A Bloody Desert Trail

Wittmann is a small town in Maricopa County, Arizona, in the desert about fifty minutes from downtown Phoenix. In June 1995 it was a sparse place of dirt roads, farms and trailers, and the story begins at a gas station on 163rd Avenue on the evening of 26 June. David Wayne Reynolds was thirty-two, a plumber who worked for Sunland Plumbing and did not believe in banks, so he carried his money with him. He lived in Circle City with his wife and two children, a thirteen-year-old daughter and an eleven-year-old son. His wife was deaf and was due to have surgery that week that might let her hear for the first time. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it They exchanged numbers and pagers. At some point he offered to pay her for oral sex. She refused, said she was looking for a proper job, and went home. this part of the story is covered for now She told him what had happened. details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed Reynolds arrived on the evening of 26 June. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it The two women went outside and began looting Reynolds's plumbing van. this part of the story is covered for now Inside, Reynolds emptied his pockets onto the coffee table: somewhere between $180 and $200 in cash. details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it At about 11.30 that night the group ate dinner while Reynolds sat nearby without food. this part of the story is covered for now Reynolds stayed in the trunk for about four hours while the others shot meth. details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now They opened the trunk, and Reynolds said he needed the bathroom. details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it He decided it was not enough, put it down and picked up a metal jackhammer spike. He struck Reynolds repeatedly in the face and head while he lay on the ground. this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed They did. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now Then he unlocked the gate and let him go. details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now He drove to a campsite in Yavapai County, about half an hour outside Prescott, up Highway 60 near Yarnell Hill. There, in the dark, he cut off Reynolds's head and hands, sliced the finger pads off the fingers and pulled out the teeth with pliers. He cut the body in half at the waist. He then drove along a Forest Service Road, throwing the teeth and finger pads out of the window one by one, and dug two shallow graves near each other, one for the head and hands and one for the rest of the body. details of the account remain covered until revealed Reynolds's family reported him missing on 28 June. The police found the abandoned van on Cemetery Road and obtained his phone records. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it The records showed calls originating near Flagstaff. this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed He destroyed it and buried Reynolds's wallet and papers near the body. On 30 June he cut his leg badly while cleaning a horse's hoof and drove himself to Yavapai Regional Medical Center. The police obtained a search warrant for his house and garage and found the blood and manure still there. They were told he was in the emergency room. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now He drew a map to the campsite. He also volunteered that about two weeks earlier, on 8 June, he had killed his former roommate, Douglas Allen Eggert. Eggert was twenty-six, a mechanic from Buckeye, born in Tucson, with two children. details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now It may have been in the water for more than two weeks and could have floated fifteen to twenty miles. The police found the campsite and the graves on 1 July. details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now He was examined by several psychologists and psychiatrists, including Dr Jack Potts and Dr Lang. They found him intelligent and able to understand the proceedings, even though he believed the CIA was watching him and that a tracking device had been implanted in his skull during leg surgery. He demanded a skull X-ray; it showed nothing, he said the result had been doctored, and he asked for an MRI. details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it The court found eight mitigating factors but decided they did not outweigh the aggravating factors, including the especially heinous and cruel manner of the killing. this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed