Reckless hunter arrested after 13 decapitated deer carcasses appear on front lawns across Texas

A Texas hunter turned the state’s picturesque Hill Country into a real-life horror show, allegedly slaughtering at least 13 white-tailed bucks, slicing off their heads, and leaving the headless carcasses to rot on residents’ front lawns.

Darrell Maguire, 55, of New Braunfels, is accused of shooting deer with a crossbow from his vehicle, chopping off their prized heads and leaving the decapitated bodies behind for horrified locals to find over 11 months between fall 2024 and summer 2025 with a crossbow from his vehicle, the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department said Thursday.

Weapons recovered during the investigation. facebook/TexasGameWardens

He was arrested by game wardens in September 2025 after at least eight white-tailed buck carcasses were discovered in residential neighborhoods in Cornal and Hays counties that June, sparking an investigation.

During the probe, authorities recovered spent crossbow bolts from front yards and porches, the TPWD said.

The investigators also uncovered evidence inside Maguire’s home linking him to additional poaching incidents and found that he surpassed the annual bag limit — the maximum amount of kills in one season — during the 2024 season, taking five bucks over the limit in Bexar County.

They also discovered 5.86 grams of methamphetamine during their search of his home, according to the agency.

Maguire is facing 74 criminal charges, including felony hunting without landowner consent, hunting white-tailed deer at night, hunting from a vehicle on a public roadway and failing to retrieve and keep the deer in an edible condition as well as felony methamphetamine possession and marijuana possession.

Trophies from Maguire’s poaching escapades. facebook/TexasGameWardens

The case remains pending in court.