There’s an epic tale of greed and betrayal in the heart of Texas. A century ago, the Harkey family learned how to make money grow on trees – pecan trees. Their pecan farm became a multi-million dollar business. Over generations, a family feud was brought on by a lust for land. The matriarch of the family, Bonnie Harkey aka The Pecan Queen, was murdered. She was 85.
According to local news station KXAN, “One Sunday, while Bonnie was at church, her grandson Carl Pressley broke into her home and waited for his grandmother to return. As a signal, Pressley’s girlfriend rang the doorbell and when the caretaker came to the door, Pressley snuck-up behind the caretaker, killed her and kidnapped his grandmother.” Carl brought his grandmother to a campground where he held her head underwater and then buried her body in a shallow grave. The autopsy reports she may have been buried alive. Carl said his uncle Bruce Harkey paid him to do it. Bruce was Bonnie’s step-son. Bruce is denying all allegations from prison although he does have a history of being accused of solicitation of murder. His ex-wife, his eighth wife Kami, said Bruce tried to have her killed, too. Dateline NBC will air a report on the Harkey family on April 23 at 10pm.