Jeffrey Maxwell, of Mattie Caston Shores, was arrested after police armed with a search warrant found that he had kidnapped, restrained, tortured and assaulted Lois Marie Pearson for 13 days, as reported by the Weatherford Democrat Daily and the Mineral Wells Index.
Maxwell, 58, had abducted Pearson, 62, on March 1 from her home in rural Whitt.
Police are also investigating the possibility that Maxwell is also responsible for torching Pearson’s home on March 3. The house, her car, and her cat were lost in the fire –succinctly destroying all that Pearson owned.
Per the Park County Sheriff’s Office, Maxwell is being held in Parker County jail, in lieu of $400,000 blond, for charges that include aggravated kidnapping, aggravated sexual
assault, with other charges pending.
Many residents had comments to make about Maxwell and his behavior.
Michael Kincaid, a lifelong friend of Pearson’s, claimed that she referred to Maxwell as “the bad man.”
Kincaid further attested that he, and others, believe that Maxwell is responsible for the house fire due to his previous obsession with Pearson. Kincaid told the Mineral Wells Index, “He was the only person that would mess with her.”
Parker County Sheriff Larry Fowler said, “There was no evidence that he ever had any kind of relationship with her. He tried ... and people have told me she complained of him being overly friendly and so on, and she didn’t want to be around him.”
Tammy Cantrell, owner of the Old Aggie General that Maxwell frequented for breakfast reported, “He was nice, but weird. How many people do you know who wants to sit in your restaurant and brag about how much money he had? He was very loud and obnoxious. Nobody liked him. We all had an eerie feeling about him.”
A witness placed Maxwell’s blue compact car – easily identified as he has a handicapped placard for a heart condition – parked near Pearson’s home just minutes before the fire.
The car matched the description of Maxwell’s 2009 Hyundai Accent.
During the search of Maxwell’s home a check for $500 – made out by Pearson to Maxwell – had a “loan repayment” message on the memo line.
It was dated on March 2 and cleared March 8, during the same time period that Pearson was being held captive.
After being cared for at Navarro Regional, Pearson was put into protective custody and moved to a safe location.
In regards to possible other victims, Fowler said, “At this point we don’t know, I can’t say yes or no.”
More specifically, Pearson’s ex-wife, Martha Martinez Maxwell, is believed missing.
Martha Martinez Maxwell filed charges against Maxwell in 1987 for kidnapping, binding her with duct tape, sexual assault and slashing her throat. The incident culminated when he dumped her in Oklahoma.
Due to a lack of evidence, a Tarrant County grand jury did not bring charges against him at the time.
Facing criminal charges? Planning a defense is crucial for your upcoming trial. Contact a criminal defense lawyer as soon as you can to get started.
