Murder of Ken Tillery

Who is Murder of Ken Tillery?

Ken Tillery of Jasper, Texas, was murdered on January 19, 2002. On the night of his murder, Tillery, a white man, was outside of a suspected crackhouse when he was approached by three black males, Darrell Gilbert, Blake Little, and Anthony Holmes, and offered a ride in their vehicle, an early 1980s model Oldsmobile Cutlass. Tillery accepted, but an argument later developed over the gas money he agreed to pay. Tillery expected to pay only $5, but the men demanded $50. When the car passed Tillery's home and arrived at a gas station, he jumped out and tried to flee, but was caught and beaten by the three men. Tillery's attackers ran him over and as a result, his body was dragged under the vehicle for 20 to 30 feet before it separated from the vehicle.

The FBI investigated and ruled out federal hate crime charges, despite a case in which, two years earlier, they had classified the murder and dragging death of James Byrd, Jr, a black man, by three white men a hate crime. Byrd was dragged for 3 miles, and his three attackers were white supremacists, while Tillery was dragged for 60 feet and his killers weren't known to be racists. Jasper County Sheriff Billy Rowles concluded, "It was just about drugs and money." FrontPage Magazine commented on the lack of media attention surrounding Tiller's death as compared to Byrd's, stating: "[As Tillery was white] his death had no political currency for those whose reputations depend upon their ability to portray themselves as crusaders for justice, ever guarding against white racism. unfortunate people like Ken Tillery die in complete anonymity as opposed to unfortunate people like James Byrd, whose deaths are spotlighted in the national media. Larry Elder also commented on the lack of media coverage on Tillery's murder when compared to Byrd's.