Tommy Witherspoon
KWTX Managing Editor
Waco, Texas
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Tommy Witherspoon is a longtime newspaper journalist who began his career at the Corsicana Daily Sun in 1980.
He worked 39 years at the Waco Tribune-Herald before joining the staff at KWTX as managing editor in March 2022.
Tommy is a native of Weatherford, Texas, and graduated from the University of North Texas with a journalism degree.
He has three sons.
Updated: Feb. 3, 2023 at 6:44 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
Josh Tetens is poised to pull off quite a major coup that will help his office address thousands of backlogged cases.
Updated: Feb. 3, 2023 at 5:42 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
Baylor University has reached a settlement with a former student who sued the school after he slipped and fell during the February 2021 ice storm.
Updated: Feb. 3, 2023 at 5:34 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
Former Bellmead Assistant Police Chief Brenda Kinsey was arrested again Friday on the same charges for which she was arrested in 2021.
Updated: Feb. 3, 2023 at 3:02 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
A former kitchen worker at the McLennan County Jail pleaded guilty Friday to having sex with a three-time convicted felon while he was locked up in November 2020.
Updated: Feb. 2, 2023 at 7:20 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
A former Axtell man who has had child sexual assault charges pending in McLennan County for more than five years is back in jail on unrelated charges from 2019 alleging child molestation.
Updated: Feb. 2, 2023 at 5:55 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
A Waco man who police say was driving drunk when he was involved in a traffic accident in August in which a woman was killed and others were injured was indicted Thursday.
Updated: Feb. 2, 2023 at 4:12 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
The North Texas man sent illicit photos to an undercover officer he thought was a 13-year-old girl.
Updated: Jan. 31, 2023 at 5:08 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
Meals on Wheels Waco serves 820 clients in McLennan, Hill and Falls counties. Volunteers delivered roughly 2,400 meals on Monday, which was intended to last through Wednesday.
Updated: Jan. 30, 2023 at 6:15 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
Those procrastinating taxpayers who have waited until the last minute to pay property taxes won’t be able to blame the bad weather if they are assessed a late penalty.
Updated: Jan. 30, 2023 at 4:59 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
Testimony is set to begin Tuesday morning in the trial of a Waco man charged with sexually assaulting an 11-year-old family member almost seven years ago.
Updated: Jan. 30, 2023 at 4:38 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
An Arlington man who authorities say kidnapped his former girlfriend and threatened to kill them both was arrested Sunday at a Waco hotel.
Updated: Jan. 26, 2023 at 5:34 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
Thelette Brandon set for parole review in June 2023.
Updated: Jan. 26, 2023 at 5:20 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
Former Chief Deputy David Kilcrease announced his retirement on Monday.
Updated: Jan. 25, 2023 at 5:41 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
The jury deliberated about an hour and 15 minutes before convicting the man of first-degree felony aggravated assault against a peace officer.
Updated: Jan. 25, 2023 at 4:10 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
David Kilcrease cited health concerns as the primary reason for his retirement.
Updated: Jan. 23, 2023 at 4:37 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
Prosecutors accused the former city of Waco employee of holding a knife to a police officer’s throat and trying to grab his gun during a disturbance.
Updated: Jan. 20, 2023 at 4:58 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
A Waco man who had a secret room in his house where authorities found a cache of child pornography was sentenced to 12 years in prison Friday.
Updated: Jan. 19, 2023 at 4:38 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara admitted Thursday he can’t run as fast as he used to, but apparently, that is not going to stop him from running for a another term in office.
Updated: Jan. 19, 2023 at 4:01 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
A Waco man was indicted Thursday on allegations he sexually assaulted a 4-year-old girl.
Updated: Jan. 18, 2023 at 4:30 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
The student was arrested after the incident during a search for an illegal substance.
Updated: Jan. 18, 2023 at 4:19 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
A Lacy Lakeview man who shot and killed another man in front of the victim’s teenage stepson pleaded guilty to murder.
Updated: Jan. 18, 2023 at 3:45 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
A Moody man was sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty to five counts of possession of child pornography.
Updated: Jan. 17, 2023 at 5:13 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
Suspect allegedly told investigators a protective order against him is creating a “mass murderer.”
Updated: Jan. 13, 2023 at 3:43 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
Rumors generated by social media have engulfed the new police chief’s first two months in office.
Updated: Jan. 12, 2023 at 12:47 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
A Waco teen who authorities say was part of a violent crime spree in late 2021 was sentenced to 20 years in prison Thursday.
Updated: Jan. 11, 2023 at 4:45 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
KWTX attorneys convinced judge that his attempt to restrict media coverage of the upcoming retrial is unconstitutional.
Updated: Jan. 11, 2023 at 4:28 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
Sheriff McNamara said the incident was captured on patrol vehicle dash cameras and clearly shows the officers ordering the woman to drop the loaded weapon.
Updated: Jan. 11, 2023 at 10:00 AM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
The deputies responded to a disturbance call in the 300 block of Freedmond Street at about 10:45 a.m.
Updated: Jan. 10, 2023 at 5:59 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
The lawsuit alleged the officer's rights to free speech, due process and equal protection under the law were violated.
Updated: Jan. 10, 2023 at 12:45 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
A 65-year-old man whose wife was killed in April 2020 in a drunken driving incident pleaded guilty.
Updated: Jan. 6, 2023 at 6:20 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
Judge David Hodges previously said he would wait to see if a jury could be selected before ruling on the defense request to move the trial from McLennan County.
Updated: Jan. 6, 2023 at 4:07 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
Waco City Council members are reviewing applications from eight District 4 residents vying to replace former council member Kelly Palmer.
Updated: Jan. 6, 2023 at 3:08 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
Josh Tetens has had a hectic first week in office, examining a burgeoning backlog of felony cases and meeting with law enforcement agencies in an effort to mend relationships.
Updated: Jan. 5, 2023 at 6:15 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
Investigators launched an investigation after receiving a referral from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Updated: Jan. 4, 2023 at 6:09 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
The judge wants to see first if a jury can be selected in McLennan County.
Updated: Jan. 3, 2023 at 5:08 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
The former owner of a Waco day care is asking a judge to move her retrial in the 2013 death of a child in her care to another county.
Updated: Dec. 28, 2022 at 3:45 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
Josh Tetens, 43, is set to succeed District Attorney Barry Johnson at the first of the year.
Updated: Dec. 28, 2022 at 2:58 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
Barry Johnson, 66, says he intends to do anything he can to help his successor ease into office as smoothly as possible.
Updated: Dec. 22, 2022 at 4:49 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
The Moody Independent School District is seeking more than $1 million in damages from the district’s insurance carrier, alleging it has failed to pay for damages from a storm in April 2021.
Updated: Dec. 21, 2022 at 3:32 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
A federal judge in Washington, D.C. found Central Texas vineyard owner Christopher Grider guilty Wednesday on all nine counts he was charged with in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Updated: Dec. 19, 2022 at 4:26 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
A veteran attorney has been appointed as the judge of a new court in McLennan County authorized by the Texas Legislature.
Updated: Dec. 19, 2022 at 4:09 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
A former Baylor University student charged with sexually assaulting another student at a party in 2018 pleaded guilty Monday to a reduced misdemeanor charge.
Updated: Dec. 16, 2022 at 4:07 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
The man was arrested after a hearing moments after he agreed to let a shelter take custody of the animals.
Updated: Dec. 15, 2022 at 6:26 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
A central Texas woman is charged with conspiring with at least four others to smuggle illegal contraband into the McLennan County Jail.
Updated: Dec. 15, 2022 at 1:20 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
A 60-year-old Killeen man who police allege sexually assaulted a woman in the back seat of a car at a party in July was arrested Wednesday on a sexual assault charge.
Updated: Dec. 14, 2022 at 7:31 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
A Waco man charged with kidnapping a woman at gunpoint and sexually assaulting her in a deserted alley was found not guilty of sexual assault Wednesday.
Updated: Dec. 14, 2022 at 7:08 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
A pair of former Connally ISD teachers have filed a lawsuit against the school district and three school officials.
Updated: Dec. 14, 2022 at 5:10 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
Sam Ukwuachu will spend this Christmas in the McLennan County Jail as a condition of probation for his 2015 conviction for sexually assaulting a former student.
Updated: Dec. 13, 2022 at 5:40 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
A twice-convicted felon is on trial in Waco’s 54th State District Court on enhanced aggravated sexual assault charges.
Updated: Dec. 12, 2022 at 4:58 PM CST
|By Tommy Witherspoon
The bodies of the dogs were allegedly laid out in victim's workplace parking lot.
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