TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Pastor On Trial In Rancher's Death

ADVERTISEMENT

The Associated Press

Published: May 30, 2008

FRESNO, Calif. - The Rev. Howard Douglas Porter says he tried to brake before his truck plunged into an irrigation ditch, and that he made a desperate effort to save his elderly passenger from drowning in the mire.

But prosecutors in a murder trial that began Thursday say the country preacher staged the crash as part of a far-fetched plot to kill the rancher and inherit his millions.

Townspeople in Hickman, a rural outpost some 90 miles north of Fresno, knew 85-year-old Frank Craig as a lifelong bachelor whose dream was to build a museum to showcase his antique farming equipment.
Defense attorneys say Porter, a minister at the local Christian church and beloved high school wrestling coach, was a standup man for the job.

But after Craig was crippled and then killed in a pair of auto wrecks with the minister behind the wheel, authorities became suspicious.

In November 2006, Porter was arrested at the Mexican border.

He has been behind bars without bail since, on charges of murder, attempted murder, theft or embezzlement from an elder adult by a caretaker, and elder abuse causing death. If convicted, he could be sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Prosecutors describe Porter as a scheming con man who plotted Craig's death and then had the gall to give the eulogy at his funeral.

Porter "promised to build Mr. Craig the museum of his dreams," Deputy District Attorney John R. Mayne wrote in a brief filed with the court. He "wanted to avoid criminal prosecution for stealing the money, and killed Craig for it."

Craig had socked thousands of dollars away in a grandfather clock by 1999, when he asked Porter to take charge of his reported $2.5 million trust.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT