Murder of Hollie L. Tull

Hollie Tull began his career with the Texas Highway Patrol on October 7, 1960 and was stationed at Temple, Texas. It was said that he was by and large one of the most liked and well-respected DPS employees in Central Texas. "As a law enforcement officer whose fundamental duty was to serve mankind to safeguard lives and property and to protect the peaceful against violence and disorder Hollie Tull lived each day in unselfish service to God, his family and his fellow man. He gave his life courageously under circumstances beyond the call of duty and exemplary law enforcement officer and citizen. A Policeman's Policeman, a servant in the house of the Lord."

Selwynn Barry Gholson and Larry Joe Ross were both soldiers, stationed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. On September 14, 1974, Gholson and Ross entered the Walburg State Bank with plans to rob it. They ordered the bank's vice-president, an employee, and a customer to lie down on the floor at gunpoint. Before they left the bank, one of the two men shot each of the three victims in the head, all of whom survived. About $2,000 was stolen.

The bank's vice-president called the Williamson County Sheriff's Office and give a rough description of the holdup men. Walter Ferguson told the Sheriff's Department that he had seen the two men leave in a blue General Motors automobile. These descriptions were put out by radio to all Central Texas law enforcement units.

At approximately the same time as the robbery, off-duty Highway Patrolman Hollie Tull left his residence in a radio-equipped marked Black and white highway patrol car. Dressed in civilian clothes, he stopped the two suspects after hearing a description of the holdup men from a Temple police dispatcher. The dispatcher received a radio transmission from Tull concerning the car’s license plate number, BRT209. Eventually the dispatcher and Tull lost contact. He was subsequently found by his car shot to death, with six pistol wounds and a shotgun wound to the head, at 30th Street and Old Taylor Road.

The abandoned getaway car was found not far away. It was registered to Ross' father. Several items linking the suspects to the getaway car and to the scene of the murder were found. Two witnesses observed a fight between Tull and two Black men, and the subsequent shooting at Tull's car. Gholson was captured in a field near Temple, and Ross was arrested at his father's home in Granger a week later.

The pair were indicted for capital murder in Bell County. Because of pre-trial publicity, the trial was moved from Bell County to Odessa in Ector County, Texas. The two were convicted in February 1975 and sentenced to death in the electric chair. Their executions were scheduled for January 1977 but were stayed by U. S. Supreme Court justice, Louis Powell, for appeal. Their sentences were eventually commuted to life in prison.

Tull was survived by his wife, Nell Wynn, and two daughters.

Findagrave. Accessed April 19, 2020. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/121995696/hollie-lamar-tull.

Gholson v. State, Justia, U.S. Law. October 20,1976. Accessed April 19th 2020. https://law.justia.com/cases/texas/court-of-criminal-appeals/1976/51920-3.html.