Eric Talton Murderer Takes Plea Deal

SAN ANGELO, TX— The Eric Talton Murder Saga is nearing an end as the man who killed him has taken a plea deal.

Kenneth “Ace” Harvey, 41, has taken a plea deal for Murder and Tampering with Physical Evidence for his role in the murder of Eric Talton.

According to court documents, on August 24, 2022, detectives learned from Ramona Talton, Eric’s mother, that she had reported Eric missing. She told them that he had been murdered, and his body was taken out of Tom Green County to the outskirts of San Antonio, Texas. Mrs. Talton learned this from unconfirmed subjects, and detectives had the San Angelo Emergency Communications Center send an outgoing message about the disappearance of Eric Talton.

Investigators were told that two individuals, Brittany Schoonmaker and Kenneth “Ace” Harvey, were involved in Eric’s disappearance.

A Texas Ranger spoke with investigators on August 24, 2022, and advised that he received a call to a murder investigation with a body that had been discovered from a reported grass fire on US Highway 83 about seven miles around I-10 and ten miles east of Junction, Texas. The body was discovered around 4:35 a.m. on August 18, 2022, and had not yet been identified but was believed to be Eric Talon. The body was sent to Central Texas Autopsy.

After an autopsy, it was confirmed the body was Eric Talton. He had blunt force trauma to the head, an acute subdural hematoma, subarachnoid hemorrhage, displaced ribs on his right side, and a slight fracture on his sternum. Talton also had methamphetamine in his system at the time of his death, and his death was ruled a homicide.

On August 17, 2022, Saray Mendoza Tarango was arrested for possession of narcotics and theft. Tarango was also in possession of Talton’s driver’s license, Texas offender card, and Visa debit card.

Tarango was interviewed on April 19, 2023, about the Talton case and said that on the afternoon of August 16, 2022, Harvey advised he was leaving his residence only to return after a short time with Talton. Harvey began beating Talton by hitting him and kicking him. Harvey knocked Talton unconscious and threw him into the bathtub.

Both Tarango and Harvey left the residence at different times but returned to Harvey’s residence on the 700 block of West 15th Street, where Tarango saw Talton lying in the fetal position in the hallway. She believed him to be dead at this point.

On May 3, 2023, another individual was interviewed and said he was an acquaintance of Brittany Schoonmaker. This individual said he knew about Talton’s disappearance. He said that Schoonmaker confided in him that her boyfriend, who was identified as Harvey, had killed Talton. Then, Harvey made her help him dispose of the body.

In exchange for the guilty plea, Harvey was sentenced to 20 years inside the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for both Murder and Tampering with Physical Evidence.

Read San Angelo LIVE!'s stories on the Eric Talton Murder Case.

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