By Robert A. Waters
The television show "America's Most Wanted" was a national treasure. From 1988 to 2011 (24 seasons), AMW was one of Fox News's highest rated shows. Host John Walsh, whose son Adam had been kidnapped from a Miami mall and murdered, was the face of the show. AMW recreated hundreds of crimes, giving its audience information as to where suspects might be hiding. The show was responsible for the capture of 1,190 criminals, including hundreds of killers and rapists.
Edward Thomas James was one of those murderers caught after being featured on AMW. A California woman recognized his face and contacted police. James was soon arrested and extradited back to Florida to stand trial for the slayings of eight-year-old Toni Neuner (pictured) and fifty-eight-year-old Elizabeth (Betty) Dick.
WARNING: The details of this case are graphic and disturbing.
On the night of September 20, 1993, James, who rented a room in Betty's house trailer, had just returned from a party. He'd been drinking hard, but, according to witnesses, was still "sober." As he entered the home, he noticed Betty's four grandchildren sleeping in the living room. (It was not unusual for Betty to keep the children.)
James picked up Toni by the neck and dragged her into his room. He choked her, then attempted to have sex with her. (In his confession, James described the sex acts he attempted to commit on the child, but said he was not "having fun." The autopsy clearly showed extensive damage to Toni's vagina and anus.) Toni's death was due to strangulation.
James then decided he wanted to rape an adult woman. He went into Betty's bedroom and attacked her. She began to scream and Toni's nine-year-old sister, Wendi, woke up and went to check on Betty. The child saw James choking and stabbing the older woman. Betty kept asking "Why Eddie, why?" At some point in the attack, James yelled, "If you're not dead by the time I count to three, I'm going to stab you some more."
When he saw Wendi, James grabbed her and placed her in the bathroom. He tied her hands and went back to stabbing Betty. Investigators found that she was nude from the waist down.
Court documents describe what happened next. "Wendi could not communicate with her aunt because she was gagged. She finally freed herself, looked around to see if anybody was there, and exited through the back door. She climbed over a fence in the backyard, and hid from a few cars that drove by, fearing they might contain James. Finally, she ran to her Uncle Tim's house...Wendi still had the pillow case she had been gagged with around her neck."
By the time cops arrived, James had stolen Betty's car and fled. He took a few items of jewelry and a small amount of cash.
Investigators found it hard to believe the extreme violence they encountered. Toni's body lay in James's bedroom and Betty's body lay near her own bed. Police found the bloody butcher knife used in the attack near her body.
James drove to Oklahoma, pawning some of Betty's jewelry along the way. He continued to California where he ran out of money and jewelry.
James was tried and sentenced to death for capital murder.
Of course, the usual anti-deathers are out in force. But most Floridians hope the magic needle will do its job. Such brutal acts cry out for justice.
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