Former Local Teen Victim in Double-Homicide

BURNET — A former East Texas teen was killed Tuesday in a double homicide, and the son of a Hill Country constable is charged with capital murder. Garrett Ballard, 21, Burnet, was reportedly high on LSD when he used a rifle he took from his father’s patrol unit. Ballard told authorities Tuesday he and the victims, Elijah Benson, 17, formerly of Whitehouse, and Travis Fox, 26, bought the hallucinogenic drug to celebrate a birthday at his home. He said when Benson and Fox began acting strangely due to the drug effects, he shot them with his dad’s weapon. Benson lived in Whitehouse before moving to Burnet. He was a student at Burnet High School. The Texas Rangers are leading the investigation into the incident.