A notorious alleged Texas child molester — who previously owned a kiddie train track and served at a local church — was killed when another jailbird attacked him in prison, according to a new report.
Clinton Don Simpson, 76, of Keller, died just after 3 a.m. Wednesday of blunt force injuries to his head, according to records on the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office’s website.
His death was ruled a homicide — and fellow inmate David Fustino Flores, 42, of Fort Worth, has been charged with murder, jail records show.
Flores allegedly attacked Simpson early Wednesday at the Tarrant County Jail, David McClelland, a Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office spokesman, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Simpson was recently returned to the jail, where he awaited another independent evaluation after being found competent to stand trial, Sam Jordan, a spokeswoman for the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office, told the outlet in an email.
Lisa Mullen of Fort Worth, Simpson’s criminal attorney, could not be reached by the paper Thursday morning. Back in May, she had declined to comment, citing a gag order in the case.
A relative who did not want to be identified declined to comment to the paper Thursday, other than saying the family had many questions and grave concerns.
Back in 2007, 11 girls and one boy accused Simpson of molesting them at “Mr. Don’s Whistle Stop,” a miniature train station and track, which he ran out of his back yard at the time.
In October of that year, he came forward to police after several parents reported the possibility of “inappropriate touching” of preschool-age girls, according to the outlet.
He was indicted on the charges two months later.
The whistle stop was closed that same year after officials determined that Simpson had been operating it without the necessary permit, according to the report.
Frances Bobo of Bedford, who has known the family for more than 20 years, told the paper she was shocked to hear that Simpson was killed.
“He was a wonderful family man who was very kind,” Bobo said. “He so loved God and his family.”
She said Simpson was an instructor at the Brown Trail Church of Christ in Bedford, calling him a “great preacher.”
“This man would never had done what he was accused of,” Bobo told the paper.