murders in norman, oklahoma

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. Davids mom raised him and her other children on her own, according to Linda. Joshua Bookout. K: After finding the car and the bodies, officers from all of the agencies came together to sweep the area. And we think that was sort of a mistake because of what the jurors said in some of their questionnaires. And we started to hear this idea that the Norman police were covering themselves and trying to make up for the public outcry against them 20 years earlier. August Murders accounted for 1.5% of all violent crimes and 0.2% of reported index crimes. 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. What do you think was the change there?, Recording of Linda: I dont know how to explain that. Well K: Gilley had a clean official record until this incident in 1968. 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: The phone call from the Amarillo TV station eventually prompted some case investigators to seriously look into Gilley. Property Crime Rates In Norman 3,261 Property Crimes 2,578.3 Property Crimes / 100k People 31.67% Above National Average Dallas in De Soto, Texas, in the early 90s. We announced that we were going to go for the death penalty on those cases because of the circumstances. 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. Recording of Pearo: Its always a let down. WebNORMAN, Okla. Police have identified the two people killed in a double-homicide in Norman. What truly happened to Dave and Sheryl is still and may always be speculation, but some people believe they have a pretty good guess. Of the 249 murders, 139 were cleared by arrest or exceptional means, yielding a 55.8% clearance rate. We were never able to get in contact with any of these family members, though. The Girl Scout Murders of 1977 still remains unsolved to K: Frank Gilley lived in Texas working odd jobs until he died in March 2002, according to the Amarillo Globe-News. Recording of Pearo: So we went to De Soto, went in his house, we found a gun safe in his house that we couldnt get in to Frank was at work, so we got a locksmith to come out and get us in the safe. He has an old binder with newspaper clippings, police reports and photos he took of the crime scene when it was discovered. 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. College students going out together, laughing with friends, looking forward to the future. NORMAN, Okla. (KOKH) Police identified the suspect in a homicide and officer-involved shooting in Norman that happened earlier this month. Due to the current status of the case, information is limited at this time, Jensen said. Whoever did that knew about crime scenes and knew about firearms they knew what they were doing. It was pretty tough. 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. WebBest Places to Live | Compare cost of living, crime, cities, schools and more. On Nov. 21, 1990, officers were able to search Gilleys residence. Henslee is quoted saying this in multiple articles and testimonies. 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. A tight knit group. According to the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office, 30-year-old Austin Blake Godwin was booked into the Cleveland County jail early Wednesday, shortly after surrendering himself at the Norman Before Green died, Gilley had come back to investigators claiming that Green had something to do with the murders of Sheryl and David. I think before when it was brought up, I still hurt so bad and my emotions. Maybe Sheryl had been drugged. I dont fault them for trying. Oklahoma is 10.8% cheaper than Norman, Oklahoma. The OU Daily, in a new podcast series called Uncovered, investigated a pair of murders that took place May 9, 1970 in Norman. K: Jacobson, who had been involved with the case from the very morning the bodies were found, was happy another set of investigators would take up where he left off. Recording of Linda: She also loved her first nephew, my son that was living there with us She was just crazy about him She had, believe it or not, she had a blue Mustang, a baby blue Mustang. Lets go! Well, they did find her. On the following Wednesday and Thursday, funerals were held. He had showed me all of these at one time or another and also offered to loan them to me. (The US average is 22.7) Norman property crime is 40.9. Everytime I just about get it out of my head, somebody calls and says weve got a guy that thinks hes got the gun. Grady 2 Views. 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. 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. Well we thought that was unusual because Frank lived in Amarillo.. I had an awful time letting go of it. 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.. 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. 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: But investigators did find .22 caliber weapons in the house, however they were technically owned by Gilleys father. K: Welcome back to Uncovered: The Lovers Lane Murders. 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 Brake: He told me that if anyone asked me about a .22 rifle, which he might own, to tell them no. Recording of Ken: I dont know. They take that very seriously because they testify to that in court as to who exactly has touched that piece of property, analyzed it, when it left to go to OSBI, when it returned. 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. Now you dont die right away from a wound in the lung unless there is a major artery hit. 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. 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. Its just that willingness to listen and to take action on those things.. Now Im almost like, not mad, I dont wanna use that word but damn, I wish they had had DNA back then.. And now I can talk about it without breaking down and crying. Our crime rates are based on FBI data. He sent it to the Norman mayor, the DA and even Mike Brake, who still has an original copy. WebNORMAN, OKLAHOMA: The trial of a 45-year-old father, who allegedly molested and killed his daughter and then told the police that the 22-year-old accidentally shot herself, started According to the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office, 30-year-old Austin Blake Godwin was booked into the Cleveland County jail early Wednesday, shortly after surrendering himself at the Norman Two decades had gone by and the investigators werent going to gather much more than they already had, Ken Jacobson, the 1970s OSBI investigator, said. Hundreds of thousands of college students were protesting the Vietnam War. And my mother still to this day, Why did she give that to me? Was there a premonition, I dont know, no one will ever know.. So theres checks and balances to make sure the stuff isnt happening. He was part of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. WebFOX23 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. Get full property details, plus crime rates, environmental hazards, natural disaster risks and more at HomeDisclosure.com 202371154. What more do you want me to say?, Recording of Linda: What all he did to how many people after Sherry and Dave? Gilley took the test four days after the bodies were found. The last known report was on April 16, 2018, investigators said. 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. I think before when it was brought up, I still hurt so bad and my emotions. . I tell Judy, They found her! I did not see the flashlight myself, but as he was shoving me out the door, my head hit the door. Jacobson pointed to the unusual handling of the case and what he considered obstruction that interfered with the investigation. The next few days were chaos. The explanation that Gilley was being framed ended up as somewhat of the official stance of the police department. Be Not only does the department interact with the Norman community on a more regular basis, but the hiring protocols for officers have completely changed. A few days after he came here, to the state crime bureau for a polygraph test. He said his assault charges and even the call from the Amarillo TV station were retaliation for a contentious sheriff election in Amarillo in 1968, among other things, and that he was being used as a, quote, political football.. Because you know her parents were there. I dont anymore. 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. 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 Ken: One of the hardest things about something like this is what you know happened but you cant prove it. K: Thats David Pearo, the lead case investigator for the Norman Police Department in the 1990s. Linda, Sheryls older sister by two years, stayed at their family home in Oklahoma City with her mom. They spoke to an ex-girlfriend of Davids, who said they had sometimes went to the Ten-Mile Flats area after dates. Recording of Pearo: The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, because they had helped out on the murder investigation as well and theyre the ones that have the labs and everything in the state of Oklahoma, so the evidence was all turned over the the OSBI. 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. The state Medical Examiners Office confirmed the body as that of Sandoval. View on Google Maps Street View. Then here we can and were visiting it again, making the news again. Hundreds of court documents back that up. He gets the rifle, which is a high capacity rifle, a .22 rifle might have a magazine of 22 rounds or more. Police traveled to the 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. 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. 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. 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.. 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? -36.90% lower than the Oklahoma violent crime rate of 458.6 per 100,000 people. Munoz told investigators he knew nothing about a dead body in the basement and gave them his consent to conduct a search. WebIf you reside in Norman, then there is a 1 in 321 chance that you will experience a violent crime. When he arrived, he was arrested. And they said Well Mr. Gilley, Im standing here in your living room and it looks like somebody broke into your house.. He moved to Edmond as an administrator for the Edmond Police Department and died in May 1999. Here, Linda Adams, the sister of Sheryl Benham, is describing the first time she had come in contact with Frank Gilley, the man she believes killed her sister and her date, David Sloan, 21 years earlier. Gilley said he had never met Sloan. And then he said something about Well you couldnt even convict him again or something like that. Two days later, testimony began. 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. Sloans was in Amarillo at the First Presbyterian Church that Wednesday. He said the politics were too much, that true policing was impossible because of it. He still lives in the area. Crime at 6400 BLOCK OF 36TH AVENUE NW on 02/19/2023 1:20 PM. 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. 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. And so were not letting that go. K: This was the same polygraph Henslee had Gilley take shortly after the murders, the test Henslee said proved Gilleys innocence. 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. When we found Lindas phone number and reached out to her, she had reservations about telling her story to another set of reporters, but she became an invaluable source, sharing personal details from a family struck with tragedy. 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: For Ken Jacobson, that was his introduction to the murders of Sheryl Benham and David Sloan. Weve got pictures of them but thats it. The sawed-off shotgun allowed them to arrest him for an illegal weapons charge, but eventually he was released to go home in Desoto, Texas. Many thought a cop would never commit such a crime. He then cut the body up into a hundred pieces and cooked and ate from them for days. You know they were sort of at least at peace, at least a little bit. Joshua Bookout. Oklahomas Failure to Protect law treats those who enable child abuse the same as actual abusers. 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murders in norman, oklahoma