1985-10-15

On October 15, 1985, the naked body of Gail Lenore Smith, the deceased, was discovered by a passing truck driver, Donald Ray McKay, concealed in a brushy area approximately one half mile north of the Canadian River Bridge on Highway 287, fourteen miles north of Amarillo in Potter County, Texas. The deceased had been taken by her step-brother and sister-in-law, John and Milagros Wertz, on October 14, 1985 at approximately 4:00 p.m. to a rest stop outside Fort Worth, Texas. The apparent plan was that Smith would obtain a ride from a trucker going to Amarillo so that she could visit her mother.

Both John Wertz and Milagros testified that after the deceased left their vehicle, they watched as she approached an individual, later identified as appellant, and eventually entered his cherry red Peterbilt tractor-trailer. The deceased had requested that the Wertzes record the license tag number, but they were unable to accomplish this. However, they were able to later give a complete description of the truck, which included the name of the company owning the vehicle inscribed on the cab doors: "JEWETT SCOTT Truck Line, Inc., Mangum, Oklahoma."