K: From interviews, news articles and court documents, we were able to piece together an outline of that night. Witnesses were dying, people were moving or losing track of them. Recording of Brake: 200 people. We still do polygraph examinations. 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. Recording of Ken: So we showed them photographs and they picked Gilley We ended up with seven couples, 14 kids, that picked Gilleys picture out that claimed this had happened to them on Lovers Lane.. It was really hard for them when we told them we were reopening the case again because it had been so long and sort of accepted the fact as much as they could. WebCBS News Six people were killed in a series of shootings Friday in northwestern Mississippi, authorities said. Henslee said he thought Gilley was the target of a hate plot and a smear campaign. K: The new team of investigators led by Pearo took the gun and ran tests, but it came back without a match. WebExplore recent crime in Norman, OK. SpotCrime crime map shows crime incident data down to neighborhood crime activity including, reports, trends, and alerts. The murders are intrinsically tied to the decade they occurred the type of technology available for investigations, the loss of trust in police and the beginnings of harsh public scrutiny into government bodies. 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. At the end of episode four, police called Frank Gilley at work and told him to hurry home. By early morning Sunday, Sheryls dad had driven to Norman to speak with police and report her missing. And now youve seen me.. 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. 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 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. For Linda, talking openly about her sister is something thats relatively new. 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.. On the last day of the pretrial, one of the most interesting pieces of evidence emerged, though it was never corroborated, when a new witness was called to the stand. 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.. 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. But amid the chaos, David Sloan and Sheryl Benham were preparing for a date. 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.. Im writing this in hopes that some of the people receiving this letter can provide answers, he typed. WebOKLAHOMA CITY - Authorities have identified the two men shot in an apparent murder-suicide Wednesday in the backyard of a Norman home. Im Kayla Branch. The case becomes exceedingly complicated and twisted from here on out, so be prepared. Police reported that in 2018 Sandoval described Sanchez as her brother and that he and his wife were abusing her. There were press conferences asking for information and a reward fund was set up, raising thousands of dollars to give to anyone who could provide helpful details. So I wanted to file impersonating an officer and he would tell these kids he was the sheriff and the DA refused to file. Whether he actually knew or rather it was just oh my gosh this is embarrassing, I dont know, I think more likely the latter. 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. 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? Of the 249 murders, 139 were cleared by arrest or exceptional means, yielding a 55.8% clearance rate. 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 Any kind of doubt that he could create was important to him. While Sandoval lived with Sanchez and his wife, there were multiple reports filed with law enforcement and state agencies, investigators said. Recording of Minty: his job was to cast some kind of doubt on the jurys mind about whether, you know, the validity of those claims. Police identified the murder suspect as Isis McMullen. Because those guys werent even policemen when this thing happened. Address: 6400 BLOCK OF 36TH AVENUE NW, Norman, OK. View Source Square with arrow pointing upper right. 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. There was every bit of circumstantial case you could have wanted to the point of you have to ask, who else in the world could have done it? Keep in mind that they had been at a fraternity party at the SAE house. College students going out together, laughing with friends, looking forward to the future. Im Kayla Branch, and when we left off in episode one, the murders of David Sloan and Sheryl Benham had just happened after they left a fraternity party in Norman. The Norman Police Department said it didnt hold any officials records back that far that we could use to verify specific details. What do you think was the change there?, Recording of Linda: I dont know how to explain that. Back to Brake reading Bodens statement: Recording of Brake: We watched it go down and when it was down, we were still there for a few minutes and a car drove by and I didnt see it but Rick did. The DA at the time, I told him I wanted to file kind of a lesser charge on Gilley, just so hed go to jail, because I thought hed fall to pieces in jail. What really happened? Recording of Ken: One of the hardest things about something like this is what you know happened but you cant prove it. The Benhams became close with investigators, especially Ken Jacobson, the lead investigator from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. Hundreds of court documents back that up. Investigators told me that they started to hear rumors, that GIlley had an obsession with lovers lanes, just like the one where David and Sheryl were found. 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. Pearo also testified, noting that almost all the evidence from the crime scene had disappeared, except one bullet casing. 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. Munoz said he had to call police to get Sanchez to leave. Property Crime Rates In Norman 3,261 Property Crimes 2,578.3 Property Crimes / 100k People 31.67% Above National Average They stayed at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house for a few hours, hanging out with friends. And even though the gun turned over by Gilleys landlord wasnt the murder weapon, it gave Pearo a path to officially reopen the case. A tight knit group. And inside the trunk were the bodies of David and Sheryl, shot and mutilated. K: Sheryls dad, Ben Benham, testified, answering questions on what it was like to file a missing persons report for his daughter. They were from a .22 caliber weapon. Well start back up with thoughts from Linda, Recording of Kayla: Now what does that mean?, Recording of Pearo: Because of the way it was handled back in the 70s and the fact that the main suspect had been a Norman officer. 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. He hoped to become director of the OSBI, Jacobson said, and a mark like this on someones record could derail a rising career. 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. K: He kept the Benhams updated on the case. 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. 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. 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. He spoke of how Gilley admitted to him he did know David before the murders, though Gilley previously testified he had never met David. K: Youre listening to Uncovered: The Lovers Lane Murders. WebForty years ago this month, Oklahoma suffered one of its most horrific murder scenes near the small town of Locust Grove. It wasnt going to get any better.. When police got there, the crime scene had been swept clean. In July, a hearing was held to determine whether the case had enough evidence to go to trial. 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. If you see them, do not try and apprehend them yourself as they are most likely armed and dangerous. She suggested we go to the police station and see if anythings come up. 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. And its important to remember here that Gilley left the Norman police force on May 15. 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? It was just gone, all the evidence was just gone.. I can talk about it now, I can., Recording of Kayla: Why do you think that is? In the following months, officers deliberated how best to pin Gilley down for the murders. 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. Recording of Pearo: This case was in there. She was outgoing and fun and their family was close. But when you cant because of the way things are done, thats hard.. On May 14, investigators executed a search warrant at Sanchezs home at 1224 Westlawn Dr. and recovered documents showing he and his wife were receiving Social Security benefits intended for Sandoval. My mind was, Where could I go, what couldve happened? She drove me to Norman. Hundreds of thousands of college students were protesting the Vietnam War. This was a disappointment, but it paled in comparison to the news detectives received when they went to the OSBI to retrieve the rest of the case evidence. So I go, Dad did you find Sherry? K: In the spring of 1971, the bodies of Gilleys former partner Butch Green and Greens mistress were found after her husband shot and killed them when he found the pair together. Police are still investigating the homicides of Elijah Mothershed, his fiancee Carnesha Powell and their daughter Roshawna Stevens. 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. K: Many of the individuals named in our investigation died within 10 or 15 years of the case going to trial. WebGet full property details, plus crime rates, environmental hazards, natural disaster risks and more at HomeDisclosure.com 145441690. Recording of Brake: Wish we could have put the son of a bitch in the electric chair.. The Norman Police Department begins investigations into the crime and receives tips on who might have been involved with the killings. They checked his police car, finding that on an average night, he would drive well over 100 miles on patrol. Munoz told detectives he moved into the home in 2019, and allowed a friend, Octavio Sanchez, 34, to store items in the basement. Perrine put in dozens of requests, ranging from declaring a mistrial to requesting that words like grotesque not be allowed in the courtroom. K: Ballistics tests had come back negative for guns collected from a search of Gilleys home in November 1990, when officers found a sawed-off shotgun and tried to connect it with the murders of David and Sheryl. And then we sort of told him Weve got some good news and bad news. I dont think she was shot at that point. 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. K: A few days in, the couples that identified Gilley in 1970 as the man who harassed them on Lovers Lanes told the grand jury Gilley had mentioned the murders of David and Sheryl to them when he approached their cars. I think when you ask around about other places or just other people that are in this profession when they talk about getting hired at Norman youll learn that our process is a lot harder and a lot more scrutinizing than a lot of places We still do psychological testing. But agents like Ken Jacobson didnt believe that and kept investigating. 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. I think he started his lovers lane harassment and I think David recognized him. It was like, Hey look, that case will probably never go anywhere, so forget that one, you can look at the rest of them. On the way up, Mr. Gilley made several remarks to the Mexican, one remark was that he didnt like his face. So he opens the trunk and he stands there with the rifle and just starts emptying the rifle into them. Recording of Ken: Well it was open but they didnt do anything on it The agent that was signed to that after I left, I doubt if he did half a dozen interviews. K: Undeterred by the two passed polygraphs, investigators kept digging. 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: Perrine also focused on technicalities, like Gilley not being read his Miranda Rights at certain points or the lawfulness of using testimony from witnesses who had died before the trial started. Christopher Sanders. SpotCrime crime details. Well Come on home. So I hung up. The trunk were the bodies of David and Sheryl Benham were preparing for a date put in dozens requests! 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