Strangler

by Corey Mitchell

  “I cursed him. I hope you get warts,” she told him.

  He did.

  The very next day.

  “He got the most raging case of genital warts and no one could figure out where he got it because I didn’t have them! It creeped him out.”

  * * *

  After Tiffany was born, Gina noticed something peculiar with Amber. “She didn’t like to be held. She wouldn’t speak. She wouldn’t say ‘Mama,’ ‘Dada,’ those types of things. Her first word was ‘Tiger.’”

  Gina and Tony realized something was different about their daughter, but they could not place their fingers on it. Gina, who described herself as an avid researcher, dove into learning about potential medical issues. Shore, on the other hand, seemed turned off by Amber’s behavior. He began to shun her more and more.

  Eventually Gina’s research led her to conclude that her daughter might be suffering from a type of autism. “She showed a lot of symptomatic displays of autistic behavior,” Gina recalled. “When I would pick her up and try to breast-feed her, she would go all rigid on me. I had no idea that that was a common trait with infantile-autism behavior. She wouldn’t scream. She would just get all stiff.”

  Shore used to say that Gina was “hysterical” with her analysis.

  “You just don’t live with her,” Gina responded.

  Gina talked about her daughter’s “inappropriate behaviors”: “We’d be walking along in the mall, minding our own business,” Gina recalled, “and Amber saw a young, statuesque African American woman, very attractive. She had on a long dress that was all in leopard tone. Amber walked up to the woman, lifted her dress up, stuck her head under, and said, ‘You’re not a guy underneath. ’

  “You either went crazy or developed a sense of humor.” Gina chuckled. “That was my strategy. You develop a sense of humor and Daddio just didn’t have one.

  “Tony’s suggested strategy was to beat the hell out of her,” Gina intoned, “but that’s just what he wanted to do. He never hit either one of them.”

  Gina tried a slightly different approach that was suggested by some of Amber’s doctors. “If she did something inappropriate in public, I would sometimes just ignore it.”

  Unfortunately, it was often impossible to completely ignore Amber. “One of the things she would do was to pull her hair out, hit herself, throw herself against the wall. Someone came up to me and said, ‘I’m gonna report you to CPS [Child Protective Services],’” to which Gina jokingly asked, “Will they really protect me from my children?”

  Gina complained that Shore wanted to be more of a best friend with the girls as opposed to being their father. “He liked to do all the ‘uncle’ things. He was an ‘uncle daddy.’ But if anybody got sick or he had to change a diaper, he’d say, ‘I’m not gonna do that. I might get something under my nails.’ He never changed a diaper, but he did all the pictures, all the arts and crafts. The cool dad. All the fun stuff.”

  At the same time Shore used to get on Gina about the way she handled the girls. “If you weren’t so lenient,” he often told their mother, but Gina had no idea what Tony really wanted her to do with them.

  Shore apparently was envious of Amber. “Part of it was jealousy,” Gina continued, “because she demanded a lot of attention. This is the person who could stay up for seventy-two hours straight, sleep for two, and then go for another seventy-two hours.”

  But Shore did not deal with “rejection” lightly. “He would ignore her [Amber] and put all of his attention on Tiffany,” Gina recalled. “Tiffany was his girl, his baby, his sweetheart. She was the pretty one. She was the fun one. She was the one that he wanted to teach how to play music. He just gave her more.

  “We never argued until the day they diagnosed Amber with a form of autism, invasive developmental disorder. She didn’t even speak until she was six or seven years old.”

  According to Gina, Shore blamed her for Amber’s alleged autism. “He washed his hands of her,” she recalled. “He couldn’t stand her. Said that she was a retard. He said really mean things about Amber.” Gina was shocked by her husband’s response to their firstborn child.

  “He had a problem with human frailty. He really despised people who were in some way lesser.” Gina described Shore’s judgmental behavior that he never displayed while courting her. “People who were not well-groomed, people who were not well-made, people who gained weight—it just put him off.” Amber became one of those people in his mind.

  “Amber was having all of these behavior problems,” Gina said, “and she went to one of these diagnosticians who was one of the best, and she had an EEG [electroencephalogram], and an MRI [magnetic resonance imaging], which showed that it was nothing organic—she didn’t have a brain tumor—but she did have the developmental disorder.”

  Gina recalled how Shore always picked on Amber. “Tony would [call Amber stupid] so she couldn’t hear it. Just because a child couldn’t hear, she knows what your attitude is. She can sense it.”

  “No she can’t ’cause she’s stupid,” Shore shot back when Gina told him this.

  According to Gina, “the Shore gene is predominant. You look at Robert Shore, Tony, Tony’s sister Laurel, Amber, and Tiffany. They all have the same eyes and big heads. That’s a Shore trait.

  “I said it takes two people to make a baby and everybody on my side of the family is sane! It could be you!” Gina taunted Shore. “It could be your genes.”

  Needless to say, Tony Shore was not happy.

  * * *

  During this time Tony Shore’s escape was a large alternative rock/jazz collective called St. Vitus Dance. Gina described them as “a ten-piece band with the commitment The Commitments never had.” Shore played piano and keyboards.

  Gina recalled his obsession with perfection. “He practiced enough to drive you insane.” She recalled he would play the song “Locomotive Breath” by Jethro Tull over and over on the upright piano in their apartment’s living room. “If he made a mistake, he would start over from the very beginning, instead of where he messed up because ‘that would be practicing your mistakes.’”

  CHAPTER 27

  Friday, October 24, 2003, 4:53 P.M.,

  Houston Police Department—Sixth Floor—Homicide Division,

  Interrogation Room #6,

  1200 Travis Street,

  Houston, Texas.

  Twenty-two-year veteran Todd Miller got the first crack at Tony Shore. Miller had worked in the Homicide Division for nearly twelve years at the time of Shore’s arrest. The detective had been at Champion Collision Center earlier that day, along with Officer Robert Farmer and Sergeant Hal Kennedy. When Miller arrived on the scene, Shore was already sitting in the back of Officer Farmer’s patrol car. Miller informed Farmer that he would meet him downtown at Homicide.

  When Officer Farmer arrived at headquarters with Tony Shore in tow, both men headed up to the sixth floor to the Homicide Division. They were greeted by Miller, who instructed Farmer to remove Shore’s handcuffs and to escort the suspect to the interrogation room. Miller removed his gear and placed his weapon in his desk drawer, locked it up, and headed to the interrogation room. The room, which was fourteen feet by nine feet, with blue-green carpet and acoustic foam tiles on the walls, had one door without a lock and a small window.

  By the time Miller stepped into the interrogation room with Tony Shore, it was 5:00 P.M. Miller introduced himself and read Shore his rights, which he waived. Miller then asked Shore if he would like something to drink or eat. Shore declined.

  Miller informed Shore that he was under the arrest for the murder of Carmen Estrada. The detective went on to explain that Shore’s DNA had been found on Estrada’s body, but he did not tell him where specifically. He also told Shore the general area where they discovered Estrada’s body, but did not pinpoint the location.

  According to Detective Miller, he and Shore had a congenial conversation. When they first started out, Shore referred to Miller as Officer Miller. As their discussion pr
ogressed, Shore resorted to the more casual, Todd. Miller did not correct him. Instead, he let Shore believe he was in control of the discussion. “Never in all the interviews I’ve ever conducted [has someone referred to me by my first name]. That’s the only time it’s ever happened.”

  During their conversation it came up that Miller and Shore actually knew one another and had even met before. Turned out that Shore’s first wife, Gina Worley, was the daughter of Miller’s ex-wife’s second husband, Floyd Worley. Apparently, Floyd Worley lived in Lake Livingston, Texas, and that is where Miller and Shore had previously met.

  Todd and Tony chatted for three hours, until 8:05 P.M. Shore answered every one of Miller’s questions and had several of his own, which he inquired of Miller. During that time Shore never confessed to murdering Carmen Estrada.

  Miller asked Shore if he needed to make a visit to the restroom and again offered food or drink. Shore declined and Miller excused himself from the interview room. The detective met up with his fellow task force members Sergeant John Swaim, Lieutenant Greg Neely, and Harris County sheriff’s deputy Roger Wedgeworth. After the four men discussed the current situation, Miller asked Sergeant Swaim if he wanted to take over the interview. Swaim agreed that he should. They all sensed that Miller was not making any headway in the interview and that a fresh face might loosen Shore’s tongue up a little.

  At 8:07 P.M., Sergeant John Swaim entered interrogation room #6 and sat down next to Tony Shore. Swaim introduced himself to Shore in a quiet, even voice. The sergeant informed Shore that he, too, would like to talk about the murder of Carmen Estrada. Swaim informed Shore that he would succinctly lay out the evidence they had against him and let him make the next move. Swaim then read Shore his rights, which the suspect waived.

  Swaim told Shore that DNA was why they were there. Specifically, Shore’s DNA was found underneath Estrada’s fingernails.

  “Did you know her?” Swaim asked.

  “No, I did not know her,” Shore calmly replied.

  “Do you know how DNA works?”

  “Yeah, I know,” Shore stated.

  “Do you think that we are lying to you about the DNA?” Swaim wondered.

  “No, I don’t think you’re lying. I just have no idea why you would have my DNA.”

  “How did it get on her?”

  “I don’t know,” Shore proclaimed. “I can’t explain that.”

  The line of questioning continued and Shore continued to deny the allegations. All the while he was calm, cool, and collected. He also looked Swaim directly in the eyes during the entire conversation. According to Swaim, Shore “did not show any of the normal signs, through my experience, of someone who was lying.”

  Swaim realized two things about Shore. First, he was dealing with one smart individual. Second, he was not sure if Shore was even capable of telling the truth.

  Swaim was also surprised when Shore referred to him by his first name. As with Miller, Swaim had rarely ever been called by his first name by a suspect during an interview.

  The two men seemed to get along just fine, but Shore was not admitting anything. Swaim assumed that it was going to be a very long night for everyone involved.

  At 9:20 P.M., Shore used the restroom, then accepted an offer by Swaim for coffee. But when Swaim exited the interrogation room, he had nothing.

  Next up was Deputy Wedgeworth. He entered at 9:25 P.M. and spoke to Shore about the Dana Sanchez murder. He was not able to get a confession out of Shore either. The deputy exited the interrogation room at 10:15 P.M., empty-handed.

  The task force members agreed that Miller should go back in the room. Miller noted that Shore seemed a bit more subdued this go-round. He also seemed less eager to ask questions. He did, however, continue to answer every one of Miller’s probes. The detective also noted that Shore was still very sharp and he continued to look the officer directly in the eyes.

  Miller then laid out several crime scene photos that he removed from a binder. Shore instantly turned his head away from the gruesome pictures; however, he just as quickly turned his head back and began to stare at them.

  “C’mon, Tony. Tell me the truth,” Miller cajoled. “We know you did all these. We’ve got the DNA to prove you’re the one responsible for all these dead girls.”

  Shore did not deny the accusations. “Well, I just don’t remember,” he stated. “I don’t remember being there. I don’t remember seeing her. I don’t remember.” Suddenly the cocksureness left his demeanor.

  Miller and Shore continued for another ninety minutes when Shore brought up what every detective loves to hear: the hypothetical.

  “Let’s say, hypothetically, someone were to. . . .” Shore started, but then paused. “No. I’m sorry, Todd. I just don’t trust you.”

  Miller was crushed. He was so close, yet he knew it was not going to happen. He had lost Shore’s trust and his suspect was about to clam up.

  “Is there someone else you’d rather talk to, Tony? Someone you do trust?” Miller asked.

  “I would feel more comfortable with John,” Shore referred to Sergeant John Swaim.

  “Okay, Tony. Let me go get him for you,” Miller offered as he got up and walked out of the interrogation room. Miller found Swaim and let him know that Shore was ready to talk and that he might be ready to spill the beans. Miller was excited, even after nearly seven hours of interviews.

  “He wants to talk to you,” Miller told Swaim. “He said he wanted to talk hypothetically. You’re up.”

  The time was 11:50 P.M.

  Sergeant John Swaim wasted no time getting back into the interrogation room with Shore. Shore looked up at Swaim and the officer greeted him with “What’s up, man? What do you want to talk about?”

  “Sit down, John,” Shore said as he motioned to the opposite chair. “Sit down.”

  Swaim took his seat and noticed the binder of photographs that Todd Miller had left in the room. Swaim grabbed the binder and then handed it over to Shore.

  Shore took the binder, paused, and then looked Swaim directly in the eye and said, “What would you say if I gave you these cases,” he directed a glance toward the binder and slightly lifted it up, “and a couple of bonuses?”

  Swaim sat up in his chair. “Well, man, that would be great. What’s this hypothetical? What were you going to talk about hypothetically?”

  “Well, I have this evilness in me.” Shore looked exactly the same as he did when he denied everything to Swaim earlier. “I think if I tell you what I’ve done, it will release that evilness and I will feel better.”

  “Great,” Swaim said. His demeanor did not change either.

  “Before I tell you this, can you tell me what I’m going to be charged with?” Shore wanted to know.

  “Well, you know, that’s something that the district attorney’s office decides. I don’t decide that. But if you’re going to tell me what I think you’re going to tell me, then it’s a capital murder charge; and that carries, you know . . . two things can happen to you. Either life in prison or the death penalty.”

  Shore stared at Swaim for several seconds with almost no reaction. He then looked directly into Swaim’s eyes and asked, “Does the name Laurie Tremblay mean anything to you?”

  The name Laurie Tremblay meant a lot to Sergeant John Swaim.

  CHAPTER 28

  Friday, September 26, 1986,

  Ninfa’s Restaurant,

  10600 block of Westheimer Road,

  Houston, Texas.

  Homer Fernandez enjoyed his life. He had a family, a nice house, and a job he loved. He was the manager for his aunt’s restaurant on one of the busiest streets in Houston. His aunt was not just any aunt either. She was the incredibly well-known and respected Ninfa Rodriguez Laurenzo, or “Mama Ninfa” as she was known around the city. Mama Ninfa had converted her family’s tortilla bakery, which she and her husband had opened in 1949, into a full-fledged TexMex cuisine destination point, located on Navigation Boulevard. They were known for their d
elicious green sauce and chips, as well as their Tacos ala Ninfa, or tacos al carbon. Mama Ninfa had also been credited with bringing the term “TexMex” into the American lexicon, introducing red and green sauces with chips before a meal, and starting the fajita craze.

  The original Ninfa’s Restaurant opened in 1973. The success of the first restaurant led to more Ninfa openings across the city. By the early 1980s, there were nine of these restaurants spread across Houston, including two on Westheimer Road, which was one of the most heavily traveled streets in the entire city of Houston. One was near the world-famous Galleria shopping center and one was farther out in the Westchase area.

  Homer Fernandez, Ninfa’s nephew, was responsible for the Westchase Ninfa’s and enjoyed being in charge of such a prestigious restaurant. He loved working for his aunt and providing for his family. His job was to oversee operations of the establishment, which meant making the employee work schedule, payroll, food preparation, and even floor duties while he was there. He also oversaw a team of five managers. Fernandez was smooth, efficient, and hardworking. Almost all of his employees enjoyed working for him and customers loved to chat with him.

  Fernandez would sometimes open up the restaurant, which usually meant that he would have to be there bright and early at 7:20 A.M. to unlock the restaurant doors.

  When he opened up, he would always park his car in the back of the restaurant because that was where he disarmed the alarm system.

  He did so again this morning. Outside it was still somewhat dark, especially since the recent daylight saving time made the morning darkness last just that much longer.

  Fernandez pulled into his usual spot, switched off the ignition to kill the engine, and sat in his car for approximately one minute while he fiddled with paperwork. The restaurant is located inside the parking lot of a shopping center that was known as the Kaleidoscope. Since it was so early, there was not one other car in the parking lot.