You know You had this last so where is it?. But it was one that, it was kind of a taboo subject., Recording of Kayla: Why? They felt the options were running slim, until February 1991. K: This is one of the only times we ever came across the Sloan family coming to Norman to be involved with the case. NORMAN, Okla. An Oklahoma man shot and killed his estranged wife and her divorce lawyer, then took his own life, police reported Wednesday. Due to the current status of the case, information is limited at this time, Jensen said. Get to know their families and the rural Norman road that is just the beginning of the unsolved mystery. Soon after he testified, the jury began deliberations. Shes a grandmother too, visiting her grandchildren as they graduate from college and get drivers licenses, close to the same age Sheryl was when she died. Rarely did he make any type of gestures that would draw any interest.He was quiet and he didnt do anything to call attention to himself.. K: Undeterred by the two passed polygraphs, investigators kept digging. K: Ten days before Green told investigators what he knew about Gilley, they learned that multiple young couples had recently been harassed by an unknown man on lovers lanes. On Saturday, May 9, 1970, Dave was 21. K: 1970. NOTES: STEPHENS CO. More Info. Most of those who were involved in the case have died, but my team and I were able to track down individuals who remember first-hand what happened all those years ago. The murders of David Sloan and Sheryl Benham remain unsolved. Henslee never did get his promotion to be the director of the OSBI. K: Most of these testimonies didnt come as a shock to those intimately involved with the case. Who knows.. The daughter of one of his wives said Gilley had answered yes when she asked if hed ever killed anyone, though there is no record of a lawful killing on Gilleys police file. On the night of the murders , his car logged only about 30. A Daily staffer began flipping through pages in our large, dusty archive books. Joshua Bookout. WebNORMAN, Okla. Norman police on Thursday released the identities of two men who died in an apparent murder-suicide. Recording of Pearo: In February of 1990, just out of the blue, the old landlord for where Frank Gilley, where he used to live.. Allegations of obstruction and cover-ups have plagued the Norman Police Department in the years since the murders, but changes made hope to rectify those concerns. So I go, Dad did you find Sherry? Instead, immediately call the Cleveland County Sheriff's Department at 405-701-7700. The articles mention the relationship between Henslee and Gilley, that they had worked numerous cases together when Henslee was a Texas Ranger assigned to Pampa, Texas and Gilley was still in Potter County, about an hour southwest. K: A few months into the investigation, detectives persuaded Henslee to give Gilley a second polygraph test. Because you know her parents were there. Potter County, where Gilley was working directly before he came to Norman, covers the northern half of Amarillo. K: The phone call from the Amarillo TV station eventually prompted some case investigators to seriously look into Gilley. Dallas in De Soto, Texas, in the early 90s. Some guy said that to me and I kinda went off on him a little bit.. 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. Maybe the war protesters from earlier that week had started rioting. It was the first night of Girl Scout camp when 3 young girls were killed and sexually molested. And now youve seen me.. As the night hours of May 9 wear on, Sheryls dadbecomes worried. Two years later, it seems like charges might be put against Gilley, but nothing is certain. When you read Davids autopsy report, you find massive right hemoral thorax. When the husband went to court, it was speculated that Gilley was involved, that maybe he had tipped off the husband to the affair. Hes got a big smile, seems confident. We got several Norman officers lined up and walked across the area to see if we could find anything He told me, I knew that smart punk in Amarillo. At the time, I thought, Boy, thats a cold statement to make, the guy just got taken out of the trunk, he was shot a couple dozen times or so. He came up to me and volunteered that, none of the officers had anything to say, they just did what they had to do. Another unsolved case is that of 2-year-old Riah Thomas. K: Sheryls mom died in 1995 and her dad in 2001. 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. It wasnt going to get any better.. Why? He still lives in the area. Im writing this in hopes that some of the people receiving this letter can provide answers, he typed. K: In fact, for 20 years, he, the initial investigator and pursuer of justice, kept a single shell casing in an envelope, one he picked up while walking the fields after finding the bodies of Sheryl and Dave. An old pool cue, broken in half, was in the front seat. Here, Linda, K: NPD responded to public criticism of its officers over the years, said. K: They lived in a house off of Northwest 46th Street, a main road in Oklahoma City. Come on home. So I hung up. W. E. Joslin, a worker on the Norman dairy farm owned by Charles Haynes in western Norman, said he arrived at the property, which has a view of the lovers lane where David and Sheryl were killed, at about 3 a.m. to go to work on Mothers Day 1970. I was taken into his car and handcuffed to be taken to the jail, along with some of the other boys . WebMost accurate 2021 crime rates for Norman, OK. I asked him why and he relayed to me that when he was in Amarillo, he went and would bust the parkers up and make them get out of the car and harass them and then let them go. Pearo said investigators were discouraged by how the case was previously handled, but when they met up with original case detectives like Ken Jacobson, it was a new opportunity for collaboration. Case Number: 2023-00010701. So got a lot of fire power.. And then he goes on duty and comes back in the police car and finishes them off., Recording of Brake: And you notice there were a couple bullet holes in the fenders of the car. Cold Cases, Missing and Unsolved Crimes. He had a .22 caliber rifle in his locker at the Norman Police Department and also has several pistols of this caliber in his residence in Norman. Munoz told investigators he last saw Sanchez in May of 2020 when Sanchez was trying to get into the house uninvited, according to the search warrant affidavit. Hundreds of thousands of college students were protesting the Vietnam War. We walked into his office and we had our probable cause for the search warrant and then he kind of looked at the case and looked when it was and said, Trails kind of cold, isnt it boys? and we said yeah.. Not only does the department interact with the Norman community on a more regular basis, but the hiring protocols for officers have completely changed. Recording of Brake: This is a contact with the Dave Kelley, who was with the DA office in Potter County, Texas. That's 22.24% higher than the national rate of 2,346.0 per 100,000 people During the May 14 search of Sanchezs home, authorities made contact with Sanchez near his garage. Henslee is quoted saying this in multiple articles and testimonies. Henslee claimed that he had gotten a letter of recommendation from one of Gilleys old bosses, but OSBI agent Ken Jacobson said when case detectives asked him to show them the letter, he couldnt find it. 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. The next day, after testimony from 33 witnesses and 21 years since the murders, District Judge Patricia Herron ruled Gilley would stand trial in Cleveland County for the murders of David Sloan and Sheryl Benham. But when you cant because of the way things are done, thats hard.. He brought up the likelihood that Butch Green, his former partner who died a year after the murders, was the real potential suspect. Tornado hits Norman damaging the electric system and causing power cuts. Ronald Lee McMullen Jr., who hails from Norman, was charged with first-degree murder after Kailee Jo McMullen was found deceased from a single gunshot wound to the face on the morning of June 29, 2017, according to a People Magazine report. Im Kayla Branch and at the end of episode three, investigators had taken testimonies from 14 young adults who came forward claiming Frank Gilley had harassed them while they parked on lovers lanes. It was just gone, all the evidence was just gone.. When officers are tipped off to start investigating Frank Gilley as a suspect in the double homicide of David Sloan and Sheryl Benham, the Norman police force splits into two groups working against each other. Because those guys werent even policemen when this thing happened. He was going to drive to Amarillo, Texas, and kill him. K: Almost two days later, their belongings were found dropped in and around Daves car, a 1966 Pontiac GTO. WebUPDATE: Two people killed during shooting in Norman residential area, police say possible murder-suicide MAPS 4 planning improvements for OKC parks Local News / Feb 21, 2023 And then he comes back. Davids mom raised him and her other children on her own, according to Linda. Sheryl graduated from Putnam City High School in 1969 and was living in Oklahoma City with her parents, her older sister Linda and Lindas oldest son. Address: 6400 BLOCK OF 36TH AVENUE NW, Norman, OK. View Source Square with arrow pointing upper right. Were just, you just dont let it go. 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. I think before when it was brought up, I still hurt so bad and my emotions. The case becomes exceedingly complicated and twisted from here on out, so be prepared. The state Medical Examiners Office confirmed the body as that of Sandoval. Recording of Linda: I dont know how to explain that. After picking Sheryl up at her Oklahoma City home, the pair drove down to Norman to attend a party at Daves fraternity. K: This was the same polygraph Henslee had Gilley take shortly after the murders, the test Henslee said proved Gilleys innocence. 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. And they are locked in the trunk now, what are they going to do. And then all of a sudden one day, he said he found it. Henslee said he thought Gilley was the target of a hate plot and a smear campaign. Recording of Pearo: There were a bunch of them that sat there and kind of kicked it around and decided that they werent going to go for an arrest warrant but wanted to go for a grand jury, which to me was very disappointing because Im a go get them arrest them kind of guy.. Gilley took the test four days after the bodies were found. Fraternity parties always being what they were, I suspect David had a few beers., Recording of Jacobson: They tell us David was a hot head and David said youre not the sheriff. It was like, Hey look, that case will probably never go anywhere, so forget that one, you can look at the rest of them. There is a picture of him in a 1969 OU yearbook with his racket. Every issue theyve had including internal affairs investigations at the current agencies theyre with, talking to officers that they work with those agencies also and friends neighbors and things to see if anything else comes up. And its important to remember here that Gilley left the Norman police force on May 15. But I was. NORMAN, Okla. (KOKH) Police identified the suspect in a homicide and officer-involved shooting in Norman that happened earlier this month. K: Brake had the actual statements that Jacobson is referring to, from when Butch was questioned by investigators on Nov. 24, 1970. A reporter there had a tip about someone on Normans police force. I hope you do. But then, he got pretty far but not real far, and started thinking. Those pressing to charge Gilley uncover what they believe to be undeniable evidence, but the stakes may have been too high for those who wished to keep Gilley from being arrested. Recording of Linda: I would just love to look him straight in the face and say What happened? Brake saved a newspaper article about Sheryls funeral the next day. ADVERTISEMENT Then Mr. Gilley said are you accusing me of stealing your $10? Click on the image below to view the Lexis Nexis Community Crime map. The judge for the jury was the former Cleveland County DA who had previously refused to go after Gilley, Jacobson said. After the test, Henslee told reporters Gilley was innocent, that the polygraph proved it, and then Gilley packed his bags and resigned from the force that same day. He spoke of other things he usually did on weekends, like playing card games with friends. WebRT @dtblove05: Oklahoma University football team helping out one of their teammates clean up after a tornado destroyed his house in Norman, OK. 28 Feb 2023 01:09:39 Recording of Pearo: And he told us where hed gotten it. The Linda, Sheryls older sister by two years, stayed at their family home in Oklahoma City with her mom. Now Im almost like, not mad, I dont wanna use that word but damn, I wish they had had DNA back then.. Three, four and five: Why before Gilley was hired, he didnt take a polygraph test, have a background check or enter his fingerprints into the system? Dave and Sherry deserved something better than what they got and their families Maybe there is something in there we missed.. And after almost 50 years, she said the pain is more manageable. 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. Yeah we should do that. He hoped to become director of the OSBI, Jacobson said, and a mark like this on someones record could derail a rising career. (The US average is 22.7) Norman property crime is 40.9. Authorities found a 9mm handgun inside a trash can in the garage, according to an arrest warrant. As he was leaving the barn about 7 a.m., he saw two men standing next to two parked cars. I had an awful time letting go of it. You know and Frank and David were both described as hotheads and so you put two hotheads together I think Frank his only choice was to shoot him to protect himself and then Sherry probably just did whatever he wanted her to do., Recording of Brake: heek. Date: 2/28 #1 stephens co hold. .. 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.. Recording of Ken: Yeah., Recording of Pearo: We had a cold case file and I would go through old homicide cases, not so much as to try to solve them, but to see how guys worked them in the past and that sort of thing.. The boy had been dropped off at a party in late May or early June 1968, and later in the evening he got into a fight until Gilley pulled him off. In addition to debris, there are cars with They checked his police car, finding that on an average night, he would drive well over 100 miles on patrol. Im Kayla Branch. I think he locked them in the trunk after wounding David., Recording of Brake: I think at this point hes just got the little .22 pistol. She was just, oh, well-respected, very intelligent, just you know My dad was a very strict father, but he, uh, you just knew what to do and what not to do.. There is no other perpetrator that makes any sense at all, none., Recording of Ken: When you get in a situation like that, you never really think youre going to die. So he opens the trunk and he stands there with the rifle and just starts emptying the rifle into them. Recording of Solorzano: Theres definitely more rules in place documented. The police department brought in dozens of suspects, potential witnesses, family members and friends to interview. . 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. Today, that house is tall and long, bricked at the bottom. Munoz told detectives he moved into the home in 2019, and allowed a friend, Octavio Sanchez, 34, to store items in the basement. K: Welcome back to Uncovered: The Lovers Lane Murders. In the safe we found some more weapons, one of them was a sawed-off shotgun, which is illegal. Officers with assault charges arent usually allowed to continue policing. They picked through old evidence and files, contacting anyone who would still have a good recollection of what happened two decades before. And we were brought up, we went to church, my dad was a Mason. WebOKLAHOMA CITY - Authorities have identified the two men shot in an apparent murder-suicide Wednesday in the backyard of a Norman home. Now, Gilley was living in Amarillo, presumably with his parents, Jacobson told us. The phrase good ol boys was repeated to me several times. Recording of Pearo: So what we had done in retrospect was probably a mistake. WebAbout 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. 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. 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. And theyre almost all headshots at that point. The jury went on for a few days, but thats really the end of it. K: Gilley had a clean official record until this incident in 1968. Because of his mistrust in the intentions of other officers as the case unfolded through the years, Jacobson held onto it until he presented it in 1990 as the lone remaining piece of evidence. K: Youre listening to Uncovered: The Lovers Lane Murders. We still do polygraph examinations. We announced that we were going to go for the death penalty on those cases because of the circumstances. Recording of Sarah: And I think even evidence management is like a totally different ball game in the sense of how we now use a locker system. And the further you get into it, the further you want to get into it. K: Linda told us about her dad, overcome with anger and sadness, jumping in the car one night a few months after the murders to go find Frank Gilley himself. K: When Jacobson and the team of investigators finally have enough evidence to put real pressure on Gilley, they run into opposition from Henslee and other Oklahoma law enforcement. I think he started his lovers lane harassment and I think David recognized him. The case is almost 50 years old and remains unsolved. In the coming months, detectives tailed Gilley as he went to work at his various odd jobs. 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 SpotCrime crime details. Ended up, I dont know how many days and nights we first worked on that, several, and now 48 years later, its terrible.. Dave Pearo and some of those guys, they really wanted to go after it.. Recording of Kayla: Is that difficult to do?, Recording of Brake: Let me tell you, its not difficult to do for a true sociopath., K: Ex-policeman appears victim of hate plot, headlines a June 2, 1970 article in the Norman Transcript. My mind was, Where could I go, what couldve happened? She drove me to Norman. 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.. He sent it to the Norman mayor, the DA and even Mike Brake, who still has an original copy. Recording of Ken: Its my opinion that there were a lot of folks working against us. Sheryl met David Sloan at Steak and Ale, a restaurant in Oklahoma City where they both worked. Grady. But as 1970 wore on, other facts started showing up that were strange, Jacobson told us, describing them as being too many coincidences to not be connected. 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.. Its been 48 years and the case has been closed and reopened, seen two grand juries and one trial. DNA testing began right around the time this case was reopened for trial, but when it was discovered that almost all of the evidence had disappeared, it didnt matter. He was married multiple times and had a few children. Weve got pictures of them but thats it. Well we thought that was unusual because Frank lived in Amarillo.. With the information from the previous investigation, the gun turning up and interviews with every single original witnesses, except one that died, detectives decided to try and get a warrant to search Gilleys De Soto residence. WebThis Cleveland County Oklahoma Most Wanted List posts the top 50-100 fugitive criminals on the run. We talked to more than just that agency to try to uncover those things and those issues such as in this case an issue we had in Amarillo., Recording of Kayla: You mentioned that that was kind of a change. WebNorman Cleveland County Oklahoma Arrests, Warrants & Most Wanted. Before she left that house, she turned to my mother and said, Here mom, heres your Mothers Day present early the next day was Mothers Day.
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