Gassett v. State

Appellant killed Dr. George Bob Sollock on July 11, 1973. Before the homicide there had developed a dispute between the deceased and his ex-wife, subsequently the appellant’s wife, concerning the custody of one of the children of their marriage. The deceased gained custody of the child after a trial in Dallas County but the appellant’s wife left town with the child and went to various parts of the country to circumvent the court order.

On the evening of the shooting, Dr. Sol-lock and his wife drove to the appellant’s neighborhood to see if they could find the child. As they passed a house…