The State of Texas: A decades-old case of a killer nurse will head back to court

What Texas is talking about today No Images? [Click here]( [Meadows Museum - Between Heaven & Hell]( [Texas Monthly]( May 26, 2017 QUOTE OF THE DAY “The cow better watch it because it’s Memorial Day weekend coming up with everybody looking for something to grill.” —Matt Hagen, of Dallas, to the [Dallas Morning News](. Hagen witnessed a calf escape its police escort through the White Rock neighborhood of Dallas. Authorities don’t know how the calf got there or where it came from, but the two cop cars were protecting it so it wouldn’t wander into traffic. The future burger was found and corralled by another officer about a half-hour after it escaped. BIG NEWS Nurse Hatchet Genene Jones, an ex-nurse who earned the nickname “Angel of Death” for being the suspected serial killer of more than a dozen babies, is facing a new murder charge. Prosecutors launched a cold case investigation in an attempt to keep her in jail. She was set to be released next year after being convicted in 1984 for the murder of one baby, but on Thursday a San Antonio grand jury indicted Jones, who is now 66, for the murder of 11-month-old Joshua Sawyer in December 1981, [Texas Monthly‘s Peter Elkind reported]( in a story co-published with [ProPublica](. Elkind first wrote about Jones in Texas Monthly [34 years ago](, and the so-called “Angel of Death” became one of Texas’s most infamous killers. The update is just as incredible as the original. Elkind writes that the prosecution’s effort to bring new charges was not easy. “It involved a grizzled criminal investigator who wouldn’t give up; a young prosecutor who was shocked to hear about Jones for the first time; and a mom who clung to her dead child’s medical chart for three decades.” [Meadows Museum - Between Heaven & Hell]( MEANWHILE, IN TEXAS . .. New Law Governor Greg Abbott signed into law on Thursday a bill that targets one of Texas’s endemic problems: inappropriate relationships between teachers and students. According to the [Texas Tribune](, the new law will force principals and superintendents to report cases of inappropriate relationships or face felony charges and a fine of up to $10,000. The bill, which was authored by Republican Senator Paul Bettencourt of Houston, is an attempt to curb a growing problem in Texas. The state opened 222 investigations into teachers suspected of having inappropriate relationships with students last year, and that number has grown over the last eight years. This new law tries to stop a practice known as “passing the trash,” in which poor reporting practices by districts has allowed teachers involved in inappropriate relationships to get jobs elsewhere. “Today, by signing this law, we’re saying no more are we going to allow that to happen,” Abbott said before signing the bill, according to the Tribune. “Texas is going to impose real and stiff consequences for any teacher who dares have any inappropriate relationship with his or her students.” Mad Men The Alamo Drafthouse theater in Austin announced it would be hosting a special women-only screening of the new Wonder Woman film next month, according to the [Austin American-Statesman](. “The most iconic superheroine in comic book history finally has her own movie, and what better way to celebrate than with an all-female screening?” the theater said in a news release. Makes perfect sense! But some men were apparently upset by not being included in the one-night only event. According to [Mashable](, there was an outcry from men on social media after the Drafthouse announced the special screening. “Have you ever hosted a men’s only showing of any film,” one user asked on Facebook. But whoever runs the Drafthouse’s social media account was armed and ready. “We’ve never done showings where you had to be a man to get in,” the theater’s Facebook page responded, “but we *did* show the Entourage movie a few years ago.” It’s worth scrolling through the [Facebook comments]( just to see a bunch of people get shut down by a movie theater chain. Also, the women-only screenings are [already sold out](. Filet-O-Fish Outside of Dallas, a Texan managed to snag a giant bass using a hook baited with a McDonald’s chicken McNugget. According to [KRLD](, Matthew McNellis and his girlfriend were fishing on Lake Bardwell in Ennis County, but hadn’t had any luck. So McNellis’s girlfriend suggested he use a McNugget for bait. Because, of course, fish cannot resist a good McNugget. No one can. Apparently, if you bait it with a McNugget, fish will come. “That big ‘ole fish smacked a hold of it,” McNellis said. “We thought it was a catfish it was so big. But, it was the biggest bass I’ve ever seen.” The 11-pound, 24.5-inch long fish was, in fact, the biggest bass anyone has ever seen on Lake Bardwell. McNellis told KRLD that the catch set an unofficial lake record. McNellis threw the nugget-loving fish back in the lake. He’s apparently learned from his fast-food fishing success. “I might try some of Wendy’s seasoned fries [next time],” he said. WHAT WE'RE READING Some links are paywalled or subscription-only. The U.S. turned away a Mexican journalist seeking asylum in El Paso, so he returned home, where he has received multiple death threats [El Paso Times]( Baylor allegedly hired its independent sexual assault scandal investigators so it could use attorney-client privilege to keep the findings secret [Waco Tribune-Herald]( It will soon be illegal for Texans to fly drones over oil facilities and factory farms [Texas Observer]( It’ll cost a Deer Park high school more than $2,000 to remove penis graffiti from its football field [Houston Chronicle]( Nerds must be pleased that the Dallas Morning News finally corrected this 40-year-old Star Wars spelling error [Dallas Morning News]( WEEKEND READS [Prosecutors Race to Keep Angel-of-Death Behind Bars]( by Peter Elkind Texas is scheduled to release Genene Jones, a former nurse and suspected serial killer of children, early next year. Today, prosecutors in San Antonio moved to prevent her release, bringing a new murder charge against Jones in connection with the death of a child 35 years ago. [TM General Store]( [TM General Store]( Inspired by the highly anticipated "50 Best BBQ Joints” list of 2017, the specialty items featured in the BBQ Collection at the TM General Store have been curated by our editors with the hope that you will bring them along on adventures around the state and incorporate them into your homes and onto your tables where family and friends are gathered. [Shop Now]( [Meadows Museum - Between Heaven & Hell]( MORE FROM TEXAS MONTHLY [Uber And Lyft Are Returning To Austin on Memorial Day]( by Dan Solomon A little more than a year after the companies stormed out of the city in a huff, they’re returning to Austin after triumphing in the Legislature. [Nobody Knows the Pork Ribs We’ve Seen]( by Jeff Salamon Nobody knows the coleslaw. [The List: The Top 50 Barbecue Joints in Texas]( by Texas Monthly Staff Welcome to the golden age of Texas barbecue. Enjoy getting your daily fix of Texas Monthly? Spread the word and share it. [Forward to a Friend]( Texas Monthly PO Box 1569 Austin, TX 78767 Texas Monthly has sent you this alert because you signed up to receive it either online at texasmonthly.com, at the website of one of our business partners, or when you filled out a reader response card. You may cancel your subscription to this and other Texas Monthly newsletters at any time. Please see our Privacy Policy. [Like]( [Tweet]( [Forward]( [Preferences]( | [Unsubscribe](