Published: June 08, 2009 11:28 am      

Pruitts hope reward elicits information

The people closest to a Cooke County homicide victim are hoping a $10,000 reward will prompt someone to come forward with new information about the murder.

Barry Pruitt, 33, was found dead in his home after a fire gutted his residence on East Spring Creek Road last January.

Information surrounding the case is still sketchy five months later.

Even the cause of death is something of a mystery.

“This is an ongoing investigation and we cannot release information about the case,” Cooke County Sheriff Mike Compton said recently.

Two other occupants, including Pruitt’s daughter Carlye reportedly escaped the burning home.

What is known is that Pruitt died some time before his home caught fire in the early hours of Jan. 10.

“We got the call at 2:27 a.m.” Compton said during an interview two days after the murder.

But Pruitt’s family is not complaining about the lack of public details about Pruitt’s death.

His mother, Glenda Mosman, and step-father, Gerald Mosman, are two people who say they believe Cooke County Sheriff’s Office investigators are doing a good job.

“I know they’ve ruled it a homicide,” said Gerald Mosman. “When we went over there (the morning of the fire) one of the guys met us and told us it was too late, he’d already passed away. It is an ongoing investigation and we don’t know a lot about it. And I understand that. I don’t want them to tell me something and me mess it (the investigation) up. As far as I know they’re doing all that they can. I’ve been amazed by our sheriff’s department.”

Texas Rangers have also joined the investigation.

Mosman said after so many months with seemingly little progress, he and his wife decided to contact Denton County Crimestoppers to offer a reward for information leading to the conviction of the individual or individuals responsible for Pruitt’s death.

The couple is working with Denton County Crimestoppers because Cooke County does not have a similar program. “A crime stopper hotline must be monitored 24-hours a day and Cooke County doesn’t have the funding for the hotline,” Compton explained.

Glenda Mosman said she wants the public to know that even a small piece of information could be important.

“Someone may know something they think is a small thing or maybe they think the investigators are already aware of it. We still want them to report it. That’s the reason we’re putting this reward out — to let people know that any information they have could end up being very important. A tip that seems insignificant could actually solve the case,” she said.

The sorrow in Glenda Mosman is apparent.

Her eyes are full of an anguish that will never abate.

She said sadness goes with her each day as she completes her home nursing visits.

She said she sometimes drives by the place where her son died on her way to work.

For months the burned out house sat vacant.

It was recently bulldozed, she noted.

“I was sad when they tore the house down,” she admitted. “I don’t why. I was just sad.”

Barry is the first thing she thinks of each morning and the last thing she considers before she falls asleep at night.

Some nights, she said she cannot sleep and she lies awake staring into the darkness, wondering who took her son away from his family.

“It isn’t just that we’ve lost a son. He has grandparents, a father, a brother, a daughter. We have all lost him, and we’ve lost him forever,” she said.

Perhaps the saddest thing for Pruitt’s family is the effect his death had upon his daughter, Carlye who was six when her father died.

“She is missing her daddy,” Gerald Mosman said.

Pruitt was, by all accounts, a devoted father.

Mosman said he was impressed by Pruitt’s parenting skills.

“I’ve never seen anybody take care of his child better than what Barry did for Carlye. He worked his schedule around picking her up at school. At Carlye’s school they called him “Mr. Mom.” They knew he was so devoted to his daughter,” he said.

Glenda Mosman agreed.

“His life revolved around Carlye,” she said.

Mosman said her son grew up in Gainesville and worked on horse ranches from the time he was a teenager.

He taught himself to weld and was a creative builder and problem solving.

“He was an artist with his work,” said Gerald Mosman. “I remember he showed me a building he built, all the little details he put into it, and I thought, “Man, that looks sharp.’”

Glenda Mosman said Pruitt also had a generous streak.

“If you said you wanted something, he would find it for you,” she said. “He had such a sweet heart.”

The shock and grief surrounding Barry’s death are now a permanent part of her life, she said.

“It’s just a parent’s worst nightmare. I remember when we got that call. It was like somebody kicked me in the stomach. Every time I think about it, it hurts all over again.”

Pruitt’s friend and employer Brian Kammerdiener said he is also reeling from Pruitt’s death.

“I’ve known him since he was a kid in the fifth or sixth grade. I knew his daddy and his family. He worked for me, it would have been, five years this month,” Kammerdiener said.

Pruitt lived in a home on his ranch and was like another son to him, Kammerdiener said.

“He was just like another one of my kids,” he said.

Kammerdiener also said Pruitt was a talented man with a strong work ethic.

“He was awfully good at building things. He was good at laying them out and figuring out how they needed to be done and getting them right,” he said.

Like many other people, Kammerdiener said he is having trouble dealing with Pruitt’s death.

“I think of him every day,” he said.

The Mosmans said their religious faith is a source of comfort to them.

They also believe the crime will be solved.

“People ask us how we deal with it. We’re Christian people. We know we have a just God. We live in an evil world, but in the end God is our judge and He will have justice,” Glenda Mosman said.

Anyone with information about the death of Barry Pruitt is asked to call Denton County Crimestoppers at 1(800) 388-TIPS (8477) or www.dentoncountycrimestoppers.com.

Calls will remain anonymous.

If more than one person provides information that leads to the suspect’s arrest and conviction, Gerald Mosman said the reward money will be divided based upon each tip’s value as evidence in a criminal prosecution.