.. 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.. K: The lost evidence and the hiring of Gilley in the first place played major roles in the Benham-Sloan case, but so did the alleged obstruction by the various law enforcement agencies. Linda and Sheryls parents, Ben and Sue Benham, moved around for Bens different jobs until settling their family in Oklahoma City for good. On the night of the murders , his car logged only about 30. Davids mom raised him and her other children on her own, according to Linda. Five days later, a few miles west of OUs campus, shots were fired again, ending the lives of two college students. TWO FOUND DEAD IN TRUNK. Those five words, in large bold font, headlined a story on the bottom right corner of the May 12 front page. When Gilley started work for the Norman police, he was described by other officers as just having shown up one day. Joshua Bookout. The funnel was just one instance of severe weekend weather in various parts of the U.S. The family was polite and helpful after the murders, but wanted more than anything to just move on. K: The caliber of the weapon that killed Dave and Sheryl. K: Gilley had a clean official record until this incident in 1968. 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. Frank wanted you to know that he was on top of everything and that he was better than these other guys.. 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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. Thats where Dave would have walked when he came to pick Sheryl up for their date Saturday night. Shortly afterward, he heard gunshots. Then here we can and were visiting it again, making the news again. So we had him with an illegal weapon there in Dallas County. The call came from a TV station in Amarillo, Texas, a few days after the murders. I spent an awful lot of time on it in 1970, 73 but after that it just.. Recording of Kayla: Puttered out. Yeah we should do that. But by that point, he was gone. 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. A monthslong extradition fight began, ending in May 1991 with Gilley being brought to the Cleveland County jail. Per page 1; 2; 3 > Christopher Sanders. Brake saved a newspaper article about Sheryls funeral the next day. 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. The state Medical Examiners Office confirmed the body as that of Sandoval. Recording of Kayla: Why do you think that is? 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. During the May 14 search of Sanchezs home, authorities made contact with Sanchez near his garage. 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. WebOklahoma Bookings. 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. NOTES: STEPHENS CO. More Info. 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 We never found anyone from Daves family to speak to like this, so we were given a much clearer look at the Benham family from Lindas vivid recollections of almost 50 years ago. Most of the case takes place in central Oklahoma and Northern Texas, but our story begins five days earlier in Kent, Ohio, on Monday, May 4, 1970. A daughter of an ex-wife said Gilley told her he had killed someone and kept a diary of old cases with pictures of dead bodies. 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 US average is 35.4) NOTE: Click on the links below to see charts for each crime category. It would be the publics first look at new details and theories regarding the case. 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. You know, you think youre going to get out of this, youre going to go to class the next day or go to work or whatever you do. Norman investigators tried to use these charges to connect Gilley with Sheryl and Daves murders, but in the end, nothing ever came of that either. K: Next time, on Uncovered: The Lovers Lane Murders. We still do a complete background on these people talking to everybody looking at everything. Because there was not a hard piece of evidence to put him on the trigger. If you see them, do not try and apprehend them yourself as they are most likely armed and dangerous. Words he said he believes she would have said.. 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. Recording of Ken: There was just like half a dozen guys on the police department that would even talk to us. K: But investigators did find .22 caliber weapons in the house, however they were technically owned by Gilleys father. 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. Violent Crime Rate Norman, OK Oklahoma USA 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 100 K: There was plenty of evidence in the case right after the murders happened that today would have most likely garnered a conviction through DNA testing, said Jordan Solorzano, the public information officer at the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. Compare Norman crime data to Jacobson said calls flooded in, but every one of them led to a dead end. His secretary had said he got mail, so we think he called that old sheriff out there and said write me a letter from Frank and date it back.. The three were found dead at a home in northeast Oklahoma City. I think he started his lovers lane harassment and I think David recognized him. When he arrived, he was arrested. I just dont think its there. Turns out I was right. Recording of Pearo: Its always a let down. Recording of Brake: They asked, Were you acquainted with Frank Gilley when he was employed by the Norman Police Department? 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. 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 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. 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. K: 1970. Recording of Pearo: In February of 1990, just out of the blue, the old landlord for where Frank Gilley, where he used to live.. He has an old binder with newspaper clippings, police reports and photos he took of the crime scene when it was discovered. WebNORMAN 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 Dave Pearo and some of those guys, they really wanted to go after it.. And its important to remember here that Gilley left the Norman police force on May 15. 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. WebAccording to the most recent data from the FBI, the total crime rate in Norman is 2,867.6 per 100,000 people. He resigned and worked for an amusements company before being hired at the Norman Police Department, according to articles in the Norman Transcript. Well pick back up the day the bodies were found. 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. Theyd see Gilleys pictures in the papers, on TV Amarillos not that big of a town. WebBest Places to Live | Compare cost of living, crime, cities, schools and more. Munoz told detectives he moved into the home in 2019, and allowed a friend, Octavio Sanchez, 34, to store items in the basement. View on Google Maps Street View. 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. 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. WebOn Feb. 13, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation opened a suspicious death investigation after remains were found at the lake in Norman. He was tall with thick brown hair and a lean build. Dallas in De Soto, Texas, in the early 90s. Dave and Sherry deserved something better than what they got and their families Maybe there is something in there we missed.. I was taken into his car and handcuffed to be taken to the jail, along with some of the other boys . Then the boy said you didnt put down my $10. What do you think was the change there? There would have been music, talking, some drinking, maybe dancing. K: The defense strategy was one of continual questioning. 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. NORMAN Cory Jay Bodily was killed in 2008. That happens all the time at OU. They picked through old evidence and files, contacting anyone who would still have a good recollection of what happened two decades before. Our crime rates are based on FBI data. They had broken up a few months before, but Jacobson said he just wasnt the type to commit a murder. 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. Recording of Ken: Its my opinion that there were a lot of folks working against us. 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.. 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. The more I learned about that night, the more I realized it started off just like the fraternity parties today. Recording of Brake: 200 people. And after almost 50 years, she said the pain is more manageable. Pearo and his fellow investigators would drive to Dallas frequently, watching Gilleys house, following him to work, trying to put together enough evidence to arrest him. State police officers came to assist. Many thought a cop would never commit such a crime. They took the weapons and tried to match them with some of the shell casings from the crime scene, but the tests came back without a ballistics match, Jacobson said. 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.. Recording of Brake: When he got on the elevator there, there was a Mexican boy about 18 years old on there with us, as well as another deputy. 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. 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. When he arrived, he was arrested. Well Splashed along the front pages of newspapers and TV station headlines were two words: not guilty. In the coming months, detectives tailed Gilley as he went to work at his various odd jobs. 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 Crime Rate per 100,000 Pop. But when you cant because of the way things are done, thats hard.. 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. He told me that he still keeps an eye out for talk of the murders, mentioning in particular a message board where he saw people talking about the case. 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. As the night hours of May 9 wear on, Sheryls dadbecomes worried. And they are locked in the trunk now, what are they going to do. 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