143: A Shot in the Dark: The Murder of Farah Fratta

November 9, 1994 was an ordinary Wednesday night for Laura Hoelscher and her husband, Darren, until they were startled by gunfire across the street. Rushing to their living room window, they witnessed their neighbor, Farah Fratta, fall to her garage floor and a masked man escape in a getaway car. Zeroing in on who wanted Farah dead would be the easy part, but proving it wouldn't be.



Sources:

https://apnews.com/article/texas-state-government-houston-legal-proceedings-95afdfe8a13c8ee253f466661e666f5c

Jury Instructions https://www.txcourts.gov/All_Archived_Documents/JudicialInformation/oca/pdf/jchgs/Harris060109JChg.pdf

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/41302278/farah_fahmida-fratta

 

No Safe Place by Bill Cox

https://www.amazon.com/No-Safe-Place-Bill-Cox/dp/0786021470

https://law.justia.com/cases/texas/court-of-criminal-appeals/2011/ap-76-188.html



The McDonald Family Slayings - Part One

https://audioboom.com/posts/8106971-the-macdonald-family-slayings-part-one



The McDonald Family Slayings - Part Two

https://audioboom.com/posts/8108383-the-macdonald-family-slayings-part-two?playlist_direction=forward