The Blount Family Bombing: A Thanksgiving Tragedy and a Wrongful Conviction

Thanksgiving Day Tragedy

• 💥 On Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 1985, a briefcase bomb exploded in the Blount family trailer in Fort Worth, Texas.
• 💔 The explosion instantly killed Joe Blunt (44), his daughter Angela (15), and Michael Columbus (18), while Susan Blunt and Robert Blunt survived.
• 🎯 Investigators initially suspected the bombing was drug-related and possibly targeted the wrong trailer in a park known for drug dealers.

The Conviction of Michael Tony

• 🔍 Years later, Michael Roy Tony was arrested and charged with capital murder based on the testimony of an inmate and his ex-wife.
• 🗣️ Tony's ex-wife testified that he had a briefcase and was near the mobile home park, contradicting his claims of never being there.
• 💰 A cellmate testified that Tony confessed to planting the bomb for $5,000, stating it was a drug-related hit but meant for the wrong trailer.
• ⚖️ Based largely on his ex-wife's testimony, Michael Tony was convicted in May 1999 and sentenced to death.

Exoneration and Release

• 📝 Tony maintained his innocence, writing a letter to a newspaper detailing his alibi and claiming his ex-wife and her friend committed perjury.
• 🚗 He stated he did not own the truck described by his ex-wife on the day of the bombing and that key details in her testimony were fabricated.
• 📄 In 2008, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned Tony's conviction, ruling that prosecutors had withheld crucial exculpatory evidence.
• 🕊️ Michael Tony was released from prison on September 2, 2009, after spending years incarcerated for a crime he maintained he did not commit.

Unanswered Questions and Tragic End

• ❓ Despite his release, the true perpetrators of the Blount family bombing remain unknown.
• 🚗 Tragically, just one month after his release, Michael Tony died in a single-vehicle accident when his truck veered off the road.
• 🤔 The circumstances surrounding both the bombing and Tony's death continue to fuel speculation and highlight the complexities of the justice system.