travis family murder

does anyone have any info on the murder of the travis family killed by their son with something to do with the game of dungons and dragons? just have heard lots of surely false tales and can't find any info on the internet. would be thankful for any info to set story straight. my heart goes out to the family. or could anyone tell me if their is a web site. thank you for your time

I haven't been able to find anything either on the web. I visited their hardware store frequently and knew them both. It was tragic. Their son was tried in Jefferson County, so I'm assuming there is info at the county office, at least hard copies of trial. Beaumont Enterprise I'm sure has archives.

curious wrote:

does anyone have any info on the murder of the travis family killed by their son with something to do with the game of dungons and dragons? just have heard lots of surely false tales and can't find any info on the internet. would be thankful for any info to set story straight. my heart goes out to the family. or could anyone tell me if their is a web site. thank you for your time

Check out this excerpt from a book about the Mall of American, which tells a little about the murders. There really is not much information out there on the net regarding this crime.

http://books.google.com/books...

http://www.friendsbeyondthewall.com/ppbtw/ads...

Yes, I have lots of information. However, before I continue, I would like to thank every news organization for keeping details of this horrendous crime as private as they have for all these years. Privacy to the families is not often awarded with such mediums as blogs, such as this. Often, these mediums only harbor rumors and information that is only speculation or completely untrue; as with this 'question'.
Now, I can attest the individuals involved in the 1994 Travis' murders which occurred in 1994 WERE NOT in any way involved in dungeons and dragons nor any other black magic. As much as under informed speculators would like to have something demonic to tie the triple homicidal acts to, as in this crime, I assure you, if you were provided with ALL the facts in this case, you would see that this was a simple case involving a troubled teenage boy with typical teenage boy angst whom made an extremely horrible decision that would affect his and countless others for the rest of their lives.
Therefore, the next time you find someone else's family tragedy at the forefront of your trivial questions and concerns, please remember this: tragedies such as the one here which occurred many, many years ago, until it happens to your family, you too will feel like, "that could never happen to MY family." One piece of advice, don't be so ignorant; quick poor decisions, such as the ones here that took place in the Travis' family home, could also happen to your loved one or someone you love- just as easily as it happened to mine.
Then, to have individuals such as yourself asking such inappropriate question YEARS later, another piece of advice from someone who lived through it and still does, get a life; at least you still have one.

Thank you

Victim Family Member wrote:

Yes, I have lots of information. However, before I continue, I would like to thank every news organization for keeping details of this horrendous crime as private as they have for all these years. Privacy to the families is not often awarded with such mediums as blogs, such as this. Often, these mediums only harbor rumors and information that is only speculation or completely untrue; as with this 'question'.
Now, I can attest the individuals involved in the 1994 Travis' murders which occurred in 1994 WERE NOT in any way involved in dungeons and dragons nor any other black magic. As much as under informed speculators would like to have something demonic to tie the triple homicidal acts to, as in this crime, I assure you, if you were provided with ALL the facts in this case, you would see that this was a simple case involving a troubled teenage boy with typical teenage boy angst whom made an extremely horrible decision that would affect his and countless others for the rest of their lives.
Therefore, the next time you find someone else's family tragedy at the forefront of your trivial questions and concerns, please remember this: tragedies such as the one here which occurred many, many years ago, until it happens to your family, you too will feel like, "that could never happen to MY family." One piece of advice, don't be so ignorant; quick poor decisions, such as the ones here that took place in the Travis' family home, could also happen to your loved one or someone you love- just as easily as it happened to mine.
Then, to have individuals such as yourself asking such inappropriate question YEARS later, another piece of advice from someone who lived through it and still does, get a life; at least you still have one.

When murder occurs, it becomes public. It becomes everyone's business, so don't tell me or anyone else to "get a life." I had to family members taken from us too soon and their killer is serving two 18 year sentences for manslaughter. It is public and anyone interested can go to the courthouse and visit the district clerk's office. You go to their computer to find the cause number and they will pull the file for you to read, makes copies of anything you would like or you may sit there and peruse it all you want. DO NOT LET ANYONE EVEN FAMILY MEMBERS try to impose privacy on you. It is PUBLIC, NOT PRIVATE. Everyone has the right to know.

The whole thing was very sad many people hurt the young man carried my groceriers to my car more than once no clue anything was wrong hope you can one day find peace

curious wrote:

does anyone have any info on the murder of the travis family killed by their son with something to do with the game of dungons and dragons? just have heard lots of surely false tales and can't find any info on the internet. would be thankful for any info to set story straight. my heart goes out to the family. or could anyone tell me if their is a web site. thank you for your time

In response to Travis family member reply to "Curious":
First, I want to comment that the questions posed by "Curious" were not addressed in an inappropriate manner. I too have questions concerning the murders. This happened in OUR town, in OUR neighborhood, and I think we have the right to ask questions. Whether or not a family member chooses to answer is their business. Since he had plans to also kill a neighbor, and MY grandmother lived on the same street, I think it is MY right to ask questions,and wonder what happened. Do not attack people for asking questions, and "Curious" asked in a very respectful manner. My questions would be about possible evil influences. The site where Travis hardware is located still seems to have negative influences on its tennants (in my opinion). I wonder if this negativity influenced Bill. I believe that evil spirits can influence people, especially the young, and teenagers. This and some negative behavior of tennant of same site as hardware store got me thinking that Travis may have been "possessed" by a negative spirit. Now, you can start telling me I am crazy!

The Tyrell public Library downtown provided many answers for me. Just ask to view the micro fish of the Beaumont Enterprise from April 1994. There you go.

happened spring break of bill's (and mine) sophomore year in highschool. i did not go highschool with bill and todd but went to elementary school with them and was in the same class several times. bill was a quiet, well-mannered and reserved boy whose mother was always "room mother." todd was also quiet, not as well mannered or as composed as bill was. todd's older sister was on a sports team i was on and i often think about her and how she handled the murder of her brother (she was several years older than us and i no longer knew her when it happened.) it does not surprise me that bill cried on the stand as reported in an earlier post- the murders almost struck me as something he wondered intellectually if he could get away with, not something that he really ever intended to actually do. not surprising that not a lot is available on the internet- this crime was committed before the technology explosion and was an isolated incident, not a well publicized one except locally. what i remember most is the sick shock i felt when i came home from crystal beach at the end of that spring break and heard the news. as i lived closeby to the home i drove by it only to see the macabre police tape sealing off the home and the yard. what an immense tragedy. for all involved. i know bill had 2 younger brothers and wonder how they were cared for afterward. i had initially heard that family had taken them in. It would be very interesting to get their perspective on the events, but what a terrible thing to ask them to recall. i think bill is in the Stiles unit in Beaumont. i had an acquaintance who visited him in the couple of years immediately following the murders in some sort of religious capacity. not a close enough acquaintance to have discussed the visit with me- i just knew she had gone there several times. i've always been curious about his motivation and how the plan went awry and todd was killed too.

I went to high school with David, and always remember him as the friend who kept his head "when when all about -- were losing theirs". As a man,he remained the same - level-headed, kind and devoted to his family. When I visited Beaumont from Austin, I would drop in to see him at the hardware store. I know the two surviving sons lived in Austin with relatives.
Gone but not forgotten.

David is in the hughes unit per tdcj website. What exactly was davids defense?

http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl...

Lived a street over and was outside with friends when this all took place never heard a sound except for a neighbors dog howling which was out of character. Still remember playing with the boys (names left out purposely) football on turkey day ect. My sympathy goes out to yall. Often wondered what happened to them and hope theyve been able to put this horrible tragedy behind them...

I have to agree with “Victim Family Member”. I know law and I know the curiosity of people. Although not related I knew the family and watched the boys grow up from a time when Bill was just a baby. This crime still bothers me 18 years later and I couldn’t imagine how hard it must be for the family to cope. If people are still interested in crime details I would think one simple trip to Google, the public library or the Jefferson County Court House would help answer questions in a more discreet way without the need of stirring up horrible memories in an open forum such as this.

As i recall it...my senior year so many years ago..William was in the high school band of which had won the privilege of playing in the Rose Bowl. "Bill" as we knew him, had gotten into some trouble and his parents grounded him forbidding him to attend the Rose Bowl. This is what most believe was the motivation. Bill was very quiet and what occurred shocked our small town.

With all due respect to the victims families this is public knowledge and no one can be barred from discussing this case publicly on the internet. This case rocked our neighborhood my son was very good friends with bills neighbor directly across the street. It came as a shock to us all that the boys had a list of neighbors they wanted to kill. My son interacted with the travis family on a daily basis. What perplexes me is how well this case was buried since day one. People still to this day need answers.

Amazing that people still want to know this story so many years later. My brother was killed a mom and dad were killed and two families lives were changed forever. What more do you need to know?

whoever said dungeons and dragons is a fucking idiot. They were blaming that GAME for satanic worship when I was a kid, blaming it for murders, banning the cartoon.

It's a role-playing game.
You don't fight each other, except on paper.
Has ZERO to do with real magic, the devil, or anything evil at all.

Example: "Johnny rolls a 6"
"Troll takes 5 points damage"
Troll rolls a 5, Johnny takes 2 points damage"

and thats it, thats the game and thats why 99% of the people that play it are geeks or fat people with no friends