The Dutiful Son

Galveston prosecutors say David Hisey stole more than $700,000 from his elderly parents, murdered them, then lived with their dead bodies. David says he did what his parents wanted.

A A A Comments By Wendy Grossman Thursday, May 16 2002

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He says he spent Sunnye and Hollis's money because it was his. "They gave it to me," he says. Years before Sunnye was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, he says, his parents changed their wills, making him the sole beneficiary. He says his parents told him to go ahead and spend the money however he pleased. When asked what he spent it on, he says he doesn't know.

He says he doesn't agree with the prosecution's accounting -- he thinks there was only about $340,000. But he can account for spending only about $100,000.

Deron Neblett

Photos courtesy of Dusti Blalock

Hollis was the quiet one; Sunnye was outgoing, warm and loving.

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He believes the autopsy results are erroneous. He says he knows the bones in his parents' necks were not broken when the police officers arrived at his house. David says after Sunnye died, he didn't move her at all, other than to straighten her head.

He says he unlocked his parents' bedroom door for the cops because he was tired of hiding and playing games. He claims the gun was old and he doesn't even know if it would have fired -- or if his arms are long enough to reach the trigger.

The house on Marlin has been sold, and the place is empty. The white oleander David planted thrives in the backyard by the garage. Beside the front door, the roses and ginger are tangled together. The walls have recently been repainted and the floors polished. David says he just wants to get out of jail and get on a boat again. Maybe he'll move back to Florida, but he says he'd be happy staying in Galveston.

None of his family has visited him in jail. "I'm used to it," he says. "They didn't come see us when they were sick. Why would they come now?" His ex-wife is the only one who writes him, he says.

His parents' bodies have been in the morgue for two years now. There hasn't been a funeral or even a memorial service. On a Wednesday afternoon in early May, Graves asks David what he wants to do with Sunnye and Hollis. Does he want them cremated?

"Yeah, I think that would be the best thing to do," David says. "Keep them together."