Henderson Trial Begins in Vanessa Melson Case

HOUSTON COUNTY – The second Aggravated Kidnapping trial of Vanessa Melson began on Tuesday, Sept. 19 with jury selection.

Over 100 hundred potential jurors were summoned to appear in the 349th District, with District Judge Pam Foster Fletcher presiding, to hear the case of the State of Texas vs. James Eddie Henderson.

The 37-year-old former Grapeland resident James Eddie Henderson stands accused of Aggravated Kidnapping of Vanessa Melson during June of 2015. Melson’s body was found in early July of 2015.

After the pool of potential jurors was narrowed, eight men and six women were empaneled to hear the case. Two were selected as alternates, while the remaining 12 will render their judgement after both the state and the defense rest their cases.

The state is represented by Houston County District Attorney Donna Kaspar while Henderson is represented by Palestine attorney Stanley Sokolowski.

Henderson is the second of two men indicted on the kidnapping charge. The first, Robert David Mobley, Jr. was found guilty of the first degree felony during a trial which concluded in August. He is scheduled for sentencing on Sept. 28.

Mobley was convicted on the charge of Aggravated Kidnapping related to the Vanessa Melson case and during his testimony he implicated Henderson as possibly being responsible for Melson’s death and disappearance.

After the jury had been selected, the court broke for lunch. When they returned at 2:45 p.m., Judge Fletcher read the jurors instructions about what they could and could not do during the trial.

Following the juror instructions, Kaspar gave her opening arguments. The D.A. provided a recap of the testimony given in the Robert Mobley, Jr. trial which concluded in August.

Kaspar highlighted the testimony of Brenna Theurer – Henderson’s former girlfriend – who had testified for the prosecution in Mobley’s trial and said she would be called once again to testify in the Henderson court case.

She explained during the first trial, Mobley pointed the finger at Henderson while in statements given to law enforcement after his arrest, Henderson said Mobley was the culprit. Kaspar added during the Mobley trial, however, Theurer indicated both men were responsible for the death of Melson.

“Only three living people know what happened to Vanessa Melson. Mobley pointed at Henderson, Henderson pointed at Mobley and Brenna Theurer said it’s both of them,” Kaspar said.

Sokolowski did not give an opening statement, but may do so at a later time as the trial moves forward.

The state’s first witness was Dallas County Medical Examiner Chester Gwin. Gwin conducted the autopsy on Melson’s body and testified he was unable to determine the cause of death or the nature of her death.

At the conclusion of Gwin’s testimony, forensic data expert Cody Breunig provided testimony about data recovered from the cell phones of Mobley, Henderson, Justin Melson and Theurer. He said it appeared some messages between the dates of June 12 and June 18 had been deleted but was unable to provide any specific text.

As previously reported, Houston County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Gary “G.P.” Shearer said a body matching Melson’s description had been found on July 6, 2015. While the cause of death was not known, Shearer classified Melson’s death as a homicide.

In statements given by Henderson and Theurer – after being arrested – it was alleged Melson – a mother of three was repeatedly injected with methamphetamine and beaten until she was dead.

According to the statements from both Henderson and Theurer, Melson was murdered because Mobley believed Melson was an informant for law enforcement officials.

Arrest reports and probable cause warrants filed in the case indicated Mobley abducted Vanessa Melson from her father’s home in Grapeland on the night of June 16, 2015.

After leaving the Grapeland location at approximately 11 p.m., the affidavit indicated Mobley and Vanessa Melson arrived at a residence shared by Henderson and Theurer at approximately 1 a.m.

The legal documents stated Mobley and Melson “… were in a heated argument that began to escalate to being physical.”

The affidavits reported as the assault on Melson became progressively more violent, “… Mobley told both Henderson and Theurer that Melson was a snitch and had to be dealt with so he could wash his hands of the matter. According to Henderson, he and Mobley went outside and Mobley told him he would kill him (Henderson) if he called law enforcement. Henderson, in fear of his life and in his words told Mobley to ‘… handle your business.’”

Testimony provided by Theurer in the Mobley trial indicated Henderson not only held Melson down as Mobley beat her, but may have sexually assaulted her and helped dispose of her body.

Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].