LEONARD, TX -- When Thomas Taunton was arrested in Louisiana on January 19th, four days after his family was last seen, his other family members came to his defense saying there was no way he could have committed this crime.
KTEN News has learned that according to an arrest warrant and an affidavit, Thomas Taunton actually called a friend and admitted he shot and killed all three victims.
(Click here for Original Document)
Within the affidavit it mentions an audio recording of the confession where Thomas Taunton told a friend he used a .380 caliber handgun to kill Harold and Sue Taunton, and his sister Regina inside their home in Fannin County. It also describes what happened in the minutes and hours after the shooting took place.
According to the affidavit that audio recording is of a male voice saying the name of "Harold, Regina.. and mom". The male voice talked about shooting Harold several times with a .380 handgun.
Upon shooting Harold, the male in a calm demeanor stated he had to shoot Regina when she came to the aid of Harold. The male indicated he shot his mom first while she was in the bed because the male knew Harold would not be a problem because he was on the toilet.
The male talked about cleaning the blood from the house and commented about watching crime shows on television. He went on to indicate he discarded the bodies behind a barn approximately 800 feet from State Highway 11 near a creek. The male indicated he had been using bank debit cards belonging to Harold and Sue Harpst.
The male voice further indicated he was en route to Biloxi, Mississippi to meet with a friend and possibly trade vehicles with this person.
Another interesting fact in the complaint, the Harpsts' neighbor said he actually got a call from Taunton on January 18th, asking him to feed the dogs at his parents' home. That was the day before Taunton was arrested, and three days after they were last seen alive.
Right now Thomas Taunton sits in the Fannin County jail. He faces three counts of capital murder; however, those charges have not been officially filed because the District Attorney says it could be next month or even March before they get a grand jury together. After that, he could decide whether to go for the death penalty.
We did try to contact Taunton's attorney Monday night, but our call was not returned.
This is a case we will continue to follow up on.
Thomas Taunton, 52
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2012 WorldNow and KTEN. All Rights Reserved.