Hitchhiker admits shooting couple Christmas Eve, planning bloody kidnapping of girl
Details in John Asher Farrell-Villarreal revealed after sentencing
Updated: 3:17 PM EDT Aug 10, 2017
WEBVTT NEIGHBORHOOD OF THE 22- YEAR-OLD SUSPECT SAY HE'S CAUGHT THEIR ATTENTION BEFORE IN A BIG WAY. WYFF NEW FOUR'S COREY DAVIS IS LIVE HERE IN THE STUDIO CONTINUING OUR TEAM COVERAGE. COREY. NIGEL AND CAROL, THE FATHER OF JAMES DOBSON THE SECOND SAYS HE'S RELIEVED SOMEONE HAS BEEN CAUGHT. TODAY NEIGHBORS TOLD ME THEY QUESTIONED THE BEHAVIOR OF THE SUSPECT, JOHN FARREL VILLARREAL AROUND THEIR COMMUNITY. THERE ISN'T MUCH GOING ON TODAY IN THE NORTH CLIFF SUBDIVISION OF TRAVELER'S REST. "this is a great neighborhood, we have a lot of communication." THIS HOUSE AT THE CUL-DE-SAC OF LEDGE RUN COURT HAS BEEN THE CENTER OF RECENT CHATTER IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. "we were outside playing and all of a sudden, like seven unmarked police cars came flying up this road, and one actually was a k-9 unit." INVESTIGATORS SAY THEY SEARCHED THE HOME OF 22- YEAR-OLD JOHN FARREL VILLARREAL...THE MAN ACCUSED OF THE CHRISTMAS EVE SHOOTING OF MARIE FOWLER AND JOHN DOBSON THE SECOND. "we in the past have seen him with what was some sort of gun, although we thought it was perhaps a bb-gun which many people have often and never saw him with it again." COURTNEY QUINN AND NICOLE CARMENATES SAY THEY NEVER HAD ANY BAD INTERACTIONS WITH HIS FAMILY, BUT THE NEWS IS UNSETTLING. "we knew the grandparents of the man accused of doing this and they're very sweet people." "just knowing that he was there, was capable of doing what he did is a little scary." OVER IN EASLEY THE PARENTS OF JAMES DOBSON THE SECOND SAY THEY EXPECT JUSTICE. "I'm sorry for that; i'm sorry that somebody walks here on the face the earth that can be so bad to somebody." DOBSON'S FATHER SAYS HIS SON IS STILL IN CRITICAL CONDITION FIGHTING FOR LIFE AFTER BEING SHOT IN THE NECK. "I don't understand a lot of things and why it's happened, but God's a good God and he's in control. That's all I can say now." DOBSON'S PARENTS SAY HE HASN'T GOTTEN ANY BETTER OR WORSE OVER THE WEEK HE'S BEEN IN THE HOSPITAL.
Gruesome details in the case of a man who shot a couple who picked him up as he hitchhiked on a rainy Christmas Eve have been released after he pleaded guilty and was sentenced Wednesday.John Asher Farrell-Villarreal, 25, pleaded guilty to the 2014 murder of Mary Fowler, the attempted murder of James Dobson, carjacking and possession of a weapon during a violent crime.State prosecutors detailed Farrell-Villarreal's crimes during a plea hearing. They said Farrell-Villarreal received a Facebook message on Dec. 23, 2014, from a 17-year-old girl living in Fitzgerald, Georgia, with whom he was having an online romantic relationship. She told Farrell-Villarreal that her step-father was abusing her. Farrell-Villarreal didn't own a vehicle, so he asked her if he could manage to steal a car to come pick her up if she would go with him, and she said she would.Farrell-Villarreal tried to hotwire a car on Dec. 24, 2014, but was unsuccessful. He was standing in the road in the area of Fletcher Street in Greenville wearing a rain suit when James Dobson and Mary Fowler stopped their car to speak with him. Farrell-Villarreal asked them for a ride to I-85, and they agreed he would pay $5 for the ride. Once they got to the Interstate, Dobson and Fowler agreed to take the defendant to the Georgia state line for an additional $25.During the ride, Farrell-Villarreal asked Dobson, who was driving, to pull over so he could urinate. As soon as Dobson pulled over and put the car in park, Farrell-Villarreal shot Fowler once in the back of the head. He then shot Dobson multiple times. Farrell-Villarreal then dumped Fowler and Dobson on the side of I-85 and left them there to die.He then drove their Hyundai Elantra to the first exit south and dumped their possessions by the side of the road. Prosecutors said Farrell-Villarreal pulled up the street and swapped the tag of the Hyundai with a tag from a white SUV. He then went to a Love's Truck Stop where he cleaned out the car and cut the seatbelts out of the car because of the bloodstains before continuing to Georgia.When Farrell-Villarreal got to the girl's home, he got into an argument with her mother and police were called to the home. He was taken into custody and released a short time later. While he was headed back to South Carolina he was stopped by a Georgia state trooper and was given a speeding ticket.Prosecutors said when Farrell-Villarreal was back in South Carolina, he went to what he called his "safe house," a property on Fletcher Street in Greenville County. He then rode his bike to his home in Travelers Rest.Deputies got a 911 call at 6:17 a.m. on Dec. 24, 2014, about a man lying on the shoulder of I-85 in Anderson County. Deputies found Fowler and Dobson critically injured, but both alive. Fowler died hours later. Dobson survived the attack, but two bullets had entered his head behind his right ear and came out of his left eye. He lost his left eye and most of the sight in his right eye. He is paralyzed on his left side and can no longer walk. His speech is slurred and he has been in constant pain since the shooting, prosecutors said. Six bullet fragments remain in his brain.Ex-girlfriend expressed concerns about Farrell-Villarreal months before shootingProsecutors said several days after the shooting, Farrell-Villarreal tried again unsuccessfully to bring the girl back from Georgia.Farrell-Villareal drove back to South Carolina, but instead of returning to his safe house, he stopped at the home of a friend in Anderson County. He also went to the Anderson Library to send a Facebook message to the girl in Georgia. When he returned to the friend's home in Anderson, Farrell-Villarreal parked the vehicle in front of the house. An Anderson County deputy passed by the home at about 10:30 a.m. and realized the Hyundai matched the description of the vehicle being sought in connection with the shooting. The deputy approached the vehicle and took Farrell-Villareal into custody.Investigators said Farrell-Villarreal initially lied to them, but eventually confessed to all of the crimes.They said he told them he intended to go to Georgia a third time for a "wet extraction" of his online girlfriend that he defined as wet because it would be bloody because he would kill her stepfather, her mother and her older brother.Four firearms were recovered from Farrell-Villarreal's vehicle, along with the rainsuit which he told investigators he planned to wear in Georgia during the "extraction" because it was black and because blood would wash off of it easily. The gun used to shoot the victims, a Walther model P22 semiautomatic pistol, was in the vehicle, and was later matched by a firearms expert. It was outfitted with a laser sight. A Ruger rifle & pistol were also in car, along with a Bursa .380, and another rifle was found in his home.Investigators found materials from Dobson's wallet in Farrell-Villarreal's home along with articles from local newspapers about the killing and the investigation and two shell casings from the bullets used to shoot Dobson and Fowler. They also found materials used to construct silencers, which the defendant admitted making and using during this incident and at other times as well.Farrell-Villarreal told investigators how he made the silencers and he admitted to setting up areas in Greenville County to practice tactical shooting.Judge R. Scott Sprouse sentenced Farrell-Villarreal to life for Flower's murder, 30 years each for the attempted murder of Dobson and carjacking and five years for possession of a weapon during a violent crime. "There is no place for someone like John (Farrell-)Villarreal in our society," Tenth Circuit Solicitor David Wagner said. "His actions were heinous and cold, and show his complete lack of respect for human life. He took one life and permanently altered another. He was planning to take more lives but he was apprehended thanks to the hard work of the Anderson County Sheriff's Office. "The Court gave Mr. (Farrell-)Villarreal the right sentence. A life sentence is the only way to protect society from the terrible danger he presents, and it is the only sentence befitting of the brutal crimes he committed."
Gruesome details in the case of a man who shot a couple who picked him up as he hitchhiked on a rainy Christmas Eve have been released after he pleaded guilty and was sentenced Wednesday.
John Asher Farrell-Villarreal, 25, pleaded guilty to the 2014 murder of Mary Fowler, the attempted murder of James Dobson, carjacking and possession of a weapon during a violent crime.
State prosecutors detailed Farrell-Villarreal's crimes during a plea hearing. They said Farrell-Villarreal received a Facebook message on Dec. 23, 2014, from a 17-year-old girl living in Fitzgerald, Georgia, with whom he was having an online romantic relationship. She told Farrell-Villarreal that her step-father was abusing her. Farrell-Villarreal didn't own a vehicle, so he asked her if he could manage to steal a car to come pick her up if she would go with him, and she said she would.
Farrell-Villarreal tried to hotwire a car on Dec. 24, 2014, but was unsuccessful. He was standing in the road in the area of Fletcher Street in Greenville wearing a rain suit when James Dobson and Mary Fowler stopped their car to speak with him.
Farrell-Villarreal asked them for a ride to I-85, and they agreed he would pay $5 for the ride. Once they got to the Interstate, Dobson and Fowler agreed to take the defendant to the Georgia state line for an additional $25.
During the ride, Farrell-Villarreal asked Dobson, who was driving, to pull over so he could urinate. As soon as Dobson pulled over and put the car in park, Farrell-Villarreal shot Fowler once in the back of the head. He then shot Dobson multiple times.
Farrell-Villarreal then dumped Fowler and Dobson on the side of I-85 and left them there to die.
He then drove their Hyundai Elantra to the first exit south and dumped their possessions by the side of the road.
Prosecutors said Farrell-Villarreal pulled up the street and swapped the tag of the Hyundai with a tag from a white SUV.
He then went to a Love's Truck Stop where he cleaned out the car and cut the seatbelts out of the car because of the bloodstains before continuing to Georgia.
When Farrell-Villarreal got to the girl's home, he got into an argument with her mother and police were called to the home. He was taken into custody and released a short time later. While he was headed back to South Carolina he was stopped by a Georgia state trooper and was given a speeding ticket.
Prosecutors said when Farrell-Villarreal was back in South Carolina, he went to what he called his "safe house," a property on Fletcher Street in Greenville County. He then rode his bike to his home in Travelers Rest.
Deputies got a 911 call at 6:17 a.m. on Dec. 24, 2014, about a man lying on the shoulder of I-85 in Anderson County. Deputies found Fowler and Dobson critically injured, but both alive. Fowler died hours later.
Dobson survived the attack, but two bullets had entered his head behind his right ear and came out of his left eye. He lost his left eye and most of the sight in his right eye. He is paralyzed on his left side and can no longer walk. His speech is slurred and he has been in constant pain since the shooting, prosecutors said. Six bullet fragments remain in his brain.
Ex-girlfriend expressed concerns about Farrell-Villarreal months before shooting
Prosecutors said several days after the shooting, Farrell-Villarreal tried again unsuccessfully to bring the girl back from Georgia.
Farrell-Villareal drove back to South Carolina, but instead of returning to his safe house, he stopped at the home of a friend in Anderson County.
He also went to the Anderson Library to send a Facebook message to the girl in Georgia.
When he returned to the friend's home in Anderson, Farrell-Villarreal parked the vehicle in front of the house. An Anderson County deputy passed by the home at about 10:30 a.m. and realized the Hyundai matched the description of the vehicle being sought in connection with the shooting.
The deputy approached the vehicle and took Farrell-Villareal into custody.
Investigators said Farrell-Villarreal initially lied to them, but eventually confessed to all of the crimes.
They said he told them he intended to go to Georgia a third time for a "wet extraction" of his online girlfriend that he defined as wet because it would be bloody because he would kill her stepfather, her mother and her older brother.
Four firearms were recovered from Farrell-Villarreal's vehicle, along with the rain
suit which he told investigators he planned to wear in Georgia during the "extraction" because it was black and because blood would wash off of it easily.
The gun used to shoot the victims, a Walther model P22 semiautomatic pistol, was in the vehicle, and was later matched by a firearms expert. It was outfitted with a laser sight. A Ruger rifle & pistol were also in car, along with a Bursa .380, and another rifle was found in his home.
Investigators found materials from Dobson's wallet in Farrell-Villarreal's home along with articles from local newspapers about the killing and the investigation and two shell casings from the bullets used to shoot Dobson and Fowler. They also found materials used to construct silencers, which the defendant admitted making and using during this incident and at other times as well.
Farrell-Villarreal told investigators how he made the silencers and he admitted to setting up areas in Greenville County to practice tactical shooting.
Judge R. Scott Sprouse sentenced Farrell-Villarreal to life for Flower's murder, 30 years each for the attempted murder of Dobson and carjacking and five years for possession of a weapon during a violent crime.
"There is no place for someone like John (Farrell-)Villarreal in our society," Tenth Circuit Solicitor David Wagner said. "His actions were heinous and cold, and show his complete lack of respect for human life. He took one life and permanently altered another. He was planning to take more lives but he was apprehended thanks to the hard work of the Anderson County Sheriff's Office.
"The Court gave Mr. (Farrell-)Villarreal the right sentence. A life sentence is the only way to protect society from the terrible danger he presents, and it is the only sentence befitting of the brutal crimes he committed."