Texas Man Goes on Trial for Grilling Girlfriend

By Pamela Mortimer

The gruesome death of 19 year old Texas A&M student Tynesha Stewart is about to be brought before a Texas court. Jury selection began on Monday to try Timothy Wayne Shepherd, 28, a Texas man accused of murdering, dismembering, and grilling an ex-girlfriend. Shepherd confessed to strangling Stewart last year.

The Houston Chronicle reported that Shepherd confessed to strangling Stewart after he found out the young woman had entered into a new relationship. Prosecutors have said they believe Shepherd dismembered Stewart’s body and charred her remains in two barbecue pits over a period of two days.

"We have determined through this investigation that the defendant dismembered Tynesha Stewart and . . . he burned the body parts," Harris County Sheriff Tommy Thomas said in March 2007. "There are no remaining body parts."

Although Shepherd has confessed to the murder, prosecutors face an uphill battle without a body. Investigators found 30 pieces of charred bone and hair in Shepherd’s apartment but the remains could not be attributed to Stewart, even through DNA.

It was originally believed that Stewart’s body had been disposed of in a large commercial dumpster but the fact that the bin had been emptied would provide no evidence. If the theory was true, the woman’s body would have been scattered throughout several landfills. That fact would make any search for the body very expensive and almost completely impossible. Shortly after Shepherd was arrested, investigators stated they would not conduct a search of the overflowing landfills. That decision infuriated Stewart’s family and friends. Complaints from lawmakers and activists caused Thomas to obtain emergency approval for $500,000 to invest in the search however, the search never took place.

Thomas claimed to know that there would be no chance to find the woman’s body parts. The situation was made more difficult because the investigation prohibited law enforcement to reveal that information to the family. Since that time, the family has been privy to inside information and claims to understand why there won’t be a search, Thomas said.

Stewart was a college freshman at the time of her disappearance. She was last seen with Shepherd during spring break on March 15, 2007. Sources close to Stewart said she and Shepherd had ended their relationship at the beginning of the school year.

If Shepherd is convicted, he will face a life sentence.