Arrest made in Ouachita murders

“Peace of forest disturbed even after slaying arrest
2003-07-21
By Tony Thornton
The Oklahoman


TALIHINA - A former prison guard’s arrest in the slayings of a Texas camping couple has brought relief to other campers and to employees of the Ouachita National Forest.
What remains is bewilderment.

Edward Leon Fields, 36, made his first court appearance Monday in Muskogee federal court and was denied bail in the shooting deaths of Charles Glenn Chick, 47, and Shirley Elliott Chick, 50.

The victims were avid campers from Hurst, Texas. Their bodies were found July 11 in the Winding Stair Campground.

FBI spokesman Gary Johnson said investigators “have a pretty good idea” about a motive for the killings. He declined to elaborate except to say that Fields didn’t know the victims.

U.S. Attorney Sheldon Sperling said “certain items of value” were recovered during a search, but he declined to specify them.

The case is likely to be presented to a grand jury next week.

Meanwhile, forest officials acknowledged that a return to the Winding Stair Campground’s former tranquillity may be a long time coming.

The Chicks were the first people murdered at a developed campground in the 1.8 million-acre Ouachita National Forest, which spreads over Le Flore County and several counties in western Arkansas.

There have been a few killings in the forest since its 1907 opening, but normally they involved a drug deal or some other conflict, forest spokeswoman C.J. Norvell said.

“This reminds us that evil doesn’t just live in the city. It comes to the country, too,” she said.

An FBI agent’s affidavit released Monday details what led to Fields’ arrest Friday afternoon.

A woman who lived with Fields until last month told FBI agent Norman G. Kuylen that Fields had shown her a .22-caliber rifle and a “gilly suit,” which relies on burlap strips woven into material to serve as camouflage. Fields’ suit consisted of pants, a hat and a sweatshirt. She said she also watched him attach the burlap to his rifle.

Fields has been living in the forest’s campgrounds since he moved out of her home, Lamb told investigators.

In June, when Lamb accompanied Fields to a Poteau store, she asked why he was buying burlap. He told her, “You don’t want to know,” the affidavit states.

Last week, Lamb told authorities, Fields called her and said he was going to kill himself. He later told her he had “done something real bad,” that he had sneaked up on some people as they sat in a car, then went back and got his gilly suit, returned to where the couple were and watched them.

Using Lamb’s information, the FBI went to Fields’ job site - a Poteau plastics plant - and found his pickup and a gilly suit lying in the back.

A Louisiana man who stayed at the Winding Stair Campground a few days before the Chicks’ deaths told the FBI he had seen a similar pickup there.

There is no indication that Fields has been in criminal trouble before, said Jessica Brown, spokeswoman for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. That is among several aspects that puzzle investigators and forest officials.

Norvell said: “One thing we’ve been thinking all along is that you hope it’s not a local person who did it, and you hope it’s not random. You want to think of the forest as a safe place, especially if you’re from a larger city like Oklahoma City or Dallas.”

The Chicks, who lived in a Fort Worth, Texas, suburb, were typical of those who frequent the secluded campground, she said.

“The people who come here from larger cities want to relax and get away from it all. Now they have to think, ‘Is this a safe place to go?’”

The Chicks had been married about 20 years and had moved to Hurst from Detroit, a friend told The Dallas Morning News. Charles Chick worked for Lockheed-Martin, and Shirley Chick was a free-lance computer programmer.

The couple went camping about 25 times a year, the friend told the newspaper.

Their deaths offered a gruesome contrast to the pristine beauty of the heavily wooded, mountaintop campground, where campers typically have few other visitors to contend with, other than an occasional vehicle stopping on the nearby Talimena Scenic Byway.

The Chicks’ bodies were found July 11 by a motorcyclist visiting the campground. They apparently had been dead about 24 hours. The Chicks’ tent and van were still there.

Fields worked for Kenco Plastics Co. in Poteau, a company official confirmed. She wouldn’t release other details about Fields’ job.

Fields also is a former correctional officer and prison food-service supervisor. He worked for the state Corrections Department from 1995 to 1999, mostly at the Ouachita Correctional Center at Hodgen. There is no indication he left on bad terms, Corrections spokesman Jerry Massie said.

Patrols by U.S. Forest Service officers increased after the killings. Despite the arrest, Norvell said, that won’t change anytime soon, mainly to allay campers’ concerns.

“People are still feeling shaky. I think they feel safe, but it helps them to feel a little better to know that people are watching out for them.”

That will take time, Norvell said.

“Things like this happen, but not in a place so peaceful. It’s like you’ve interrupted the law of nature.””

““This reminds us that evil doesn’t just live in the city. It comes to the country, too,” she said.

Mr Evil is everywhere :(”

“Yep, the boogie man will get you anywhere.”

“WOW! THANK GOD!

geo, thank you for posting this, i hadn't heard...i was one who was feeling really shaky about this, because i drive right past that spot all the time and haved camped around there. i go to poteau and hogden too, right past that "correctional facility". just knowing this person is behind bars is a huge relief.....glad justice was served....i say give him the gas....”

“Betcha he'll plead temporary insanity, or claims he was abused as a child. Feed him to the alligators, after 100 bones in his body have been broken.”

“Is anyone interested in having a Memorial service in Oklahoma in the Ouachita National Forest, at the Winding Stair campground, or the Kerr Nature Center, for the slain Texas couple?

We drove from Tulsa on Sunday to the Winding Stair campground and left flowers and camping trinkets at the locked gate, as the campground is now closed temporarily. The sheriff and Olen, of forestry maintenance showed up and expressed their gratitude and appreciation for our gesture. Olen was glad to see us, because he remembers us camping there for five days at the end of May.

These local folks with the law enforcement and the forestry service have worked hard taking care of the aftermath and investigating this case. They don't face this type of murder everyday like the city officers and officials do. The small rural community of LeFlore county is hurting and grieving. This murder has affected many of us in the out-of-doors community, as well as the local citizens. A Memorial would help all of us to remember the camping victims, help heal our grief, and turn a new leaf in the campground.

We felt we need to drive there and have our own personal Memorial and face the campground after such a senseless tragedy. This particular campground is our favorite in Oklahoma. It was extremely sad to be there, yet at the same time the beauty, serenity, and inspiration that we have always loved at the Winding Stair campground helped heal our tears. The campground is as beautiful, green, lush and majestic as always. The tall pines were even hushed with a quiet reverence. We left yearning to return in the very near future to once again embrace and enjoy this campground in the Ouachita Mountains.

We are in the process of contacting CJ Norvell of the Forestry Division (Public Relations) to suggest a Memorial service for the Hurst couple. They had camped, hiked or fished for 20 years together, were married at the Big Bend National Park, and went camping at least 25 times a year, including camping in Hawaii every few years.

Let us know, or contact CJ Norvell (918-567-2326) if you have any ideas.

Thanks,

We love camping!!

Joanne and Richard
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Toybones@yahoo.com”

“MUSKOGEE (AP) - A Wister man was indicted Friday on federal first-degree murder charges in the killing of a Texas couple at a southeast Oklahoma campsite, the U.S. attorney's office said.
Edward L. Fields Jr. was charged with two counts of murder, two counts of use of a firearm in a crime of violence, robbery with a firearm and burglary of an automobile, U.S. Attorney Sheldon Sperling announced.

Fields, 36, could be executed if convicted on the murder counts, and the indictment lays out potential aggravating factors like substantial preplanning that could justify a death sentence, Sperling said.

The firearms and robbery charges carry maximum sentences of life in prison, while the burglary count is punishable by up to seven years, he said.

The indictment comes after U.S. Magistrate Judge Steven Shredder ruled Tuesday that Fields is competent to assist in his own defense.

Fields, a former prison guard who began living in the woods in June, claims he hears voices and recently attempted suicide.

The FBI has said Fields admitted fatally shooting Charles and Shirley Chick with a .22-caliber rifle earlier this month while the couple was camping at the Winding Stair Mountain National Recreation Area.

Authorities allege Fields, of Wister, wore a camouflage suit and watched the Hurst, Texas, couple for days before sneaking up on them in the heavily wooded-area of LeFlore County.

A hiker found the bodies of Charles, 50, and Shirley Chick, 47, both avid campers, July 11.”

“Has anybody heard from bacpac lately?”

“they say he told his exgirlfriend that he just wanted to see what it felt like to kill someone.....”

“douse him with gasoline, tape him down with duct tape, and light him on fire...or maybe bury him up to his ears next to a fire ant hive out in the desert.

I feel the useless spending of money to prosecute him is a crime in itself...Glad they got him.”

“I like the "Bury him in sand" idea. Just don't let him die too easily...make him suffer alot for a long time before killing him.”

“Don't forget the fire ants!”

“No.

We should have compassion on his poor tortured soul and understand that he is only a product of his upbrining and its not his fault that he did what he did........

And then have him summarily executed.”

“What Ed did was awful, no arguement there. And I agree he should be punished. It's easy to pass judgment when all the information you get is the legal side. But I knew him personally and in his right state of mind, he could have never done something like this. He was having more problems that any of you can possibly imagine and he snapped. He was a kind, generous man, always offering to help and always had something to say to make you laugh. It just breaks my heart to read posts that say he should be executed. Killing him isn't going to bring the Chicks back. Then there would be 2 families grieving. He has children and a mother who is in bad health who lost her husband last year. They don't deserve to lost a loved one anymore than the Chick family did. So, please, before any of you shoot your mouth off again, please try to see the other side of the story.”

“Dear Amazon BBW,

Oh never mind....

I can't. I just can't.”

“When 99% of us have a bad day, we hike, drink, play basketball, yell at the spouse. When your buddy has a bad day, he lops people's heads off. I say execute him.”

“He didn't just have a "bad day"! He had lost everything...and I mean everything...including a roof over his head. He also had medical problems. We don't have the luxury of choosing if and when our brain suddenly develops a chemical imbalance causing us to go off the deep end. And you better hope it never happens to YOU or some of you might have to eat your words. I am not trying to justify what he did at all. I just would like for a few people to know that it could happen to any of us under the right circumstances and that he was a good person before. That's all I wanted to do. I'll say no more on the subject as I'm sure I've made at least a handful of people understand the "why he did it" and that was my intent.”

“After you guys hash this out some more, I will begin my rantings on the autrocity of capital punishment.

Until then, I have bigger fish to fry.”

“Execute Ed and pumpkinhead.”

“So, he's losing everything, you say? Why did he kill others rather than himself? Punish him.”

“Sure, Punish him. Take away his freedom forever.

A government that is set up to be able to kill its own citizens is, without exception, barbaric.”

“Chemical imbalance. Now that's a novel defense. Empty the jails and turn 'em loose. Everybody's got a chemical imbalance!”

“i had a nervous breakdown 4 1/2 years ago. i didn't kill anybody.”

“If your dog got rabies it would not be the dog's fault that it wanted to bite people, it is the disease.

Would you keep the dog alive in a cage in your living room until it eventually died?

That is cruel and inhumane as well as being a lethal risk to everyone who came in contact with the dog.

The only humane thing to do is to have the vet put the animal down as painlessly as possible.

We treat dogs so much better than people. The people are kept in cages for years before they are put down, sometimes their whole life.”

“here's where i'm comin from....
I campe there, at that very spot....my wife, my kids....they camp there too....what if we were camping there that day?


soory about your friend dood, but he made his choices and he knew the consequences......

game over, sad ending all around....maybe the next poor sap will think twice before commiting senceless violence on peace loving people.....”

“i dont agree with what eddie did,i do agree that he should be punished but i dont agree with him being put to death,eddie needs help help.i feel very sorry for the pain that the chicks family has endured,an im sorry the chicks lost there life,but most of all im sorry that eddie\'s children are suffering.i dont know how anyone could get on here and so simply say give him the gas, execute him,when his children could be looking at this site as well as you an i,im not defending him in anyway,an personally i didnt like him very well for what hes made my aunt an cousins indure i just think that for once can anyone consider that not only are you condemning eddie your condemning everyone whos in some way connected to him. to amanda an andy i love you very much! hang in there its gonna be tough but your family loves you an were here if you need us an when you need us”

“I don't give a #&%!$ what anyone says, Capital Punishment will always be wrong.

You just can't do anything for the murdered by murdering someone else.”

“Not a lot of threads make me cry. I don't have any answers. I am dealing with a soon-to-be 25 year old son who suffers from a serious mental illness. I just don't know anything anymore.”

“I work with people who have persistent mental illnesses.... some of these people have been going through what you people call "nervous breakdowns" their entire lives.... they are not murderers. Out of the hundreds of people I have come in contact with over the past 2+ years I've been working at my job, I have come in contact with only 1 murderer and it wasn't even due to his illness.”

“It's the other people close to him that got to me.”

“An Eye For An Eye.

Maybe it'll convince other people not to go around chopping innocent people up.

Enough said.”

“Eddie didnt chop anyone up,eye for an eye is old news,i too work with the menally ill,i have been arround alot of hard core people which people call crazy .Eddie has a chemical imbalance in the brain instead of judeing him for what he did watch a beautiful mind
an see how easy good people can change so simply with that disease”

“who is this chic??”

“Punishment for crime is old news. Now it is someone elses fault.”

“your's, bacpac”

“tooooo freakin' weird.”

“Let all the killers go free....they all have a chemical imbalance in their brain....it's not their fault.

Do the crime...do the time.”

“word”

“this is a test message”

“If Eddie was such a nice man, why did his wife and children have to get on a Greyhound bus and leave town on the pretense of a visit with their family just to get away from him? Why also did he abuse his wife and children until it came to the point that they had to leave? After they moved he paid no child support and his wife was suffering from cancer. Do you realize how their lives have been? Also did you know that he has another child besides the ones he has with is ex-wife? One more comment, could you please refrain from using his children\'s names on this site, it makes them feel uneasy. Thanks so much for the consideration of the children.”

“His kids read this site?”

“Can you people have your pissing contest someplace else other than this site?”

“Perhaps a reporter from your local paper would like to see this thread?

Please take the freakshow elswhere.”

“i just drove by the place of the crime on fruday. creeped me out still.”

“*yawn* Ok, nothing to see here folks, move on.”

“yes i know eddie had other children,not saying eddie was a good man just dont think that he should die for what he did,no he wasnt good to my aunt which is his ex an no he wasnt good enough to pay child support an if i did upset my family in any way im sorry but i cant understand how people thinks the death penalty is the best policy”

“yes i know eddie had other children,not saying eddie was a good man just dont think that he should die for what he did,no he wasnt good to my aunt which is his ex an no he wasnt good enough to pay child support an if i did upset my family in any way im sorry but i cant understand how people thinks the death penalty is the best policy”

“Take it somewhere else.”

“how can anyone tell them this isn't the place with all the other things that are posted on this site?

rather hypocritical i'd say.”

“Baume's right. Fight it out to you heart's content.”