murders in norman, oklahomamurders in norman, oklahoma
Police said the double-murder occurred late Tuesday night in this University of Oklahoma community 20 miles south of Oklahoma City. Most of these shots were in the upper body and head. Come on home. So I hung up. Recording of Linda: He looked at my mom and said, Sue, Im going after him and theyre not going to do anything, and he got his truck and took off and I know he had a rifle. K: Lubbock and Amarillo are nearly two hours away from each other. JOSEPH WAYNE McCOOL Linda and Sheryls parents, Ben and Sue Benham, moved around for Bens different jobs until settling their family in Oklahoma City for good. A lot of blood and congestion in the right lung from a wound in the lung. Investigators called former colleagues and bosses of Gilley, looking for character statements. And they said Well Mr. Gilley, Im standing here in your living room and it looks like somebody broke into your house.. 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.. 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. No murder weapon, no footprints, no tire tracks. If you see them, do not try and apprehend them yourself as they are most likely armed and dangerous. When it was decided the case would once again be brought to a grand jury in February 1991, the trajectory looked similar to when the murders were first investigated in the 1970s: A team of investigators followed Gilley, arrested him for a related but not directly connected charge and then a grand jury determines whether he could stand trial. In the coming months, detectives tailed Gilley as he went to work at his various odd jobs. 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. 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.. Hogue is now charged with first-degree murder in her sons death. 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. Im Kayla Branch. 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. The driveway is to the left, the sidewalk running along the length of the house for a few yards before the steps to the front door. Badge was in a black holder. But it was one that, it was kind of a taboo subject., Recording of Kayla: Why? They just couldnt get past the death penalty portion., Recording of Brake: I think there were people on that jury who said I believe he did it but I can not send him to the electric chair When NPD first contacted me back then and said they were going to try and revitalize the case and they started running through all the material again, I remember sitting down there in the homicide office down in Norman with the file sitting on the desk between us saying Its great what you guys are doing but I dont think you can nail him. It was just gone, all the evidence was just gone.. Due to the current status of the case, information is limited at this time, Jensen said. 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. She found the newspaper with the requested photo, but also found what led to the months long Daily investigation into that pair of murders. Investigators said Sandoval at one time was placed in Griffin Memorial Hospital for mental health treatment, and on Feb. 17, 2018 she filed a report with Norman police stating Sanchez and his wife were abusing her. We think David recognized him from that trial in Amarillo, Recording of Brake: Heres whats interesting about the autopsy report that told me at the time how I think it transpired. What happens is you have blood seepage into the lung., Recording of Ken: I think he came out of that car and Frank had to shoot him a couple times, I dont think he intended to shoot anybody, he just wanted, you know, to do his thing. Next time on Uncovered: The Lovers Lane Murders: Recording of Linda: It changes your whole entire life., Recording of Ken: First of all, he quit the police department and got out of town, which was brilliant., Recording of Brake: If it really came out that he hired this guy on suspended sentence for beating up prisoners, itd make him look awfully bad., Recording of Linda: Its just such a sad, sad thing, not just because of the murder but because of the way it happened and ended up.. Munoz told detectives he moved into the home in 2019, and allowed a friend, Octavio Sanchez, 34, to store items in the basement. They stayed at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house for a few hours, hanging out with friends. Recording of Brake: This is a contact with the Dave Kelley, who was with the DA office in Potter County, Texas. K: Linda lives in Oklahoma City and has multiple children of her own. The initial investigation putters out after obstruction from local law enforcement agencies. He asked me if Id ever had sexual intercourse. Why?, Recording of Brake: I think Gilley was just out there trying to get a glimpse of some boobies and harass some kids like hed done many times before and runs into somebody that knew who he was.. 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. Oklahomas Failure to Protect law treats those who enable child abuse the same as actual abusers. So I think that helped cloud their decision was the fact they thought he was guilty by a good percentage that he was guilty, probably enough to convict. The call came from a TV station in Amarillo, Texas, a few days after the murders. She was outgoing and fun and their family was close. We had talked about wanting to devote resources to an investigative piece, and what unfolded left us determined to tell the stories of not only of those who died, but really about those who spent their lives with the case and how police at the local and state level conduct investigations. 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.. I think he just thought it was embarrassing to have the guy being investigated.. This is an 18.6% increase from the previous year. Sarah Jensen, a spokeswoman for the Norman Police Department, said the investigation is active and ongoing. K: Youre listening to Uncovered: The Lovers Lane Murders. Instead, immediately call the Cleveland County Sheriff's Department at 405-701-7700. The case becomes exceedingly complicated and twisted from here on out, so be prepared. The OU Daily, in a new podcast series called Uncovered, investigated a pair of murders that took place May 9, 1970 in Norman. Henslee said he had fired Gilley a few days after the murders because of the tip that Gilley liked to harass couples on lovers lanes, but also said he had never seen any physical evidence to this day that ties Gilley to the crime., Recording of Ken: One of the comments Henslee made was that he didnt have enough power to influence a murder investigation. Bill Maher funeral home. And they did a good job, far as cleaning it up and everything.. I think when he came back he stood back and fired a couple rounds in the side of the car to see if they were still in there and alive and he probably heard them oh please you know and he popped the trunk and started killing. They were from a .22 caliber weapon. Which, the police chief, if he doesnt have enough power to influence, whos going to?. Plus the chief added some automatic disqualifiers to that on drug usage, domestic issues that you may have that will automatically disqualify you from our process. It would be the publics first look at new details and theories regarding the case. Well, we shared the same bedroom. 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: Brake had the actual statements that Jacobson is referring to, from when Butch was questioned by investigators on Nov. 24, 1970. They checked his police car, finding that on an average night, he would drive well over 100 miles on patrol. Recording of Linda: I thought whoopie, OK good, fine, you know? K: This is Linda Adams, the older sister of Sheryl Benham. She suggested we go to the police station and see if anythings come up. Recording of Brake: Henslee, basically, hired Gilley on friendship because Henslee had been in law enforcement in Texas where Gilley was.. It was like, Hey look, that case will probably never go anywhere, so forget that one, you can look at the rest of them. As the night hours of May 9 wear on, Sheryls dadbecomes worried. Recording of Brake: There was no official record at any check in Texas to indicate that Gilley had ever made contact with Sloan, officially. And your first thought is Good! Did they find Sherry? Yes. 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. Davids fraternity went out to search the field as well, but they didnt find anything helpful. On March 8, 1972, the grand jury met for the first time in Cleveland County to listen to witness testimonies and decide if there were any charges that could be filed against Gilley or if there was mishandling they could hold the local law agencies accountable for. Sloans was in Amarillo at the First Presbyterian Church that Wednesday. Its just that willingness to listen and to take action on those things.. -36.90% lower than the Oklahoma violent crime rate of 458.6 per 100,000 people. It was private enough for young couples to park their cars and be intimate. K: Articles about the murders were all over the central Oklahoma news, and Linda said her family was asked to do multiple interviews those next few days. Benham did write the letter on May 11, 1971, exactly one year after the body of his daughter and her date were found in the trunk of Daves car. Recording of Brake: He answered the relevant question truthful. He brought up the likelihood that Butch Green, his former partner who died a year after the murders, was the real potential suspect. 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. College students going out together, laughing with friends, looking forward to the future. Pearo retired in 2004 and moved to Florida where he spends time scuba diving. 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. Police questioned Gilley and Henslee, who both said Gilley had never owned a .22 caliber weapon, the type of gun used in the murders. What truly happened to Dave and Sheryl is still and may always be speculation, but some people believe they have a pretty good guess. Not only does the department interact with the Norman community on a more regular basis, but the hiring protocols for officers have completely changed. WebAllegations 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. We were very close. Impersonating an officer today can lead to jail time and thousands of dollars in fines, but in 1971 Gilley didnt spend any time in jail. Potter County, where Gilley was working directly before he came to Norman, covers the northern half of Amarillo. 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. Now detectives believed themselves to be without any physical evidence. Officers with assault charges arent usually allowed to continue policing. Its been 48 years and the case has been closed and reopened, seen two grand juries and one trial. K: Sheryls dad, Ben Benham, testified, answering questions on what it was like to file a missing persons report for his daughter. Munoz said he had to call police to get Sanchez to leave. Henslee said he thought Gilley was the target of a hate plot and a smear campaign. Now Im almost like, not mad, I dont wanna use that word but damn, I wish they had had DNA back then.. They tried to set up sting operations, but they came up with no solid evidence. He was detained briefly and released. I did not see the flashlight myself, but as he was shoving me out the door, my head hit the door. So he passed the polygraph. Well 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. They patted each other on the back, good to see you, and all that stuff. And I think he did use time as an ally to just cast some doubt on the allegations that were made and the accuracy of the allegations and the accuracy of the witness recollection. Of course Gilley passed the polygraph and we didnt get to talk to him or anything.. When these kids started coming up and picking his picture out of a photo lineup is when I really started believing they knew what they were talking about.. WebForty years ago this month, Oklahoma suffered one of its most horrific murder scenes near the small town of Locust Grove. Thats when we realized this case was more than a pair of untimely deaths. Now this detail, the assault charge, is crucial because case investigators used it to show that Gilley should never have been hired by the Norman Police Department in the first place. David came to OU as a student from Amarillo, Texas, in 1966. 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. Eventually, Jacobson told Ben Benham, Sheryls father, to try writing a letter to Oklahomas attorney general and see if a grand jury could be convened, effectively skipping the need for authorization from heads of local agencies and instead giving officers a way to immediately close in on Gilley. The funnel was just one instance of severe weekend weather in various parts of the U.S. 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. At the end of episode two, we first heard the name Frank Gilley as a possible suspect in the murders of Sheryl Benham and David Sloan in early May of 1970. Authorities found a 9mm handgun inside a trash can in the garage, according to an arrest warrant. 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. When police got there, the crime scene had been swept clean. It was the first night of Girl Scout camp when 3 young girls were killed and sexually molested. It was a much smaller department then, often only a few police officers would be out patrolling the city at a time. 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. Soon after he testified, the jury began deliberations. And on March 1, 1991, after roughly a month of testimony and deliberation, the second Cleveland County grand jury looking into Gilley returned an indictment. Smaller Department then, often only a few police officers would be the publics first look at details... 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