You know they were sort of at least at peace, at least a little bit. -36.90% lower than the Oklahoma violent crime rate of 458.6 per 100,000 people. Many, if not most should be considered armed and dangerous. Which, the police chief, if he doesnt have enough power to influence, whos going to?. But in March of 1970, just two months before the murders, he was hired, by police chief Bill Henslee. K: Next time on Uncovered: The Lovers Lane Murders. After picking Sheryl up at her Oklahoma City home, the pair drove down to Norman to attend a party at Daves fraternity. Here, Linda, K: NPD responded to public criticism of its officers over the years, said. Per page 1; 2; 3 > Christopher Sanders. We were told he had been living in a nursing home. K: From interviews, news articles and court documents, we were able to piece together an outline of that night. I can talk about it now, I can., Recording of Kayla: Why do you think that is? He has an old binder with newspaper clippings, police reports and photos he took of the crime scene when it was discovered. K: Thats Chip Minty, a reporter at The Oklahoman who covered the trial, describing Gilleys demeanor on Oct. 21, 1991, as jurors were picked. Recording of Linda: I would just love to look him straight in the face and say What happened? 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 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. 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. The next few days were chaos. The murders of David Sloan and Sheryl Benham remain unsolved. A suspect is in custody, the sheriff's office in Tate County, Mississippi, Well, we shared the same bedroom. When Gilley started work for the Norman police, he was described by other officers as just having shown up one day. It was just gone, all the evidence was just gone.. Police are still investigating the homicides of Elijah Mothershed, his fiancee Carnesha Powell and their daughter Roshawna Stevens. 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. 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. What do you think was the change there?, Recording of Linda: I dont know how to explain that. I spent an awful lot of time on it in 1970, 73 but after that it just.. Recording of Kayla: Puttered out. Linda and Sheryls parents, Ben and Sue Benham, moved around for Bens different jobs until settling their family in Oklahoma City for good. NORMAN Investigators arrested a man in connection with the death of a woman whose remains were found at Lake Thunderbird last Monday. 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. Recording of Linda: Well, she loved her job I love, theres this one picture of Sherri, she looked so cute she had the little red skirt and the white top, you know, and she was just so cute in it.. 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. The state Medical Examiners Office confirmed the body as that of Sandoval. Born on Dec. 28, 1935, he was in his mid-30s during the early 1970s. Sherry and I, yes. It is like a fairy tale now. August Murders accounted for 1.5% of all violent crimes and 0.2% of reported index crimes. 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.. 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. The daughter of one of his wives said Gilley had answered yes when she asked if hed ever killed anyone, though there is no record of a lawful killing on Gilleys police file. And they did a good job, far as cleaning it up and everything.. Two: Why Henslee hadnt focused the investigation closer on Gilley from the beginning? Recording of Linda: Our family was very close, very close. Six: Why Gilley was allowed to resign days after the murders? Re-reading articles and court documents, its clear he challenged every step of the trial. K: Lubbock and Amarillo are nearly two hours away from each other. He questioned witnesses intensely, returning again and again to the lack of physical evidence and the 20-year gap between the murders and the trial that might affect recollections of what happened. The OSBI later identified the The Norman Police Department begins investigations into the crime and receives tips on who might have been involved with the killings. 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. 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. 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. Decades of investigations followed, creating ripples in the Norman community still felt today. On Nov. 21, 1990, officers were able to search Gilleys residence. What do you think was the change there? When Davids mom arrived at the Benham house later that Sunday, Linda decided she was going to leave for Norman to see if she could help find Sheryl. And then he comes back. Why? He had showed me all of these at one time or another and also offered to loan them to me. He still lives in the area. I mean this guy was a cop and he did this stuff. Investigators called former colleagues and bosses of Gilley, looking for character statements. When the couples started coming to police, investigators put together a line up of photos of officers. Police traveled to the 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. The explanation that Gilley was being framed ended up as somewhat of the official stance of the police department. And then we sort of told him Weve got some good news and bad news. 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. And so were not letting that go. Officers with assault charges arent usually allowed to continue policing. Recording of Ken: It turns out, there werent that many people working toward the same goal., Recording of Brake: Frank Gilley did it. So we had him with an illegal weapon there in Dallas County. 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. Its every single step we take in our evidence transfer or testing or anything and is logged in a computer system. He then cut the body up into a hundred pieces and cooked and ate from them for days. Get to know their families and the rural Norman road that is just the beginning of the unsolved mystery. It was pretty tough. And its also important to remember the climate of the time, that even though the majority of Normans community trusted law enforcement officials, the younger generation was having increasingly negative run-ins with officers, whether through protesting or individual incidents. Then here we can and were visiting it again, making the news again. Frank wanted you to know that he was on top of everything and that he was better than these other guys.. Ten years later, his mother, Sharleen Resor, is finally close to experiencing closure. K: Many of the individuals named in our investigation died within 10 or 15 years of the case going to trial. He was taken before a grand jury in Amarillo and indicted, given a suspended sentence and put on probation for an aggravated assault charge, though it was deemed a misdemeanor. They covered for one another and allowed scandals and corruption to be swept under the rug. The medical examiner said Byron WebNORMAN, Okla. Norman police on Thursday released the identities of two men who died in an apparent murder-suicide. Gilley took the test four days after the bodies were found. I got to know her parents very well. 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. After the test, Henslee told reporters Gilley was innocent, that the polygraph proved it, and then Gilley packed his bags and resigned from the force that same day. K: We heard this again from Brake, who had a copy of the official police reports Ken filed the day they found the bodies. Hes got a big smile, seems confident. 112 GREAT OAKS DR, NORMAN, OK 73071 Property Report 145441690 WebWJ Edwards 2-15-39, Convicted of Murder Story 1: Two Are Held in City Death, Shots Blamed on Robbery Fear Two men were held in the city jail Monday and funeral arrangements completed for a third as the aftermath of a shooting Sunday night in a one-room house at 129 West Chickasaw Avenue, Services for [] 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 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. Recording of Pearo: And he told us where hed gotten it. 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. He was working as a recent recruit to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation in 1970 and was assigned to the case full time. NORMAN Cory Jay Bodily was killed in 2008. Perrine put in dozens of requests, ranging from declaring a mistrial to requesting that words like grotesque not be allowed in the courtroom. No murder weapon, no footprints, no tire tracks. FIND A FACILITY. K: Eventually, Norman prosecutors declared they would be seeking the death penalty for Gilley due to the period of torture and terror David and Sheryl endured while being locked alive in the trunk. When I first heard that, there was a little bit of shock and, as I read further, a little bit of intrigue. So we called him at work. K: This past spring, our newsroom got a call asking if we could look through our old newspapers to find a picture taken of a Jimi Hendrix concert on campus from the May 12, 1970 paper. 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. And about 10 or 15 minutes later, we looked up and dont know how long this guy had been standing there, but we looked up and there was a man standing there and he had a badge and he showed it to us. 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? 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.. Sarah Jensen, a spokeswoman for the Norman Police Department, said the investigation is active and ongoing. Recording of Brake: Henslee, basically, hired Gilley on friendship because Henslee had been in law enforcement in Texas where Gilley was.. So theres checks and balances to make sure the stuff isnt happening. 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