Mrs. Massengill
answered a phone call that delivered news no mother wants to hear; her child is dead. She
had received a similar call only eight months before when her younger son had died and now
her oldest son was gone.
Sammy Don Massengill had been found murdered at his
residence at 426 Old Pinson Road. Sammy had lived at this address for nine years but had
recently decided to move back to the family home in early March. Sammy was the proud
father of three daughters, ages 18,15 and 13. He had last seen the two youngest at
Christmas but with his impending move, he hoped to spend more time with them. He wanted to
take them camping and maybe float the Buffalo this summer; he was already making plans.
From a very young age Sammy Don had a fascination with
Harley-Davidson. He loved riding as well as repairing motorcycles. He made his living
cleaning cars. It paid the rent and he really enjoyed the work. While talking to his
mother, I learned that all things mechanical were a challenge to Sammy. He would take
things apart just to see if he could reassemble them, which in most cases he did with very
little trouble. He was always willing to give his neighbors a helping hand repairing a
car, moving furniture or in one case, chase off a snake from a neighbor ladys yard.
His mother went on to tell me that if she and her husband
went somewhere, they could always depend on Sammy to rescue them if they had car trouble.
There was a silence on the phone; I could hear her crying, then in a soft voice she said,
"We dont have that anymore, someone took our rescuer away when they killed our
son."
Sammy Don Massengill was a quiet, simple man who enjoyed
being at home, watching the History Channel, reading about the battles of different wars
or walking in an old cemetery on some country road. That all came to an end on the night
of February 24 of this year when someone came into his trailer and brutally ended Sammy
Dons life.
There were two anonymous calls into Central Dispatch around
10:30 p.m. stating there had been a disturbance at 426 Old Pinson Rd. Two white males had
been seen walking on Old Pinson Rd. around 10:30 that evening. Another report was of a
slim, medium build, white male driving a Black 4-door late model Camry. This man had been
seen with Sammy a few days prior to his death. The investigators from the Sheriffs
department would like to talk to these individuals; they may have the information needed
to close this case.
Written by: d n english
May Issue of thecityNEWS