filed missing persons reports with the Brookshire Police Department and the Waller County Sheriff’s Department.
“He was really worried about her [disappearing],” Bonner lamented. “He put her picture up on the cash register out front [of the Union 76] in case anybody knew where she was, but he didn’t hear anything.” Frank LaQua believed, at first, that his daughter probably just ran away again. Maybe even back to her mother in Washington State. But he never heard anything in regard to her whereabouts.
After several months with no word on Emily, Frank LaQua moved out of Brookshire to Wenatchee, Washington. He could not take it in Texas any longer.
CHAPTER 16
Edith Anna Stokes was born to parents Ray and Laura, but Ray Stokes passed away and Laura Stokes then married James Allen, who subsequently adopted Edith. “Anna,” as she would most commonly be called, was the oldest of the Allen children.
Anna’s father was one of the top prosecuting attorneys in Dallas County. Allen, a first assistant district attorney, was considered one of the fiercest opponents against criminals in a Texas courtroom.
His specialty?
Death penalty prosecutions.
Allen was considered “hard-core” when it came to the death penalty. Indeed, he oversaw twenty cases in which the jury returned death verdicts.
District Attorney (DA) Allen was known for his impas-sioned speeches in the courtroom, practically demand-ing that juries find each and every defendant to be guilty and to consider them evil. At times he cried during his own closing arguments because he was so filled with fervor and disgust for the criminals on trial.
Allen was eventually elected to the state criminal district judgeship. Judge Allen continued his fervent opposition
EVIL EY ES 109
to defendants and was known to make defense attorneys’ lives a living hell. He had little patience for petulant lawyers and even less patience for their “scumbag” clients. Allen parlayed a successful tenure as a criminal judge to a position on the state appellate court in the Fifth District Court of Appeals.
Justice Allen and Laura Allen raised their wonderful children, but were especially proud of their oldest daughter, Anna, who excelled in education.
Laura Allen recalled the perspicacious manner of her then two-year-old daughter. As Laura watched Anna’s one-year-old brother, she heard what she described as a “glee-ful chortle,” which came from the kitchen. Laura went in to investigate and found her oldest child perched on top of the refrigerator. It was even more unusual, since there was no countertop next to the appliance. Anna simply smiled and laughed as her mother pondered how in the world she got up there.
Laura Allen described her daughter as a “smart girl” who always did “good in school.” She stated that Anna was the type of person that “anything she attempted, she learned to do.”
A shy and timid girl, Anna was sometimes too smart for her own good. Her mother stated that she was known to “foment trouble” amongst her brothers and sisters. Anna was good at getting everyone else in trouble, but some-how managed to avoid it herself.
As Anna matured, she started to come out of her shell. At Edward H. Carey Junior High School, Anna joined the drill team. Her mischievousness never quite left her. She convinced her mother to hold a slumber party at their house for the entire drill team. Her mother remembered that everything was proceeding smoothly— until the boys showed up. Surprisingly, Anna’s father let
110 Corey Mitchell
the boys stay, but under one condition. They could only stay for a half hour. Amazingly, the boys agreed and complied with her father’s wishes.
By the time Anna entered high school, she had moved out of her geeky phase and had turned into a beautiful young lady. She also kept her focus on her education. When she received her scores for the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), the college entrance exam, Anna was ecstatic.
“He was really worried about her [disappearing],” Bonner lamented. “He put her picture up on the cash register out front [of the Union 76] in case anybody knew where she was, but he didn’t hear anything.” Frank LaQua believed, at first, that his daughter probably just ran away again. Maybe even back to her mother in Washington State. But he never heard anything in regard to her whereabouts.
After several months with no word on Emily, Frank LaQua moved out of Brookshire to Wenatchee, Washington. He could not take it in Texas any longer.
CHAPTER 16
Edith Anna Stokes was born to parents Ray and Laura, but Ray Stokes passed away and Laura Stokes then married James Allen, who subsequently adopted Edith. “Anna,” as she would most commonly be called, was the oldest of the Allen children.
Anna’s father was one of the top prosecuting attorneys in Dallas County. Allen, a first assistant district attorney, was considered one of the fiercest opponents against criminals in a Texas courtroom.
His specialty?
Death penalty prosecutions.
Allen was considered “hard-core” when it came to the death penalty. Indeed, he oversaw twenty cases in which the jury returned death verdicts.
District Attorney (DA) Allen was known for his impas-sioned speeches in the courtroom, practically demand-ing that juries find each and every defendant to be guilty and to consider them evil. At times he cried during his own closing arguments because he was so filled with fervor and disgust for the criminals on trial.
Allen was eventually elected to the state criminal district judgeship. Judge Allen continued his fervent opposition
EVIL EY ES 109
to defendants and was known to make defense attorneys’ lives a living hell. He had little patience for petulant lawyers and even less patience for their “scumbag” clients. Allen parlayed a successful tenure as a criminal judge to a position on the state appellate court in the Fifth District Court of Appeals.
Justice Allen and Laura Allen raised their wonderful children, but were especially proud of their oldest daughter, Anna, who excelled in education.
Laura Allen recalled the perspicacious manner of her then two-year-old daughter. As Laura watched Anna’s one-year-old brother, she heard what she described as a “glee-ful chortle,” which came from the kitchen. Laura went in to investigate and found her oldest child perched on top of the refrigerator. It was even more unusual, since there was no countertop next to the appliance. Anna simply smiled and laughed as her mother pondered how in the world she got up there.
Laura Allen described her daughter as a “smart girl” who always did “good in school.” She stated that Anna was the type of person that “anything she attempted, she learned to do.”
A shy and timid girl, Anna was sometimes too smart for her own good. Her mother stated that she was known to “foment trouble” amongst her brothers and sisters. Anna was good at getting everyone else in trouble, but some-how managed to avoid it herself.
As Anna matured, she started to come out of her shell. At Edward H. Carey Junior High School, Anna joined the drill team. Her mischievousness never quite left her. She convinced her mother to hold a slumber party at their house for the entire drill team. Her mother remembered that everything was proceeding smoothly— until the boys showed up. Surprisingly, Anna’s father let
110 Corey Mitchell
the boys stay, but under one condition. They could only stay for a half hour. Amazingly, the boys agreed and complied with her father’s wishes.
By the time Anna entered high school, she had moved out of her geeky phase and had turned into a beautiful young lady. She also kept her focus on her education. When she received her scores for the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), the college entrance exam, Anna was ecstatic.
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