Free Republic

Muslims say they're looking for a place to bury their dead but locals in Farmersville say it's a plot to gain a foothold in their small Texas town and are threatening to stop the plan by using pig parts. A proposal to bring a Muslim cemetery to the rural town has stoked fears among residents who are vehemently trying to convince community leaders to block the project. The sentiment reflects an anti-Muslim distrust that has been brewing over the last year in parts of Texas, most notably 25 miles away in Garland - the scene of a deadly May shooting...

FARMERSVILLE — There’s a Buddhist meditation center on the outskirts of town, and a Mormon church recently opened along Audie Murphy Parkway. But it’s the prospect of an Islamic cemetery that has upset some residents in this Collin County city with a population of fewer than 4,000. In shops along the brick-lined streets of the quaint downtown area, many wonder, “Why Farmersville?” “The concern for us is the radical element of Islam,” David J. Meeks, pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, said of the Islamic Association of Collin County’s plan to build a cemetery west of the city.

Man confessed to choking, stabbing Farmersville woman 10:52 AM CDT on Friday, May 28, 2004By TIM WYATT / The Dallas Morning News McKINNEY – A 20-year-old Farmersville man accused of killing a young mother in his pickup truck this spring told police he choked her "for no reason." Two days after his arrest, Moises Sandoval Mendoza wrote his parents: "I don't know what happened to me at that moment. ... I turned into the devil." The handwritten confessions by Mr. Mendoza are part of hundreds of documents filed in court records by prosecutors as they prepare their death penalty case...

Family says mom's legacy will endureMourners too many for church sanctuary01:09 PM CST on Sunday, March 28, 2004By JENNIFER EMILY / The Dallas Morning News FARMERSVILLE – There weren't many in this small town who knew Rachelle O'Neil Tolleson well, but those close to her say her world revolved around a little girl named Avery. On Saturday, family, friends and residents packed into First Baptist Church in Farmersville for Ms. Tolleson's funeral to remember the woman whom many described as shy to the outside world and completely devoted to her role as a mother. The church sanctuary can seat about...

Police: Friend told of Farmersville killing Papers say suspect described strangling Farmersville woman10:46 PM CST on Thursday, March 25, 2004By TIM WYATT / The Dallas Morning News McKINNEY – A 20-year-old Farmersville man told a friend that he strangled a young mother last week and hid her body behind his house, according to court documents filed by police. Moises Sandoval Mendoza told the friend he dumped the body of Rachelle O'Neil Tolleson at a remote site and set it on fire after police questioned him about her whereabouts, according to the paperwork that police filed to justify Mr. Mendoza's arrest....

Man held in death of Farmersville woman Police give no details on what led them to arrest in abduction, slaying11:25 PM CST on Wednesday, March 24, 2004By TIM WYATT / The Dallas Morning News FARMERSVILLE – Police arrested a 20-year-old local man Wednesday night and charged him with capital murder in the abduction and slaying of a young mother taken from her home last week. Moises Sandoval Mendoza of Farmersville was being held with bail set at $500,000 in the death of Rachelle O'Neil Tolleson, 20, whose burned body was found in a creek bed in far eastern Collin County...

Farmersville woman's body found 06:44 AM CST on Wednesday, March 24, 2004By TIM WYATT and TIARA M. ELLIS / The Dallas Morning News FARMERSVILLE – The search for a missing Farmersville woman ended Tuesday when her body was found in a creekbed three miles east of town. Rachelle O'Neil Tolleson, 20, had been reported missing on Thursday after relatives found her infant daughter alone inside her house. Investigators found signs of a struggle inside the home, but Ms. Tolleson's car was undisturbed, as were sacks of groceries. Rachelle Tolleson An area resident who had not participated in the search reported...