Howdy y’all,

Over the last couple days, I have received some crazy news involving a good friend of mine from back in the day.

I first met Eric Wyatt aka E-Dub way back in 2002ish when I got the job of DJ at Call of the Wild Gentleman’s club.

E-Dub was the bartender at the time and so far as I know, he has pretty much consistently been a bartender since.

When I would visit home, I would generally find him bartending somewhere new.

I have always liked Eric and though occasionally he would worry too much about petty things, he was always very laid back and in general kind, generous and fun to be around.

So it came as an absolute surprise to me to see that not only was he wanted on suspicion of a murder, there was a manhunt going on, he was to be considered armed and dangerous and the special crimes unit was spun up to assist in the manhunt.

I am going to try to decipher what the news story said because, apparently, you do not have a high school education to be a reporter these days.

79-year-old Marion Carter was murdered what I assume was Wednesday afternoon around 1500 in her home on Zhem Avenue in Poplar Bluff, MO.

The cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head which caused, according to Poplar Bluff Police Chief Whiteley, a “gruesome” scene.

Eric Wyatt, 39, of Poplar Bluff,  is the husband to Carter’s Granddaughter.

Eric’s wife called 911 to report the death of her grandmother. Wyatt, his wife, and a juvenile were at the house when the police arrived.

Eric was allowed by police to take the juvenile to another house. Upon arriving at his home, police tried to interview Eric and rather than answering the questions, he threw something into the bushes and ran away.

The item Eric threw in the bushes was Carter’s wallet which gave Poplar Bluff PD probable cause to charge Wyatt for first-degree murder.

Court documents show that Carter’s wallet was not at the home and believe that Wyatt took Carter’s wallet which was found in the bushes near his apartment.

Investigators that were looking for evidence in the home noticed that one of Carter’s pants pockets had been turned inside out, indicating that something had been taken out of it.

Surveillance video from the apartment video showed Wyatt leaving the complex around 2:30 p.m. and returned around 4:45 p.m.

Minutes later, the video showed Wyatt leaving his apartment with a black trash bag. Investigators found the bag in the dumpster and found a pair of jeans with blood on them in the bag, according to the probable cause statement.

The investigator that filed the report wrote that a search of Wyatt’s apartment turned up a pair of men’s shoes that also had blood on them.

Wyatt’s wife told investigators that Wyatt went straight to the shower when he got home, but she could not remember what he was wearing when he left the house.

During an interview, the juvenile told investigators that he lived with Carter and when he got home from school, Wyatt and his wife met him outside the house.

The probable cause statement quotes the boy as saying that Wyatt told him Carter had been murdered, but that he didn’t do it.

The boy said Wyatt was acting “weird” and kept saying “Oh my God, oh my God,” according to court documents. He went on to say that he watched Wyatt wiped blood off of his hands and onto his clothing.

(message from Chop. From all the time I have known E-Dub, him saying “Oh my God” when something bad was happening, was not uncommon)

According to Detective Josh Stewarts, Carter’s granddaughter is not considered a suspect.

Police followed all leads trying to find Wyatt.

“Just keep an eye out and if you know him or if you see someone who matches that description, let the authorities know as soon as possible and he may have some friends who are not aware of what he did that would certainly not condone someone hurting or killing a 79-year-old lady,” Chief Whiteley said.

He said they must get him off the streets.

“I would say he is dangerous,” Chief Whiteley said. “He is either mentally unstable or on drugs or both and when you are dealing with someone like that, the citizens need to be aware of it.”

The manhunt ended around 1730 on Thursday on the 1300 block of Spring Street after Police received a tip and used Wyatt’s cell phone against him to confirm him being there.

Chief Whiteley said they surrounded the home and he tried to run out the back door, but they took him into custody without incident.

Wyatt and people who live at the home where he was found are being interviewed as part of the investigation, according to police.

Investigators say Wyatt told them he used a baseball bat in the attack on the woman.

Police say Wyatt has been charged with first-degree murder, and other charges are expected. They say Wyatt’s arraignment and the other charges may come on Friday.

I hope this reads better than the actual news stories cause those were a nightmare.

With him admitting the baseball bat, I assume this isn’t a misunderstanding and it makes me sad that this good guy I have known for damn near half my life has done something so stupid.

I love E-Dub, he will always be a friend but if this wasn’t a case of self-defense, they need to bury him under the jail.

Things like this always make me wonder that if I had been around, could this have not happened.

There were some kids I grew up across the street from in Mansfield, TX named Brooks. They all turned out to be shit-bums as far as I know and I always wondered if I had stuck around, would it have turned out that way.