GUARDIANS | PART ONE When evil came through the door A missing necklace and a nagging suspicion led a North Texas woman to a painful revelation about her mother’s death. Now, over a dozen families are facing the unthinkable truth about their own loved ones. By Charles Scudder Published Dec. 3, 2019 Click here to view the interactive story. Username: [email protected] / Password: ontestCPass1! Soonersclaim Big 12 title COLLEGE GAMES, 1­3CC HIGH SCHOOLS, 10­11, 14C Sunday Rhamondre Stevenson had a5­yard touchdown LSU.......................................................37 Duncanville...............................................49 run in OT to clinch the title for Oklahoma with a Coupons &savings Georgia ............................................10 SouthlakeCarroll .................................35 30­23 win overBaylor. SPORTSDAY2, 1CC (Not allareas) Memphis............................................29 Denton Ryan.............................................56 $180 College Football Playoff semifinal pairings will Cincinnati .......................................24 Colleyville Heritage..............................10 $9,898 last 52 weeks be announced at 11 a.m. todayonESPN. TheDallasMorning News Texas' Leading News Source $3.99 Dallas, Texas, Sunday, December 8, 2019 DallasNews.com PENSACOLA SHOOTING Events GUARDIANS|PART ONE before attack When evil came traced Official: Gunman had through the door hosted party to watch massshooting videos By BRENDAN FARRINGTON Amissing necklace and anagging suspicion led aNorth Texas woman TheAssociated Press PENSACOLA,Fla. —The to apainful revelation about her mother’s death. Now, overadozen Saudi student who fatally shot three people at aU.S. naval families arefacing the unthinkable truth about their own loved ones. base in Floridahosted adin­ ner party earlier in the week where he and three others watched videos of mass shoot­ ings, aU.S. official said Satur­ day. Officials investigating the deadly attack were working to determine whether it was mo­ tivated by terrorism, and both PresidentDonald Trump and Defense SecretaryMarkEsper indicated thattheywould re­ viewpoliciesgoverning for­ eign militarytraining in the United States. Theofficial who spokeSat­ urdaysaid one of the three students who attended the dinner party hosted by the at­ tacker recorded video from outside the classroom build­ ing while the shooting was takingplace. Twoother Saudi See OFFICIALS Page 19A ELECTIONS’20 GOP in Shannon Gleason Dion kisses the graves of her parents, Doris and Jerry,atRestland Memorial Park in Dallas. The previous daymarked three yearssinceDoris wasfound dead in herapartment at TheTradition­Prestonwood. it to win Atwo­part series StorybyCHARLESSCUDDER Photography by LYNDAM.GONZÁLEZ StaffWriter Staff Photographer ’em back heyfound 92­year­old Doris Glea­ Shannonapproached the gurney, leaned over and NorthTexans intent on son lying near thedining room ta­ kissedher mother’scold forehead. regaining state House ble. She asked about the jewelryher mother had been seats lost to Dems in ’18 “She’s here,”anemployee told Do­ wearing. Thefuneral workers pointed to the counter, ris’ daughter Shannon, who had where they’dplaced Doris’ wedding rings. By JAMES BARRAGÁN Austin Bureau been searchingthe apartment for Whatabout the gold necklace,the one with the [email protected] her.“She’s gone.” guardian angel? Doris wore it everyday,everynight, T Luisa del Rosal is adream Shannon turnedand sawher mother’s dark slacks, all the time. Shannon had an identical one around her candidate for Dallas County suedeshoes, gray blouse.She sank into asofa and own neck. Republicans. didn’t move. There was no necklace, theysaid. She’s amillennial, aLatina Soon, twoDallaspoliceofficersarrived at TheTra­ Shannon found Doris’ purse and dug through it. and an immigrant. She’s also a traditional pro­business Re­ dition­Prestonwood, aluxurysenior living complexin No necklace —and no cash.Her husband Eric joined publican who describes her­ FarNorth Dallas. Natural causes, theysaid.Asad but in the search. Rings and other jewelry were missing self as “pro­life.” unsurprising ending. from an antique box in the bedroom, too. “I’maconservative Repub­ As funeral workers prepared to takeDoris away, Ericfound aphone and dialed 911. lican and I’maproud one,”she said. “I want to talk about all the things we’vedone that have led to prosperity.” Continued on Page 20A But del Rosal faces several challenges next year as she runs for aseatinthe Texas House. She’s up against an in­ cumbent Democrat,John Turner,whose moderateap­ .. proach and yeoman work eth­ ic during his first session in the Legislature impressed ... Breezy and mild LATE SCORES ARTS &LIFE WORLD manyinhis districtand kept Forresults from last him out of the political fights night’s games, go to Andy Hanson’s ‘fame’ photography Iran, U.S. exchange prisoners ... thatengulfed other freshman sportsdaydfw.com/ is featured in new exhibitionatSMU An American scholar heldfor three years on Democrats. M H 70 scores. Over the decades, as Dallas became astopover espionage charges in Iran is freed in aprisoner L 48 Many Dallas CountyRe­ for the rich and famous —Andy Warhol, Cary exchange, abreakthrough in the tense relations publicans are facing the same Metro,backpage INSIDE Grant, Audrey Hepburn —photographer Andy between the countries. 14A ©2019,The Dallas Morning News Lottery 2A Jumble 11D Hanson wasonthe spot with his camera. Now, a test as theylook to win back Focus 3A Travel 14EK large exhibition of his work is on displayat METRO seats theylost in 2018,orat Nation 4,9A Puzzles 10,15E least hold on to the seats they Southern Methodist University. 6E Private archivecharts architect’s work World 14­15A Homes 1H still have. Thefields will be set Weather 16B Jobs 1J Also: Foraspecial #DMNWrappingpaper insert, Architect George Dahl designed more ofDallas please turn to Pages 8­9E. Personal Tech 5D Editorials 2P than mostofusknow, Robert Wilonskywrites. 1B See DEMOCRATS Page 16A A1 M12­08­2019 Set:20:57:33 Sent by:[email protected] News CYMAYELLBLANACGENTOWK A 20A Sunday, December 8, 2019 Mdallasnews.com The Dallas Morning News The Dallas Morning News dallasnews.comMSunday, December 8, 2019 21A GUARDIANS | PART ONE GUARDIANS | PART ONE e try to find somewhere they’ll be tak­ Shown in her en care of, where the food is good and Carrollton home, Shannon Glea­ they’ll be comfortable. Somewhere W son Dion was that has a knitting club and throws holiday parties. the first to Sometimes the move is their idea. Often, it’s not. discover after The best of us bring groceries, fix the computer her mother’s body was found and take them to church, as Shannon Gleason in October 2016 Dion did faithfully through her mother’s final that some of her years. jewelry — We understand, as Shannon did, that this will including a cherished gold likely be their last chapter. Even in places of com­ necklace with a fort — especially in places of comfort — death finds guardian angel away in. —was missing. When that day comes, we reassure ourselves that it was peaceful. Natural. Even if there was pain, we hope it was brief. But what if that’s not what happens? What if the truth is something else entirely and you don’t even know it? Today, at least 13 families in North Texas are coping with the shock of learning that their loved ones’ seemingly peaceful deaths were anything but. A half­dozen more are awaiting confirmation of their worst fears about their own relatives. No one recognized evil when it visited — not the families, not the cops, and not the posh senior liv­ ing homes where grandmothers stopped showing up for water aerobics. Shannon didn’t see it at first. But from those first hours in her mother’s apartment on the day before Halloween 2016, she just had a feeling something wasn’t right. erry and Doris Gleason married in Dallas in With her ever­present gold angel hanging behind another charm on her necklace, Shannon drives to Restland Memorial Park to attend to her parents’ graves. She visits monthly to bring fresh flowers and clean their marker. Jerry and Doris Gleason died within a year of each other, in November 2015 and October 2016. 1954. Their two daughters were born here but raised in Connecticut, where Jerry J Jurors took less than three hours to find Antho­ ports at The Tradition­Prestonwood. floor but didn’t find the man. worked in the oil business. Shannon and her sister, ny guilty. He was sentenced to 99 years in state The records arrived in the mail after many Before leaving, the officer told staff “to tighten Nancy, moved back to North Texas after high prison. But after just a few years, it became clear weeks, a thick stack of documents with informa­ security and possibly go door to door,” the report school. Doris and Jerry followed soon after, set­ that keeping Nancy’s attacker locked up would tion about who had called the police, what had said. tling into a pale brick house on Squireswood Drive take the entire family’s persistence. happened, and whether there were any identifi­ in Carrollton. They stayed more than 30 years, safe By the time he first came up for release in 2003, able victims or suspects. behind a tall iron gate. Doris Gleason had a day planner in which she recorded and checked off all her activities and appointments, and her hannon had found a pattern. She was con­ Nancy was dying of pancreatic cancer. Her hus­ Shannon found reports of unaccompanied Afew years ago, over dinner at their home, the daughter Shannon kept it after her mother’s death. Police determined the approximate time of Doris’ death from vinced that someone was sneaking into peo­ band, Thomas Taylor, wrote to the parole board on deaths. Suspicious­person reports. Break­ins. couple surprised Shannon and her husband with her planner activity, which showed that she had missed a party that Saturday afternoon. S ple’s apartments after they died and taking her behalf, and Anthony was denied release. Thefts. the news that they’d been looking at independent­ jewelry and other precious items.