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April Sykes’ Kidnapping Case Appears on Television |
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By Joel Washburn
washburn@mckenziebanner.com |
More photos at
dotphoto.com.
Jackie (foreground) and April Sykes (front) with Lambuth
President and Mrs. Fred Zuker.
Montel Williams Show Aired Thursday, May 10
JACKSON (MAY 10) April Sykes of Paris celebrated a dream
come true Thursday at Lambuth University. Thursday
marked the beginning of a new life for the 21-year old
lady who was abducted, raped, and set on fire in
November 2005. April was one of the guests on the Montel
Williams TV program on a videotaped segment entitled
“Held Captive…And Changed Forever.”
The producers of the show arranged for Lambuth to
present April with a four-year tuition scholarship.
During the show, April said she wanted to attend Lambuth
University in Jackson. As a surprise on the show, Melody
Zuker, wife of the college president, made the
presentation.
April is happy with the new Lambuth outerwear presented
by Lambuth President and Mrs. Zuker.
President Fred Zuker said the Montel show contacted
Lambuth concerning April’s wish. He said the
Christian-based university was eager to help someone
like April. “We’re glad she is interested in Lambuth…It
is a great opportunity for us to help.”
April Sykes, daughter of McKenzie Police Sgt. Jackie
Sykes and Donna Sykes of Paris appeared at 9:00 a.m. on
WTVF Channel 5, Nashville and 11:00 a.m. on Jackson’s
Channel 8, and 2:00 p.m. on Memphis' UPN 30.
April was the guest of honor at an 11:00 a.m. reception
at Lambuth. She arrived to great fanfare as the greater
Lambuth community welcomed her to the campus. Students,
faculty, and alumni greeted her in the Student Union
Building. Everyone had just viewed the television
segment when April and dad arrived from their home in
Paris. Mr. Sykes said the two and some friends had
viewed an earlier telecast at their home in Paris before
driving to Lambuth.
George and Linda Schrader of Jackson are soon-to-be
in-laws of Montel Williams, the host of the syndicated
TV show.
At Lambuth were also Jackson residents George and Linda
Schrader, soon-to-be in-laws of Montel Williams. Linda’s
daughter, Tara Fowler, age 35, of New York City, is a
Lambuth alumna. She works for American Airlines as a
flight attendant. The marriage is planned in Bermuda in
October. Montel and Tara may build a second home in
Jackson or at Kentucky Lake, said the Schraders.
April told her story to Montel. She said she and her new
ex-boyfriend were going out that fateful evening with
they met up with her assailant, who she did not name on
the television show. Virgil E. Samuels, Jr. Samuels is
charged with the crime. She said the assailant fought
her boyfriend while April sought refuge in the car.
Samuels smashed the window to the car, locked the
boyfriend in the trunk, and assaulted April. The
boyfriend, Brandon McMinn, who now resides in Louisiana,
was able to escape the confines of the trunk and flee.
April was raped, beaten, dragged, strangled, and thrown
in the trunk. She said she knew the only way to get him
to stop was to stop fighting back. He poured gasoline on
her and set her afire in the trunk. She said she could
hear him pouring gasoline on the car and lighting it.
Then she heard a car drive up and then off. A severely
burned April was able to free herself from the trunk.
She said she remembers seeing houses in the distance and
thought she had to make it to those houses. About then,
a friend drove by. She said “I need an ambulance. I need
an ambulance.” The friend was able to phone for help.
Thirty-something days later, she awoke in a hospital.
Jackie Sykes told Montel he arrived at the scene and was
told to report to the hospital where he was directed to
the chapel. He said he knew it was not good news when he
was directed to the chapel. The chaplain offered a
prayer and the doctor said April must be sent to the
trauma center. He said he was allowed to see her for a
moment at the hospital.
“I wouldn’t have recognized her. I didn’t recognize her
to be my daughter.” Officer Sykes said he has stayed out
of the criminal investigation, but those investigating
have not found an explanation of this event.
When asked about his daughter, he said, “First of all,
she’s with me. I’d give her any hand, I’d give her
anything if I could at all to make her life easy because
I know she is going to have a hard way to go for the
rest of her life.
April then told of her dream to go to college, possibly
Lambuth. That’s when Mrs. Zuker surprised April with the
scholarship.
April and her best friend, Dana Lawrence (second from
left) meet with Lambuth students.
The Sykes Case
July 10 and 11, 2007 are the trial dates in Henry County
Circuit Court for Virgil E. Samuels, Jr., 22, of 1330
Highway 77 in Paris. Samuels was indicted Monday,
November 6, 2006 on multiple counts related to the
November 2005 kidnap, rape, and attempted murder of
April Sykes. Samuels was indicted by a Henry County
grand jury on one count each of especially aggravated
kidnapping and criminal attempt to commit first-degree
murder and kidnapping, two counts of aggravated assault,
and four counts of aggravated rape. Samuels allegedly
kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and attempted to kill
Sykes by abandoning her inside her burning car, which
was parked on Van Dyke Grove Road south of Paris at the
time. According to law enforcement reports, Sykes
escaped from the car and went to a nearby residence for
assistance. Sykes was released from Regional Medical
Center (The Med) in Memphis following a 116-day
hospitalization. Accord-ing to the Henry County
Sheriff’s Office, Sykes received burns over 65 percent
of her body, 45 percent of which were third degree, in
addition to other injuries, including stab wounds.
She underwent multiple surgeries to repair burned skin
on her face, arms, hands, abdomen, back, and legs. Her
injuries were so severe they necessitated the removal of
her right hand and some or all of each finger on her
left hand. Sykes was 18 years old at the time of the
incident.
Following his surrender to Henry County authorities on
December 27, 2005, Samuels was booked into the Henry
County Correctional Facility and placed on a $500,000
bond. The Henry County Sheriff’s Office, Paris Police
Department, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, United
States Marshals Service, and Tennessee Bomb and Arson
Squad were involved in investigating the case.
April told Montel that Samuels is still incarcerated in
the county jail.
Samuels is also accused of kidnapping and assaulting
Brandon McMinn, 21, on the same date. According to
reports, McMinn said he was forced into the trunk of a
white Chevrolet Malibu at a Paris restaurant on Spruce
Street. McMinn told authorities he was able to kick open
the trunk and flee from the vehicle near the
intersection of Macedonia and Henry-Mansfield roads,
south of Routon. The car that was found ablaze
reportedly matched the description of the car used in
McMinn’s alleged kidnapping, reports stated. |
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Sheriff Asks for 70 Percent Increase in Budget |
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By Joel Washburn
washburn@mckenziebanner.com |
Carroll County Sheriff Bendell Bartholomew (right) asks
for a significant increase in his budget for the next
fiscal year. To his left are Matt Maddox and Jean
Newsome of the law offices of Maddox and Maddox.
HUNTINGDON (May 8) Carroll County Sheriff Bendell
Bartholomew requested a $1.3 million increase in the
2007-2008 fiscal year budget during county government
budget hearings Tuesday. Bartholomew, now in his fourth
term, requested 14 new patrol cars, nine of which to
replace the three-year old fleet of Crown Victorias, a
four-wheel drive Explorer for himself, and nine
additional deputies, additional jailers and dispatchers.
He said the four-wheel drive would be used to pull the
crime scene trailer in the event the other four-wheel
drive vehicle, driven by the drug investigator, is not
available.
The sheriff attended the meeting with his attorney, Matt
Maddox of Maddox, Maddox and Maddox Attorneys.
Bartholomew entered a request for pay raises for all
sheriff department associates to bring them up to the
pay grade of neighboring counties. He said the county
sheriff’s department is shorthanded and said some event,
like the upcoming Winkler child custody hearing in
Carroll County, will require lots of manpower. Brother
Dan and Diane Winkler are trying to get custody of their
three granddaughters from the children’s mother, Mary
Winkler who was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in
the death of Matthew Winkler. The trial in Selmer drew
national attention and gavel to gavel TV coverage. The
sheriff said he will have to “beg, borrow and steal”
manpower for that upcoming case.
Sheriff personnel are leaving for pay increases at other
departments, said Bartholomew. He said deputy Josh Wade
gave his notice to leave the department. The Committee
questioned if Wade was leaving to join his dad in Henry
County? Bartholomew responded in the affirmative.
The Budget Committee has budgeted three percent raises
for all county employees. The Sheriff requests pay
increases ranging from 28.2 percent for the chief deputy
to 6.1 percent for jailers. The sheriff’s salary is set
by state law.
Electricity will also increase, said the sheriff. The
department’s administrative and dispatch services moved
from the ground floor of the jail to the former health
department building last year. The sheriff said it was
difficult to estimate the costs of utilities on the new
facility. As for the fuel budget, Bartholomew said he
was uncertain how to budget for fuel costs these days.
Maintenance contracts on the equipment is also
increasing in costs, said the sheriff.
Commissioner Ben T. Surber questioned about the
previously announced plan to put two deputies in a
patrol car so officers would have backup? Sheriff said
that’s still the plan, however five additional cars are
still needed.
Carroll County has the smallest (manpower) sheriff’s
department in Tennessee according to population, said
the sheriff.
Mayor Kenny McBride said the request would require a tax
increase of 43 cents per $100 assessed value on real
property. That’s approximately a tax rate increase of
46.7 percent. McBride said the current sheriff’s budget
is $1.826 million, or approximately 32 percent of the
General Fund, without the Carroll Academy’s budget
figured in. Carroll Academy is funded by state funds and
donations, said McBride. In a year of property
reappraisal, state law prohibits the rate from exceeding
the previous certified rate of $1.06. Currently, the
estimated certified rate (under the new appraisal) is 92
cents. The maximum would be an increase of 14 cents, far
short of the 43 cents necessary to fund the sheriff’s
request.
All 9-1-1 calls in Carroll County are currently first
handled by sheriff’s dispatchers, which adds to the
workload. Within months, all 9-1-1 calls originating in
McKenzie- and Huntingdon-proper will be handled by the
respective city police dispatchers, reducing the
workload of the sheriff’s dispatchers.
The mayor said the county pays 75 percent of both worker
and dependent care major medical insurance. Very few
counties offer such a generous insurance package,
according to McBride. The county of Henry pays 100
percent of the employee’s insurance and none of the
dependent care, according to one Budget Committee member
in Henry County.
McBride said the Budget Committee will review each
department’s budget requests, meet with department heads
as needed, make final budget projections, and send the
entire budget to the Carroll County Commission for
approval. A final budget must be approved by October 1
for the 2007-2008 fiscal year beginning on July 1, 2007.
In Tennessee, county office holders can file their
complaints about the budget appropriations in Chancery
Court for a hearing. The Chancellor can decide the fate
of the office holder’s budget requests.
McBride noted that in nearby Henry County, a chancellor
ruled last month in favor of the county of Henry when
that county’s clerk and master asked for a budget
increase of just one percent of what Bartholomew is
requesting. In Henry County, the clerk and master also
requested to eliminate the long-standing policy of a
tiered deputy clerk pay system.
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Man Killed in Fall From Truck Near Paris |
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A 21-year-old man was killed when he fell from the back
of a pickup truck at 10:25 a.m. Sunday on Highway 79
North, eight miles northeast of Paris.
Brandon M. Barton of Millington died after he fell from
the back of a 2006 Ford F350 pickup truck, driven by
Jonathan M. Patrick, 22, of Eads. Barton was seated on a
rubber raft when he fell from the bed of the truck and
was struck by a trailer and boat in tow.
Also in the truck was front seat passenger. Michael J.
Bruce, 21, of Whiteville.
The report was filed by Trooper Jeremy Byars. |
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McKenzie Man Dies Following Train-Van Collision |
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HUNTINGDON (May 8) A McKenzie man died from injuries
sustained in a train-van collision in Huntingdon on Tuesday
afternoon. Rev. James C. Petty, age 74, was airlifted from
the scene to a Jackson hospital after he pulled his
Chevrolet van into the path of an oncoming eastbound
Paris-based KWT train.
Petty was traveling north on the entrance road to Carroll
County Co-Op when the accident occurred. Eyewitnesses said
Petty pulled his van into the path of the train, which
broadsided the driver’s side door.
The van was pushed approximately 100 feet before being
shoved off the track and rolling onto its side.
Huntingdon Fire Department, Baptist Emergency Medical
Services, Carroll County Rescue Squad, Huntingdon Police
Department, Carroll County Sheriff’s Department, and the
McKenzie Fire-Rescue Team responded the accident.
Rescuers cut the top from the Chevrolet van to free Petty
from the wreckage. He was treated by Baptist EMS before
being airlifted from the scene.
He served as pastor of Gleason First Apostolic Church, where
funeral services were held at 11 a.m. Friday. Gleason was in
charge of arrangements. |
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