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1965: The
Ice Box
Murders occurred on Father Day, June 20th. A
double homicide happened in Hyde Park Addition, an older part of Houston
that was established during the 1920's. At 1815 Driscoll Street, two elderly
residents Fred C. Rogers, 81 years of age and his wife, Edwina H. Rogers, 72
years old were murdered. Three nights later their mutilated, dissected
bodies were found in the kitchen refrigerator of their home by two Houston
police officers. A concerned relative who came to the house everyday became
worried because of a number of unanswered phone calls to the Rogers home.
Police were called and entered the home expecting nothing but possibly an
elderly person with a broken hip. They found that the door lock had been
broken and nothing but a large flower plant was keeping the door shut from
inside. At first nothing strange was noticed until the found the kitchen a
mess. The four police stayed in the kitchen to notice the smell of bad meat
from the 1950's refrigerator door. What was thought to be bad meat was the
cut up remains of the Rogers couple. Edwina's decapitated head was found in
the vegetable tray. Then a torso, split along the backbone was discovered
stuffed between shelves. Feet were severed at the ankles, and the legs were
cut at the knees. Their thighs detached at the hips. Edwina Rogers'
dissected body was so tightly packed in
the refrigerator that it obscured her husband Fred's body. The compression
was only possible because both bodies had been drained of blood, and all
internal organs had been removed. Deputy Medical Examiner Robert Bucklin,
and the medical examiner's investigator, Henry Ismonde, stretched a large
piece of black plastic on the kitchen floor so the body parts could be taken
out of the refrigerator and assembled. Attention immediately focused on the
son, Charles
Frederick Rogers (43), who lived upstairs. Luminal revealed blood stain
evidence on the oak floor of the son's bedroom. This information coupled
with everything else that had been found in the house that night, resulted
in a pickup order as a material witness being issued for the son, Charles
Frederick Rogers, at 1:37 AM Thursday morning, June 24. The son has been
missing since. *(Excerpts from "The Ice Box Murders" (c)2000 Hugh E. Gardenier, III and Martha Leonard Hughes)
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1971:
The I-45 murders begin.
During the early 1970s, a growing number of unsolved murders involving young
females plagued area law enforcement officers. It all takes place along a
50-mile stretch of
Interstate 45 between Houston and
Galveston. Now in 2008 with a larger list of missing girls and unsolved
murders around a 50-mile stretch of I 45 between Houston and Galveston, the
maze just gets more perplexing. Houston Police and surrounding areas know of
at least three serial killers, but more deaths remain in the mystery. It
starts with Colette Wilson, 13 years old. In Alvin on June 17, 1971 Colette
disappeared when dropped off by her Band Leader at a bus stop. Not until 5
months later, her nude body was found close to I-10 and Highway 6 near
Addicks Reservoir in West Houston. This was about 35 to 40 miles from where
last seen. She had been killed by a gunshot to the head and her band instrument
was never located. The remains of Colette Wilson were found within 35 yards
from where the body of Gloria Gonzales was later discovered. Gloria
Gonzales, 19 year old, disappeared on October 28, 1971 near her home in
Houston. She died from blunt force trauma to the head. The list goes on, and
it is long. The
Harris County morgue has recorded 75 unidentified female bodies since 1962,
and the cause of death is listed as "unknown" for a majority of them. Only
28 have been ruled as definite homicides. Some Houston residents, along with
the tabloids at the time nicknamed the Houston to Galveston stretch
"America's Highway to Hell." Don't get that confused with the fact that I-45
has also had the record of longest road work on any major freeway in
America.
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1973:
Dean
Arnold Corll, was an employee of
Houston Lighting & Power during his rampage of torture and murder of 27
young boys. The only close friends that Dean had were Elmer Wayne Henley
and David Owen Brooks, but soon worried about their own place with Dean whom
they began to fear. After all, Corll's sadomastic sexual needs were getting more
urgent and violent. By the time the two young boy's were hanging out with Corll,
he was already in his mid-thirties. Corll offered Wayne money allegedly
several hundred dollars to procure young attractive men for him. David was in
junior high by the time he became associated with Dean Corll, who paid him for
his sexual favors. Corll would get his two minions to lure in victims at his
Houston home to have all night glue sniffing parties and sex with the passed out
guest. Torture and murder would always follow. One of the strangest part of this
case was that Wayne and Brooks would lure even their childhood friends to Dean,
knowing exactly what would happen to them. Henley and Brooks also helped
Corll kill and bury some of the victims, who were strapped to the plywood
"torture board" and suffered hours, sometimes days, of unimaginable sexual and
physical abuse before they were shot or strangled. Wayne and David Brooks had been
planning to kill Corll because they became even more frightened of him and
afraid that he had gone crazy. On August 8th, 1973 Wayne shot Corll in self
defense after the mistake of bringing in a young girl instead. Wayne was tied up
with the two other victims, but "sweet talked" his way out by promising to
torture and kill the girl himself. After Wayne was untied to shoot Dean, he
called police to tell them of the murder. Once Wayne and Brook were in custody,
the story of Dean Corll's murders started to unfold. Wayne took police to High
Island to a street called "Silver Bell", and a marina with a business called
"Southwest Boat Storage." Dean Corll's stall was number 11. By the end of the
search for victims, 17 bodies were found in the boat shed. 10 other victims were located
in the wooded area near Lake Sam Rayburn in East Texas.. Before the investigation was completed, the
bodies of 27 boys had been unearthed making the serial murder case the largest
in U.S. history, beating the existing record of Juan Corona's 25 victims. In
1974, Wayne Henley was convicted of murder in the deaths of six boys and was
sentenced to six consecutive 99-year terms. In 1975, David Brooks was convicted
of murder in the death of one 15-year-old boy and was sentenced to life. The
term serial killer had not yet been coined, so this unfolding horror was simply
called the Houston Mass Murders - at the time, the worst in U.S. history. Their
crimes also topped the list of the worst crimes in the past 100 years in Houston
history.
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1979:
Decapitated
bodies of 4 people were found between the last
week of July and the first week of October. It seemed that the killer had
used the heads as trophies after each murder. None of the heads have been
found yet. The first attack occurred July 27 in Southwest Houston. The
victim was a female who was cornered and beheaded in the corner of her
apartment. On August 10 another victim was spared from complete decapitation
as the killer was scared away. Five blocks away at Freed Park, residents
awoke to the sounds of screams and gunshots. Police arrived on a call that
night on October 3, but found no evidence to link any crime. The next
morning on October 4 police found the body of 16-year-old Joann Huffman. She
was found shot to death and dumped beside a picnic table with her jeans
unzipped. At a nearby location at a used-car lot, her boyfriend's was found
abandoned. The decapitated body of the driver, 18 year-old Robert
Spangenberger was found locked in the trunk of the car. All of these cases
remain unsolved to this day.
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1983:
Calder Rd. in League City has two names,
but only one is on a map. It adopted the name "Killing Fields" in 1983 when
four women's bodies were discovered in a field off Calder Road (west of
Interstate 45) from 1983 to 1991. The first murder victim was Heidi
Villareal Fye, a 25-year-old waitress last seen using a payphone at a
neighborhood convenient store located on the corner of W Main & Hobbs in
League City, Texas, on October 7, 1983. Her remains were found on April 6,
1984 at an abandoned oil field located in the 3000 block of Calder Rd in
League City, TX. The second victim was
Laura Lynn Miller, 16, of League
City, was reported missing in September 1984. Her remains were found 17
months later (February 1986) also in the 3000 block of Calder Rd. The
unidentified remains of a third woman were found on February 2, 1986. Death
is estimated to have taken place between 6 weeks to 6 months prior to
discovery. The estimated age at time of death was approximately 25 years
old. Then on September 8, 1991 the skeletal remains of
yet another unidentified woman was found. Death is estimated to have taken
place between 1 month and 4 months prior to discovery. The estimated age at
time of death was approximately 31 years old. The last two victims have been
dubbed Jane and Janet Doe. Mark Stallings became a suspect
after confessing in 2001 from prison to the 'Killing Fields' murders outside
of League City. Stallings has a history of violence, and is currently
serving 489 years in prison for aggravated assault and an escape attempt.
During his 2001 confession, he told authorities that he killed as many as six women in the Fort Bend and Galveston
counties, including April Eaves, 18, and Bea Bowen, 27. Although physical
evidence is lacking, charges against Stallings are likely for the April 1986
slaying of Bowen, and the June 1989 death of Eaves. Eaves' body was found in
an abandoned mobile home near FM 1464 and Old Richmond Road. Bowen's body
was found in an undeveloped area of the county known as Park Westheimer.
Investigators are also looking into his role in the four slayings in League
City. Stallings also worked for Robert Abel, who formerly operated Star Dust
Trail Rides on the property that encompasses the Killings Fields.
Once also a suspect, Abel took his time to help police, which is what
most killers would do. Abel's ex-wife told authorities that Abel had been
physically abusive towards his own animals, and liked keeping the dead ones
on his property. Still, no hard evidence has yet come to light which would
convict either suspect.
It just remains a part of the I-45 murder time line where most of the cases
have not been solved or closed for decades.
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1984:
Clear Lake High School suffered from
a wave of student suicides during September and October of 84'. Six suicides
happened during these months, and *rumors of a pact in which 20 to 30
students swore to commit suicide within six weeks were generated by a
student who, according to the students and counseling staff, circulated the
story ''as a lark.''* Janel Miller, a psychologist who is a member of
the anti-suicide team assembled by the district, said three of the six
suicide victims knew one another and two had a routine acquaintance. Darren
Thibodeaux, 14 years old, stuffed towels under a garage door, started the
engine of his family's automobile and then crouched by the exhaust pipe.
*Darren's body was found about an hour before 150 mourners attended the
funeral of 16-year-old Gary Shivers, a Clear Lake High School student found
hanged. The other victims were Lisa Schatz, 15, who was found hanged
in her home; Wesley Tiedt, 19, was found hanged at his home Oct.
4; Sean Woods, 19, found shot to death in his pickup truck Sept. 17; and
Warren Kuns, 19, found shot to death in his car Aug. 9. During the suicide
crisis the student newspaper, Lake Reflections, devoted an entire issue to
the problem.* Clear Lake High School today has a higher than average suicide
rate among students compared to other high schools in the country. The New
York Times reports the incidents in 1984 were soon all forgotten.*(taken from
The New York Times, Published: October 14, 1984)
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1984:
The Toddville Mansion, also know as
the List Mansion became one of
the most infamous sites in the Clear Lake area. The man
who built and lived in this 34,000 square foot mansion was pederast
millionaire William Gerald List. List befriended young street boys who
hustled in the Westheimer area of Houston. Elbert Ervin Homan (Smiley)
and other boys were hired to do most of the house work at the mansion with
free room and board. It did not end there though. The owner also was abusive
to the teenagers, making them do sexual favors in exchange for free drugs.
Even this part of the deal was known when hired. The four young men living
in the mansion started talking one night of the sexual depravity and short
temper of List. One of the teenage boys joked about killing List that night,
and another ran up List's phone bill with random international calls. He
said this way he would have to kill List, because if he didn't - List would
kill him. The next morning after List went to work, they began tearing up
the place breaking everything in site during a drunken high stupor. Smiley
waited for List to come back from work. When he did, Smiley was waiting for
him with Lists' own shotgun and killed him immediately. The murder took
place in the large indoor atrium that was the middle section of the mansion.
When police found the body it was desecrated with a garden hose stuck into
his anal cavity, pushing water out of every other orifice of his body. All
four were caught and arrested shortly after while
using Lists' checks and credit cards. It was once located at 3300 Toddvillle Rd. in Seabrook Texas
until the mansion was leveled to make expensive condos. My brother (Clear Lake
High School graduate) once attended a party his friend (a temporary
caretaker) threw at the mansion. This wasn't unusual when the mansion was
largely uninhabited and vulnerable to curious teenagers. Students started
throwing small parties in the mansion just to break in and say that they "got high
and had a few beers at the legendary Toddville mansion." Every Halloween was a
hot night for the mansion and soon the break ins and vandalism got to be too
much for the owner and neighbors that surrounded the once gated cement wall of
the murder house. 3300 Todville Rd. Seabrook, TX
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1994:
Roger L.
Hodgkins, a 65 year old former NASA engineer
was shot and killed by a SWAT officer when he pointed a rifle at police in
his backyard. On 11/26/94 police called on the Hodgkins residence
around 12:30 a.m. for hearing gun shots being fired. When police arrived at
his house, Hodgkins answered back by firing his .22-caliber rifle at the
door. The officers backed off and called in SWAT. They arrived and
surrounded the house. Police then phoned him numerous times only to get no
answer. He stepped out of his house a few minutes after sunrise to make an
obscene gesture to the cops. It wouldn't be until an hour later when he came
outside again. At about 7:30 a.m. he came outside with his shotgun and began
to aim it at an officer. A sniper ended up shooting Hodgkins in the chest
and arm, and died on the way to Ben Taub Hospital. No officers or neighbors
were killed during the stand off. Hodgkins was known to be a recluse and
eccentric to neighbors. His behavior was becoming increasingly strange in
the last few months before his death. Neighbors reported him standing
outside in the rain, and once tried to cut his bushes with a fencing foil.
He was not known to be close to any of his neighbors even with his next door
neighbor of 20 years, Beverly Bush. Hodgkins once spray-painted odd symbols
on the street in front of the Bush house and threw aerosol cans at their
home. The neighbor across the street, Ardis Williams, said neighbors were
becoming annoyed with Hodgkins because of the large number of cats he was
keeping at his house and lacked any care of his yard. Hodgkins lived at
15707 Fathom Ln. in the subdivision of Oakbrook West in Clear Lake. What can
be found on the internet about Hodgkins is that during his NASA engineer
career he worked on the
HYDRA 1 Data Display System.
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1999-Present: Bodies seem to keep washing
up along the Galveston Shore, yet some neighbors are not shocked about
these findings. *Alone in 2003, 18 bodies have been discovered. Three of those
have been considered homicide. Acting police Chief Kenneth Mack estimates that
the bodies of one or two homicide victims are found along Galvestons shores
each year. The number of drowning victims that wash up is much higher. But Mack
said he hopes the frequency of these occurrences doesnt desensitize people to
the brutality of the deaths. I would hate to think we are so jaded as to be
immune to the news of someone being cut up and disposed of like trash, he said.
John Florence, chief investigator for the medical examiners office, said most
of the homicide victims recovered from area waters were killed elsewhere and
dumped here. Bodies have been discovered just about everywhere on or around
Galveston. Vacationers find them while walking the beach, train engineers see
them from the rails and port workers discover them near the ships. It seems,
though, its fisherman who find most of them. On Dec. 7 1999, a
man fishing near 77th Street and Channelview Drive discovers a mans torso in a
box. Later that night, two anglers find the bodys head wrapped in a garbage bag
nearby. The men fish for three hours before opening the bag and taking it to
police. March 29th 2001: U.S. Coast Guard spots a body wrapped in
a tarp near Deer Island, southwest of the Causeway. The man had been shot in the
neck, wrapped in a blue tarp and chains and tied to a cinderblock. Investigators
believe the man was killed at least a week earlier and dumped off the Causeway.
Sept. 30, 2001: A man fishing with his son finds Morris Blacks
torso. The 71-year-old murder victims limbs are found wrapped in plastic bags
nearby. Black's death gained international attention after multi-millionaire
real estate heir Robert Durst was charged with murder in the case. Durst was
found not guilty. April 18, 2000: A left foot and calf are found wrapped in
seaweed near the 4500 block of Seawall Boulevard.* February 23,
2006: A woman found dead near the Flagship Hotel Thursday has been
identified as Natasha Solidum, 30, of Houston, according to Galveston police.
Alief ISD confirmed that she was a first grade teacher at Cummings Elementary.
Her body was found floating in the water near 24th Street around 11 a.m. Her car
was parked nearby on the Seawall.
Solidum suffered a single gunshot wound to the chest. November 11, 2006:
Amanda Nicole Kellums nude body was found lying face down at the eastern edge
of Omega Bay, near Interstate 45 and just north of the neighborhood bearing the
same name as the body of water. In her 27 years of life, Kellum had racked up
more than a dozen convictions, felonies and misdemeanors. Her convictions
included various assault charges, drug-possession charges and at least three
convictions for prostitution. Kellum was beaten and stabbed to death before
being dumped into the water.
*Sources taken by Sarah Viren The Daily News Published December 14,
2003
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2000:
David Hisey has been in police custody
since the night of Sept. 2, 2000, when two investigators found the rotting
remains of his parents, Hollis and Sunnye Hisey. Hisey was tried in 2002 as he
pleaded not guilty on a charge of capital murder, with a lesser charge of murder
included. Nueces County Chief Medical Examiner Lloyd White told jurors that tiny
bones in the necks of Hiseys parents broke after their deaths. Galveston County
medical examiners based their ruling that the elderly couple both died of
strangulation on the broken bones. Hisey told the court that he discovered his
mothers dead body in the morning of July 1999. Hisey then said his father had
insisted on keeping the body in the house because he didnt want to be away
from her. Hisey had spent more than $500,000 of his parents retirement and
Social Security money on exotic dancers and drugs during the final years he
lived with them.
*Story taken from Scott E. Williams, The Daily News
Published May 10, 2006
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2001:
Andrea Yates has made a national
name
for herself after frantically drowning her 5 children in the bathtub of her
Clear Lake Home. The Yates family lived in the subdivision Camino South in the
Clear Lake Area after moving away from a controlling religious minister Michael
Woroniecki in Seminole, FL. Woroniecki and his extremist sermons captivated
Andrea's life so much that it started to worry Rusty (husband) and Andrea's
family. In 1999 Andrea had her first suicide attempt. As life became
increasingly depressed, she began to self mutilate, and refused to feed her
kids. She eventually complained of hallucinations, reporting secret video
cameras on her ceiling and people on the television talking to her. Her life
was taken completely by severe depression and becoming more and more God
fearing while frantically reading the Bible. On April 14th, *Andrea filled
the tub with water and beginning with Paul, she systematically drowned the
three youngest boys, then placed them on her bed and covered them. Mary was
left floating in the tub. The last child alive was the first born,
seven-year-old Noah. He asked his mother what was wrong with Mary, then
turned and ran away. Andrea caught up with him and as he screamed, she
dragged him and forced him into the tub next to Mary's floating body. He
fought desperately, coming up for air twice, but Andrea held him down until
he was dead. Leaving Noah in the tub, she brought Mary to the bed and laid
her in the arms of her brothers. During Andrea's confession she explained
her actions by saying that she wasn't a good mother and that the children
were "not developing correctly" and she needed to be punished.* (taken from
Wikipedia) Andrea (Kennedy) married Rusty Yates in Houston on April 17,
1993. In their eight years of marriage, the Yates had five children; four
boys and one girl. Feb. 26, 1994 Noah Yates, Dec. 12, 1995 - John Yates,
Sept. 13, 1997 - Paul Yates, Feb. 15, 1999 - Luke Yates, and on Nov. 30,
2000 - Mary Yates was the last child to be born. Authorities arrested Andrea
Yates shortly after 10 a.m. Wednesday April 14th, after she called police to
her home at 942 Beachcomber Lane in a southeast Houston suburb known as
Clear Lake. Yates answered the door and allegedly told police that she had
killed her children.
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2003:
Quadruple killing shocks Clear
Lake. Four people were found shot to death in a Clear Lake-area home (3700
block of Millbridge, Brook Forest subdivision) on the evening of July 18.
The bodies of Rachael Koloroutis and her friend, Tiffany Rowell, both 18;
Rowell's boyfriend, Marcus Precella, 19; and his cousin, Adelbert Sanchez,
21; were found at Rowell's home. There was no sign of forced entry. Each was
shot multiple times. More than 20 shots were fired at the victims, who were
found in the home's living room. Koloroutis also was beaten. Tiffany Rowell
was attending Clear Lake High School. Both Rowell and Koloroutis graduated
from the school in May. This case is still a mystery.
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2005:
Clara Harris (dentist) was arrested right after
deliberately running over her husband David Harris numerous times in the parking
lot of the Hilton Hotel July 24th. The couple married there a decade
earlier on Valentine's Day. Mrs. Harris suspected foul play in their
marriage, and hired a private investigator from Blue Moon on July 23rd. She
went into the hotel and found her husband with a former employee, Gail
Bridges. As the couple storms out of the hotel, Mrs. Harris went into her
silver Mercedes Benz and killed her husband with the vehicle during a "crime
of passion". David Harris' daughter Lindsey was in the car during the
killing of her father, though she is only the pivotal key witness against
her stepmother. Hilton security cameras caught the evidence from the parking
lot. The Hilton Hotel which over looks Clear Lake is located on NASA Rd. 1
between Nassau Bay and Seabrook.
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2006:
The Acre Homes
area in Houston was struck with 7 murders beginning in
January to May of 2006. Police said the
women's bodies have been dumped behind churches, in ditches and in wooded
areas. Police suspect the possibility of a serial killer on the loose.
Officials said the same man might have also sexually assaulted several
women. The last victim, Willie Bianca Jones, 18, was found in the 1100 block
of Bland Street and Wheatley on the northwest side. The victim is described
as an African-American female. Her body was discovered close to the area
where six other women were found in 2006. Police found Jasmine Clark, 21 in
January 2006 nude on the side of the road. A month later Vanessa Lackey
Franklin, 45 was found partially nude in another field. Victim number three,
Pamela Ann Goss, 50 was stabbed to death, and her body discovered in April.
Later that summer, three more bodies were found. Lakita Stubblefield, 21,
Patricia Duffy-Garcia, 45, and one victim that has yet to be identified.
All victims have been African-American women. The suspect is
described as an African-American man, 25 to 35 years old, 5 feet 8 inches to
6 feet 1 inch tall, 180 to 220 pounds, with a muscular build and a small
gut. He is bald or wears his hair close-cut. Police said the killer might
have gothic letters tattooed on his back and the scales of justice on his
left forearm.
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2007:
Coral Eugene
Watts (born November 7th, 1953 in Fort Hood,
Texas) dies from prostate cancer July, 25 during his maximum security prison
sentence in Ionia, Michigan. Watts was arrested May 23, 1982 for breaking
into a home with the intentions of killing two young women. When in custody,
Watts was linked with recent murders of women. Watts lived in Michigan until
1981, where he was suspected of the killing of 10 women and girls. Watts was
also suspected of killings in 1975, but no strong evidence could hold. In
1982 police plea bargained with Watts to get the evidence needed to convict
him of the murders. They gave him immunity of the murder charges and he
would instead face burglary if he confessed to his crimes. This gave Watts a
60-year sentence. As he agreed to the plea bargain he confessed of 12
murders in Texas. Eventually Watts would confess to 40 murders, and later 80
women. He is now suspected of killing over 100 women which would make him
America's most prolific killer. All of the cases did not link together
though. Watts murder habits included more that one style. He picked women
from age 14 to 44. Each were killed in particular ways such as stabbing,
drowning, strangulation, and bludgeoning. His weapons included wood
carving tools, knives, and other devices to strangle his victims. He is
believed to have committed murders in Canada, Michigan, Ohio and Texas.
Though Watts was given 60 years in prison he was still eligible for parole
if on good behavior. In 2004, authorities made appeals to possible witnesses
in order to try and convict Watts of murder to ensure he was not released.
Watts had already said that he would kill again if ever released from
prison. In Texas he was still immune to the 12 killings, but it was a
different story Michigan. In Texas the trial judge was asked to give
evidence to the 12 murders as evidence. He agreed and gave Michigan all
evidence. On November 17, 2004, Watts was charged with the murder of Helen
Dutcher.
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2007:
Bill Phillips, on April 20th, a contract
employee shot and killed another engineer and then turned the gun on himself
at the Johnson Space Center. The shots were reported at building 44 - a
communications and engineering office building. Only days after the tragedy at
Virginia
Tech University, Bill Phillips shot and killed David Beverly, a NASA
employee and held two others hostage - one was shot and injured, another was
released without injury (NASA contractor Fran Crenshaw). Beverly gave
Phillips a poor performance review a month earlier in an e-mail which
resulted in the dispute.
Colette Wilson - 13
I-45 Victims
Colette Wilson - 13, Caucasian.
She was dropped off by Band Leader at
a bus stop in Alvin on June 17, 1971. She disappeared, then her nude body was
found close to I-10 and highway 6. Near Addicks Reservoir in west Houston, some
35 to 40 miles from where last seen 5 months earlier. She had been killed by a
gunshot to head and her band instrument was never located. The remains of
Colette Wilson were found within 35 yards from where the body of 19 year old
Gloria Gonzales was later discovered
Brenda Jones - 14, Caucasian. Disappeared
while walking to Galveston
hospital, close to I-45 to visit an aunt on July 1, 1971. Her body was found the
next day floating in nearby Galveston Bay, close to the Seawolf Parkway and near
I-45. She had a slip crammed in her mouth and had died of a head wound.
Gloria Gonzales - 19, Hispanic.
She disappeared on October 28, 1971 near
her home in Houston. Her body was found near Addick's Reservoir in west Houston,
within 35 yards from where the body of Colette Wilson had been discovered months
earlier. She died from blunt force trauma to the head.
Alison Craven - 12, Caucasian.
Her mother returned home from after
running errands for 1 hour on November 9th 1971. Her daughter was missing from
their apartment near I-45. Police later found partial remains in a nearby field,
two hands along with bones from an arm and some teeth. On Feb 25, 1972 the rest
of her skeleton was found in a Pearland field, also near I-45 and 5 to10 miles
from where she was last seen.
Debbie Ackerman - 15, Caucasian.
Maria Johnson - 15,
Caucasian.
Ball High School students Debbie Ackerman and Maria Johnson, both from Galveston,
they went to shop for gifts at a Galveston mall. Both disappeared on November
11, 1971 and they were found dead two days later. 10 miles north of where they
disappeared, close to I-45 and Highway 3. They were in Turner's Bayou in Texas
City where fishermen saw them floating, both girls were shot twice before being
dumped in the water. Their hands and feet were bound and both were only partially
clothed.
Kimberly Pitchford - 16, Caucasian.
Last seen at a driving school in
Pasadena near I-45 on January 3, 1973. She was supposed to call home for ride
but the call never came. Her strangled cadaver was found two days later in a
ditch near Angleton near the 288 highway, about 30 miles south of where she was
last seen. Her uncle Ray Pitchford, said a possible serial killer was known to
have attended the school about the same time. However, nothing has ever come of
his statement and the authorities still deem the case unsolved.
Georgia Geer - 14, Caucasian.
Brooks Bracewell - 12,
Caucasian.
Brooks Bracewell and Georgia Geer had skipped school on September 6, 1974. Both
disappeared from a convenience store in Dickinson, close to I-45. Both had been
beaten to death and found were found in an Alvin Swamp.
Unknown Doe - 14 to 17, Caucasian.
Dumped on I-45 about five miles north
of Huntsville on November 1, 1980. She was nude, had been strangled with
pantyhose and had human bites on her body. Described as 5'4" tall, 110 pounds.
Tamara Ellen McCurry - 22, Caucasian.
Disappeared in Galveston after seen
getting into an orange or yellow van on July 1, 1982.
Heidi Villerial Fye - 23, Caucasian.
First victim found in the "Killing
Fields" case. Located in the 3000 block of Calder Rd in League City,
TX.
Sandra Ramber
- 14, Caucasian. Disappeared on October 26, 1983 form her
house in Santa Fe, Texas. A small town close to League City and Friendswood. The
case has been determined to be foul play and she is still a missing person. Her
father reported her missing after he found the doors unlocked. Biscuits were
cooking in the kitchen, her new coat and her purse were where she left them. She
had just completed modeling school and wanted to becoming a model.
Jane Doe - approximately 25, Caucasian.
Second victim found in the
Calder Rd. "Killing Fields"
case.
Laura Lynn Miller - 16, Caucasian.
Third victim found in the
Calder Rd. "Killing
Fields" case.
Headless Woman - Age ?.
In April, 1986 police recover a headless body from a
garbage bag in a state park in Galveston, the body remains unidentified.
Shelley Kathleen Sikes - 19, Caucasian.
The University of Texas student
who was home for the summer, was last seen just before midnight May 24, 1986.
She left her summer job at Gaido's restaurant for her Texas City home but never
made it. Her car was found on I-45's northbound feeder road, just north of the
Causeway. In the deep mud just north of the Santa Fe overpass, the car was blood
spattered and the driver's window smashed. Her body was never recovered, but
Bayview resident John Robert King and El Lago resident Gerald Peter Zwarst later
were convicted of aggravated kidnapping, the most severe charge prosecutors
could pursue without a body, in the case.
Laurie Lee Tremblay - 15, Caucasian.
One of
Anthony Allen
Shore's strangulation victims, killed September 26, 1986. She was last
seen
alive walking from her family's apartment to the bus stop, her body was later
found behind a restaurant.
Michelle Doherty Thomas - 17, Caucasian.
Still missing, she was last seen
leaving her Alta Loma home to meet friends on October 5, 1985.
Erica Ann Garcia - 14, Hispanic.
Disappeared June 7, 1987 from a club in
Houston. She was found behind a nearby vacant building. The cause of death
had been strangulation.
Suzanne Rene Richerson - 22, Caucasian.
Worked as a night clerk at Casa
Del Mar Condominiums in Galveston, Texas where she was last seen on October 7,
1988 at approximately 6:00 a.m. Another employee was sleeping in the room above
Richerson's office and awoke to a scream, then a car door slam from the parking
lot and another scream before the car drove away. The last people to see her
were the security guards who got off duty at 6 a.m. She left behind her purse,
school books and car. One of her shoes was found in the parking lot but she is
still missing. On July 31, 2002, suspect Gabriel Soto age 39 died from an
apparent from an overdose of drugs. Soto was never charged in this case but
investigators said they believed he played a role in Richerson's disappearance.
Another Jane Doe - 14-19, Caucasian.
Discovered in a wooded area on the
east side of Houston on September 19, 1989. Described as between 5'2" and 5'5"
and between 110 and 130 lbs. Cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head and
estimated time of death 1 to 3 months.
Janet Doe - approximately 31, Caucasian.
Forth victim found in the
Calder Rd. "Killing Fields" case.
Maria Del Carmen Estrada - 21,
Hispanic. One of
Anthony Allen Shore's
strangulation victims, killed in April 1992. Estrada was last seen when she left
her home to walk to work. Her body was found hours later in the drive through
lane of a Dairy Queen restaurant.
Trellis Sykes - 16, Caucasian.
Abducted on way to school in Houston on
May 13, 1994. Found later that same day in a field murdered.
Diana Rebollar - 9, Caucasian.
One of
Anthony Allen Shore's strangulation
victims, killed August 7, 1994. Her mother had sent her to a near by convenience
store to buy sugar. Diana's body was found behind a vacant building at 1440
North Loop West. She had been raped, beaten and strangled.
Dana Sanchez - 16, Hispanic. One
of
Anthony Allen Shore's strangulation
victims, killed in July 6, 1995. She was last seen talking to her boyfriend on a
pay phone at West Cavalcade Street. She told him she planned to hitchhike to his
home but never arrived. Her body was found in North View Park on July 14. She
had been raped, beaten and strangled.
Lynette Bibbs - 14,
Tamara Fisher - 15 Both
girls were seen
together at a teen club in Houston on February 1, 1996. Left dumped on side of
rural road near Cleveland, Texas, two days later. Partially clothed and shot
twice in back of head and once in the thigh.
Krystal Jean Baker - 13, Caucasian.
Disappeared on March 5, 1996 from
Convenience Store in Texas City where she used the phone. In hopes for a ride to
a friends house in Bayou Vista, which is a short distance from there. Her body
was found a few hours later under the I-10 Bridge over the Trinity River in
Chambers County. She had been strangled, beaten, sexually assaulted and killed
by ligature strangulation. Her face was badly beaten. Closest highway from where
she was last seen is I-45, Hwy 3 and Hwy 146 which goes along Bay toward where
body was found miles away. Marilyn Monroe, Norma Jean Baker was Krystal's great
aunt.
Teen Girl (Abducted) - 13. March
1996 a man who abducted her at gunpoint
as she was walking home from a shopping center. She leaped out of his truck in
200 block of East Fairmont in La Porte, Texas. A police officer just happen to
drive by the truck witnessed the girl falling out of the truck. The pickup truck
is a late mode Ford Ranger, green with suspect as 35-45, 6 ft or 6'2", with
graying black hair and beard. The truck was never seen before or after this
incident.
Laura Kate Smither - 12, Caucasian.
The aspiring ballerina disappeared
April 3, 1997 while jogging near her home in Friendswood, Texas near I-45.
Seventeen days later her body was found at the edge of a retention pond in
Pasadena near I-45. She was nude except for one sock and a ring, her head was
decapitated. A dark colored pickup was observed in same area as where last seen
and composite sketch of person in truck. When Smither's body was found in the
Pasadena retention pond, investigators took notice of some obvious similarities
between her abduction and death and that of 9 year old Amber Hagerman in
Arlington, Texas 3 months earlier. Both girls' bodies were dumped in waterways,
nude except for their socks. It could not be conclusively determined if the two
cases are related or not. However, sex offender William Lewis Reece is the prime
suspect in Laura Smither and Jessica Cain deaths but did he do it? Information,
including allegations of evidence tampering, surfaced. The autopsy report
indicated that African American hairs found on the girl's body were contaminants
and that did not come from the crime scene. Note the Amber Hagerman death, then
also note the abduction of Sandra Sapaugh and the disappearance of Jessica Cain.
Sandra Sapaugh (Abducted) - Dark
complexion, brunette. She was fixing a
flat on NASA Road 1 in Webster, across I-45 from Friendswood on May 16, 1997.
When she says William Lewis Reece was the man who kidnapped her by pulling a
knife on her and forced her into his truck. He ordered her to undress but she
opened the passenger door and jumped out of the fast moving truck. Reece was
charged with aggravated kidnapping of Sapaugh. Reece also is a suspect in the
murder of Laura Smither and the disappearance of Jessica Cain.
Jessica Lee Cain - 17, Caucasian.
Still missing after leaving friends at
a Bennigan's restaurant in Webster about 2 a.m. on August 17, 1997. Two hours
later her truck was found along I-45 in La Marque, there was no signs of
struggle and her truck was operational. Witnesses saw her walking from her
parked truck towards a red Isuzu Amigo that was stopped behind her truck.
Tina Flood - 23, Caucasian. November
29, 1998 a police officer pulled
over Jonathan David Drew and found Flood beaten and barely alive in his front
passenger seat. A waitress, she had befriended Drew at a night club. She died
days later and he was convicted for her death. Drew is also suspected of several
sexual assaults and it is speculated he could be responsible for the slaying of
Jessica Lee Cain. A search of his former home in League City, where his parents
still lived produced a vial containing several human teeth. League City is the
Galveston city where the infamous "Killing Fields" are located. Where 4 other
victims have were discovered between 1983 and 1991. Though his age would not
match the time line of the "Killing Fields" murders but he did rape other women
in the area.
Wanda May Pitts - 18, Caucasian.
January 17, 1999 was at work the lobby
desk at the Lodge Motel in Shenandoah. A job she had for about two months and
she did not have a car. William Ray Mathews a drifter abducted her, took her to
one of the motel rooms where he sexually assaulted her before strangling her to
death. He couldn't recall where he had put her body but about a year later her
remains where found off an abandon gated drive way.
Tracy Vickery (Abducted) - Caucasian,
brunette. Weeks after Wanda May
Pitts had vanished, Mathews attempted to abduct Vickery from the office where
she sold mobile homes. The Country Time Mobile Homes just happened to located on
the other side of I-45 from the Lodge Motel. He came in with a briefcase, sat
down and wrote her a note. She was to do what he said because he had a gun and
would kill her if she did not. He forced Vickery into his truck, then he drove
off down I-45 with her but she leap from his moving truck. He tried to pull her
back in by her hair but he couldn't, she got away and ran to the Gulf Cost
Trades Center to save herself.
Amber Hagerman - 9, Caucasian. The
Amber Alert is named after
Amber
Hagerman, this national program is dedicated to all children nationwide whove
been abducted. On January 1996, she was riding her bicycle in a parking lot near
her home. A neighbor heard her scream, then saw a man pull her off her bike,
throw her into the front seat of his dark pickup truck and drive away at a high
speed. January 17, 1996 Ambers body was found in a drainage ditch located by
apartments which are located on Green Oaks Blvd a short distance west of Highway
360 in Arlington, Texas. She had been sexually assaulted and her throat had been
cut multiple times with a knife. Like in the case of Laura Smither, both girls
were nude except for socks. If the two cases are related cannot be conclusively
determined. Though the prime suspect in Smither's death is William Lewis Reece,
a known sex offender.
Tot Tran Harriman
- 57, Asian.
Disappeared July 12, 2001 from: League City, Texas. Left League City to drive to
Corpus Christy, TX. but has not been seen since. She departed at approximately
5:00 AM on July 12, 2001 from her son's residence said goodbye to her son and
drove away in her 1995 rose quartz Lincoln Continental, with Florida rear
license plate. A Navy Seal emblem where the front plate is normally affixed.
Circumstances of this case indicate that foul play is possible.
Sara Trusty - 23, Caucasian. Last
seen in Algoa near her church riding
her bicycle around 11 PM on July 12, 2002. The bike was found in foyer of church
the next day but she was gone. Her body was discovered on July 28, 2002 in a
dike in Texas City.
Laura Ayala - 13, Hispanic. Missing
since March 10, 2002 when she went to
a near by convenience store to pick up a news paper for a school project. Walter
Alexander Sorto, Eduardo Rafael Cubas and Eduardo Navarro have not been charged
with her death. However, her DNA was discovered in a SUV owned by Cubas' father.
Maria Isabel Solis - 16, Hispanic.
She was last seen getting off of city
bus near her school, students and nearby motel manager heard screams. Missing
until a body was recovered in a wooded area near Sugar Land, Texas, on August
13, 2003. The body was discovered near a closed U.S. 59 turnaround at the Brazos
River, about 20 miles southwest of Houston. Due to forensic laboratory backlogs
she remained unidentified until February 9, 2005.
Teen Girl (Terrorized) - July 29,
2004 a northwest Houston teen girl
stranded on a southwest Houston freeway was stranded with a flat tire on the
West Loop near Interstate 10. A man she believed was a tow-truck driver offered
to help, he changed her tire and then tried to sexually assault her. The girl
said she managed to escape by stabbing the man in the torso and shoulder with a
pocketknife. The attacker has a tall, bald, clean-shaven man with a tattoo of a
spider web on his left shoulder. He was driving a faded black, older model
Chevrolet pickup with "Super Tow" painted in white letters on the side.
Natasha Nicole Solidum - 30, Caucasian.
On February 23, 2006 a brother
and sister were walking their dog on the beach near the Flagship Hotel in the
2400 block of Seawall Boulevard shortly after 11 a.m. A woman began shouting at
them about something floating in the surf and at first one of them thought it
was a mannequin. The womans body was clad in black sweatpants, light-blue Asics
running shoes with white ankle socks, a red, hooded sweatshirt and she still had
her sunglasses on. She carried no identification but her body bore a distinct
mark, a tattoo of a ring of flowers around her navel. Her body had probably only
been in the water for about an hour because it was still warm and rigor mortis
had not set in. An autopsy showed that a single gunshot wound to the chest.
Investigators combed the area near 24th Street and Seawall with special metal
detectors to try to find evidence. Solidum, 30, was an elementary school teacher
in the Alief Independent School District. The Flagship Hotel jets out over the
surf, close to where I-45 ends on Galveston Island.
The Harris County morgue has recorded 75 unidentified female bodies since 1962,
and the cause of death is listed as "unknown" for a majority of them. Only 28
have been ruled as definite homicides.
All cases below are unsolved:
1. Brenda Jones, 14, of Galveston. Last seen walking to local hospital to visit
aunt July 1, 1971. Her body was found July 2, 1971, in Galveston Bay near Pelican
Island.
2. Debbie Ackerman, 15 , of Galveston. Disappeared from Galveston shopping mall
with Maria Johnson Nov. 15, 1971. Her body was found on Nov. 17, 1971, in Turner's Bayou in
Texas City.
3. Maria Johnson, 15, of Galveston. Disappeared from Galveston shopping mall
with Debbie Ackerman Nov. 15, 19 71. Found Nov. 17, 1971, in Turner's Bayou in
Texas City.
4. Gloria Ann Gonzales, 19. Reported missing Oct. 28, 1971. Lived on Jacquelyn
Street. Body found near Addicks Reservoir Nov. 23, 1971.
5. Colette Wilson, 13. Disappeared from Alvin bus stop June 17, 1971. Body found
near Addicks Reservoir (same place as Gloria Ann Gonzales) Nov. 26, 1971.
6. Alison Craven, 12. Vanished from apartment near Almeda Mall on Nov. 9, 1971.
On Feb. 25, 1972, body was found in Pearland field.
7. Kimberly Ray Pitchford, 16. Abducted from Pasadena ISD's Dobie High School on
Jan. 3, 1973. Body found in Angleton ditch Jan. 5, 1973.
8. Brooks Bracewell, 12, of Dickinson. Disappeared with Georgia Greer on Sept.
6, 1974, from Dickinson convenience store. Body recovered from remote swampland
near Alvin April 3, 1981.
9. Georgia Greer, 14, of Dickinson. Disappeared with Brooks Bracewell. Body
recovered from remote swampland near Alvin April 3, 1981.
10. Sandra Ramber, 14. Disappeared from Santa Fe home Oct. 25, 1983. Still
missing.
11.Heidi Villareal Frye, 23. Vanished from League City convenience store Oct.
10, 1983. Body was found in the League City Calder Rd. ``Killing Fields" April 4, 1984.
12. Laura Miller, 16. Disappeared from same League City convenience store as
Heidi Villareal Frye Sept. 10, 1984. Body found in the League City Calder
Rd. ``killing
fields" Feb. 3, 1986.
13. ``Jane Doe" Body found Feb. 3, 1986, in the League City Calder Rd. ``Killing Fields."
14. Unidentified body found March 10, 1987, Waller County.
15. Rene Richerson, 22. Vanished from Galveston condominium hotel Oct. 7, 1988.
Still missing.
16. ``Janet Doe" Body found Sept. 8, 1991, in the League City Calder Rd. ``Killing
Fields."
17. Maria del Carmen Estrada, 21. Abducted near apartment at 7200 Shady Villa on
April 16, 1992, to catch a bus. Body was found the same day in the drive-through
of a Dairy Queen at 6707 Westview. Anthony Allen Shore was arrested for being
linked with her murder.
18. Trellis Sykes, 16. Disappeared May 13, 1994, after apparently taking short
cut through field off Redbud. Body found in field that evening.
19. Diana Rebollar, 9. Abducted Aug . 7, 1994, after running errand to
convenience store in 6600 block of N. Main. Body was found the same day behind a vacant office
building on 1440 North Loop West.
20. Dana Sanchez, 16. Vanished from pay phone in 600 block of Cavalcade July 6,
1995. Body found (after call by tipster to TV station on July 14, 1995) in field
near I-45 and Richey at North View Park.
21. Lynette Bibbs, 14, of La Porte. Went with Tamara Fisher to nightclub Feb. 1,
1996, and then to motel on Old Spanish Trail. Body found Feb. 3, 1996, near
Cleveland in Liberty County.
22. Tamara Fisher, 15, of La Porte. Went with Lynette Bibbs to Houston nightclub
Feb. 1, 1996, and then to motel on Old Spanish Trail. Body found Feb. 3, 1996,
near Cleveland in Liberty County.
23. Krystal Jean Baker, 13, of Texas City. Last seen at Texas City convenience
store March 5, 1996. Body found same day under I-10 bridge over Trinity River in
Chambers County.
24. Hillory Farias, 17. Died after someone slipped date rape drug GHB in her
soft drink at La Porte club Aug. 4, 1996. Went to bed that night and lapsed
into unconsciousness.
25. Laura Smither, 12. Abducted while jogging near Friendswood home April 3,
1997. Body discovered at Pasadena retention pond April 20.
26. Erica Ann Garcia, 14. Hispanic. Last seen at a teen club on Beechnut during
the early hours of June 7, 1997. She was found behind a nearby vacant building.
The cause of death had been strangulation.
27. Jessica Cain, 17, of Tiki Island. Disappeared Aug. 17, 1997 from the
Bennigins in Clear Lake. Her truck was
found on I-45 in La Marque. Still missing.
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