2011-04-20 Felan
April 26, 2011 Suspect charged in Borger homicide
Borger police late Tuesday announced they had charged a man with killing his neighbor - a 97-year-old woman.
Police said a judge denied bond for Gregorio Felan, 47, a short time after he was arrested Tuesday evening on a charge of murder.[1]
He remained behind bars in the Hutchinson County Jail in Stinnett, police said.
However, investigators would not say what led them to file a murder charge against Felan.
Investigators said Kimbrell, a longtime Borger resident, lived alone inside her home in the 100 block of Garrett Street.
A Meals on Wheels volunteer attempting to bring Kimbrell a meal Thursday found her dead and called for help.
The preliminary autopsy determined Kimbrell's death was a homicide, though investigators have not yet revealed her cause of death.
Borger police and Texas Rangers spent the past five days piecing together who killed Kimbrell.
In a statement, Borger Police Chief Jimmy Adams thanked Borger residents for providing tips during the investigation. It wasn't immediately known if one of those tips helped crack the case.
Kimbrell's death marked Borger's first homicide of the year.
June 23, 2011 Felan indicted on capital murder charge
A Hutchinson grand jury today indicted a Borger man in the April 20 stabbing death of a 97-year-old woman.
The jury indicted Gregorio Felan, 47, for capital murder in the death of his elderly neighbor, Lois Kimbrell, 84th District attorney Mark Snider said in a news release.
"He intentionally killed her in the course of committing an aggravated sexual assault," Snider said. "That's what makes it a capital murder."
He explained that capital murder occurs when the suspect commits the crime while in the act of committing another felony.
A Meals on Wheels volunteer on April 21 attempting to bring Kimbrell a meal in her home in the 100 block of Garrett Street found Kimbrell dead and called for help. Investigators determined Kimbrell's death was suspicious, police said.
An autopsy determined the death was a homicide, Borger police and Texas Rangers said.
Kimbrell suffered multiple stab wounds and blunt-force trauma to the head, Snider said in the release.
If convicted of murder, Felan faces life in state prison. The state could seek the death penalty.
Snider said the investigation into the incident is continuing.[2]
"There are a few things we're waiting on," Snider said
Once the investigation is complete Snider will contact Kimbrell's family, he said.
"We're going to have to do a careful consideration of all the facts in the case and the wishes of the family," Snider said. "I don't have a timetable for how long it will take."
Felan is represented by Amarillo attorneys Jeff Blackburn and Adam Tisdale.
"The grand jury only hears one side of the story," Tisdale said. "We're trying to figure out what really happened. Normal people do not kill 97-year-old ladies."