Pastor charged with murder of man he eulogized

Note to persons of the cloth, if you kill someone in a car accident, don't give the eulogy, it looks really suspicious.

Rev. Howard Douglas Porter killed his 85-year-old friend in a watery car crash and presided over his funeral. Authorities speculate that Porter killed the man to get access to a multi-million-dollar trust fund.

Investigators said they believe Porter first tried to kill Craig in 2002 when he veered his truck off a rural road and struck an oak tree. The crash crippled Craig, but did not initially raise suspicions.

In April 2004, Porter plunged his pickup truck into an irrigation canal, Singh said. Craig drowned, while Porter walked away from the crash.

"The first crash we had investigated as an accident," Singh said. "But after the second one, the family came to us and said there was something more going on." [AP]

Porter was arrested on his way back from a missionary trip to Mexico.

Comments

[Everett]

Perhaps, too, one might choose to ignore the old trope, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again," when the effort in question is murder. Or, if you do try again, perhaps try another method.

[American Citizen]

Lack of imagination was the pastor's problem. He gets some credit for putting his own butt on the line, being inside the crashing car and all.

[Guest]

I am by no means a moral absolutist, but I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to do that.

[cfrost]

If the padre's guilty, I hope it was a barnburner eulogy. It's the least he the owes his victim. Praise Jesus.

[Guest]

I lived in Hickman for a few years and knew Doug Porter's wife who was a teacher at Hickman School. Nothing was right about that family. Very fake people. The Hickman Church just screamed "cult." Most of the Hickman residents attended the church and didn't want to believe Doug was capable of what he did. There was always speculation when he ran into the tree he did it on purpose, but after he drowned that poor man in the canal there's no doubt about it.

[BRAD]

I have known Doug Porter for over thirty years. No one can judge if he did it without truly knowing the man. He and his family are about as real, out front, open, and honest as any family I have ever met. You would have had to seen him helping the man he is said to have killed after his first accident. He took him everywhere helped him, even did his bathing and bathroom help. Attacking his family at such a hard time is unimaginable. It takes a great person do attack someone you never see face to face.