Authorities have captured a triple murderer who failed to check in with his parole officer after being released from prison Wednesday.
Jerry McCoy, whose sister, Ruby Fieseler, was one of Kenneth Venne’s victims, said he received a text and email from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice informing him of the news. McCoy said he had no other details about Venne’s arrest.
Venne was released from prison Wednesday after serving 39 years in the July 13, 1983 deaths of Fieseler, 50, and her sons, Paul, 17, and Keith, 13.
Robert Hurst, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, said Venne, 68, was given 24 hours to report to a halfway house in El Paso and to his parole officer, but a warrant was issued for his arrest Thursday morning after he failed to do so.
Hurst was unable to confirm the arrest prior to deadline.
McCoy, who lives in St. Jo, said he and other family members also received texts and emails about the warrant Thursday morning.
“I started cleaning my pistols just in case he showed up here,” McCoy said. “I don’t know what he’d do, but I know what I’d do.”
McCoy said he opted not to tell his 79-year-old sister about the situation as she’s currently in the hospital in Odessa and didn’t want to upset her. He may tell her now that Venne is in custody.
McCoy said Venne has been told he’s not to reside in counties where the victims’ family members live.
Venne pleaded guilty to three counts of murder and was sentenced to three concurrent 55-year terms by Ector County District Court Judge Joe Connally.
Authorities said Venne broke into the Fieseler home on East 10th Street, beat the three to death as they slept with an aluminum bat and ransacked the house to make it appear as though it had been burglarized.
Ruby, a widow, worked in the Odessa High School cafeteria for six years prior to her death. She was survived by three daughters, five brothers, two sisters, her mother and five grandsons.
Last week, McCoy reached out to the Odessa American hoping the paper would alert Ector County residents as to Venne’s release.
“He’s an idiot and there’s no telling what he would do if someone crossed him,” McCoy, 83, said.
Despite the years gone by, McCoy remains angered by the plea agreement offered to Venne.
“We were told he was going to get the needle and he didn’t,” McCoy said. “I can’t believe they gave him a deal for three murders with a baseball bat. What kind of a deal is that?”
He will never forgive Venne for his actions, McCoy said.
“Maybe for one, but three? No,” McCoy said.
