Helen's Story

I am telling this story for my Aunt Helen who can't:

The Dallas Morning News 3/24/04

By Karin Shaw Anderson

In the midst of their own mourning, Sunnyvale School staffers had to put their emotions on hold this week to counsel students about the killing of a favorite teacher. More than 300 of Helen O'Neal's elementary Spanish students learned of her death on Monday, their first day back from spring break. "She was such a wonderful teacher, and it's so sad to lose her," Superintendent Seth Adams said, his voice trembling. "She had such a good heart, and her heart was so wonderful for those kids in ESL [English as a second language]. We're deeply saddened." Mrs. O'Neal, 59, was found Saturday, shot several times in her home in Peachtree Estates, a quiet neighborhood of brick homes off State Highway 78 in Sachse. She was pronounced dead at Baylor Medical Center at Garland soon after. Sachse Police Chief Richard Benedict said Mrs. O'Neal's husband, William O'Neal, reported leaving the house about 7:30 a.m. and finding the body when he returned around 12:30 p.m. Chief Benedict said that the crime could have been a home invasion but that other scenarios had not been ruled out. No suspects have been identified. The last homicide in Sachse was in 1996, when a father in the midst of a custody battle killed his daughter and himself. Mr. Adams learned of Mrs. O'Neal's slaying Sunday. "We arranged for counselors to be here Monday morning for the kids – and for us, too, for that matter," he said. "But we knew we had to break the news to the kids." Letters were sent home to give parents what little information administrators had. Howie Burkhalter, PTA president for the only school in the city of 3,500, said nothing could have prepared those who knew Mrs. O'Neal for the shock. "It's been a pretty tough hit for us," he said. "We're certainly not used to anything like this happening." The lack of information "leaves your mind wondering," he said. Teachers used discretion in deciding how much to reveal to students. "One of the sixth-grade teachers did tell some kids she had been shot, because the kids really wanted to know," Mr. Burkhalter said. "This has really hurt the kids." A friend of Mrs. O'Neal's, Jeannine Gott of Dallas, said the teacher grew up in Guatemala, the daughter of missionaries. "She was a lovely person," Ms. Gott said. Mrs. O'Neal's daughter, Evelyn Brush, said the slaying appeared to be a random act. She said the faith her mother taught her has sustained her. "We want people to know that we know where she is now, and that's helping us get through this," she said. Mrs. O'Neal began teaching around 1970 at Skyline High School in Dallas. "She had the gift of helping others, and she wanted to help people better themselves," Ms. Brush said. "Learning wasn't just for school – she taught me every day." Growing up in Guatemala fed Mrs. O'Neal's love of Latin America and its people, her daughter said. "And living in Texas, she loved knowing that her elementary kids were starting off learning Spanish so early and getting that foundation." Mr. Adams said the Sunnyvale School has been struggling to continue its routine. "It's one of those things you endure," he said. The noncredit Spanish classes taught by Mrs. O'Neal will be discontinued until a replacement teacher is brought in. Mr. Adams said foreign-language classes don't lend themselves to being led by a substitute, and it might be next year before a replacement is found. Mr. Burkhalter said the PTA planned to put word out about the need in order to find another teacher sooner. Meanwhile, the school is sorting through ideas for a tribute to Mrs. O'Neal. "We're trying to think of things we can do for her legacy," Mr. Adams said. A memorial service will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at Scofield Memorial Church, 7730 Abrams Road in Dallas. Staff writer Margarita Martin-Hidalgo contributed to this report.

The Dallas Morning News 4/13/04

By Jason Trahan

The killer has been caught: Tape led to arrest in Sachse In call with girlfriend, man told of plan to kill his wife, police say. Police say William O'Neal took great pains to cover his tracks. He wore two pairs of gloves so there would be no gun residue on his hands. He changed shirts to disguise himself. He thought he had not one, but a whole team of alibis: bicyclists with whom he had been riding when he slipped away and, according to Sachse police, killed Helen O'Neal, his wife of 29 years, the morning of March 20. But what landed Mr. O'Neal in jail last weekend were his own words, recorded from telephone conversations with the woman whom he'd been seeing behind his wife's back, according to an arrest warrant. "Without help, it would have taken us a long time to solve this one," Sachse Police Chief Richard Benedict said. "This has shocked our community. It's been our No. 1 priority for the last three weeks." Mr. O'Neal, 69, was being held Monday at the geriatric section of the county jail in lieu of $1 million bail. He is charged with murder in the shooting death of his 59-year-old wife. Sachse police arrested him Saturday shortly after following him to a culvert where they say he had just retrieved a .22-caliber pistol believed to have been used in his wife's shooting. Mr. O'Neal declined an interview request Monday, jail officials said. Records show he has no attorney. Mrs. O'Neal's daughter, reached Monday in Tennessee, declined to comment. Neighbor Marialice Davis said she was relieved that police had made an arrest in the city's first slaying since October 1996. "Honestly, it makes us feel better because it wasn't a random act," said the 28-year-old mother of three boys. "I live four houses down. When we were outside with the kids, we were always wondering, 'Is someone watching us?' " On March 20, Mr. O'Neal called 911 and told police he had found his wife, a popular Sunnyvale Spanish teacher, shot multiple times in their home in the 4800 block of Orchard Drive in Sachse's quiet Peachtree Estates off State Highway 78. Police say he said he had just returned from his usual Saturday bike ride about 12:30 p.m. He told authorities he had left the house five hours earlier and had been riding with friends until returning home. He told neighbors and police that he thought it was a home invasion. Jewelry was missing, but detectives doubted his version of events from the beginning. "When we walked in, there were inconsistencies," Chief Benedict said. "It was staged – the way drawers were arranged, the way things were positioned." Publicly, police did not refute the early speculation that a stranger had broken in and killed Mrs. O'Neal. "We couldn't prove anything at that point," Chief Benedict said. "If he did do it, and that's the story he put out, we wanted him to feel comfortable with that story." The detectives' patience paid off about a week after the slaying, according to the warrant. They made contact with a 47-year-old woman who said she had been involved with Mr. O'Neal. She told authorities that she had nothing to do with the killings and agreed to cooperate, helping police obtain taped telephone conversations and secure Mr. O'Neal's confession. She told police that Mr. O'Neal had told her while they were together that "he wished that his wife would be killed in a vehicle accident," according to the warrant. She also told police that she feared Mr. O'Neal would "retaliate against her or her family for informing the police about what he had told her." Police said that in a tape made April 8, Mr. O'Neal is heard saying that he had been "seriously planning" the murder of his wife since an encounter with his girlfriend on Feb. 21 at a motel in the 2100 block of Belt Line Road in Mesquite. The warrant states that on the tape, Mr. O'Neal revealed that he slipped away from his biking companions and went to his house about 10 a.m. the day of the slaying. His moves apparently weren't as stealthy as he'd thought. A Sachse police officer later reported seeing someone break away from a group of bikers between 9:30 a.m. and 9:45 and turn down Orchard, the couple's street. "The observation stood out to me because I found it unique that the cyclist did not stay with the group," the officer said in the warrant. Mr. O'Neal then entered through the back door, wearing two pairs of gloves. He encountered his wife in their home office and "shot her twice in the chest and then twice in the head" with a gun he had carried with him on the bike ride, the warrant said. One bullet went out the window. The warrant said he then changed shirts and rejoined the bike team on Miles Road, after hiding the gun near the roadway. He finished the bike route, ending up at the Bike Mart of Richardson. "O'Neal was happy that he had co-riders that could at least confirm that he participated in their bike ride," the warrant stated, citing the audiotape. But detectives could find no riders who remembered seeing Mr. O'Neal anywhere but at the beginning and end of the route, the warrant said. On the tapes, Mr. O'Neal described his wife "as a burden to him. ... He could never do anything right by her. ... O'Neal sounded proud about getting away with the murder, because it gave him freedom to pursue his affair," the warrant stated. According to the document, he also thought that he would benefit financially, telling his girlfriend where he had hidden his wife's jewelry. He had told police the jewelry was stolen. Detectives later found it hidden in a paint can in a backyard shed. When police pulled Mr. O'Neal over Saturday, they found a gun and other evidence inside the vehicle, officials said. Ms. Davis, the neighbor, said that she moved from Plano to smaller Sachse for the lower crime but doesn't think the town is unsafe and isn't planning on moving yet. "We do have property in Bonham," she said. "We wouldn't have a neighbor for miles. I wouldn't have to worry about people, just snakes and spiders."

The Dallas Morning News

By Matt Stiles

William O'Neal waited six months to admit the truth to his two children: He'd murdered their mother in March. Two hours after he did Friday, a jury sentenced him to life in prison for shooting and killing Helen O'Neal – his wife of 29 years – in a staged robbery at their Sachse home.

"Nothing justified what I did," said Mr. O'Neal, 70, his voice wavering as he explained that he kept the truth from loved ones. "I guess survival instinct kicked in. I was honestly grieving. I just didn't quite know what to do." The admission ended a four-day trial in state District Judge Manny Alvarez's court in which Mr. O'Neal's defense argued that others killed Mrs. O'Neal. Evelyn Brush – who testified Wednesday in her father's defense – faced Mr. O'Neal after the sentencing. Fighting back tears, she said the incident left her feeling baffled and betrayed. I've already lost one parent," said Ms. Brush, 27. "I feel like I've lost the other."

Mr. O'Neal's family had already heard him admit shooting his 59-year-old wife, a Sunnyvale teacher, four times and creating an elaborate false alibi involving a bicycle ride. Prosecutors twice played a secretly recorded tape made by his former mistress, Carla York. Initially, some believed the retired drafting teacher made the statements just to please Ms. York. "In my eight years here, I've never heard anything like that," lead prosecutor Heath Hyde said, noting Ms. York's courage in recording the tape for police. "He just went step by step. Very seldom does anyone do that."

Christ In the Courtroom 9/30/04

Email from Jennifer Speck-Green (ACU Alumni)

As written by Russell Heil

Today, I received an email from Jennifer Speck-Green (another ACU Alumni) who was present at the trial and offers this observance as she paints a picture of Christ in the courtroom. I share this with you as a testimony to the transformative power of Christ.

"When the jury was excused and the trial concluded our final prayer was answered in a mighty, mighty way. Billy, Evelyn and Aunt Carol were given the opportunity to speak to Bill from the witness stand. Beginning with Billy, the Glory of the Lord filled the room. All of them spoke of moving forward, trying to forgive, anger, betrayal and a thread of sadness that will never depart from them. All want to try and mend with Bill and no one has stopped loving him. Evelyn was beautifully well spoken, as I knew she would be and the love the Lord seasoned all she said. Aunt Carol spoke last with a grace and faith in action I will not soon forget. I will never forget her words, through tears to the man who killed her best friend and sister, the father of her dear niece and nephew.

"Bill it is not coincidence that when I awoke this morning to greet the Lord as I always do I turned to Job. 31:1-4, it says 'I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust upon a girl. I know full well that Almighty God sends calamity on those who do. He sees everything I do, and every step I take.' That is what has happened here. Bill the only reason I can say this is because I've walked with Lord for 50 years. Even now, in this moment I can say that I forgive you. The only reason I can say that I forgive you is because Jesus Christ reigns in my heart. I've never killed anyone, but you and I stand at the foot of the cross together Bill, and I must forgive you, because he forgave me.

The packed courtroom wept as our final prayer was answered by three of the strongest people I've ever known. Even as they are wronged, betrayed, bruised forever without their mother, sister and friend they are finding a way to forgive. Glory to God in highest!

We are all very sad. We are all still weeping. There is still a long road ahead. Evelyn is very confused and very relieved to know the truth. The healing that lies in wait will be very difficult and our hearts grieve for what is still to come. But I know that God hears us and he will answer! As Aunt Carol said, it will only be the fact that Christ reigns in their hearts and ours that we will all move forward. That peace of Christ that surpasses all understanding that will get them through what is to come, just as it has gotten them through this far. How blessed we are to call him Lord and friend. We have what we've been seeking."