Kim said to me during the visit was "I don't love you anymore." I was thinking to myself, that's pretty obvious. She then said, "I know you're not a murderer. I just assumed you did it because they told me you were a suspect and we went fishing at Lake Worth. I could be wrong about the date we went to Lake Worth but there's nothing I can do about it now."
I think she justified what she did by the fact that I was such a terrible husband. I was abusive and ran around all the time. I was only 19 years old when we got married. I was way too young to get married because I was so naïve and immature. I came from a real small town and being in the city made me feel like I needed to run around all the time.
THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART.
Since the trial, my family and I have received numerous phone calls and letters from people saying they know I'm innocent because they know who did the bombing and why it was done. I believe the fact that no one could ever determine the motive is the reason they couldn't solve the crime. I've been in contact with these people who wrote and called my family. They have told me what the motive was, who did it and why the motive was never determined. Yes, I have learned who the real murderers are but they will remain free to commit more murders unless the investigation is reopened. No one will listen to me because the case has been closed. The case has been closed but the crime was not solved. The people who committed this terrible crime live in the Fort Worth area. As far as I am concerned, no one is safe until the real murderers are brought to justice. I'm doing everything I can to try to make that happen. The Blount family deserves to know the truth and they deserve the real murderers to be brought to justice.
I've never in my life been to the scene of this crime. I didn't know the victims. I've never even seen a bomb. I told the exact truth but it didn't make any difference. I'm only 34 years old. In 1985, I would have been only 19 years old. When they first accused me, I thought it was absolutely ludicrous. It defies common sense. I believe the State and the ATF used me as a pawn to close a case they couldn't solve.
Well, I'm not going to sit back and let them murder an innocent man if I can help it. I will do everything I can to expose the TRUTH and bring the true murderers of the Blount family to justice, TRUE JUSTICE.
If there is anyone out there who cares enough to stop the murder of an innocent man, help expose the TRUTH and bring the TRUE murderers of the Blount family to justice, please join my struggle and help me.
I am in a desperate situation. I'm SCARED beyond description. I don't want to be put to death for a crime I knew nothing about.
Please help me. I may not be a perfect person but I'm not a murderer. I've been in a lot of trouble since 1989 but nothing like this. PLEASE HELP ME EXPOSE THE TRUTH.
Sincerely & respectfully,
Michael R. ToneyMichael "Cowboy" Toney
Rt. 6 Ellis #314
Huntsville, TX 77343mrcowboytoney@hotmail.com
http://www.wild-side.com/darksorrow/michaeltoney.html
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