He then cut the body up into a hundred pieces and cooked and ate from them for days. She found the newspaper with the requested photo, but also found what led to the months long Daily investigation into that pair of murders. K: This was one of the houses Gilley lived in full-time while he was on the Norman police force and on and off for a few months after the murders. WebHome / Select Cities / 2023 Comparing Bakersfield, CA vs. Norman, OK 2023 Compare Crime Rates: Bakersfield, CA vs Norman, OK Change Cities : Bakersfield, CA: Norman, OK: United The verdict was inevitable in my opinion. She was outgoing and fun and their family was close. How did you kill them? We got out there and the polygrapher is an old Texas Ranger, one of Hensleys buddies. And then he comes back. The case becomes exceedingly complicated and twisted from here on out, so be prepared. The OSBI later identified the He spoke of other things he usually did on weekends, like playing card games with friends. Its every single step we take in our evidence transfer or testing or anything and is logged in a computer system. Months went by without a response or a jury. 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. K: There were clothes, a bloody blanket, hair and the roughly 30 shell casings that were all missing. He gets the rifle, which is a high capacity rifle, a .22 rifle might have a magazine of 22 rounds or more. Particularly a lot more nowadays than there was back in the 1970s.. 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. Having a conversation with Gilley in reference to his activities when he was a deputy sheriff in Amarillo, he told me of several investigations he had made and also relayed to me that during patrolling for our police department, he asked where any parkers went. When the couples started coming to police, investigators put together a line up of photos of officers. FOX23 spoke with survivors who are just grateful to be alive following Sundays EF-2 tornado that ripped through Norman at around 9:20 p.m. He told Jacobson he needed to shift his focus elsewhere, but Jacobson was already convinced Gilley was the main suspect. Because those guys werent even policemen when this thing happened. K: Police had starting investigating where Sheryl and David could have been after Sheryls dad filed the missing persons report. K: They lived in a house off of Northwest 46th Street, a main road in Oklahoma City. Recording of Ken: The reason a .22 was used is because you cant do any type of ballistics on them like you can with larger guns. An old pool cue, broken in half, was in the front seat. Recording of Pearo: We went down and we talked to a judge in Dallas. A few days after he came here, to the state crime bureau for a polygraph test. Recording of Pearo: Its always a let down. I think dad was with him for a long time with what was going on He was so honest and wanted justice done. Thousands gathered for a demonstration on the Kent State University campus in Ohio. Two: Why Henslee hadnt focused the investigation closer on Gilley from the beginning? 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 Foster: Back then a lot more of that stuff what went on. WebCrime Statistics. Keep in mind that they had been at a fraternity party at the SAE house. Gilley said he had never met Sloan. An article almost 15 years later cites the grand jurys final decision, saying, We have investigated any and all complaints against the district attorney or his office and find them without merit., Recording of Ken: Some people just couldnt believe that a police officer had done something like this and of course I didnt believe it at first. There was a lot of talk about cover up from the chief of police back then and everything, so the whole thing just had kind of a bad smell to it I guess. He has an old binder with newspaper clippings, police reports and photos he took of the crime scene when it was discovered. And he answered a crucial question about why the case came into the spotlight again after nearly 20 years since the initial investigation. 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. Episode 1 explores how The Daily came across the story of the two murdered teenagers, David Sloan and Sheryl Benham. -36.90% lower than the Oklahoma violent crime rate of 458.6 per 100,000 people. 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. 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. Recording of Ken: Henslee set it up and at that time, we werent sure if Henslee was for us or against us. .. 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.. 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. He says he found the gun in Aug. of 1970,, Recording of Pearo: but kept it for 20 years and didnt know that there was any significance to the fact that it was a .22 rifle and that it may have belonged to Gilley So we didnt know if this was the gun or not, but it sort of caught Gilley in a lie. But when you cant because of the way things are done, thats hard.. Be Around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, police were called to reports of a shooting in the Grady 2 Views. We were very close. She was 19. Christopher Sanders. In the safe we found some more weapons, one of them was a sawed-off shotgun, which is illegal. Brake saved a newspaper article about Sheryls funeral the next day. I didnt really want to, but I thought itll be pretty easy; I live in Midwest City and Ill drive down there and we can process that car in an hour or two. Recording of Brake: Ava Yvonne Boden, this was her statement on Nov. 14, 1970. 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. K: This is Linda Adams, the older sister of Sheryl Benham. Recording of Linda: Our family was very close, very close. And said something like, You son of a bitch, youre not a real cop, I remember you from Amarillo, you got in trouble up there, Recording of Ken: David had a pool cue, a cut-off pool cue by the drivers door under his seat, and his friends tell us thats the first thing he drug out if there was going to be trouble. Date: 2/28 #1 stephens co hold. Before Green died, Gilley had come back to investigators claiming that Green had something to do with the murders of Sheryl and David. Way past that 1991 trial. I dont anymore. Those types of safeguards are in place. And we think that was sort of a mistake because of what the jurors said in some of their questionnaires. K: NPD responded to public criticism of its officers over the years, said Major Kevin Foster. When he arrived, he was arrested. Pearo also testified, noting that almost all the evidence from the crime scene had disappeared, except one bullet casing. Recording of Brake: There was no official record at any check in Texas to indicate that Gilley had ever made contact with Sloan, officially. WebExplore recent crime in Norman, OK. SpotCrime crime map shows crime incident data down to neighborhood crime activity including, reports, trends, and alerts. Described as ornery but well-liked and friendly, he was on a tennis scholarship for his first two years. Linda, Sheryls older sister by two years, stayed at their family home in Oklahoma City with her mom. Its seized, its packaged. The police department brought in dozens of suspects, potential witnesses, family members and friends to interview. Recording of Ken: I dont know. College students going out together, laughing with friends, looking forward to the future. But one officer leaves just four days after the murders. K: Boden and her date Rick had been west of Norman, in the same area that David and Sheryl were just 30 days earlier. What became the most important, Jacobson told us, was finding the murder weapon. The stories they told were shrouded in conspiracy theories and different ways the case was mishandled by the Norman Police Department and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. He said yes Do you know if Gilley owned or had in his possession any .22 caliber weapons? The charges: One count of perjury. But Jacobson, never did let go of the case. After President Richard Nixon announced plans to invade Cambodia, riots, protests and demonstrations broke out all over the country. 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. Then Mr. Gilley said are you accusing me of stealing your $10? 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. 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. 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. I dont think she was shot at that point. Click on the image below to view the Lexis Nexis Community Crime map. K: The defense strategy was one of continual questioning. WebCrime Map. 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. The medical examiner said Byron Police reported that in 2018 Sandoval described Sanchez as her brother and that he and his wife were abusing her. Recording of Linda: Ken Jacobson, I remember that name a lot. WebOKLAHOMA CITY - Authorities have identified the two men shot in an apparent murder-suicide Wednesday in the backyard of a Norman home. I think before when it was brought up, I still hurt so bad and my emotions. Two days later, testimony began. Sloans ex-girlfriend, who helped find the car after Ben Benham reported his daughter missing, told the jury she drove to the lovers lane area and happened upon the car, but left and reported it to police when she realized there was blood in the front seat and she smelled what she described in news articles as the smell of death. The medical examiner explained in detail how Dave and Sheryl died, both shot over 10 times, including bullets fired directly into each of their eyes. The car was riddled with bullet holes. He moved to Edmond as an administrator for the Edmond Police Department and died in May 1999. But amid the chaos, David Sloan and Sheryl Benham were preparing for a date. K: A few months into the investigation, detectives persuaded Henslee to give Gilley a second polygraph test. Hundreds of court documents back that up. 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. She would drive it to work, drive it to see her friends She loved life, she loves everything that everybody did, and she looked for that in people.. As he was leaving the barn about 7 a.m., he saw two men standing next to two parked cars. 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. There arent families like that now, I dont think. Yes, he had a badge in a black badge holder that was for the sheriffs office.. So when I walked in there, and they say, Can we help you? And Im just here, My sister is missing and Ive just wondered, and they stopped me and go, What is her name? And when I said Sherry Benham, they turned to me and say, You need to go home. Im like, Well my dad-, No, you need to go home, now. Youre probably gonna think, how could anyone be as nave as I was. Hes got a big smile, seems confident. 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. 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. Recording of Brake: He contacted somebody here, said theres a guy in your town there who was a bad apple out here, who is known for messing with Lovers Lane couples, and they started checking into him and found out he is on probation and shouldnt have ever been hired by the Norman Police Department in the first place., Recording of Ken: Frank made a couple of comments to me after the bodies were taken out of the car. NORMAN 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 three years after she went missing. 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 Tuesday, May 5, the University of Oklahoma Student Association gathered hundreds of students to protest not only the war, but the actions of law enforcement in Ohio. What do you think was the change there? Tornado hits Norman damaging the electric system and causing power cuts. 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. A Norman man has been arrested in connection with the murder of a Wellston woman whose remains were found at Lake Thunderbird, the Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation reported Wednesday. Im Kayla Branch. 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. K: Next time on Uncovered: The Lovers Lane Murders. And your first thought is Good! I told him we hadnt. K: But investigators did find .22 caliber weapons in the house, however they were technically owned by Gilleys father. 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. It was just gone, all the evidence was just gone.. 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. Its been 48 years and the case has been closed and reopened, seen two grand juries and one trial. 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. Recording of Pearo: Frank had rented a house from this guy and he brings in this .22 caliber rifle.. During the May 14 search of Sanchezs home, authorities made contact with Sanchez near his garage. NORMAN Investigators arrested a man in connection with the death of a woman whose remains were found at Lake Thunderbird last Monday. Of the 249 murders, 139 were cleared by arrest or exceptional means, yielding a 55.8% clearance rate. David was shot 11 times and Sheryl 14. Everytime I just about get it out of my head, somebody calls and says weve got a guy that thinks hes got the gun. Gilleys attorney, Robert Perrine, said most of the evidence was not conclusive. K: Four days later, Pearo and other officers arrested Gilley at the auto parts store where he worked and booked him once again into the Dallas County jail. Maybe the war protesters from earlier that week had started rioting. They had broken up a few months before, but Jacobson said he just wasnt the type to commit a murder. WebCrime in Norman, Oklahoma. The highest number of murders were reported on Recording of Ken: It turns out, there werent that many people working toward the same goal., Recording of Brake: Frank Gilley did it. K: The first full day of the July hearing had testimony from seven witnesses, including Gilleys parents, a former wife and the Norman police chief from the 1970s, Bill Henslee. The OSBIs Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program and State Incident-Based Reporting System (SIBRS) are part of a nationwide, cooperative statistical effort 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. 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. 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. August Murders accounted for 1.5% of all violent crimes and 0.2% of reported index crimes. 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