Diane (Allison) Tilly

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" height=150 BGCOLOR="#555555" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="01aa0a21diriop.jpg"> <div> <B> <style type="text/css">  </style>  The Class of '64</B></div> <div> <B>Wa</B><B>xahachie High School               </B><B>Waxahachie, Texas</B></div> <div>                                                   </div> <bR> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=330 BGCOLOR="#555555" TEXT="#080000" background="01aa0a03.jpg"> <bR> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="6" CELLPADDING="8" CELLSPACING="7" WIDTH="556" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER COLSPAN=3 BGCOLOR=#111111 HEIGHT= 197 ><NOBR><div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="482" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 166 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="c3f67900.jpg" border=0 width="103" height="144" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER><NOBR><div> <B>Diane (Allison) Tilly</B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="#dear_friends" TITLE="Diane (Allison) Tilly"><B>LATEST NEWS</B></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER><NOBR><div> <B><IMG SRC="c5071960.jpg" border=0 width="113" height="150" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER ROWSPAN=5 COLSPAN=3 BGCOLOR=#111111 HEIGHT= 1 WIDTH="480"><bR> <div> <B>Wed, 24 Nov 2004 10:57:37 -0600</B></div> <bR> <div> Many of you may or may not know the background on Diane's disappearance. </div> <bR> <div> This is the story from the San Antonio Newspaper:</div> <div> Diane was supposed to deliver turkeys for a Thanksgiving luncheon at the alternative Alamo Heights high school where she is lead teacher.</div> <bR> <div> When she didn’t arrive as scheduled at the Robbins Academy colleagues went to check on her.  They found her house locked and called authorities. </div> <bR> <div> When investigators arrived at the house around 10:15am it was in disarray, with drawers pulled out, a mattress turned over and items strewn everywhere.  Police say it looks like it may have been a home-invasion-type burglary.</div> <bR> <div> Her car was later found torched and burning in Guadalupe County.   Authorities also know a credit card was stolen and the card was used to withdraw money  from an automated teller machine.  The suspect was caught on surveillance video.</div> <bR> <div> The family says that police have arrested two black women in connection with the case.</div> <bR> <div> As of 10:00am (Wednesday) our KBEC news reporter, Richard, is investigating.  He will keep me informed.  When I know something, you’ll know.</div> <bR> <div> Keep Diane in your prayers.  Her life force is strong and if there’s anyway she can survive – she will!</div> <bR> <div> Love to all,</div> <div> <B>Sandra (Tuck) Howell</B></div> <div>  </div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B> <A NAME="thu_25_nov_2004_011752__0600"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>Thu, 25 Nov 2004 01:17:52 -0600</B></div> <div> Friends,   I have edited this report to include the information I got from a San Antonio Television Station.</div> <div> May your Thanksgiving tables be blessed with abundant love.</div> <div> God Bless you all!</div> <bR> <div> <B>Sandra</B></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> Sheriff's deputies today (Wednesday) arrested a father and daughter linked to Diane's disappearance. </div> <bR> <div> Ronnie Joe Neal, 34, and his 15-year-old daughter were taken into custody at about 9:30 a.m. at a truck stop along Interstate 35 across the highway from the Splashtown water park. Both were arrested for evading arrest and being in possession of stolen property. The two also had firearms in their possession, authorities said.  According to a Sheriff's Department captain, witnesses reported seeing a white truck leave the scene, and deputies had been on the lookout for the truck.</div> <bR> <div> Neal is wanted for other armed robberies.  The report did not mention whether victims were harmed or not.</div> <bR> <div> During a search of her home, deputies found a bullet hole in a couch, but there was no evidence of blood or that anyone had been shot, Sheriff's Detective Al Damiani said. He also said neither Neal nor his daughter were being cooperative with authorities, and it was still unclear what the circumstances were leading to Tilly's disappearance.</div> <bR> <div> But, he added, “It's very possible that (Neal) knew her.”  A San Antonio tv station reported that Neal and his daughter sometimes stayed with friends in the neighborhood and Diane may have hired him at one time for yardwork.</div> <bR> <div> The arrested pair was apprehended after a deputy spotted a truck matching the description at the truck stop. Neal was taken into custody near the truck stop, while his daughter was found in a nearby motel room.</div> <bR> <div> Damiani said deputies found several items belonging to Tilly in the pair's possession, including luggage, a laptop computer and cosmetics. The pair also was caught on surveillance cameras using one of Tilly's credit cards at at least two different convenience stores.</div> <bR> <div> The TV station reported on the search conducted today in the area where her car was found.  The search team and dogs covered all the area and found nothing.  The report said they would not return to that area to search further.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Sandra (Tuck) Howell</B></div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B> <A NAME="waxahachie_native_missing"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>Waxahachie native missing</B></div> <bR> <div> From STAFF and WIRE REPORTS</div> <div> Friday, November 26, 2004 8:44 AM CST</div> <bR> <div> Bexar County authorities suspect foul play in the disappearance of a San Antonio woman originally from Waxahachie.</div> <bR> <div> Two suspects were arrested Wednesday morning after allegedly being caught using a credit card belonging to Diane Allison Tilly, 58, who is a 1964 Waxahachie High School graduate and who has family members still living in the area.</div> <bR> <div> Tilly's car was found on fire in a creek bed, and her home was found ransacked, Bexar County sheriff's officials said.</div> <bR> <div> Sheriff's deputies spent much of Tuesday searching the missing Alamo Heights teacher's home for any clues, the San Antonio Express-News reported Wednesday.</div> <bR> <div> Concerns were raised when Tilly, the mother of two grown children, did not deliver turkeys for a Thanksgiving luncheon Tuesday at Robbins Academy, the alternative Alamo Heights high school where she is the lead teacher.</div> <bR> <div> "She is extremely dependable, always on time," Alama Heights schools spokesman Kevin Brown said. "This is not normal."</div> <bR> <div> When investigators arrived at the teacher's locked house, they found it in disarray, with drawers pulled out, a mattress turned over and items strewn everywhere, sheriff's Sgt. Rudy Castillo said.</div> <bR> <div> "According to her friends, she usually kept the place real neat," Castillo said. "It looks like it may have been a home-invasion-type burglary."</div> <bR> <div> Tilly was scheduled to fly out of state for the Thanksgiving holiday, but authorities said that airport personnel told them she never checked in for her flight. Her car was found burned out near a creek in neighboring Guadalupe County.</div> <bR> <div> Authorities said an adult male and a female juvenile have been arrested. They were reportedly videotaped at an ATM machine using one of Tilley's stolen credit cards.</div> <bR> <div> The suspects' names were not being released as of press time Wednesday.</div> <bR> <div> The Bexar County Sheriff's Office is asking anyone who might know of Tilly's whereabouts or have information regarding her disappearance to contact them.</div> <bR> <div> She is 5 feet 4 inches tall, weighing about 135 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> DEAR CLASSMATES,</div> <div>  </div> <div> PLEASE PRAY! DIANE ALLISON TILLY IS MISSING! HER CAR WAS FOUND BURNED </div> <div> AND HOUSE RANSACKED! PRAY ALSO FOR HER FAMILY, AND THAT THEY'LL FIND </div> <div> DIANE SAFE AND UNHARMED!</div> <div> THANKS,</div> <bR> <div> <B>CYNTHIA</B></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++</B></div> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="sunday_"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A>Sunday Nov. 28, 2004</div> <div> .</div> <div> Latest news. Just wanted you all to know that I  got a call from Mike </div> <div> Allison this morning.</div> <div> He said they are continuing the search for Diane's body. There was a </div> <div> third person involved that witnessed the events.. They are looking in an </div> <div> area they haven't searched before, along with dogs that were taken into </div> <div> Diane's home. He mentioned a couple finding Diane's sheets and social </div> <div> security card along I 10 on the way to San Antonio. And he's hoping </div> <div> they'll find her today or tomorrow.</div> <div> Ms. Allison continues to remain strong and is staying with Nicole, </div> <div> Mike's daughter in Mansfield. She'll probably be there for a couple of </div> <div> days. Mike is staying in New Braunfels</div> <div> with Diane's children, Allison and Stephen. Stephen lives in Austin and </div> <div> Allison lives in Boston.They are all staying at Michael Tilly's home, </div> <div> their father.</div> <div> I will be in touch with Mike and will let you all know when I hear from </div> <div> him again.</div> <div>  </div> <div> You may want to keep an eye on  woai.com for updates. This is Channel 4 </div> <div> News</div> <div> in San Antonio and seems to report the facts of the investigation as </div> <div> they happen.</div> <div>  </div> <div> Love you all,</div> <bR> <div> <B>Cynthia (Raney) MOntgomery</B></div> <div>  </div> <div>  </div> <div> Thanks for sharing what seems to be the resolution of this awful time </div> <div> of waiting and wondering. My heart goes out to Diane's family. What a </div> <div> loss to all of us, and all those whose life Diane touched in such a </div> <div> vibrant and caring way.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Lu Ann Aday</B></div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> We heard from Amy Jo, Diane's cousin, about noon today that the man </div> <div> being held had confessed that he had murdered Diane and had told them </div> <div> where he left her body.</div> <div>  </div> <div> It was not in the creek as everyone had feared.  He left it somewhere </div> <div> covered with leaves.  Police now know where to search so it should not </div> <div> be much longer.  </div> <div>  </div> <div> Not a good way for things to end, but at least the family and friends </div> <div> will know what happened.</div> <div>  </div> <div> Continue to remember her family in your prayers during this difficult </div> <div> time for them.</div> <div>  </div> <div> Love to all.</div> <div>  </div> <div> <B>Judy (Riley) Bowler</B></div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Students praise missing teacher</B></div> <bR> <div> Web Posted: 11/30/2004 12:00 AM CST</div> <bR> <div> Jeanne Russell</div> <div> Express-News Staff Writer</div> <bR> <div> As students returned Monday to the school that Diane</div> <div> Tilly breathed life into, they coped with being in</div> <div> class for the first time since their teacher went</div> <div> missing over the Thanksgiving holiday.</div> <bR> <div> Students struggled to understand how trouble could</div> <div> come to such a kind person, even as counselor Dawn</div> <div> Hedgepeth encouraged students, staff, and Tilly's two</div> <div> grown children to share memories that inspired them in</div> <div> a gathering at Robbins Academy on Monday.</div> <bR> <div> Police continued to search for Tilly in Northeast</div> <div> Bexar County on Monday, and school leaders were</div> <div> careful not to give the students false hope, said</div> <div> Alamo Heights Superintendent Jerry Christian.</div> <bR> <div> "We were able to concentrate on the great, fantastic</div> <div> things about Diane and not the last moments of Diane,"</div> <div> Hedgepeth said.</div> <bR> <div> The small school for kids who had fallen behind or</div> <div> didn't aspire to follow the traditional track at the</div> <div> high school was Christian's brainchild, but Tilly gave</div> <div> it her own stamp as its founding lead teacher.</div> <bR> <div> Tilly ordered not just chairs but sofas, and adopted a</div> <div> daily practice of ordering breakfast tacos for a</div> <div> family touch.</div> <bR> <div> "Oh, man, she was like another mother," senior</div> <div> Courtney Touchette said.</div> <bR> <div> Students must apply to the school and be accepted.</div> <div> They study at their own pace, and some graduate before</div> <div> their peers at the high school.</div> <bR> <div> The school holds graduation ceremonies throughout the</div> <div> year, and Tilly always asked students to share their</div> <div> dreams after they walked the hallway in cap and gown.</div> <bR> <div> "I used to think a lot of that was corny," said math</div> <div> teacher Bill Sain, who said he really came to love</div> <div> Tilly, and appreciate how "we never ran it like an</div> <div> institution. It was like, 'This is your home.'"</div> <bR> <div> Somehow, Tilly managed to be tough, yet gentle.</div> <bR> <div> Everyone laughed when a student said he always sat</div> <div> down when he heard her heels "clipping down the</div> <div> hallway," Hedgepeth said. "We burst into laughter</div> <div> because we could all remember how cutely dressed she</div> <div> always was, and her little heels."</div> <bR> <div> One day, when Tilly could tell Jessica Escamilla was</div> <div> in a bad mood, the teacher suggested the student talk</div> <div> with Hedgepeth. That connection helped Escamilla renew</div> <div> a secret dream to be a social worker.</div> <bR> <div> Escamilla plans to don her cap and gown and continue</div> <div> that plan in December. She knows that's what Tilly</div> <div> would have wanted, and that she would cry for her, as</div> <div> she did for each of her 150 graduates.</div> <bR> <div> Touchette shares Escamilla's resolve.</div> <bR> <div> "(Tilly) shed tears at each one of those graduations.</div> <div> She's had some kind of attachment to each one of us,"</div> <div> she said. "I know when I graduate, it's going to be</div> <div> hard, because I wanted Ms. Tilly to be there." </div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B> <A NAME="wednesday_december_1_2004_213_pm_cst"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>Wednesday, December 1, 2004 2:13 PM CST</B></div> <bR> <div> A service of comfort and celebration for Diane Allison Tilly of San Antonio will be held at 3 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 3, 2004, at Alamo Heights United Methodist Church, 825 E. Basse Road, San Antonio, Texas. Donations for the Robbins Academy may be made to The Diane Tilly Fund, Alamo Heights High School, 6900 Broadway, San Antonio, TX. 78209.</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++</B></div> <bR> <div>  <A NAME="dear_friends"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A>Dear friends,</div> <div> The body of our sweet Diane has been found.  The article is attached.</div> <div> I understand a memorial service will be held in Waxahachie sometime this week.</div> <div> When details are announced I'll let you know.</div> <bR> <div> I attended the Memorial service for Diane Friday at her church in San Antonio.  It was a lovely service with lots of stories of Diane and her life teaching.  One over-riding theme that stood out to me was that Diane always looked for the good in people and every situation.  I know I try to do that, but for Diane I will be more diligent and never give up until I find it. </div> <bR> <div> Peace to you all.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Sandra (Tuck)</B></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++</B></div> <bR> <div> Web Posted: 12/04/2004 09:11 PM CST</div> <bR> <div> Tracy Idell Hamilton</div> <div> Express-News Staff Writer</div> <bR> <div> After cutting a deal with prosecutors this afternoon, the 15-year-old girl implicated in the disappearance of Diane Tilly led authorities straight to the woman's body, said Assistant District Attorney Catherine Babbitt.</div> <bR> <div> The body will be positively identified using dental records, said Babbitt, still wearing boots and jeans from the search that led authorities to a fenceline in a brushy area near Scenic Lake and Boenig drives within Schertz city limits. She said she did not see the body, and so could not comment on its condition.</div> <bR> <div> Babbitt, who heads the Family Justice and Victim Protection Division, would not comment on the deal made with Pearl Cruz. She said Ronnie Joe Neal had made no deals, and would probably face capital murder charges once a positive identification of the body is made. He is being held in Bexar County Jail on aggravated robbery charges. Cruz, too, remains in custody.</div> <bR> <div> Originally, this report said the deal was cut tonight. This is incorrect. It was cut this afternoon.</div> <bR> <div> Also, this report said the body was found Southeast Bexar County. This is incorrect. It was found within Schertz city limits.</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> Ceremony honors missing teacher</div> <bR> <div> Web Posted: 12/04/2004 12:00 AM CST</div> <bR> <div> Jeanne Russell and Mary Moreno</div> <div> San Antonio Express-News</div> <bR> <div> Friends, family, and current and former students gathered Friday to honor Diane Tilly, even as new information about the missing teacher led police to narrow their search to a small section of Northeast San Antonio.</div> <bR> <div> Web extra</div> <div> Superintendent Jerry Christian's remarks at ceremony honoring Diane Tilly</div> <bR> <div> Hovering over Friday's service of comfort and celebration was the uncertainty about what happened to Tilly, who disappeared just before the Thanksgiving holiday and remains missing.</div> <bR> <div> Police have arrested Ronnie Joe Neal and his 15-year-old daughter, Pearl Cruz, whom they have tied to Tilly's disappearance.</div> <bR> <div> The crowd packed the 1,200-person sanctuary at Alamo Heights Methodist Church, offering silent testimony to the lives Tilly, 58, touched as a friend, a mother, and most recently a teacher who found her calling working with troubled teenagers.</div> <bR> <div> Hers has been a life lived with uncommon zest and enthusiasm, many said, describing a woman of mischievous good humor, a smile that radiated in a crowd, and a penchant for both tough teenagers and glamorous clothes.</div> <bR> <div> As they gathered, sheriff's deputies and San Antonio police searched several muddy, brush-covered areas with cadaver dogs, on horseback and from the air, operating on a tip that they would find Tilly in a field off Loop 1604 near Judson High School and a body of water.</div> <bR> <div> Earlier Friday, a woman captured by surveillance cameras at a convenience store where Cruz used Tilly's credit cards turned herself in, was questioned and released.</div> <bR> <div> Police said it didn't appear the woman was connected to the disappearance.</div> <bR> <div> Local students and educators wore yellow ribbons, and Cheryl Chandler, a counselor at Alamo Heights High School, said she hoped that by the end of the day, the search would bring final resolution.</div> <bR> <div> But late Friday, investigators said they would renew their efforts — perhaps with the help of the Heidi Search Center — today.</div> <bR> <div> Alamo Heights Superintendent Jerry Christian opened a tribute that laced regret with humor and some anger, first reading from a letter written by former student Precious Nicole Bagley.</div> <bR> <div> "This letter is addressed to Momma, and that tells you something right there," Christian said.</div> <bR> <div> "I can still remember the day my life turned for the good, when you opened your arms and welcomed me to a brighter future," Bagley wrote. "So we don't look alike, you didn't give birth to me, we haven't known each other for all my life; but forever I will love you."</div> <bR> <div> Of all Tilly's students, Bagley was among those who came the farthest, Christian said, to which Bagley offered the more blunt assessment: "I was bad."</div> <bR> <div> The 2001 graduate kept in regular touch with Tilly and planned to see her after the holiday break. Instead, she wrote another letter: "I cry in great pain and rage. ... God has called one of his most important angels."</div> <bR> <div> Christian closed with an imaginary exchange with God, where Tilly begs to return to help others — as an angel.</div> <bR> <div> "But dear, dear Diane, what you don't understand is that's exactly what I created 58 years ago," Christian said.</div> <bR> <div> Tilly's two grown children spent Monday morning at Robbins Academy sharing stories with their mother's "second family."</div> <bR> <div> "She called her students her kids in a way that made it clear to me they were a part of my family," daughter Allison Carswell said.</div> <bR> <div> Tilly called her two children her greatest achievement, Carswell said. But as the lead teacher at Robbins Academy, she also considered herself a mother to the struggling students at the nontraditional school.</div> <bR> <div> "Momma talked about her friends, students and family as if they could do no wrong — she really felt that way," son Stephen Tilly said. "The fact that her kindness and belief in the goodness of everybody was used against her is a tragedy."</div> <bR> <div> Pastor David McNitzky used that irony to drive home a lesson about the need for acceptance of her disappearance, drawing a distinction between wishful thinking and hope.</div> <bR> <div> Avoiding the negative is naïve, whereas hope, which Tilly epitomized, is about seeing the good in the midst of the negative, McNitzky said.</div> <bR> <div> So it was with sadness that Gracie Hatfield Hilton, a Baylor classmate of Tilly's, noted: "What a tragedy it is for everyone involved with this that Pearl Cruz did not have a Diane Tilly in her life."</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>++++++++++++++++++++++++++</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>I just wanted you all to know that Diane's body was found found this afternoon around sunset.</B></div> <div> <B>I got a call from Robin , ( Mike Allison's girlfriend) around 9:00 PM and she said the young girl arrested on charges connected with Diane's disappearance, led searchers directly to the body . After the girl began talking to detectives the prosecutors cut a deal offering to lessen her stay in prison to forty years instead of life.</B></div> <div> <B>There are tentative plans made for Diane's funeral service in Waxahachie. Visitation will be Friday evening, Dec.10th,at Wayne Boze Funeral Home and the funeral service is planned for Saturday morning, the 11th, if the investigation goes as planned. We should know definitely by Wed.</B></div> <div> <B>The "Celebration of Life" service for Diane was held yesterday at 3:00 in San Antonio.</B></div> <div> <B>Friends, family and students spoke of Diane's life accomplishments and the many lives</B></div> <div> <B>she had touched during her 58 yrs. of life. Around 1,000 people attended the service.</B></div> <div> <B>I will give you all another update as soon as I hear from the family again.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Cynthia</B></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>++++++++++++++++++++++++++++</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Diane's funeral service is set for Saturday, December 11, at the First Methodist Church on W. Marvin, at 10:00 AM. </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Lucida Grande" ><B>Family Visitation will be Friday night from 6-8 PM at the Wayne Boze Funeral Home, 1826 W. Hwy 287 Business,(W. Main St.) . </B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>If you would like to send a card to (Diane's Mother) , her address is:</B></div> <div> <B>Ms. Toy Allison</B></div> <div> <B>100 Northgate Dr. #126 </B></div> <div> <B>Waxa. 75165 </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Mike Allison's address is:</B></div> <div> <B>Mike Allison</B></div> <div> <B>108 Lawndale Dr.</B></div> <div> <B>Waxa. 75165.</B></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++</B></div> <bR> <div> Missing Waxahachie native's body found</div> <bR> <div> From STAFF and WIRE REPORTS</div> <div> Monday, December 6, 2004 1:10 PM CST</div> <bR> <div> Police say they believe a body found in a rural field outside San Antonio is that of missing teacher Diane Allison Tilly, and a man has been charged with her murder.</div> <bR> <div> The body found underneath logs and brush in a farming area Saturday is thought to be that of the 58-year-old Waxahachie native, whom police said was shot after being robbed. She had been missing since Nov. 22.</div> <bR> <div> Authorities will confirm the identity of the body using dental records, said Assistant District Attorney Catherine Babbitt.</div> <bR> <div> Ronnie Joe Neal, 33, was charged with capital murder and aggravated robbery. He was in jail Sunday without bond.</div> <bR> <div> Police said Neal's 15-year-old daughter led them to the body. In a deal with authorities, she was charged with delinquent conduct by reason of aggravated robbery.</div> <bR> <div> "The details were pretty specific as to what we'd find here," said Bexar County Sheriff's Lt. Ron Bennett.</div> <bR> <div> Tilly had been missing since she failed to deliver turkeys for a Thanksgiving luncheon at the high school where she was a teacher.</div> <bR> <div> Police arrested Neal and his daughter Nov. 24 after they said the two used Tilly's stolen ATM card at convenience stores after Tilly's disappearance. Police said Neal told them he met Tilly while distributing fliers for his lawn-care business.</div> <bR> <div> According to a police affidavit, the girl pulled a gun on Tilly after she knocked on the teacher's door Nov. 22. Neal then entered the home and sexually assaulted Tilly as the teen trained the gun on the teacher, according to the affidavit.</div> <bR> <div> According to the affidavit, after taking various items from the house, the two forced Tilly, wearing only a T-shirt, out of the house and drove her to a field.</div> <bR> <div> Neal then shot Tilly several times after she begged for her life, the affidavit says.</div> <bR> <div> Funeral services for Tilly are scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 11, at First United Methodist Church of Waxahachie. Interment will follow in the Hillcrest Memorial Park.</div> <bR> <div> The family will receive friends and relatives from 6-8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 10, at Wayne Boze Funeral Home.</div> <bR> <bR> </tD> </tR> <tR> </tR> <tR> </tR> <tR> </tR> <tR> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> Questions, Comments, Suggestions or to Report a Broken Link</div> <div> Contact: <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="mailto: whs64@marchman.biz" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto: whs64@marchman.biz">The Webmaster</A></FONT></div> <bR> <div>  <script language="JavaScript">  </script>  </div> </td> </tr></table></body>