Editor’s note: This is the story of the Lovefraud author Joyce Alexander, who comments as “Ox Drover.”
By Donna Andersen
William “Patrick” Alexander didn’t want to go back to prison. He was 19 years old, almost 20, and had already done two years for aggravated burglary. Patrick suspected that 17-year-old Jessica Witt, of Dallas, Texas, was going to rat him out. Or perhaps she already did.
Patrick had used a credit card stolen from Jessica’s grandfather to pay for a trip to California, in violation of his parole. He racked up $8,000 in charges.
On January 17, 1992, Patrick and one of his unsavory friends were at Jessica’s apartment. Patrick told the friend that he was going to kill Jessica—anything to avoid going back to prison. As he talked, Patrick played with a small silver handgun, jacking rounds into the chamber and taking the clip in and out. The friend was scared.
The next day, the friend heard Patrick ask another guy if he knew anyplace to kill someone and hide the body.
Murder in the countryside
Patrick and Jessica became friendly while working together at a telemarketing company. Jessica was a pretty girl with long, dark, wavy hair. Even though she was still in high school, she’d left her parents’ home and moved into an apartment with friends.
At 10:30 p.m. on January 20, 1992, Patrick and Jessica left her apartment. According to Jessica’s female roommate, Patrick told Jessica that a guy in Fort Worth, Texas, about 35 miles away, was going to give him money so he could pay off her grandfather’s credit card.
Four hours later, Patrick returned to the apartment alone.
“Where’s Jessica?” the roommate asked.
“I killed her,” Patrick replied.
He gave the roommate Jessica’s purse and jewelry. He said he did not bring back Jessica’s leather coat because it had too much blood on it.
Patrick told the roommate that he and Jessica had driven to an area out in the country where people ride four-wheelers. Patrick and Jessica left his pickup truck on the road and walked towards an old house.
Jessica was walking in front of Patrick. He called her name, and when Jessica turned around, Patrick shot her twice in the head.
Patrick dragged the girl’s body to a mud hole and covered it with dirt, grass and branches.
Back at the apartment, Patrick sat in the kitchen as he talked and wouldn’t let the roommate leave the room. He showed the girl his .25 caliber pistol, with two bullets missing. She was terrified, believing she was next to die.
At 6 a.m., Patrick left. He said he had to take someone to work, as if nothing had happened.
Search for the body
Jessica’s roommate went directly to the police. Patrick Alexander was arrested the next day. He was charged with credit card fraud, but not murder, at least not yet. There was no body.
Police and volunteers searched the countryside, finding nothing.
A week later, from the Tarrant County jail, Patrick called a prison buddy. Patrick told the man where he’d left Jessica’s body, and because the searchers were getting too close, asked him to move it. Instead, the man gave a tape recording of the conversation to the police.
On January 31, 1992, 11 days after Jessica Witt had gone missing, police searched a wooded area around Marine Creek Lake in northwest Fort Worth. An officer noticed a pair of black boots protruding from a grassy pile.
Moving grass and sticks, the police discovered a body.
Jessica’s uncle was assisting in the search. He identified his niece’s body. Jessica had been shot in front of her left ear, and in the back of her head.
Mother learns of the crime
Joyce Alexander, Patrick’s mother, lived in Arkansas. A Dallas police sergeant called and told her that Patrick had been arrested and charged with the murder of young Jessica Witt.
“He talked to me like I was the killer,” Joyce says.
Joyce was horrified by the actions of her son, and heartbroken for the young girl’s family.
“I went into such a depression that I should have been hospitalized,” Joyce says. “I didn’t sleep for seven days. I lost 35 pounds in 14 days. I cried continuously like a gut shot dog.”
In the meantime, Patrick was calling Joyce on the phone from jail, saying none of it was true.
“I knew it was true,” Joyce says. “But I wanted to believe him.”
Hi Joyce and Donna – it’s good to hear from Joyce again although I am so sorry for the reason.
As a survivor of repeated stalking, embezzlement, and attempted violence from a blood relative and her minions, I can relate strongly to this story and extreme concern for the safety of self and others. I am one of the (I hope) many persons who wrote letters of protest for the 2013 parole hearing. If I lived anywhere near Texas, I would be there to protest if he is released.
I could write so so so much more but for now I’ll send my emotional support and hope that Joyce is getting good counseling and daily support where she is.
Hey Ox Drover, I have followed you and your story for years and feel overwhelming compassion and curiosity about you and the eventual outcome of your devastating ordeal. My heart goes out to you and everyone in the LF community is 100% behind you. Unfortunately, few victims not so devastated by this illness, can possibly understand what a victim goes through; it is the worst of all possible nightmares.You have done everything humanly possible to seek justice but the legal profession doesn’t grasp the ennormity of the problem. Like everyone these days, they are more interested in a “quick fix” than in justice. Hang in there, stay safe and remember that all our hopes are with you.May whatever the powers that be watch over you and keep you safe and healthy to keep up the good fight!
Joyce has been a tremendous support and source of information to many LF readers including me!!! Thank You for bringing her story to attention again. I certainly wish her all the very best. Hope she stays safe and that society is protected from her son by keeping him imprisoned for the rest of his life.
Thank you Donna for this telling of my “story”
Thank you Opal Rose and to all the other people who wrote letters of protest. My attorney was shocked and mentioned to the parole board that “letters from all over the US and the world” had arrived in support of my protest.
Unfortunately the parole protest preparation triggered me and I had more or less a complete melt down emotionally and physically. As we all know, STRESS KILLS and I had to take a break from dealing with it and get back into therapy and take care of myself first. My health is improving and I am no longer physically ill from the stress and I also realize emotionally that all I can do is to “let go and let God” handle it, I’ve done all I can do at this point and sometime this month (it must be before the end of December) I will receive word about the parole hearing.
I am now in contact with Jessica’s family and they have been very gracious to me. I have kept them updated on my parole protest and, if it becomes necessary, I have plans in place to meet Jessica’s family members on the steps of the capitol in Austin Texas in front of the governor’s office to “make a scene” that I hope will cause the governor to revoke any parole that the board has granted Patrick. My wonderful attorney has fought really hard at practically pro bono fees to keep Patrick in prison.
I also had letters from many prominent researchers on psychopathy, nationally known victim’s advocates, and all the nice folks from Love Fraud that wrote as well, and personal letters from my friends, and every family member but one.
Thank you to everyone here at LoveFraud who sent letters and prayers and to Donna for spending a good deal of time writing this article from primary documents. My learning curve has been pretty steep since 2007, and before that I lived in pretty much denial, which considering my professional experience in psychology, was a tough thing to do. I kept up a MALIGNANT HOPE that Patrick would reform, would grow a conscience…even after reading Dr. Hare’s books, I applied those examples to my biological father but not to Patrick who is his clone…totally without conscience or remorse.
God bless each and every one of you in your own struggles. This is a spiritual as well as an emotional journey toward healing, and the road is sometimes difficult, stony, and steep, so whatever your spiritual beliefs are, cling to them for support and remember we start out learning about them, but end up learning about ourselves and why we allowed this person in our lives to continue to abuse us. It is only when we start learning about ourselves that we can truly heal and recover. Healing is a journey not a destination. It is like recovering from alcoholism, one day at a time. Put your own needs first above all, and then you will have the strength to help your children or others who are dependent upon you. God bless.
Thank you Ox Drover – you have helped so many people here at Lovefraud. I hope the parole board sees the wisdom of keeping your murderous son locked up.
Stay safe
Oxy, You have truly helped so many people.I am one of those people:) I have been reading your support and encouragement since 2009 and thank you for opening my eyes and making me a true believer. I have directed others to the Love Fraud web-site (Thank you Donna)and tell them to look for your posts or ask you questions. You are a Sage here. I return periodically. Just dropped in tonight. My heart goes out to you and am praying for your continued safety and peace of mind. I am so grateful to you and all that you do here to help change lives and save lives:) You are strong and so full of life and wisdom. May God keep you in his tender loving care.
Oxy, so glad to get word from you – I have wondered how you are doing. I thought maybe you went into hiding and I didn’t want to mention your name here just in case. I have never read your complete story nor seen your picture to put a face with the person. My heart goes out to you. I hope and pray they keep the evil behind bars. It’s bad enough that our tax dollars have to feed, clothe, and house the monster. May you be safe and peaceful, Joyce. You are one of the strongest people I’ve ever “known”.
Joyce, your story resonates with me for sure. I am the sister of a murderer. For almost two decades I questioned why a teenager from a wealthy family would take a gun from the family home, rob a gas station, and shoot the clerk. He certainly didn’t need the money. For all those years I listened to family members make excuses – that he was hanging with the wrong crowd, he didn’t really mean to do it, his friend talked him into it, or maybe it was a gang initiation. I don’t think so. I think he did it purely for entertainment.
He was released recently. I’m not in any danger, though I have to admit to some feelings of unease in writing about this. I disconnected from most of the family many years ago and I intend to keep it that way. I’ve stayed silent for most of this time out of feelings of deep shame and familial guilt for the loss of life, even though I know these aren’t mine to have.
Onmyown, Patrick came from a family with community values, and value for education, he was/is exceptionally bright and was a very charming small child…then he morphed into a thug when puberty hit…no control over him at all because he did not care what the results of his behavior were.
Life was all about him, all about excitement and all about an adrenaline rush. The getting away with crimes…the risk taking, the posturing and getting positive feed back from low lifes like himself. It was a CHOICE. sure there was some DNA causing some of this, but still he KNEW right from wrong, he just did NOT CARE.
I’m sorry your brother is a thug, has chosen to be a thug. I had other relatives who were psychopaths, my entire family both sides, and my son’s paternal grandfather as well.
My mother continues to enable Patrick and to believe he has “found Jezus” and he can quote the Bible almost verbatum, and he uses that to pull the wool over her eyes, but I’ve read the letters filled with the F – word and him laughing about doing wrong.
The last conversation I had with him he actually told me he was PROUD of how violent his crime was, he said “worse than even the cops knew.” I don’t know what he meant by that…did he make her beg for her life? but actually there is nothing he could have done to Jessica that was worse than what he did. She was a naive young girl seeking life and adulthood, and had no idea what kind of a monster she had for a “friend.”
We just have to keep in mind that when someone is or has been a criminal we need to stay away from them. Period. No matter what the DNA or other relationship we share with them. It may break our heart to do so…it did mine..but we must look logically at the TRUTH not emotionally at a fantasy.
Sending prayers for your peaceful thoughts and blessings for your gentle life to all who’ve been affected by the tragic choices of the disordered ones.
Donna, Thanks for posting Joyce’s story. She has helped me immensely over the years. I have been so grateful for her wisdom and her sage advice. I can’t even wrap my head around the amount of stress that she has gone through, continues to go through, on a daily basis. Joyce will always have a warm place in my heart.
I have a guest room if there is ever a need. I will say a prayer for Joyce. That monster has to stay in jail! I know the evil that you spoke of, when the mask slips, the only words that came to mind when it happened to me were “holy s***”! And I had a sense of imminent danger. No one is safe who gets in their way.
I think the difference from your garden variety malignant narcissist and a psychopath is when you make a psychopath angry they are dead calm. Cool as a cucumber. Scary.
Joyce,
Wishing you the best.I’ve missed your posts and articles on here.I hate that you’re having to go through this experience.It’s truly scary.Continue to take good care of yourself and do whatever is necessary to protect yourself.
Thank you all for your kind words and best wishes. I’m still waiting the parole board’s decision, and it must come before the end of the month.
I’m back to living cautiously but not terrorized and that helps. Love Fraud saved my sanity if not my life and I will forever be grateful to Donna for the support and kindness she showed me back in the days I was living in hiding, crying my eyes out 24/7. I am very glad if I have passed on the support to others. Sometimes we are like two one-legged men holding on to each other, then we can stand upright.