Gone Cold - Texas True Crime

In the late 1970s, Fort Worth was a city in transition. Although it had always been sleepy compared to other major Texas cities, downtown had begun to lose much of its former glory, parts of the Stockyards were in decline, and violent crime remained an increasingly serious problem across the entire region. Against that backdrop, the murder of a seventeen-year-old high school student became one of the city’s most disturbing unsolved crimes in 1978.

Lecia McGee was remembered as outgoing, kind, and well-liked, but also tough. She played sports, enjoyed spending time with friends, and took particular pride in the older Chevrolet Impala she carefully maintained. One bitterly cold winter night, she left a friend’s house after watching a movie and eating pizza but never returned home. Her disappearance was immediately considered unusual, and her family began searching before police were contacted.

The following evening, her abandoned car was found only a short distance from home. Evidence inside made it clear that a violent attack had occurred, and Lecia was found dead inside the vehicle. Investigators determined that she had fought desperately against her attacker. Robbery appeared unlikely, and detectives struggled to identify anyone who had a reason to harm her.

Police examined several possible suspects and compared the murder with other crimes in the area, but none of those leads produced an answer. As the months and years passed, coverage faded and the case grew cold, leaving Lecia’s family without justice and with few explanations for what happened during the short drive home that night.

Part one of two.

If you have any information about the murder of Lecia Ann McGee, please contact the Fort Worth Police at (817) 392-4307.

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In May 1997, twenty-year-old Gregory “Keith” Mann Jr. was beginning to build a life for himself in Wichita Falls, Texas. He had recently started working at a local car dealership and was preparing to move into an apartment with his fiancé.

On Saturday, May 10, Keith worked a shift before spending the evening with friends. The group drove around Wichita Falls, stopped at a convenience store, and spent part of the night near Lake Wichita and Memorial Stadium. Before midnight, Keith told his friends that he needed to return home because he was supposed to meet someone.

His friends dropped him off at his apartment complex and watched him begin walking up the stairs toward his second-floor apartment. It was the last confirmed sighting of him.

The following morning, a car Keith had borrowed from his employer was found parked at a church near his parents’ home. But he was nowhere to be found. His belongings remained at his apartment, his bank account and gas card were never used again, and two paychecks waiting for him at work went unclaimed.

Over the years, detectives followed reported sightings, rumors, and tips but none led to Keith. A later cold-case review also failed to produce a breakthrough.

Authorities eventually came to suspect that Keith was the victim of foul play. His disappearance remains an active investigation, and his family continues searching for answers nearly three decades after he vanished.

If you have any information about the disappearance of Gregory “Keith” Mann Jr., please contact Wichita Falls Area Crime Stoppers at 940-322-9888. Tips can be made anonymously.

Check out the family’s page at themissingmannproject.com

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Michael Roy Toney was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1985 bombing murders of Joe Blount, Angela Blount, and Michael Columbus. In the years after his conviction, however, previously undisclosed records and inconsistencies in the prosecution’s case raised serious questions about the evidence used to convict him. The evidence suggested that a trip remembered by witnesses may have occurred, but not on the night of the bombing. Witness coercion and memory creation were also clearly documented.

Toney’s appellate attorneys also uncovered records showing how the investigation against him developed. The original information implicating him came from fellow inmate who later admitted that he and Toney had fabricated the story to help him get out of jail. Investigators also spoke with a man whose punishment phase testimony supplied the prosecution’s $5,000 murder-for-hire motive. He also said his story was false. The witness claimed he implicated Toney while facing serious criminal charges because he feared dying in prison. His felony charges were ultimately reduced to misdemeanor assault, although prosecutor Mike Parrish denied that any agreement had been made in exchange for his testimony.

In December 2008, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that evidence that could have assisted Toney’s defense had been withheld before his trial. The Texas Attorney General’s Office took over the case and reopened the investigation. Toney was released on September 2, 2009, after nearly a decade on Death Row.

The murders of Joe Blount, Angela Blount, and Michael Columbus remain unsolved.

Part four of four.

If you have any information about the murders of Robert and Angela Blount and Michael Columbus, please call the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives tipline at (888) 283-8477.

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Nearly twelve years after the Thanksgiving 1985 bombing at Hilltop Mobile Home Park, investigators received a tip that shifted their attention to Michael Roy Toney, a 31-year-old man with a lengthy criminal history. After a five-month investigation and grand jury proceedings, Toney was indicted for the bombing deaths of Joe Blount, his 15-year-old daughter Angela Blount, and his 18-year-old nephew Michael Columbus.

Toney’s capital murder trial began in early May 1999 in Fort Worth. Susan and Robert Blount testified and nearly 80 pieces of physical evidence recovered from the destroyed trailer and the victims were presented. Prosecutors argued that the Blount family had not been the intended target and that Toney had mistakenly placed the briefcase bomb outside the wrong trailer.

The prosecution’s case relied heavily on testimony from Toney’s former wife and estranged friend, who both testified that they accompanied Toney to a business beside Hilltop Mobile Home Park on Thanksgiving Day 1985 and that Toney carried a briefcase away from his truck and returned without it. The defense challenged both accounts and emphasized that there was no physical evidence presented at trial connecting Toney to the bomb. They also returned attention to former Hilltop resident Mikey Huff, who had been investigated repeatedly over the years.

On May 20, 1999, after approximately four hours of deliberation, the jury found Michael Roy Toney guilty of capital murder. During the punishment phase, more witnesses provided damning testimony against him.

If you have any information about the murders of Joe and Angela Blount and Michael Columbus, please call the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives tipline at (888) 283-8477.

You can support gone cold and listen to the show ad-free at patreon.com/gonecoldpodcast

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Shortly after the 1985 bombing murders of Joe Blount, Angela Blount, and Michael Columbus, early suspicion fell on people connected to Hilltop Mobile Home Park, including drug dealers and Angela’s 15-year-old classmate. Despite rumors and circumstances that drew investigators to the teenager, the ATF ultimately eliminated him in the initial investigation.

Months later, in 1986, an Azle businessman became a person of interest after an ATF operation. Although the circumstances that led to his arrest looked like a promising lead in the Blount Family bombing, agents but were also unable to connect him. Later that year, another potential lead emerged after a major North Texas drug raid in which authorities recovered weapons and explosive materials. Following the unfortunate trend, it went nowhere.

Ten years later, federal, state, and local investigators assembled a new task force and began again from the beginning. It led back to the 15-year-old classmate of Angela Blount who was a suspect in the original investigation. His telephone was tapped and witnesses testified before a grand jury, but they chose not to indict.

In 1997, one telephone tip finally sent agents and investigators in a new direction. By December of that year, the task force reported they had witnesses capable of placing the bomb in their suspect’s hands. After the longest-running investigations in ATF history, authorities announce that they expect a capital murder indictment and an arrest in the bombing murders.

If you have any information about the murders of Robert and Angela Blount and Michael Columbus, please call the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives tipline at (888) 283-8477.

You can support gone cold and listen to the show ad-free at patreon.com/gonecoldpodcast

Find us at gonecold.com

For Gone Cold merch, visit gonecold.dashery.com

Follow gone cold on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, and X. Search @gonecoldpodcast at all or just click linknbio.com/gonecoldpodcast

#JusticeForJoeBlount #JusticeForAngelaBlount #JusticeForMichaelColumbus #FortWorth #TarrantCounty #Texas #TX #TexasTrueCrime #ColdCase #TrueCrimePodcast #Podcast #Unsolved #MissingPerson #Missing #Disappeared #Disappearance #Vanished #Murder #UnsolvedMurder #UnsolvedMysteries #Homicide #CrimeStories #PodcastRecommendations #CrimeJunkie #MysteryPodcast #ATF #FBI #Bombing

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