ARLINGTON, Texas -- Authorities today pressed their search for a fugitive charged in one Christmas Eve murder and suspected in three other deaths who vowed 'to go out in a blaze of glory' if cornered, police said.
James E. Bigby, 32, an unemployed mechanic, was wanted for questioning in the deaths of three people in Arlington, including a father and his 6-month-old, and has been charged with the Christmas Eve death of a Fort Worth man, Fort Worth police Detective Curt Brannan said.
Bigby, of Forth Worth, had told a friend several days before the slayings that he would 'to go out in a blaze of glory,' killing several people and any police officers who tried to stop him, Brannan said.
Fort Worth police issued an arrest warrant Thursday for Bigby in the death of Calvin Crane, whose body was found about 1:30 a.m. Thursday along the side of a road in southwest Fort Worth.
Police in Arlington, east of Fort Worth, also want to question Bigby in the deaths of Frank Curtis Johnson, 33, who was shot three times at his home early Thursday, and of Michael Raymond Trekell, 26, and his infant son, Jayson Kiehler, whose bodies were found about 3:48 a.m. Thursday.
Police said Michael Trekell was shot to death with a shotgun while his infant son was suffocated.
No charges had been filed in the Arlington killings, and police would not speculate on a possible motive in the killings.
'No, we really don't know the motive. Wish we did,' Brannan said today.
'It kind of makes you wonder if he's not just going around settling some old grudges.'
Crane, Johnson and Trekell all were acquainted with Bigby, said Arlington police Lt. John Rucker.
'It is my understanding that the man murdered in Fort Worth (Crane) and Mr. Johnson worked together or knew each other well and that Mr. Bigby knew both of them,' Rucker said. 'We do not know how he knew Mr. Trekell, but we do know that he had visited his (Trekell's) house previously.'
Bigby's father, William Bigby of Fort Worth, said Friday police visited his home Thursday to look for his son. He said he had not been in touch recently with his son.
'He's had a lot of pressure on him the last year, but that's something I'd rather not talk about,' William Bigby said.
The four killings were among 10 that occurred in the Dallas-Fort Worth area during a 10-hour period late Wednesday night and early Thursday.
