Do you know who murdered Emmett Lynch?\n In the fall of 1987, Tyler, Texas, was a city grappling with a rising number of homicides. In a quiet neighborhood near the East Texas Fairgrounds, 57-year-old Emmett Lynch, an African-American man, spent most of his time with his longtime partner, Mary Hooper, age 62. The couple had previously lived together in the country, but Mary’s declining health and the amputation of a leg required her to move into a duplex on South Lyons Avenue to be closer to medical facilities. Emmett was a constant presence there, caring for Mary, who was confined to a wheelchair. He had recently purchased a gray 1977 Ford LTD, a car he cherished and, according to his family, would never have willingly parted with.
The morning of Wednesday, October 7, 1987, shattered the ordinary routine of their lives. A visiting nurse, Ramona Hale, arrived at the duplex around 8:30 a.m. for a routine check-in on Mary. She walked into a scene of horror.
Inside the home, she found Mary slumped in her wheelchair, having been bludgeoned to death. Just steps away, in the bathroom, lay Emmett’s body. He had also been beaten to death with a blunt instrument. A preliminary examination suggested they had been deceased for no more than 24 hours.
The Tyler Police Department responded to the nurse's call and found a crime scene that was both brutal and perplexing. There were no signs of forced entry, and the home was not ransacked. Valuables, including firearms and small amounts of money, were left untouched, suggesting robbery was not the primary motive. The lack of disturbance indicated the victims may have known their killer or killers. The only thing missing from the residence was Emmett’s prized Ford LTD. Investigators immediately issued a nationwide alert for the vehicle, believing the perpetrators had used it to flee the scene.
The investigation took a significant turn when Emmett’s car was discovered more than 1,000 miles away in Prescott, Arizona. The recovery of the vehicle led authorities to two suspects: Terry and Kathryn McMahan, who were former neighbors of Emmett and Mary. The McMahans were arrested and extradited back to Smith County, Texas, to face charges of capital murder. Their subsequent trial was one of the most expensive in the county's history, drawing significant public attention.
Despite the evidence presented by the prosecution, the trial was filled with contradictions and left many questions unanswered. Ultimately, the jury acquitted both Terry and Kathryn McMahan of the murder charges. The verdict meant that while police had found and tried suspects, the case was far from closed. With no other arrests made, the brutal double homicide was officially returned to the status of unsolved.
Decades later, the murders of Emmett Lynch and Mary Hooper remain a painful cold case for the Tyler community and their grieving families. The image of the undisturbed home, the savage nature of the attack, and the subsequent courtroom drama have left a lasting mark. The case stands as a testament to a complex investigation that crossed state lines but failed to secure a conviction, leaving justice elusive.
As of September 2025, the investigation is still open but inactive. The Tyler Police Department continues to list the double homicide on its roster of cold cases, hopeful that new information or advancements in forensic technology might one day lead to a breakthrough. Anyone with information about the murders of Emmett Lynch and Mary Hooper is urged to contact the Tyler Police Department at 903-531-1000 or Tyler-Smith County Crime Stoppers at 903-597-2833. 
