Diane Tilly

**Diane Allison Tilly** was a High School teacher who was murdered in 2004. Her killer, Ronnie Neal, was convicted.

## Bio

Diane Allison Tilly was born to William Taylor Allison and Toy Moss Allison. She graduated from Waxahachie High School and received her B.A. from Baylor University and her M.F.A. in School Administration from Trinity University. Diane was the founding lead teacher at Robbins Academy (a non-traditional school for at-risk students) in San Antonio at the time of her death. She was a member of the Alamo Heights United Methodist Church of San Antonio. She had an exuberant approach to life and her belief in people's goodness and potential.

## Case

On that fateful evening in November 2004, their plans materialized. At around 7:30PM, Pearl knocked on Diane’s door and told her that her car had broken down. She asked if she could come inside to use the phone to which Diane agreed. Once inside, Pearl produced a handgun that was given to her by her father. Pearl then let Ronnie in through the door and the duo ransacked the house. Not satisfied with their loot, Ronnie took Diane’s ATM card and went to a nearby gas station, leaving Pearl alone with Diane. Diane had attempted to thwart the robbery and had given Ronnie a false PIN number. When he returned, he was infuriated and threatened to kill Diane’s cat if she did not comply. Finally, Diane gave in and gave him the correct PIN number.

When Ronnie came back to the house after emptying Diane’s account, he took Diane into the bedroom. He tied her hands behind her back and placed a pillowcase over her head and raped her as Pearl held the gun to her head. When Ronnie was finished, he ordered Diane to leave the home and climb into the car. Diane refused. Ronnie responded by firing a warning shot into the couch. Wearing nothing but a t-shirt, Diane was forced into the car.

Ronnie and Pearl drove Diane to a rural field in Schertz. Diane was forced over the barbed-wire fence and pleaded for her life. Her cries were unheard; Ronnie forced Diane to the floor and shot her with a .357-caliber gun. “It burns, it burns,” Diane hollered. Ignoring her pleas, Ronnie fired another four rounds into Diane as she lay in the muddy field. Somehow, Diane was still clinging to life. In the last few moments of Diane’s life, she prayed not for herself but for the young soul of one of her killers. “Bless this child,” declared Diane in reference to Pearl before she was shot one final time.

It was discovered that Diane was missing on the morning of the 23rd of November when she didn’t deliver turkeys for a Thanksgiving luncheon at the Robbins Academy. Pearl and Ronnie were quickly apprehended after they were spotted on CCTV using Diane’s ATM card following the murder. Investigators found items that had been stolen from Diane in Pearl and Ronnie’s motel room. Upon their arrest, they refused to confess to what had happened and claimed they had nothing to do with Diane’s disappearance.

As the search for Diane was underway, a ceremony to honor her was held at Alamo Heights Methodist Church. During the service, they prayed for Diane to be found safe and recalled memories of her life. A number of Diane’s former students attended the ceremony and spoke fondly of Diane. “I can still remember the day my life turned for the good, when you opened your arms and welcomed me to a brighter future,” read one letter from Nicole Bagley. “So we don’t look alike, you didn’t give birth to me, we haven’t known each other for all my life; but forever I will love you.” Those in attendance had no idea that Diane would not be coming home.

Just the following day, Diane’s body was found after Pearl confessed to the murder. She informed investigators where Diane’s body was after making a deal with prosecutors. “The details were pretty specific as to what we’d find here,” said Lt. Ron Bennett of the Bexar County Sheriff’s Department. Diane’s body had been partially hidden underneath some brush about 150 feet off the roadway in a farming area on Scenic Lake Drive. “It’s obviously not the resolution we want,” Alamo Heights school district spokesman Kevin Brown said. “But I think the unknown is so difficult, I think for the family and all of our staff and her students and her friends, I think it’s important that we have closure. We just wish that it was a different result.”

Diane was laid to rest on the 11th of December. Around 200 friends and family attended the celebration of her life which was held at the First United Methodist Church in Waxahachie, around 30 miles south of Dallas. Following the emotional service, Diane was laid to rest at Hillcrest Burial Park.