K: Almost two days later, their belongings were found dropped in and around Daves car, a 1966 Pontiac GTO. It was another disappointing end again.. Ten-Mile Flats is the official name of the area that was home to many of Normans secluded roads, which were commonly known as Lovers Lanes. Some guy said that to me and I kinda went off on him a little bit.. And over the years, when we went back and started looking for those things, the OSBI couldnt locate them. K: But investigators did find .22 caliber weapons in the house, however they were technically owned by Gilleys father. They were younger detectives and they knew that was kind of like a festering sore. He was arrested early May 6, 1977, after being found by a neighbor asleep outside the bloody apartment. Most of the case takes place in central Oklahoma and Northern Texas, but our story begins five days earlier in Kent, Ohio, on Monday, May 4, 1970. Compare Norman crime data to When the husband went to court, it was speculated that Gilley was involved, that maybe he had tipped off the husband to the affair. We were very close. We never found anyone from Daves family to speak to like this, so we were given a much clearer look at the Benham family from Lindas vivid recollections of almost 50 years ago. Date: 2/28 #1 stephens co hold. They took in Sheryls ex-boyfriend for questioning. The last known report was on April 16, 2018, investigators said. The funnel was just one instance of severe weekend weather in various parts of the U.S. And then he comes back. K: Gilley rushed home to a frenzy of officers. They spoke to an ex-girlfriend of Davids, who said they had sometimes went to the Ten-Mile Flats area after dates. K: Eventually, Norman prosecutors declared they would be seeking the death penalty for Gilley due to the period of torture and terror David and Sheryl endured while being locked alive in the trunk. K: This is Dave Pearo, a Norman police officer from 1981 to 2004. I dont fault them for trying. Most of the trial information was kept from the public, but news articles indicated that Henslee and other officers testified, as did Jacobson and the other investigators. He was found to not be involved with the case at all. For Linda, talking openly about her sister is something thats relatively new. Grady. Recording of Linda: I know justice was not served It was one of the hardest things Ive ever done in my life, cause every day I would drive from Oklahoma City clear to Norman, to the courthouse and you know Kayla, what I heard in that was just even, even proof to me more and more that he did do this.. Recording of Brake: 200 people. Recording of Foster: Back then a lot more of that stuff what went on. The initial investigation putters out after obstruction from local law enforcement agencies. Sloans was in Amarillo at the First Presbyterian Church that Wednesday. NOTES: GRADY CO Gilley had taken his first polygraph a few days after the murders and when Henslee said he passed, Gilley packed up his bags and left the force. He told me that if he asked Rick if I were a virgin and he told him I was and he asked me if I myself was and I told him no. It wasnt going to get any better.. And now youve seen me.. And after almost 50 years, she said the pain is more manageable. TWO FOUND DEAD IN TRUNK. Those five words, in large bold font, headlined a story on the bottom right corner of the May 12 front page. You know they were sort of at least at peace, at least a little bit. He moved to Edmond as an administrator for the Edmond Police Department and died in May 1999. Badge was in a black holder. It seemed like there was a main theory our sources kept coming back to on why it was so difficult to solve the case, even after the testimonies from other young couples who had also been harassed on lovers lanes in the area and from Butch Green, Gilleys former partner, who told police Gilley had lied about not owning .22 caliber weapons. A few days after he came here, to the state crime bureau for a polygraph test. Its not that we know everything and that the other side of that is us hearing it but its that the public is coming to us and telling us because in the past, a lot of people didnt, it didnt affect them they didnt care or if it was affecting them they was too afraid to come to the police because theys like Ill just be in more trouble if I try to tell them were doing some wrong. What really happened? View on Google Maps Street View. They began to feel the full weight of frustration that only a couple of guys were truly working together to bring down a case held back by politics. Gilleys parents testified he was at his home the night of the murders, but his former wife said she couldnt confirm where he was that night. And now I can talk about it without breaking down and crying. I think he just thought it was embarrassing to have the guy being investigated.. Investigators spoke with former wives of Gilleys who said he was obsessed with his former life as a cop, keeping firearms, badges, uniforms and other police paraphernalia,close by, that he had a rampant temper and always carried a gun. Pearo retired in 2004 and moved to Florida where he spends time scuba diving. Believed under the right circumstances, especially if the possibility of discovery were probable, that Gilley would not hesitate to kill a person or persons to help cover an illegal act he was committingThis is also from Sheriff Johnston, Randall County Texas, where Gilley worked at one point. It was the first night of Girl Scout camp when 3 young girls were killed and sexually molested. Recording of Brake: Henslee, I think, after the murder happened, I think he thought right away Oh this guy might have done it and Im going to look terrible for hiring him, so lets just get him the heck out of town. So Henslee was in cover up mode at that point. When Davids mom arrived at the Benham house later that Sunday, Linda decided she was going to leave for Norman to see if she could help find Sheryl. . According to newspaper articles in the Norman Transcript from that first week, David was set to graduate the upcoming December with a business administration degree and then be commissioned through the Naval ROTC. As a matter of fact, he, even all those years later, he kept track of where Gilley was on the sly, would leave him a little note on his car every once in a while, Gilley wouldnt know where it came from, but were still looking at you, that kind of stuff, a little psychological warfare. So we got Ken involved and he became really instrumental in being able to help us out with kind of what happened back in the beginning, how the case got convoluted into this big cover up thing by the then chief of police.. Map Browse By State Mr. Gilley asked him another question and the boy answered it. Two years later, it seems like charges might be put against Gilley, but nothing is certain. Davids fraternity went out to search the field as well, but they didnt find anything helpful. It was a much smaller department then, often only a few police officers would be out patrolling the city at a time. A tight knit group. I told him we hadnt. K: They lived in a house off of Northwest 46th Street, a main road in Oklahoma City. Officers also started looking into Gilleys personal life, interviewing the woman he was married to in the 70s about his whereabouts the night of the murders. The place Dave and Sheryl went was popular, though they probably werent expecting to find any company. I think before when it was brought up, I still hurt so bad and my emotions. Investigators believed they reached a tipping point in March of 1971 when they persuaded the district attorney to bring Gilley in on charges of impersonating an officer in connection with the statements given to police by the various teen couples. K: Henslee talked about why Gilley left the Norman police force, saying he asked Gilley to go because the assault charges would make NPD look bad. I hope you do. But then, he got pretty far but not real far, and started thinking. Recording of Brake: Wish we could have put the son of a bitch in the electric chair.. Henslee backed him, saying Gilley wasnt the kind of man to commit any serious crimes, definitely not murder. WebIn April 2004, the Oklahoma Senate, by a vote of 38 to 7, and the Oklahoma House of Representatives, by a vote of 92 to 4, approved a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.On November 2, 2004, Oklahoma voters approved Oklahoma Question 711, a constitutional amendment which banned same-sex marriage and any "legal incidents Recording of Linda: I dont know how to explain that. But handwritten here, in Ken Jacobsons handwriting, Gilley made a verbal statement on 5-12-70 to this agent that he was personally acquainted with Sloan and had trouble with that wise punk in Amarillo two or three times.. Click on the image below to view the Lexis Nexis Community Crime map. WebCBS News Six people were killed in a series of shootings Friday in northwestern Mississippi, authorities said. Recording of Ken: It turns out, there werent that many people working toward the same goal., Recording of Brake: Frank Gilley did it. Decades of investigations followed, creating ripples in the Norman community still felt today. Recording of Ken: Its my opinion that there were a lot of folks working against us. They walked up and down the field, finding a few things more bullets, mostly. He spoke of how Gilley admitted to him he did know David before the murders, though Gilley previously testified he had never met David. But agents like Ken Jacobson didnt believe that and kept investigating. Recording of Kayla: Can you speak about the relationship between Henslee and Gilley? I had an awful time letting go of it. Tornado hits Norman damaging the electric system and causing power cuts. When you read Davids autopsy report, you find massive right hemoral thorax. Joshua Bookout. But it was one that, it was kind of a taboo subject., Recording of Kayla: Why? Recording of Pearo: Ken never gave up on the case. He said yes Do you know if Gilley owned or had in his possession any .22 caliber weapons? This is an 18.6% increase from the previous year. Recording of Brake:Sheriff Johnston said he believed Gilley was very much capable of committing the type of crime that is involved in this case, he said in his opinion, GIlley was a very sadistic personality.. K: Next time, on Uncovered: The Lovers Lane Murders. No murder weapon, no footprints, no tire tracks. So I go, Dad did you find Sherry? Hes reading a statement from a boy in Amarillo who witnessed a crucial altercation involving Frank Gilley. It was like, Hey look, that case will probably never go anywhere, so forget that one, you can look at the rest of them. This incident is alleged to have happened in early June. Recording of Pearo: This case was in there. Well pick back up the day the bodies were found. He told Rick that it would cost us a $20 fine each or he would have to take us down As he was leaning up against the car, he asked me, and this was one of the first things he said, eh asked me if Rick and I had ever gone all the way together or something like that. K: In the search warrant, officers claimed that Gilley likely still had possession of items from the crime scene, like Davids shoes and car keys, a scrapbook of newspaper articles and personal photos of the scene and possibly the murder weapon. K: Randall County is a small portion of land encompassing the southern half of Amarillo, a lake and a few other small towns with a current population of about 120,000. K: Back to that Tuesday in 1970: the OU protest ended peacefully, but police and residents were on edge for the rest of the week. It was private enough for young couples to park their cars and be intimate. They had broken up a few months before, but Jacobson said he just wasnt the type to commit a murder. Dave and Sherry deserved something better than what they got and their families Maybe there is something in there we missed.. On Thursday. The final episode explores the trial that took place 20 years after the murders and follows up with current law enforcement administrations on evidence and hiring protocols. Using the testimonies from other young couples and from Butch Green, they eventually secured a warrant to search Gilleys home in Amarillo in December of 1970. I dont think she was shot at that point. But there was not one piece of evidence the jury would go in and say Evidence A says Frank Gilley killed those kids on that night. It just wasnt there, I cant quarrel with the jury even though I hated to see it turn out the way it did.. K: The lost evidence and the hiring of Gilley in the first place played major roles in the Benham-Sloan case, but so did the alleged obstruction by the various law enforcement agencies. We got out there and the polygrapher is an old Texas Ranger, one of Hensleys buddies. And its important to remember here that Gilley left the Norman police force on May 15. Recording of Pearo: So what we had done in retrospect was probably a mistake. .. On June 8, 1970, they had driven down to Norman It says Well we were on a dirt road and had pulled up toward the west to where the sun was going down.. DNA testing wasnt being used yet, so police had few options. How did you kill them? Instead call the Cleveland County Sheriff at 405-701-7700. WebNorman man arrested in connection with murder of woman found at Lake Thunderbird; Former Norman car dealer accused of tampering in criminal case; Body recovered at Lake WebOklahoma Bookings. August Murders accounted for 1.5% of all violent crimes and 0.2% of reported index crimes. Well, we shared the same bedroom. Recording of Linda: This was one of the weirdest things ever. Recording of Ken: But we jumped in the car in Oklahoma City and drove out to Lubbock, drove all night. Enhanced Cost of Living Calculator Now includes childcare, taxes, health, housing for home owners vs renters, insurance costs and more when you upgrade to premium. They tried to set up sting operations, but they came up with no solid evidence. WebThis Cleveland County Oklahoma Most Wanted List posts the top 50-100 fugitive criminals on the run. Norman investigators tried to use these charges to connect Gilley with Sheryl and Daves murders, but in the end, nothing ever came of that either. The only thing we had to work with was the shell casing that had been ejected, and the firing pin makes a distinct impression on the shell casing, and this one was unusual But we could never match them. Except one, a few days later. K: Jacobson left the OSBI almost a year later. And he told me, he said if I file a case like that, itll set law enforcement back 20 years in Oklahoma., Recording of Kayla: Now what does that mean? But when you cant because of the way things are done, thats hard.. Maybe the war protesters from earlier that week had started rioting. The highest number of murders were reported on Linda, Sheryls older sister by two years, stayed at their family home in Oklahoma City with her mom. But again, a guy has knowledge of firearms would pick a .22 to use, you know, all you have to worry about is that firing pin, and if you throw the gun in the river, the evidence is gone. So if you come across something at a department where something may have beentried to be swept under the rug because the department didnt want to look bad, the current chief or sheriff didnt want to look bad for whatever reason you might think that happens. Recording of Ken: Well, Id been to law enforcement academy at LSU for 90 days and I got back that Sunday, Mothers Day was going to take a couple of days off but was going by the office to get my expenses I was actually in the bank parking lot, I remember where I was, and the chief agent called me on the radio and asked if I would go to Norman to help them with a vehicle theyd recovered in a missing persons case. The calls got further apart, but somebody would always call and would say what do you think about this thing, did you look at this, and all that. K: That was the voice of Mike Brake, the reporter from the Oklahoma Journal who covered the Sheryl Benham-David Sloan case in the early 70s. Yes, he had a badge in a black badge holder that was for the sheriffs office.. WebNORMAN Police conducting a murder investigation say the decomposed body of a woman with special needs was found inside a container in the basement of a home about About 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Oklahoma City, the Norman Police Department responded Sunday night to storm damage on the south and eastern sides of Norman. NORMAN, Okla. - Special agents from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation have arrested a man in connection to the murder of a woman who was found at Lake Thunderbird. If you come across them, do not attempt to apprehend them yourself. Not anyone can walk into property custody Everything is labeled and stored and organized at such a different ballgame and so a lot of those concerns about obstruction, evidence, we as an agency have put a lot of safeguards into place to ensure these things are not happening and that there is a trail. He spoke of other things he usually did on weekends, like playing card games with friends. WebBest Places to Live | Compare cost of living, crime, cities, schools and more. Hundreds of court documents back that up. They left the fraternity house around 11:30 p.m. and went to a place in western Norman known as Lovers Lane. In 1970, Norman was going through a period of growth, but this part of town, out past the main highway and now home to a large residential area with houses and schools, was still just farmland and brush. We were never able to get in contact with any of these family members, though. The Norman Police Department begins investigations into the crime and receives tips on who might have been involved with the killings. Jacobson said calls flooded in, but every one of them led to a dead end. When we got upstairs, Mr. Gilley was filling out the paperwork on the Mexican boy and he asked the boy how much money he had and the boy said $10. WebCrime rate in Norman, Oklahoma (OK): murders, rapes, robberies, assaults, burglaries, thefts, auto thefts, arson, law enforcement employees, police officers, crime map Crime rate in Recording of Pearo: Frank had rented a house from this guy and he brings in this .22 caliber rifle.. Recording of Ken: I dont know. NORMAN, Okla. An Oklahoma man shot and killed his estranged wife and her divorce lawyer, then took his own life, police reported Wednesday. Investigators were also dealing with the biases of the Norman community. NORMAN Cory Jay Bodily was killed in 2008. But Frank, from the time David got out and it was apparent that he did recognize him, theyre both from Amarillo, I mean, what are the chances of that happening?. He told me that he still keeps an eye out for talk of the murders, mentioning in particular a message board where he saw people talking about the case. So we had him with an illegal weapon there in Dallas County. Property Crime Rates In Norman 3,261 Property Crimes 2,578.3 Property Crimes / 100k People 31.67% Above National Average -36.90% lower than the Oklahoma violent crime rate of 458.6 per 100,000 people. Pearo also testified, noting that almost all the evidence from the crime scene had disappeared, except one bullet casing. Recording of Linda: Well, she loved her job I love, theres this one picture of Sherri, she looked so cute she had the little red skirt and the white top, you know, and she was just so cute in it.. This was the only physical evidence in the entire case. Based on a tip, investigators discovered Sandovols decomposing body in a residential basement at 715 W Lindsey St. Detectives interviewed Miguel Munoz at the home, according to an affidavit for a search warrant. To have happened in early June 2004 and moved to Edmond as an administrator for the Edmond police Department investigations... 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