Texas Slave Ranch
Encyclopedia
On April 6, 1984, more than 30 federal, state and local lawmen raided a 3500 acres (14 km²) ranch near the Texas Hill Country
town of Mountain Home. The officers were responding to reports that workers on the ranch were kidnapped from Interstate 10
, forced to work and that at least one worker had died and was cremated on the premises.
Among the items seized in the search were human bone fragments and audiotapes of torture sessions in which a cattle prod can be heard as it is used to shock the victim.
The ranchers were arrested and charged with aggravated kidnapping and the case became widely known as “the Texas Slave Ranch.”
The 1986 trial lasted three months, made national news, featured the celebrated Texas defense attorney Richard “Racehorse” Haynes
and resulted in the conviction of ranchers Walter Wesley Ellebracht, 55, Walter Ellebracht Jr., 33, and ranch foreman Carlton Robert Caldwell, 21, on charges of conspiracy to commit aggravated kidnapping but acquitted of murder in the death of Anthony Bates, an Alabama man who worked on the ranch in 1984.
There was little physical evidence linking anyone in the death of Bates because a body was never found on the ranch and though multiple possible murder weapons were present it was impossible to determine what might have been used to slay Bates without a body. Though Bates has, to this date, never been seen or heard from since the day he was seen being accosted by the defendants.
Joyce Ellebracht, wife of Walter Jr., was also charged but succeeded in having her trial severed from her husband and father-in law.
Though Prosecutor Ronald Sutton sought life sentences for the three, Walter Ellebracht Sr. received probation, Walter Jr. remained free while his 15-year sentence was appealed and Caldwell served less than three years of his 14-year sentence.
, Dennis Hopper
and Michael Madsen
.
Texas Hill Country
The Texas Hill Country is a vernacular term applied to a region of Central Texas featuring tall rugged hills consisting of thin layers of soil atop limestone or granite. It also includes the Llano Uplift and the second largest granite monadnock in the United States, Enchanted Rock, which is located...
town of Mountain Home. The officers were responding to reports that workers on the ranch were kidnapped from Interstate 10
Interstate 10
Interstate 10 is the fourth-longest Interstate Highway in the United States, after I-90, I-80, and I-40. It is the southernmost east–west, coast-to-coast Interstate Highway, although I-4 and I-8 are further south. It stretches from the Pacific Ocean at State Route 1 in Santa Monica,...
, forced to work and that at least one worker had died and was cremated on the premises.
Among the items seized in the search were human bone fragments and audiotapes of torture sessions in which a cattle prod can be heard as it is used to shock the victim.
The ranchers were arrested and charged with aggravated kidnapping and the case became widely known as “the Texas Slave Ranch.”
The 1986 trial lasted three months, made national news, featured the celebrated Texas defense attorney Richard “Racehorse” Haynes
Richard Haynes
Richard "Racehorse" Haynes is a Texas criminal defense attorney. TIME magazine once referred to him as one of the top six criminal lawyers in America. A native of Houston, Texas, he graduated from the University of Houston Law Center in 1956. He has been involved in landmark cases such as The...
and resulted in the conviction of ranchers Walter Wesley Ellebracht, 55, Walter Ellebracht Jr., 33, and ranch foreman Carlton Robert Caldwell, 21, on charges of conspiracy to commit aggravated kidnapping but acquitted of murder in the death of Anthony Bates, an Alabama man who worked on the ranch in 1984.
There was little physical evidence linking anyone in the death of Bates because a body was never found on the ranch and though multiple possible murder weapons were present it was impossible to determine what might have been used to slay Bates without a body. Though Bates has, to this date, never been seen or heard from since the day he was seen being accosted by the defendants.
Joyce Ellebracht, wife of Walter Jr., was also charged but succeeded in having her trial severed from her husband and father-in law.
Though Prosecutor Ronald Sutton sought life sentences for the three, Walter Ellebracht Sr. received probation, Walter Jr. remained free while his 15-year sentence was appealed and Caldwell served less than three years of his 14-year sentence.
In Popular Culture
In 2006, Glen Stephens directed the film Hoboken Hollow which is loosely based on the events that occurred at the Texus Slave Ranch. The film stars Jason ConneryJason Connery
Jason Joseph Connery is an English actor.-Early life:Connery grew up in London. He attended Millfield School, a co-educational independent school in Somerset, England, and later at the independent Gordonstoun School in Scotland. He was later accepted into the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School...
, Dennis Hopper
Dennis Hopper
Dennis Lee Hopper was an American actor, filmmaker and artist. As a young man, Hopper became interested in acting and eventually became a student of the Actors' Studio. He made his first television appearance in 1954 and appeared in two films featuring James Dean, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant...
and Michael Madsen
Michael Madsen
Michael Søren Madsen is an American actor, poet, and photographer. He has appeared in more than 150 films, most of them small independent films, though he has starred in central roles in such films as Reservoir Dogs, Free Willy, Donnie Brasco, and Kill Bill, in addition to a supporting role in Sin...
.