Tommy Lynn Sells
The Suspect
Krystal Surles awoke groggy on New Year’s Day, her throat heavily bandaged.
But soon after regaining consciousness, Krystal was ready to get to work. She used gestures to demand a pen and paper and began writing descriptions of her assailant.
Authorities called in Shirley Timmons, a forensic artist, from her home in
Cops quickly distributed the description and image, and they pressed the Harris family to mull over friends and acquaintances for a match.
Nothing was missing from the home. Law enforcers assumed the murder was motivated by sexual deviance, not robbery. And they suspected the killer was acquainted with the Harrises before climbing in the window—and that Katy Harris had been his intended target.
The two Surles girls were staying with the Harrises while her mother, Pam, was moving from
A group left
They turned around and rushed back to
When Luker heard the description and saw the sketch, it reminded him of a man the moving group had seen at a
He remembered the man’s name as Tom or Tommy. He seemed to be a friend of Terry Harris, Luker said, and he worked as a salesman at Amigo Auto Sales.
Luker shared his recollections with Texas Ranger John Allen, who tracked down the owner of the car lot by phone. The man was uncooperative with Allen, but he quickly reconsidered.
They went to Krystal Surles’ hospital room and showed her a photo array of six men. She studied the pictures purposefully, and then pointed at one as the intruder.
It was the used-car salesman from
Investigators prepared an arrest warrant and paid a visit early on January 2 to the trailer Sells shared with his wife, Jessica Levrie, and her four children.
He went along without rancor. He didn’t ask why he was being taken in, and investigators didn’t offer to tell him.
But during the ride to the sheriff’s office, Sells turned to Val Verde County Sheriff's Lt. Larry Pope and said, “Well, I guess we've got a lot to talk about."
