Attacked By a Dog or Murdered? The Case of April Renee Tucker
Warning, this case discusses crimes against a child, and possible abuse.
For this case, I watched an episode of Forensic Files. It’s season 6 episode 3, titled ‘Man’s Best Friend?’
A 4-year-old girl is found bleeding from a leg wound.
Background
April Renee Tucker was born on April 30, 1984. She lived in the small farming town of Emory, Texas, with her mom, sister, and step-dad.
Before April’s death, the family had moved to a 5-acre farm, where the girls loved to play outside. They had a house, barn, horses, dogs, and other animals on the property.
April loved to climb trees, and run around the property. She was also described as bubbly, and full of life.
April Tucker
The Incident
On January 4, 1989, Amy left for school, and April went outside to play. April’s mom, Debbie, was inside doing chores, while her step-dad, John, was working on the property.
Around noon, Debbie called April in for lunch. There was no answer. Suddenly, John, ran to the house, with April in his arms. April was nude, and she had a large gash in her leg. John had said that April told him she had been attacked by one of the dogs.
John was a trained paramedic, but there wasn’t a lot he could do. April’s wound had gone all the way down to the bone. Debbie described her as being black and blue.
The police and paramedics were called. April passed away at the hospital.
The Investigation
An autopsy was ordered. The medical examiner noticed puncture wounds, and scratches all over April’s body. They thought that the wounds were proof that April had been being abused.
April’s death was ruled as a homicide. The medial examiner would later say that the wound didn’t have jagged edges, like it would if an animal had caused it. They believed that the wound was caused by a knife.
John and Debbie were under suspicion. The house and property was searched. John’s hunting knife was sent in for testing, along with a hair curler, push pins, and thumbtacks. April’s blood was also found on a post, and on some leaves.
Inside the home, the police found paraphernalia that suggested John and Debbie belonged to a cult. They believed that April could’ve been killed as some kind of sacrifice.
After the knife came back as having possible blood on it, John and Debbie were charged with murder.
The Trial and Conviction
At trial, John and Debbie were represented by court appointed attorneys. John’s lawyer claimed that the district attorney had threatened him not to use the dog attack story, so he didn’t.
The prosecution portrayed John as the evil step-father, who abused April. They portrayed Debbie as the battered wife, who couldn’t stand up for herself, or her children.
The autopsy report, and the items collected from the home were submitted into evidence.
A chemist testified that the blood on the hunting knife wasn’t human blood. They also testified that April’s blood wasn’t found on any of the items collected from the home.
The dog attack theory wasn’t presented to the jury. John Miller and Debbie Loveless were both found guilty of murder, and sentenced to life in prison.
The Appeals
John and Debbie both fought for their freedom, and to be able to get back to Amy, who was sent into foster care.
Debbie claimed that April was nude, because it had been hot that day. They believed that one of the dogs had attacked April while she was out playing. John had noticed one of the dogs was agitated, and followed them out into the yard, where he found April bleeding. April told him that she was attacked by one of the dogs.
Robert Ardis was assigned to handle the appeals. During his investigation, he found a box of pictures of April’s wounds. Some were autopsy photos, which had been presented to the jury at trial. The other photos hadn’t been presented. They showed pictures of April in the hospital.
Ardis immediately noticed that the pictures of the wounds were different. He sent the photos to the Dallas County Institute of Forensic Sciences.
The investigator said that the wounds appeared different after the doctors had cleaned the wound, while they had been working on April. However, after re-examining the wounds all over April’s body, they could see patterns from the dogs paws.
After 5 years in prison, John and Debbie had proof that April was killed by a dog.
Life After Prison
In 1993, a judge dismissed John and Debbie’s case, citing overwhelming evidence in their favor.
Debbie and John split after their release.
They filed a lawsuit in 1995, against the prosecutors, and sheriff. The lawsuit was settled out of court in 2001.
April’s mom, Debbie, in the Forensic Files episode
FINAL THOUGHTS
Obviously the police had tunnel vision. They saw some things that they didn’t agree with, and believed that John and Debbie had abused and killed April.
I do think it’s weird that April was out in the yard in the nude. However, she didn't deserve to be attacked. I wonder what set the dogs off that day, and if they had ever shown signs of violence towards the family before. I hope John, Debbie, and Amy are doing well today.
The Forensic Files episode showed a lot of the photos of April’s wounds. Some were pretty graphic, so just a warning for you all.
Sources
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/71993635/april-renee-tucker
https://www.texastribune.org/library/multimedia/errors-in-judgment/
https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetail.aspx?caseid=3393
