TEXARKANA, Ark. - A Texarkana couple was formally charged this week with abuse of a corpse and abuse of an endangered or impaired person in connection with a skeletonized corpse discovered in their home in October.
Tony Ken Hooker, 63, and Debbie Sue Himes, 55, are expected to appear later this month for arraignment on the charges before Circuit Judge Brent Haltom. Hooker is also charged with sexual assault and it was the initial investigation into that case that led to the discovery of the remains believed to be Debbie Himes' sister, Christy Himes.
Texarkana, Ark., police previously said Christy Himes may have been dead for two years before her corpse was found in a bedroom of a Martha Street house owned by Tony Hooker. Christy Himes was living with her sister and Hooker, Debbie Himes' boyfriend of approximately 30 years.
The grisly discovery of the remains Oct. 2 was made by Texarkana, Arkansas, police in connection with the arrest of Hooker for alleged sexual assault of a child. The alleged victim is a relative of Debbie Himes and Christy Himes and when it became clear Hooker might be arrested, another relative contacted Adult Protective Services and asked them to perform a welfare check on Christy Himes.
The woman who contacted Adult Protective Services reported that she was worried Debbie Himes, who is in a wheelchair because of stroke in November 2017, would not be able to adequately care for Christy Himes with Hooker in jail. One of Debbie Himes' daughters arrived at the house when an A.P.S. caseworker and a Texarkana, Ark., police officer were there to conduct the welfare check.
The daughter reportedly told them that she and her sisters are not close to their mother, Debbie Himes, and that she last saw Christy Himes around Thanksgiving 2015. She reported that sometime after Hooker's mother died in 2016, he, Debbie Himes and Christy Himes moved into the larger of two adjacent houses owned by Hooker in the 1200 block of Martha Street and that the smaller house had been vacant about three years.
When asked where she thought Christy Himes might be, the daughter allegedly replied, "dead or maybe sold as a sex slave."
When the caseworker and police officer made contact with Debbie Himes she allegedly told them Christy Himes was in Tyler, Texas, visiting another relative. The officials had already determined that Christy Himes was not with the relative in Tyler and when confronted with that knowledge, Debbie Himes allegedly claimed Christy Himes was in Alaska for the funeral of their father who'd died two weeks before. Investigators determined the father actually died in May, not in September, and that Christy Himes was not in Alaska.
Concern for Christy Himes' welfare increased with the disproved explanations allegedly provided by Debbie Himes and with Debbie Himes' refusal to allow the caseworker and police officer to enter the unoccupied house. Texarkana, Ark., Police Department Sgt. Paul Nall and others were called to the scene and search warrants were acquired for both of Hooker's houses.
"The smell inside the home was almost unbearable," the affidavit states.
Investigators and crime scene detectives noted the smaller home was filthy and filled with trash. A dog kennel full of animal waste sat on a table in the living room.
"There was a large amount of animal feces and urine on the floor, along with hay, deceased insects, mold, mildew, dog bones, dog food, animal hair, empty food containers, pieces of food, numerous empty two-liter (soda) bottles, an oxygen tank, an old fish tank, along with various other pieces of junk and garbage," the affidavit states.
When investigators opened the door to a bedroom, they immediately noticed a pile of bones protruding from a plastic garbage bag lying on an old metal-framed bed.
"On the bed were several obvious bones which appeared to have been chewed on by animals," the affidavit states. "The body was almost fully decomposed with only a small amount of skin and hair left on the skull."
When interviewed by detectives the same day the body was found, Debbie Himes allegedly told them Christy Himes died a few days after having a seizure but did not say when the death occurred. When asked why she didn't call 911 when her sister died, Debbie Himes allegedly told detectives she could not afford a funeral. When asked what she and Hooker had been doing with Christy Himes' federal disability payments, she allegedly said, "I used it to pay the bills."
Investigators interviewed Hooker while he was in custody on the sexual assault charge Oct. 7. Hooker allegedly told them Christy Himes died sometime after his mother died in June 2016 but before Debbie Himes suffered a stroke in November 2017. Hooker allegedly made no mention of Christy Himes suffering a seizure but did say he noticed Christy Himes appeared to weaken in the days before her death.
"He thought the dog might have been taking her food," the affidavit states.
Hooker allegedly told investigators it was him who stuffed Christy Himes into a garbage bag, taped it shut and placed it on her bed in the smaller Martha Stree house where it may have remained for years. Hooker reportedly told investigators that he and Debbie Himes continued to reside in the house with the corpse until moving into the larger house after Debbie Himes suffered a stroke in November 2017.
Hooker allegedly said he came to think of the smaller of his two Martha Street houses as "Christy's tomb" and that he continued to use the clothes dryer in the bedroom with the body even after he and Debbie Himes moved to the larger house.
Hooker faces five to 20 years in prison if convicted of sexual assault. Hooker and Debbie Himes both face up to six years in prison and a fine up to $10,000 if found guilty of abuse of a corpse. If found guilty of abuse of an endangered or impaired person, both face five to 20 years in prison and a fine up to $15,000.
Hooker is being held in the Miller County jail. Debbie Himes is free on a $15,000 bond.