Sumith Prasad
Craig Zahler’s Western film ‘Bone Tomahawk’ ends with a tribute that honors the loving memory of Joseph Sonnier and Becky Balentine. The two of them were the parents of Dallas Sonnier, who produced the film with Jack Heller. Dallas dedicated his labor of love to his loved ones because they taught him “everything,” ranging from being responsible to kind. The producer lost Joseph and Becky extremely tragically within a period of two years. The deaths shook not only him but also the entire country because of the widespread attention they received following Joseph’s demise.
Joseph Sonnier and Becky Balentine’s Lives
Joseph Sonnier and Becky Balentine formed a family with Dallas after moving to Dallas, Texas, from Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1980, setting up a home in Highland Park. Joseph worked as a pathologist at UT Southwestern Medical Center. The Sonniers’ lives turned around when Becky decided to divorce Joseph. After the proceedings, she married a Peruvian man named Fermin “Juan” Gallegos. The separation of his parents affected Dallas enough for him to not talk to his mother for four years. Meanwhile, Joseph moved to Lubbock and reinvented his life. His coping mechanism was ballroom dancing, which he learned attending D’Venue Dance Studio.
“He [Joseph] worked a lot on himself in the postdivorce. He became my best friend. He was a great shepherd for me and was always telling me, ‘Call your mom, call your mom,’” Dallas told D Magazine. “He was the ultimate support system for everybody in his life,” the producer said while appearing in an episode of ‘Dateline: Unforgettable.’ In 2011, around ten years after Becky sought divorce from Joseph, he met Richelle Shetina, a divorced mother of four who was also into ballroom dancing. “He’s the love of my life. He is the kindest man,” Shetina said about Joseph, as per ‘Dateline: Unforgettable.’
Becky Balentine Was Killed by Her Husband
Becky Balentine was murdered on July 12, 2010, at the age of 55, in Fredericksburg in Gillespie County, Texas. Becky was shot and killed by Fermin “Juan” Gallegos after she told him that she wanted to leave him. After the revelation, the second husband consumed alcohol, shot their family dog, and killed her. He soon contacted the emergency service to confess, and during the conversation with the dispatcher, he killed himself with a gun. She is laid to rest in Hudson Bend Cemetery in Travis County, Texas.
“My mom [Becky] had kept my aunt in the loop. My mom knew she was going to divorce him [Juan] and that he was not taking it well. She already planned to spend more time in California, closer to her granddaughter,” Dallas Sonnier told Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. “From what we know, she had been packing upstairs that day. Her husband was drunk. He shot their dog, we presume to convince her to come downstairs, and then he shot her,” the producer added about his mother’s murder.
Joseph Sonnier’s Tragic Murder
On the other hand, Joseph Sonnier was stabbed and shot to death on July 10, 2012, nearly two years after the murder of his former wife. The fifty-seven-year-old’s murder occurred after he arrived home from work. He was discovered the next day by his landscapers and a colleague. By then, he was shot five times and stabbed eleven times. “Looking back on it, the phone calls from the two police departments for each of their deaths were so similar that I felt like it could have been the same phone call repeated twice,” Dallas said while appearing in ‘Dateline: Unforgettable’ about learning the murders of his mother and father. The investigators arrested David Shepard with the help of a tip as the suspected killer.
When the police officers questioned Shepard, he responded that Dr. Thomas Michael Dixon, the ex-boyfriend of Joseph’s girlfriend, Richelle Shetina, paid him three silver bars and a box of Cuban cigars to commit the murder. Dixon was eventually arrested, and a trial ensued. Shepard was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. In 2015, Dixon was also sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on two counts of capital murder. After three years, the 7th District Court of Appeals in Amarillo, Texas, reversed the conviction, paving the way for Dixon’s release from prison. However, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned the decision in 2020, resulting in Dixon’s return to prison.
While ‘Bone Tomahawk’ was in production, Dallas was dealing with the murder trial that followed the death of his father, Joseph. Still, he managed to complete the movie and ensure its release with a dedication to his parents. “I am most thankful for all the years I spent with our mother and father. For teaching me how to be a man, to take responsibility, to work hard, to be kind, and to forgive. I dedicated ‘Bone Tomahawk’ to them because I owe them everything,” he shared with Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.
Read More: Bone Tomahawk: Is the Valley of the Starving Men Real? Is The Learned Goat an Actual Saloon?
