Correct. Here's the perp:
More to the point, though, he's got a record of violent crime.
Posted on 12/20/2007 10:50:08 AM PST by hripka
She was suffocated in robbery, police say
Anne Gordon spent her last moments on the floor of her townhouse, praying to God for the man who was wrapping her face in duct tape during a robbery, according to a criminal complaint.
The man, who officials say was 30-year-old Eric Henry, considered Gordon to be his grandmother.
Henry was charged Tuesday with Gordon's death, the Milwaukee County district attorney's office said. Family members said Henry, of Brown Deer, is the stepson of Gordon's son Paul.
Gordon, a 75-year-old pastor, died from asphyxiation because of the duct tape placed over her airways, medical examiners said. She was found on her back, and her body was bruised and partially covered with area rugs.
"Her personality was very strong. She knew what she wanted, and if you were doing something wrong, she would tell you to straighten up your life, and that you know what the Bible says," said Gordon's son Ray, who lives in New York City but is in Wisconsin to pay his final respects.
Henry told police he went to Anne Gordon on the morning of Dec. 12 to ask for $300 for a paternity test - even though it was actually to be used for an abortion, the complaint says. She did not give him the money, but the two prayed, according to the complaint.
Henry returned to her condominium in the 1600 block of N. Mayflower Court later that day with another man, who is unnamed in the complaint and who has not been charged. The two planned to rob Gordon, the complaint quotes Henry as saying.
According to the complaint:
Henry told police he had second thoughts about robbing Anne Gordon, and he wanted to leave, but he ended up staying at an open door while the other man went upstairs to rob her.
Henry heard Anne Gordon scream for help and went upstairs and saw her bleeding from the mouth, the complaint said. Henry asked the man if he got any money and he said "no."
Henry recalled Anne Gordon saying, "I promise not to call the police on you Eric, I love you and I know you're having a hard time," the complaint says.
Henry told police that the other man then hit Anne Gordon and threw her to the ground before ordering Henry to "tape her up." As Gordon prayed aloud, Henry taped her legs, then her hands in a praying position.
Anne Gordon said, "Lord Heavenly Father, forgive them for what they're going to do," moments before Henry duct-taped a plastic bag over her head, according to the complaint.
Henry took Anne Gordon's 2005 Cadillac STS, dropped the other man off near N. 70th St. and W. Capitol Drive, then took the car home to Brown Deer, the complaint says.
Henry is charged with first-degree intentional homicide, punishable by life in prison. His bail was set at $250,000 during a court appearance Tuesday, and his attorney, Robert D'Arruda, said Henry will fight the charges, claiming he was forced by the second man to kill her. Assistant District Attorney Mark Williams said the case is being investigated.
Anne Gordon moved from Mississippi to Milwaukee during the 1950s, her son Ray Gordon said. She was divorced and had two sons. She worked on the assembly line at Johnson Controls for over 30 years and retired when she was 62, ready to give her religious interests full-time attention, Ray Gordon said.
About 20 years ago, she founded St. Anne's Cathedral Holy Church of Deliverance at N. 58th and W. Burleigh streets on Milwaukee's west side. She also helped start a ministerial organization that tended to the religious needs of prisoners. Ray Gordon said his mother also founded a second church in Madison.
He fondly remembered the 70th birthday party he hosted for his mother in New York City, where his friends entertained and sang for her. His friends never forgot Anne Gordon, he said.
"She was a wonderful person. She would speak prophetic knowledge to you and you would remember it later," Ray Gordon said. "She was always giving the word of God and praying for people."
Gordon's funeral is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday at Holy Redeemer Church of God in Christ, 3500 W. Mother Daniels Way.
Why was the accomplice not charged? He was also responsible for her death.
What a ghastly story. Unbelievable. Poor woman.
If she was a pastor in the Church of God in Christ, then the perp is probably African American - that is a majority black church.
Correct. Here's the perp:
More to the point, though, he's got a record of violent crime.
Not a chance in hell that defense will work.
What second man?
This is a lot like a case we had in NJ a couple years back; dumb thug predator kills elderly relative in a step-grandparent relationship, the elder being a very respected man.
If you didn’t pick your relatives to rob, you wouldn’t have to kill them.
Dumb, dumb, dumb. I hate stupid evil thugs without the imagination to realize they will be caught in a week, destroying lives and families for a few days’ loot.
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