Don Binkley
Don Binkely was shot and killed while deer hunting on Oct 24, 1998 outside Farmerville, Louisiana on the Union Parish game reserve. The story I hear is that he was wearing the required hunter's orange vest and camouflage clothing while hunting from a tree stand on a pipe line.
At approximately 8:30 a.m. the woods became congested with hunters (how would anyone know that?) and Donnie had climbed down the tree to find another area. He had put items back into a back pack, had his gun on a sling over his shoulder, and was bending over the deer stand to pick it up when he was shot through the neck.
The entrance hole was about the size of a quarter and the exit hole was quiet large as the bullet mushroomed. From the shape of the leaves around the body, it is assumed that he did not move after being shot. He was found around 9:00a.m.
No one has admitted shooting Binkley. There were 500 hunters signed into the reserve and all are considered possible suspects. The body was sent to Bossier City, Louisiana for an autopsy and the Union Parish Sheriff's office is investigating to see if foul play is evolved, i.e. murder.
I never have been able to understand the reasoning behind some of the laws concerning hunting. If one were to accidentally shoot a doe or an illegal deer, you would stand a chance for a revoked hunting license, be put in jail, fined about $350 or more, loose your gun, truck or 4 wheeler and more. If you accidentally shoot somebody, hardly anything happens.
What did happen to Don Binkley? I can't believe that someone shot him accidentally and did not even know it. I can see in my mind someone walking up to the body expecting to find a deer, but finding a dead young man. I guess they panicked and ran away. That person must be feeling a lot of guilt. If you know what happened in the woods please email me at butch_raindrops@hotmail.com.
or call the Union Parish Sheriff's Dept. at
Don Binkley is survived by his mother, Genie Massey, 4 sisters, several nieces and nephews, a wife and 5 small children. He was 36. One of his nieces was Tiffany Binkley who was run over and nearly killed during the Baton Rouge, Spanish Mardi Gras parade in Baton Rouge in February of 1998.
Don Binkley was my second cousin. He went with me and scared hell out of me during my first and last time to go scuba diving. I have hunted with him before and he seemed a careful and very good hunter.
