Sheriff Thomas' Letter on Stewart Case

3/27/2007

Late Thursday evening (March 22, 2007), I found myself making one of the most difficult and gut-wrenching decisions of my law enforcement career.  Although I knew that the decision had to be made and that the decision was ultimately my responsibility, I also knew it would not be a popular decision based on the information that could be made available to the media at that time.  The still developing criminal investigation, coupled with the sensitive nature of the case and the department’s desire to be as respectful and compassionate to Tynesha Stewart’s family, prevented me from adequately defending my position.  Now that the investigation has progressed to the point where I can discuss the case in greater detail, I am able to defend my decision of last Thursday to not search for the body of Tynesha Stewart. 

Never in my 38 years of law enforcement career have I been subjected to such harsh and unnecessary criticism, and based on the information being relayed to the public, the criticism was warranted.  My decision was based on facts that were known to investigators or still being developed by investigators, and yet, facts that I could not discuss outside of law enforcement without compromising the investigation.  The public in general, and Tynesha Stewart’s family in particular, deserve the best possible criminal investigation that the Harris County Sheriff’s Office can conduct, and I refuse to compromise this, or any, investigation regardless of the level of scrutiny or criticism this department is facing at the moment. 

We knew at the time the decision was made that there were no remains and that any search would be fruitless.  On Friday, however, I requested Commissioner’s Court grant this department funds to conduct a search on the slight possibility that the investigation would discover some recoverable evidence.  Regrettably, that has not been the case, and until that fact changes, there will be no search.  Even though this has been the most difficult – and unpopular – decision I have ever made in my law enforcement career, I would not hesitate to make the same decision in order to preserve the integrity and credibility of this department’s criminal investigations.  Our mission all along was to preserve the dignity of Tynesha Stewart, to bring the least possible grief to Tynesha’s family, and to bring the criminal investigation to a point that would ensure as much as possible a conviction for this heinous crime.  I pray that the public would understand the decision was based on information that could not be released at the time.  Had there been even a remote possibility that Ms. Stewart’s body could have been returned to her family, I assure you that the Harris County Sheriff’s Office would have been the first to step forward and initiate that search. 

                                                                        Tommy Thomas, Sheriff

                                                                        Harris County