1977-08-13

Ivory Darton had been involved in a fatal assault before, records show.

Lillie Maxine Sterling, 21, was beaten so badly about the head and chest the bloody scene led investigators to think she had been shot to death, police said at the time. Police found a .22-caliber handgun on the floorboard of the car in which she died on Aug. 13, 1977, leading them to believe she'd been shot in the head several times, but an autopsy revealed she'd been beaten to death, investigators said.

"(Darton) struck a 21-year-old female with a pistol," said Jason Clark, a Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman. "She shot him in the shoulder. He grabbed the pistol and struck her in the head. He struck a deal with prosecutors and ended up (in prison)."

A judge sentenced Darton to five years in prison on an aggravated assault charge, but he only served 409 days then was placed on parole for 10 years, records show.

Before the fatal assault in 1977, police arrested Darton for driving under the influence of alcohol and later for a probation violation, Department of Public Safety records show.