Cold Case Files: Who Killed Zemether Scroggins IV?
By: Melissa Foy
Updated: November 5, 2012
Wichita Falls police were called out to east side of the city just before midnight on Jan. 2, 1996.
Tony Fox, detective with WFPD Crimes Against Persons Unit, says, "It came in as a shots fired, gunshots, call in that area and there were several 911 calls."
When police arrived to the 800 block of Duncan t., they saw a white Buick with both the front passenger and driver's door open.
They also found the body of a Wichita Falls man laying face down on the asphalt with his feet partially in the driver's side of the vehicle.
"It appears he was driving down the street and for some reason either stopped or someone was in the car with him, Fox says.
The victim was 25-year-old Zemether Scroggins IV.
"Mr. Scroggins had just left a family member's home in that area within minutes of when the shooting occurred," Fox says.
He was shot through the torso, and police say the murderer used a handgun to kill Scroggins.
We spoke with Jerome McKinney, who lived next to the crime scene, when the murder first occurred.
"I heard a car door, so I looked outside and the car sitting at the corner at the stop sign, right there," McKinney says. "So I came and told my Granny and then she just came outside and a few minutes later, she came back inside and the police were all over here."
There's little evidence in this case, but police say that evidence continues to be evaluated.
"Every year there's something new that comes out that they improve on their testing of DNA or forensics or anything else," says WFPD Sgt. John Spragins. "They submit that evidence to get the very best results if possible."
Over the years, numerous people have been interviewed about Scroggins' murder, but police say they still need more information.
"Right now we have information but we need more information about who may have actually killed Mr. Scroggins," Fox says.
"A lot of people, depending on the crime, don't want to come forward or they don't want to get involved, but it takes involvement. It's very important for the witnesses to step up and do the right thing so we can make these cases and have closure for the families," Spragins says.
If you have any information about this crime, call Crime Stoppers at 322-9888.
And next week, we'll take a look at the 1997 murder of Francisco Villegas.
He was found fatally shot on the north side of Evans Rd.
Tony Fox, detective with WFPD Crimes Against Persons Unit, says, "It came in as a shots fired, gunshots, call in that area and there were several 911 calls."
When police arrived to the 800 block of Duncan t., they saw a white Buick with both the front passenger and driver's door open.
They also found the body of a Wichita Falls man laying face down on the asphalt with his feet partially in the driver's side of the vehicle.
"It appears he was driving down the street and for some reason either stopped or someone was in the car with him, Fox says.
The victim was 25-year-old Zemether Scroggins IV.
"Mr. Scroggins had just left a family member's home in that area within minutes of when the shooting occurred," Fox says.
He was shot through the torso, and police say the murderer used a handgun to kill Scroggins.
We spoke with Jerome McKinney, who lived next to the crime scene, when the murder first occurred.
"I heard a car door, so I looked outside and the car sitting at the corner at the stop sign, right there," McKinney says. "So I came and told my Granny and then she just came outside and a few minutes later, she came back inside and the police were all over here."
There's little evidence in this case, but police say that evidence continues to be evaluated.
"Every year there's something new that comes out that they improve on their testing of DNA or forensics or anything else," says WFPD Sgt. John Spragins. "They submit that evidence to get the very best results if possible."
Over the years, numerous people have been interviewed about Scroggins' murder, but police say they still need more information.
"Right now we have information but we need more information about who may have actually killed Mr. Scroggins," Fox says.
"A lot of people, depending on the crime, don't want to come forward or they don't want to get involved, but it takes involvement. It's very important for the witnesses to step up and do the right thing so we can make these cases and have closure for the families," Spragins says.
If you have any information about this crime, call Crime Stoppers at 322-9888.
And next week, we'll take a look at the 1997 murder of Francisco Villegas.
He was found fatally shot on the north side of Evans Rd.
