HARRIS COUNTY, Texas The U.S. Marshal s Task Force joined the search Tuesday for a man accused of storing a woman s body in a barrel in the back yard of his Harris County home.
A Crime Stoppers tip led deputies to 64-year-old Dennis Ray Anderson s house in the 7500 block of Split Oak Court last Thursday.
Investigators said it is believed that Anderson fled the Lake Charles area of Louisiana Sunday night on a Greyhound bus and headed to Pensacola.
Ed Harmon, Anderson s roommate of just two weeks, said he seemed like a normal guy.
He was very nice, very outgoing, Harmon said. We had conversations about sports, politics and I was immediately at ease.
But what s leaving Harmon on edge now is his roommate s criminal history.
Anderson s rap sheet dates back to 1972, when he was convicted of theft and murder in the death of an antique shop owner and her granddaughter.
Authorities said Anderson and another man beat Mabel McCormick to death with a hammer and slit her throat. Three-year-old Leslie Bowman was smothered, and her head was stuffed in a toilet.
Police said Anderson also set the shop on fire to conceal the evidence.
Anderson was given two life sentences, but he was released after spending just 17 years in prison.
Andy Kahan, a crime victim s advocate with the City of Houston, said Anderson was lucky. Kahan said Anderson was part of a release program in the late 80s prompted by overcrowding.
During that time period, there was a major purge in the prison system, in which eight out of 10 inmates, no matter what offense they might have committed, even as heinous as Anderson s, was coming out, no if and or buts about it, Kahan said.
For the next 21 years, Anderson only had to write to his parole officers once a year.
Because he never broke the law again, The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles decided not to revoke Anderson s parole after a violation earlier this year. That s when Anderson was charged with robbery causing bodily injury, but pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of theft from a person.
He spent a few months in jail.
Now, authorities have charged him with tampering with a corpse and want to talk to him about the death of the unidentified woman in the barrel.
Police are asking for the public s help finding Anderson. He is approximately 6 feet tall and weighs about 230 pounds. He has blue eyes, receding white hair and may or may not wear glasses. He was last seen wearing a grey short-sleeve button-up shirt, blue jeans, tan work boots and a black NASCAR cap with yellow stripes or flames on it.
Anderson was also reportedly carrying a small black/brown leather bag and a six pack blue and white cooler. It is believed that Anderson has no connections to the Pensacola area and was actually headed for Ft. Lauderdale or Boston, MA. It is also believed that he has no money and will be on foot looking for a place to stay or food, the U.S. Marshals Task Force said in a news release Tuesday.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the U.S. Marshal s Task Force investigators at 850-776-3019 or 850-554-6602 or local law enforcement.
Investigators said Anderson is considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached.
