THE LAWN MOWER MAN
Neal Convicted In Teacher's
Murder
After
about 90 minutes of deliberation...jurors
convicted drifter and lawn maintenance
man Ronnie Joe Neal of the kidnapping,
robbery, rape, and murder of respected
Alamo Heights teacher Diane Tilly in
November of 2004.
* * *
Previous Stories
2-27-2006
LAWN MOWER MAN CASE
'Oh God! It Hurts! It
Burns...'
Diane Tilly As She Died
SAL Staff
The killer stood over San
Antonio teacher Diane Tilly and emptied
six rounds from a 357 magnum into her
raped and beaten body.
Still, she was alive.
As she lay in a rural field
where she would later be found, she
prayed.
The killer reloaded.
"Oh God! It hurts! It
burns... Bless this child."
Then the killer, Ronnie Joe
Neal -- the Lawn Mower Man -- polished
off the life of the popular school
teacher, as she sobbed, with stinging
slugs of hot lead.
So said Neal's 16-year-old
daughter Pearl Cruz, an admitted
accomplice, as testimony continued
Wednesday in the capital murder trial.
Cruz turned State's witness in exchange
for a plea deal.
Cruz hinted at an incestous
relationship with her father, telling the
jury that she became angry and
"jealous" when she saw her
father rape the teacher, after the pair
tricked their way into her house and
robbed Tilly. (See previous stories.)
Cruz said Tilly was chosen
by Neal because she was "rich."
Neal did lawn work for Tilly.
Cruz said Neal
"played" Tilly.
Jurors were shown a letter
from Neal to Tilly.
This is what it said:
Diane,
just something for a beautiful lady.
Do
you like Mexican food?
Because
if you do, me and my daughter would
like to take you out or have you meet
us somewhere.
She
told me she likes you. I hope you
have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Ronnie
Neal.
More to follow
- Developing -
* * *
Previous Stories
2-22-2006
 |
|
UPDATE: LAWN MOWER
MAN CASE
Prosecutors
Outline
Diane Tilly
Murder Plot
SAL Staff |
 |
|
Prosecutors in the
so-called "Lawn Mower
Man" capital murder trial
painted contrasting pictures of
accused killer Ronny Joe Neal,
and popular teacher Diane Tilly
who was robbed, raped and shot to
death with her her own gun, at
her home, in November of 2004. |
In the early evening hours
of November 22, prosecuters contend, Neal
hatched a plot. He sent his daughter to
the teachers front door.
 |
|
Neal worked as a
gardener for Tilly. Neal's teen
daughter, Pearl Cruz accompanied
her father on at least one
previous occasion. Tilly, described as
a kind woman, even gave the pair
a porch swing from her backyard.
|
"...she heard the
doorbell ring ...it was Pearl and (Tilly)
let her in," DA's prosecutor Jill
Mata explained.
The jury was then told that
Neal came in behind the girl, surprising
Tilly.
Neal and Cruz found the .357
revolver that Tilly kept for protection
as they roamed through the house looking
for valuables. They also took credit
cards and demanded pin numbers. Then,
with a sheet over her head, Tilly was
raped, and taken to a field near Schertz,
where she was shot dead, prosecutors
said.
Cruz is now the star witness
against Neal, and is expected to relay
the details of the savage crime to the
jury.
DNA also links Neal to the
crime, according to prosecutors.
More to follow. Previous
stories below.
- Developing -
* * *
 |
|
DIANE TILLY MURDER
TRIAL
Lawn Mower
Man Goes On Trial
Ronnie Joe
Neal
Capital
Murder Trial
SAL Staff |
The brutal murder of popular
teacher Diane Tilly will be presented to
a Bexar County jury today; and the man
charged with killing her could face the
Texas executioner.
Neal
is accused of robbing, raping and killing
the 58-year-old Tilly at her home on
Novermber 22nd, 2004.
Neal
worked as a gardner for Tilly, and some
call him "The Lawn Mower Man."
See
stories below for background.
More to follow.
- Developing -
* * *
- Previous Stories
Archived In Reverse Order -
SUSPECT
"CONFESSED" TO JAIL INMATE
No Bail For The Lawn Mower
Man
RG Griffing, SAL Commentary
Accused killer
Ronnie Joe Neal was refused bail today,
after new details emerged in the November
murder of Alamo Heights teacher Daine
Tilly. (See archives below for
background.)
Judge Sid Harle
nixed the defense motion after listening
to jail-house stool pigeon Alberto
Mendiola recount Neal's boasting of how
he had used a condom in his rape of the
teacher so that authorities
"couldn't get no DNA out of
her." Neal
also admitted shooting Tilly, according
to the jail inmate.
Medical testimony
also indicated the teacher was shot four
times, with two bullets to the spine
cited as "fatal."
Neal is charged
with capital murder, and could face the
death penalty upon conviction. His
15-year-old daughter is also held in the
case.
Developing.
- More to follow -
* * *
1-12-2005 AM
NOT BLOODY LIKELY
Lawn Mower Man Seeks Bail
Charged With Murder, Robbery
And Rape Of Teacher Diane Tilly
RG Griffing, SAL Commentary
Accused
killer/robber/rapist Ronnie Neal will ask
the court to grant him bail, as he awaits
trial in the brutal murder of popular
Alamo Heights teacher Diane Tilly. (See
archives below.)
Neal, and his
daughter, are charged with robbing
Tilly's home in November. He is accused
of torturing, raping and shooting her.
Her body was found in a deserted filed.
Neal had been
released from prison on a legal
technicality, that was later found to be
in error.
Don't look for the
court to allow bail...the DA's office
will reportedly fight the request
"vigarously."
Developing.
- More to follow -
* * *
- Previous Stories
Archived In Reverse Order -
12-14-2004
LIGHTNING
EXCLUSIVE- TILLY MURDER CASE
San Antonio 15-Year-Old
Claims:
'I Am Not Pregnant By
My Dad!'
Did Lawn Mower Man Rape
His Own Daughter?
RG Griffing, SAL Commentary - Copyright
2004 San Antonio Lightning Newspaper
Heredity has become
a big issue in the wake of the savage
killing of Diane Tilly; and the Lightning
has learned that the father-daughter team
accused in that murder had a shadowy
relationship which may have resulted in
the teenager's pregnancy.
The twisted, tragic
tale of the rape, torture and murder of
the beloved 58-year-old Alamo Heights
teacher continues to shock and disturb
the San Antonio community, as new details
emerge about the two accused killers.
Ronnie Joe Neal,
called by some the Lawn Mower Man, and
his daughter, 15-year-old Pearl Cruz, are
jailed in the case.
(See complete archives
below)
|
|
Authorities
confirmed Monday the pregnancy
first reported in this
publication on November 26th. Cruz' lawyer told
the Lightning that his client
won't say who is responsible.
|
"At
this point we just don't know," said
veteran criminal attorney Mario Travino.
Amidst speculation that Neal parented the
baby, Trevino says he has asked and that
Cruz denies that her dad raped her, or
that he is the father of her unborn
child.
|
|
Trevinio confirmed
that medical procedures will be
conducted to determine if that is
true. A test for AIDS/HIV
has also been performed, though
Trevino says he has not yet
learned the results of that test.
|
Ronnie
Neal is HIV positive.
* * *
Who is Pearl Cruz?
She is a girl with
no perceivable future, and a dark family
past.
She was a runaway,
born out of wedlock, who moved in with
Neal about two months before the murder.
She has variously said that Neal is and
isn't her father.
Lawyer Trevino says
that Cruz' mother (Identity withheld by
the Lightning) claims Neal is the father
of Cruz.
Trevino is
convinced that the girl's actions in
helping Neal murder Diane Tilly were
"mitigated" by her
"relationship" with the accused
killer. Though he doesn't spell it out,
Trevino hints at a dark side to that
situation.
Trevino says Cruz'
maternal family has made no effort to
help her. Trevino is under appointment by
the courts to defend the girl.
It was young Cruz
who says she held the gun while Neal
raped the teacher.
It was young Cruz
who led police to the body, and who
related the shocking events that
culminated in the teacher's horrible
death.
Cruz will face many
more hearings before her own legal fate
is known.
Her testimony,
which will save her from murder charges,
may well send her father, the Lawn Mower
Man, Ronnie Neal, to the the Texas
execution chamber, and ultimately to the
gates of Hell.
More to follow.
- Developing -
* * *
ARCHIVED IN REVERSE
ORDER
12-8-2004
KNUCKLE SANDWICH
Accused Tilly Murderer
Says Jail Officers Beat Him
Up
Deputy Says Neal Assaulted
An Officer And Was Subdued
The man accused of
murdering an Alamo Heights high school
teacher says he was beat up by deputies
in the Bexar County Jail, according to
KSAT NEWS 12 . (See stories below.)
The lawyer representing
Ronnie Neal, 33, said his client was
severely beaten last week. Neal is
charged with capital murder. He is
charged with raping and killing Diane
Tilly in November.
Officials at the jail
acknowledge deputies injured Neal, but
they say he got those injuries after
taking a swing at one of the correctional
officers.
Neal's attorney said that
Neal's sister tried to visit him in jail
last Wednesday. That meeting was
cancelled, and she returned the following
day. On her return, she said she could
see he had several visible injuries. (More
from NEWS 12)
SAL Archives Below
In Reverse Order
|
|
UPDATE
DA To Seek
Death Penalty Against
Lawn Mower
Man
Diane Tilly
Was Bound, Raped, Robbed,
Tortured, Then Shot With Her Own
Gun
District Attorney
Susan Reed said today she will
seek the death penalty for the
man charged with kidnapping,
raping, and murdering Alamo
Heights teacher Diane A Tilly,
according to WOAI.
(Click
for more.)
|
| |
|
|
|
|
12-6-2004 AM -
Updated
'It Burns!'
Last Words
As Teacher Is Shot Dead
The Lawn
Mower Man Charged
RG Griffing, SAL Commentary |
The
truth is finally emerging in the horrific
death of Alamo Heights school teacher
Diane Tilly. (See previous stories
below.)
The following
information is outlined in the cold pages
of an affadvit used to obtain the capital
murder warrant filed against the man
believed to be the killer.
The suspect's teen
daughter, also implicated in the murder,
led detectives to the murder scene after
negotiating a deal with authorities.
Here is what
happened, according to the teenager, and
to statements made by her father as he
"bragged" about the murder in
jail.
* * *
NEWS 12
Photo
|
|
15-Year-Old
Pearl Cruz knocked on Diane
Tilly's Bexar County home on the
evening of November 22rd. The
teenager asked to use the phone.
Tilly knew her because Cruz'
father had done yard work for her
in the past. Tilly
allowed the girl to enter.
|
That's when young Cruz
pulled out a .32 automatic supplied by
her father, 33-year-old Ronnie Joe Neal.
Neal is a known burglar, exconvict, and
part-time yard worker. Some refer to him
as "The Lawn Mower Man."
Cruz
forced Tilly to get on the floor, and
then opened the door to Neal.
And
as his daughter watched, Neal tied the
woman's hands, covered her face with a
pillow case, and viciously raped and
tortured the popular Alamo Heights school
teacher. Pearl Cruz held the gun as her
father attacked the 58-year-old woman.
The
pair robbed and ransacked the house,
taking jewellry, a Rolex watch, bank
cards and the teacher's own .357
revolver. At one point Tilly resisted. A
shot was fired into her couch.
The
scantily-clad Tilly was then dragged from
her home, and driven to a field in
Schertz, where Neal and Cruz forced her
to kneel on the muddy ground as she
pleaded for her life.
Tilly's
hands were still bound. She was crying.
Neal
shot her, at least twice.
Tilly's
last words, according to the statement,
were " it burns!"
Then
Neal shot her again.
* * *
Neal
and his daughter prepared to drive away,
but noticed the body could be seen from
the road. They returned and covered the
corpse with branches and bush.
When
the teacher was found by searchers
Saturday night, she was wearing nothing
but a Robbins Academy T-shirt.
More to follow
- Developing -
* * *
- Previous Stories -
11-27-2004
MISSING TEACHER CASE -
UPDATED
More About The Lawn Mower
Man
Suspect Was Out Of Jail On A
Technicality
Planned Jail Escape In Rusk
County; HIV Positive
RG Griffing, SAL Commentary - Copyright
2004 San Antonio Lightning
His Name is Ronnie Joe Neal.
He sometimes worked as a
gardener and yardman, when he wasn't
pulling burglaries or robberies or
stealing cars or serving time in prison
or jail.
A lawn mower man.
Neal is now in custody at
Bexar County Jail - Offender ID 0138764.
He is held on a $1 Million bond as the
chief suspect in the abduction and
probable murder of Alamo Heights school
teacher Diane Tilly. (See previous
stories below.)
| Last Name: |
NEAL |
|
in Custody |
| First Name: |
RONNIE |
|
BEXAR COUNTY JAIL |
| Date of Birth: |
01/18/1971 |
|
Black |
| Offender ID: |
0138764 |
|
Male |
| FROM
OFFICIAL RECORDS - VINE |
But who is the man behind
bars? What do we know about the
33-Year-Old Lawn Mower Man?
This from court records:
"During
the summer of 1998, (Neal) was in the
Rusk County jail awaiting trial on
charges of forgery and burglary of a
habitation. On June 16, 1998, the
local jailers caught him with a
homemade weapon-a toothbrush
sharpened into a stabbing
instrument-which he had secreted in
his boxer shorts. On July 17, 1998,
(Neal) pleaded guilty, pursuant to a
plea bargain, to both the forgery and
burglary charges. On September 9,
1998, he was indicted for possession
of a deadly weapon in a penal
institution, stemming from the June
16th incident. (Neal) filed a federal
civil-rights lawsuit against Rusk
County on May 20, 2000, alleging
mistreatment in the jail. Before
trial in the civil-rights suit,
(Neal) and the State negotiated a
plea bargain for a two-year sentence
on the pending weapons charge.
Appellant-who was by then in prison
serving his burglary sentence-was
bench-warranted back to Rusk County
for a plea on the weapons charge. But
before that plea hearing could take
place, Rusk County officials returned
appellant to prison because they
learned he was HIV positive. Thus, on
November 17, 2000, the State
dismissed the weapons charge with a
notation that "[t]he defendant
was convicted in another case."
Neal
was later recharged and convicted on the
weapons charge. He appealed.
More:
At
the punishment hearing, the State put
on evidence of: 1) appellant's
previous forgery and burglary
convictions; 2) appellant's
penitentiary packet, which listed
four other convictions-one robbery,
two burglaries, and one unauthorized
use of a motor vehicle; and 3)
letters appellant wrote to his
girlfriend while in the Rusk County
jail in which he asked for her
assistance in smuggling a handgun
into the jail so he could escape and
in obtaining documents to create a
new identification after he escaped.
Neal
was released on a reversal of the weapons
conviction, but ironically, on November
17 of this year an appellate court
realized the error in that.
NO. PD-1559-03
FROM THE SIXTH COURT OF
APPEALS
RUSK COUNTY
Because
appellant never presented his
prosecutorial vindictiveness claim in
the trial court, he failed to
preserve this issue for appellate
review. We therefore reverse the
judgment of the court of appeals and
affirm the trial court's judgment.
Cochran,
J.
Delivered:
November 17, 2004
Error
corrected. Warrant authorized. 5 days
later, 58-year-old Diane Tilly, her
credit cards and her car went missing
from her violated home.
More
to follow.
- Developing -
* * *
-Previous Story-
11-26-2004 AM
UPDATE
Lawn Mower Man Has Started
Talking; Teacher Still
Missing
Suspect Says He 'Found'
Teacher's Car
Admits He Knew Her; Search
For Body Continues
RG Griffing, SAL Commentary
33-year-old
Ronnie Joe Neal has begun talking to
police, and the story he is telling is a
whopper.
Neal
and his pregnant 15-year-old daughter,
Pearl Cruz, were arrested Wednesday in
possession of a Cadillac and numerous
items stolen from the home of Alamo
Heights teacher Diane Tilly. Tilly has
been missing since earlier this week. Her
home was found in disarray. (See previous
stories below.)
WOAI
reported Thursday that an affadavit for
an arrest warrant quotes Neil as saying
he found Tilly’s 1998 Cadillac
running at a car wash. Neal also told
police he found Tilly’s ATM card in
the ash tray of the car along with a PIN
number. (Click for
WOAI story.)
Neal
admitted using the ATM card and to
burning the woman's car. He said news
coverage of the disappearance prompted
him to set the Cadillac on fire in an
isolated area, according to WOAI.
Neal
also admitted that he knew Tilly. He told
detectives that he met her in October as
he solicited door-to-door. Neal worked in
lawn care and said he was looking for
customers. Neal also is a convicted
burglar and robber.
* * *
Meanwhile, the search for
the woman continues. Though officials say
they are holding onto hope, insiders in
the investigation say they suspect the
worst.
More to follow
- Developing -
* * *
Previous Stories
11-25-2004
MURDER MYSTERY?
The Lawn Mower Man
Two In Custody; Third May Be
On The Loose
Authorities Search For Local
Teacher's Body
RG Griffing, SAL Commentary - Copyright
2004 San Antonio Lightning Newspaper
Though
authorities carry the case as a
"missing person," school
teacher Diane Allison Tilly, 58, is
probably dead, killed, after an itinerant
lawn care man and his teenaged daughter
somehow got into the single woman's home,
burgled the house, and took her away by
force, insiders tell the Lightning.
Tilly,
an Alamo Heights instructor, was last
seen Monday. Her car was found Tuesday
night in Guadalupe County. It had been
torched. (See previous stories below.)
At
least one bullet hole was found in a
couch, though no visible signs of blood
were reported.
The
Lightning has also learned that a gun
belonging to Tilly was taken in the
incident, along with numerous items,
including bank cards, a laptop computer,
and some clothing.
33-year-old
Ronnie Joe Neal is now in custody along
with his 15-year-old daughter, a former
Judson High student. They were arrested
Wednesday after using the missing
teachers credit cards. They were caught
at a motel near Splashtown. Many of the
missing items were recovered.
Neal
has a history of crime and is wanted in
several counties in Texas on burglary
charges. The girl has a history of being
a runaway, according to reports on WOAI
radio.
Neal
has also lived in the same area as
Tilley. Her house is in the 9400 block of
Bending Crest. In fact, Neal may have
done lawn care for Tilly in the past.
Authorities
said Wednesday that Neal and his daughter
aren't being cooperative in questioning,
though the Lightning has learned that
Neal's daughter has since made "some
admissions" to investigators. Also,
it is believed that a third person may be
involved.
Meanwhile,
authorities and cadaver dogs have beem
searching areas near the location where
the teacher's stolen Cadillac were found.
More
to follow.
- Developing -
* * *
Previous Stories
11-24-2004 PM
EVADED ARREST
Two In Custody In Missing
Teacher Case
Stolen ATM Card Recovered, Sources Say
RG Griffing, SAL Commentary
- Copyright 2004 SAL
Diane Tilley, the missing
Alamo Heights teacher, is likely dead,
sources close to the investigation tell
the Lightning. (See story below.)
Two people -- One adult
male, and his 15-year-old daughter --
have been arrested at a local motel, near
splashtown.
They are, so far, charged
with evading arrest and possession of
stolen property.
They were driving a white
Ford truck which matched the description
of a vehicle seen leaving the burning
wreckage of the teacher's stolen
Cadillac.
Several stolen ATM and
credit cards belonging to Diane Tilley
was found in the truck. Other items
believed to have been stolen from
Tilley's home were also recovered.
Interrogations of the
suspects are now in progress.
A search is also being
conducted in Guadalupe County for the
body of the missing woman.
(Expanded
coverage from WOAI)
- Developing -
* * *
11-24-2004
Previous Story
SAL UPDATE - APARTMENT WAS
'WRECKED'
Alamo Heights Teacher
Murdered?
Missing Teacher Was
'Probably Abducted'
Stolen Cadillac Found Burned
In Rural Guadalupe;
ATM Card Used By Suspect
RG Griffing, SAL Commentary
Alamo Heights teacher Diane
Tilly may have been murdered.
|
|
Investigation
insiders are calling it a
"probable abduction,"
but the Lightning has learned
that
Bexar
County homicide detectives and
the Texas Rangers have also been
alerted. |
Tilly, age 58 -- 5'4,
weighing about 135 pounds, with brown
hair, brown eyes -- never made it to
school Tuesday morning. She has taught at
an alternative class at Alamo Heights
High School for years.
But
when the usually punctual teacher didn't
show up, friends and co-workers became
worried and went to her home in the 9400
block of Bending Crest. The they called
authorities.
The
house was in a shambles, and evidence of
a violent confrontation and theft were
found.
Home
invasion? That's one theory expounded by
investigators. She was due to fly out for
the Holidays. She never made that flight.
Tilly’s
stolen car has been found, torched in a
Guadalupe County field. One of her credit
cards was used yesterday afternoon at an
ATM. Automatic photos of the user have
been obtained by authorities, but had not
been released as of Wednesday morning.
More
to follow.
- Developing -
* *
*
