Gulf fishing boat death investigation brings arrest of crew member
October 09, 2009, 8:00PM
An Alabama man was booked with murder Friday in the killing of a commercial fishing captain aboard a boat off the Louisiana coast Wednesday morning.
Thomas Judson Poole IV, 44, of Foley, Ala., was booked with second-degree murder in the death of
Michael Holman, 53, of Bon Secour, Ala.
Poole, in federal custody after being arrested in Marrero, is expected to be arraigned in federal court Tuesday, according to FBI spokeswoman Sheila Thorne. The FBI is handling the investigation because the death occurred in federal waters.
Holman
was found dead on the Miss Sharlott, a commercial fishing vessel working near West Main Pass about 18 miles in the Gulf of Mexico off Plaquemines Parish, by Coast Guard crews responding to reports of a man injured. Holman, Poole and another unidentified man had been fishing in that area several days for vermilion snapper, Holman's father said.
Thorne said authorities believe the killing took place about 2 a.m., and the Coast Guard located the boat about 6:45 a.m. A crew member was taken to West Jefferson Medical Center in Marrero for treatment, but the extent of his injuries was not released.
Authorities have not released Holman's cause of death, but an investigator for the Plaquemines Parish coroner's office said he had visible trauma to his body.
Deral Gene Holman, the victim's father, said Poole was a new crew member his son hired for the fishing trip. Holman, who owned the boat, said he did not talk to Poole before the boat left. Although he has worked with his three sons in fishing operations throughout the years, Holman, 74, said he often let Michael handle hiring the crew.
Holman said he believes that Poole was fairly inexperienced, speculating that the greenhorn may have argued with his son about returning to shore because they had been out for some time. Holman said the other crew member was a regular.
"I really didn't know much about him, " Holman said of Poole. "I'm not sure where he came from."
Holman, who described his son as a "good man, " said his family is still reeling from news of Michael's death.
"It's really tore me up, " Holman said. "It's tore the whole family up.