Van Zandt County Man Charged With Murdering Mother, Dog

Gerald Wayne Powell
Van Zandt County Jail

Van Zandt County Deputies responded to a residence just outside of Wills Point after learning that 45-year-old Gerald Wayne Powell had threatened to kill his mother and a dog. A standoff ensued involving multiple law enforcement agencies when Powell refused to come out. He eventually surrendered peacefully, but authorities found the bodies of his mother and the dog inside the home. He’s in the Van Zandt County Jail.