HOUSTON, May 21 (UPI) -- A Texas man who believed his mail was being diverted has been charged with killing a postal carrier who delivered in his neighborhood, officials say.
Federal prosecutors charge James Wayne Ham plotted to kill Eddie "Marie" Youngblood because he thought Youngblood was rerouting his mail to his estranged wife, the Houston Chronicle reported Monday.
Authorities allege Ham, 36, of Coldspring, shot Youngblood on Friday, then drove off in her delivery vehicle and set it on fire with her inside.
Youngblood, 52, of Shepherd, was talking on her cellphone to her son when she was shot, documents filed in federal court stated. The son said he heard loud noises over the phone, and his mother told him she thought she had been shot.
The son heard a man's voice and then his mother pleading "Please don't' kill me, please don't kill me."
The son hung up and called 911.
Police later found Youngblood's truck with charred remains inside and several bullet holes in the vehicle.
Sheriff's deputies found Ham Sunday hiding in a vacant home near his residence.
