David Morefield is the man who first warned that Pappas may have had more than one target in mind and provided some insight into who Pappas was. HOUSTON - A man who once called himself a longtime friend of murder suspect Joseph Pappas says he will sleep easier tonight knowing that Pappas is no longer a threat. David Morefield is the man who first warned that Pappas may have had more than one target in mind and provided some insight into who Pappas was. “Twenty years of knowing the guy,” Morefield said. “Great guy. And then, all of a sudden...murderer.” Over the past two weeks, very few people have watched the manhunt for Pappas quite Morefield. “When I saw the picture, I about fell out of my chair,” he said, describing the day Houston Police named Pappas as the suspect in Dr. Mark Hausknecht’s murder. Until last week, Morefield called Pappas a friend. They met in 1998 at a shooting range. “I was in college, and he was a police officer and kind of trained me a little bit on the side," he said. "Joe was very pleasant, very mild-mannered. Didn’t smoke, didn’t drink, didn’t cuss...lived a clean life. When he was hanging out with us, he was just one of the guys.” A guy who investigators say held a 20-year grudge against Dr. Hausknecht who was caring for Pappas’ mother when she died. Morefield said Pappas never talked about his family or any other relationship expect for some bullies from high school. “Those are the people that he had said, ‘Karma's a bitch, and what goes around comes around. And one of these days, they’ll have their day of reckoning,’” he said. Knowing the outcome, that comment is chilling to Morefield, as are some other observations. “His physical stature was something that he was very self-conscious about,” Morefield said. “In hindsight, I can look back and say, wow, this guy had kind of a Napoleon complex and was always out to prove that he’s not the little weak guy. “He was obsessive compulsive when it came to training. I mean, he was very dedicated to what he was doing. So I’m just glad that all of it stopped before anybody else was hurt or killed." Morefield last saw Pappas about six months ago when they ran into each other. He says they hugged and planned to catch up and that everything seemed normal. As to when something very dangerous switched on in Pappas' mind is still a mystery.<doc-sep>An Ohio woman, who was friends with Joseph Pappas for more than 20 years, says the suspected killer deeded his home to her and was in contact with her days after he allegedly shot and killed a prominent Houston doctor. PAINESVILLE, Ohio - A woman in Ohio says she was deeded the home of the suspect accused of killing a prominent Houston doctor. Three days after the July 20 attack when Joseph Pappas allegedly shot and killed Dr. Mark Hausknecht, Jeanette Spencer received documents in the mail saying Pappas' home had been deeded to her. According to the News-Herald, a newspaper in Ohio, Spencer says the deed was executed in February 2017, but recorded July 23 at the Harris County Courthouse. “I called him on the 24th, and he said he had a terminal illness, and that’s why he deeded (me) the house,” said Spencer, who has known Pappas for about 25 years. On July 30, one of Spencer's daughters was supposed to meet with Pappas while she was visiting Houston. Spencer said she received a text from him that day saying he was going to commit suicide miles from home and gave her detailed instructions on securing his home. “Sorry for handling things this way,” one of the texts said. “House and property is now yours. Please make best use of it for you and (your daughter).” Spencer said she immediately called her daughter to try to contact him and called the police. Phone calls to Pappas went straight to voicemail. Spencer told the newspaper another one of her daughters knew Pappas was angry with “a doctor” over the death of his mother but didn’t know the doctor's name. Pappas, a former Houston law enforcement officer, took Spencer's daughter under his wing when she lived in Houston years ago. The daughter, who spoke with WKYC, KHOU's sister station in Cleveland, Ohio, said she was a homeless runaway from Painesville, Ohio, and Pappas helped her get off the streets in Houston. Spencer's daughter said Pappas arrested her a few times for loitering and he inspired her to turn her life around. She was shocked to hear of his suicide. Spencer said Pappas and her daughter communicated regularly up until his disappearance. Spencer said she and her family are in disbelief and a bit overwhelmed by the national media attention. She described Pappas as smart and helpful. “I never expected this at all,” she said. “I don’t know. (My daughter) didn’t want to believe it.” A cover letter came with the deed record and expressed admiration for Spencer and her care of one of her daughters, who has special needs.<doc-sep>The weeklong manhunt for Pappas ended Friday when he killed himself after he was confronted by police. Houston police found evidence that murder suspect Joseph James Pappas II was getting his final affairs in order when they searched his home earlier this week, including a will and a mostly bare living room, according to a charging document released to KHOU 11 Investigates today. The weeklong manhunt for Pappas, 62, ended Friday when he killed himself after police confronted him in southwest Houston. He was wanted in the July 20 murder of prominent Houston cardiologist Dr. Mark Hausknecht. Police identified Pappas as a suspect on Tuesday after two neighbors called in a tip. The same day, an “old family friend” told police she received a text from Pappas stating he “was going to kill himself.” She asked police to conduct a welfare check, but when they entered Pappas’ Stillbrooke Drive home, he was not there. Photos: Man suspected of killing Houston doctor commits suicide after police encounter 1/21 2/21 3/21 4/21 5/21 6/21 7/21 8/21 9/21 10/21 11/21 12/21 13/21 14/21 15/21 16/21 17/21 18/21 19/21 20/21 21/21 1 / 21 They did find “what purported to be the ‘Last Will and Testament’ of” Pappas. The mother of that family friend also told police Pappas recently sent her the title to his vehicle and a property deed giving her ownership of his home. Pappas told the woman “he had a terminal illness,” according to court records. Separately, she provided police with a photo of Pappas’ bicycle that she said Pappas sent her on July 23, three days after Hausknecht’s murder. Read More: Joseph Pappas kills himself when confronted by cops EXCLUSIVE: Joseph Pappas told friend he has a hit list https://t.co/dKOo3rf9QE pic.twitter.com/MwVJdhJS9Y — KHOU 11 News Houston (@KHOU) August 2, 2018 The bicycle matched the one seen in surveillance video, but police never found the actual bicycle at Pappas’ home. Investigators said they found Pappas had removed the backseat of his Crown Victoria, creating enough space “to conceal a bicycle.” They found an unfinished police report, showing Pappas planned to report the bike stolen, something police said offenders do “in attempt to distance themselves from association with the vehicles in case the vehicles are identified by witnesses,” according to the court document. Chief Acevedo said officers also found "a very extensive intelligence file" on Dr. Hausknecht and a list of names of dozens of other doctors and medical center employees. Meantime, in the garage of the home, police recovered “three boxes of .22-caliber ammunition,” the same type of ammo used to kill Hausknecht. Immediately inside the front door of Pappas’ home, police found “a large piece of metal, position in such a way that it appears it was intended to be used to buttress the front door against any attempt to force entry to the residence,” the charging document read.<doc-sep>
The woman who was deeded the home of murder suspect Joseph James Pappas II had been in contact with him in the days before he disappeared, according to The News-Herald, a northern Ohio newspaper. Jeanette Spencer, of Painesville, Ohio, was notified by mail on July 23 that Pappas had deeded his home in Houston’s Westbury neighborhood to her, The News-Herald reported. Pappas is reportedly a family friend who has known Spencer for 25 years. THE SUSPECT: What we know about Joseph James Pappas II The deed transfer was notarized on July 19, one day before Pappas is accused of killing Mark Hausknecht while he was biking in the Texas Medical Center. “I called him on the 24th and he said he had a terminal illness, and that’s why he deeded (me) the house,” Spencer told The News-Herald. On July 30, the day Spencer’s daughter was supposed to meet with Pappas while visiting Houston, Pappas texted Spencer that he was committing suicide miles from his home. He gave her “detailed instructions to secure the house,” according to the newspaper report. “Sorry for handling things this way,” the text, obtained by The News-Herald, said. “House and property is now yours. Please make best use of it for you and (your daughter).” The daughter contacted police, and calls to Pappas went straight to voicemail. Houston police searched his home the next day and have since launched a manhunt to find the suspected killer. SELLING OFF: Doctor's accused killer shed possessions before slaying Pappas, a 62-year-old real estate broker and former lawman, is accused of the July 20 murder of Hausknecht, a prominent cardiologist who once treated former President George H.W. Bush. He was gunned down while biking to work during the morning rush hour. Police said that Pappas harbored a 20-year grudge against Hausknecht, because his mother died while Hausknecht was operating on her during surgery. Spencer told The News-Herald that one of Spencer’s daughters knew Pappas was angry with a doctor over his mother’s death, but that she didn’t know the doctor’s name. Pappas and the daughter communicated regularly, after he’d taken her “under his wing” when she lived in Houston years ago, Spencer said. The deed transfer apparently came with a cover letter that showed admiration for Spencer and how she cared for her daughter, who has special needs, The News-Herald reported. Another woman said Pappas befriended her when she was homeless in Houston. Yvonne Shaw said she stayed in his Houston apartment for about two weeks in 2000, and at one point let her three children stay there, too. She described him as caring, but also secretive. She said he told her he worked as an undercover police officer, but she said he didn't like to talk about his job or his past. "I couldn't figure anything out, and I didn't want to ask him too much because I hardly knew him," Shaw said, later adding, "I thought he was a little secretive about that stuff." Shaw, now a truck driver in Alabama, said he also gave her money to travel to Georgia to be with her mother. She said they lost contact when she left Texas, and she hasn't heard from him. "To me, he was a very nice person," she said. "He cared about people. He didn't seem like someone who would hurt anybody." Shaw said he never talked about his family or his relationship with his mother. However, she said he frequently rode a 10-speed bicycle. "He always had it inside so no one would steal it," Shaw said. Julian Gill contributed to this article.