Elderly woman survived mass Texas slayings by hiding in woods: police
By Lisa Maria Garza
DALLAS (Reuters) - An elderly woman survived the slayings of six people at an east Texas campsite over the weekend by hiding in the woods for several hours before calling for help, the Anderson County Sheriff's Office said on Tuesday.
The woman was camping on private property in Palestine, 100 miles southeast of Dallas, with her husband, daughter, grandson and three non-relatives, the sheriff's office said.
The suspect in the killings is William Hudson, 33, whose family owns the property adjacent to the campsite. Hudson befriended the group during the weekend and helped tow a truck out of the mud, according to police.
No motive has been released for the killings.
Police said the identities of the victims will not be released until autopsies are completed. The Palestine Herald-Press newspaper identified the survivor as Cynthia Johnson, whose husband, Carl Johnson, 77, and 6-year-old grandson were among the victims.
The survivor described Hudson to police, who arrested him on Sunday without incident. He was charged with one count of murder and more charges are possible. Bond was set at $2.5 million, according to jail records.
A man and woman were found dead in a travel trailer and the bodies of four males, including a child, were discovered in a pond behind Hudson's residence, the office said.
The victims were from out of the area and staying in a travel trailer belonging to one of the group, police said.
It was not immediately known if Hudson has an attorney.
(Reporting by Lisa Maria Garza; Editing by Mary Wisniewski and Bill Trott)
