I mean this guy was a cop and he did this stuff. On the night of the murders , his car logged only about 30. WebAccording to the most recent data from the FBI, the total crime rate in Norman is 2,867.6 per 100,000 people. K: Ten days before Green told investigators what he knew about Gilley, they learned that multiple young couples had recently been harassed by an unknown man on lovers lanes. Enhanced Cost of Living Calculator Now includes childcare, taxes, health, housing for home owners vs renters, insurance costs and more when you upgrade to premium. 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. I think he was but was not dying or dead, maybe not even dying. A suspect is in custody, the sheriff's office in Tate County, Mississippi, 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. WebHome / Select Cities / 2023 Comparing Bakersfield, CA vs. Norman, OK 2023 Compare Crime Rates: Bakersfield, CA vs Norman, OK Change Cities : Bakersfield, CA: Norman, OK: United I tell Judy, They found her! Bill Maher funeral home. Oklahomas Failure to Protect law treats those who enable child abuse the same as actual abusers. De Soto PD called him, and said Is this Mr. Gilley? and he said yeah. K: Frank Gilley lived in Texas working odd jobs until he died in March 2002, according to the Amarillo Globe-News. Once completed, we will present the case to the District Attorneys office, who will review the case and file the appropriate charges., Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. K: Sheryls mom died in 1995 and her dad in 2001. 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. He brought up the likelihood that Butch Green, his former partner who died a year after the murders, was the real potential suspect. 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. Recording of Linda: Ken Jacobson, I remember that name a lot. Our crime rates are based on FBI data. So we called him at work. Many, if not most should be considered armed and dangerous. 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.. Some personal belongings had been strewn around the car, like a bracelet Ken Jacobson, the OSBI investigator from earlier, found and gave back to Sheryls parents. And on March 1, 1991, after roughly a month of testimony and deliberation, the second Cleveland County grand jury looking into Gilley returned an indictment. He told Rick that it would cost us a $20 fine each or he would have to take us down As he was leaning up against the car, he asked me, and this was one of the first things he said, eh asked me if Rick and I had ever gone all the way together or something like that. What became the most important, Jacobson told us, was finding the murder weapon. 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. The Girl Scout Murders of 1977 still remains unsolved to She found the newspaper with the requested photo, but also found what led to the months long Daily investigation into that pair of murders. 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. Other officers also took the stand, saying Gilley kept several guns in his work locker at the police department, one of which was a .22 caliber rifle with a hexagon barrel, the specific caliber of weapon used in the murders. 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. This one kind of absorbs you. One: Why a man with an aggravated assault charge in Texas had been hired as a Norman cop? Pearo retired in 2004 and moved to Florida where he spends time scuba diving. One of them was Butch Green, who had ridden with Frank, who gave the statement that Frank did in fact carry a .22 rifle on duty in the car. Hundreds of court documents back that up. Who knows.. So theres checks and balances to make sure the stuff isnt happening. Recording of Foster: Back then a lot more of that stuff what went on. I hope you do. But then, he got pretty far but not real far, and started thinking. 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. Did you ever see Gilley with any type of badge other than the one he had? Words he said he believes she would have said.. Recording of Pearo: This case was in there. On the way up, Mr. Gilley made several remarks to the Mexican, one remark was that he didnt like his face. He probably has a .22 pistol. Keep in mind that they had been at a fraternity party at the SAE house. I can talk about it now, I can., Recording of Kayla: Why do you think that is? I had an awful time letting go of it. K: Perrine also focused on technicalities, like Gilley not being read his Miranda Rights at certain points or the lawfulness of using testimony from witnesses who had died before the trial started. K: Next time on Uncovered: The Lovers Lane Murders. Police questioned Gilley and Henslee, who both said Gilley had never owned a .22 caliber weapon, the type of gun used in the murders. Investigators said Bill Henslee, the Norman police chief at the time, wanted to make sure this case didnt reflect poorly on him or the department. WebCrime Statistics. 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.. I dont think she was shot at that point. And then we were afraid that if we didnt let him know, we wouldnt know when he was coming home. We had talked about wanting to devote resources to an investigative piece, and what unfolded left us determined to tell the stories of not only of those who died, but really about those who spent their lives with the case and how police at the local and state level conduct investigations. Most of those who were involved in the case have died, but my team and I were able to track down individuals who remember first-hand what happened all those years ago. Back to Brake reading Bodens statement: Recording of Brake: We watched it go down and when it was down, we were still there for a few minutes and a car drove by and I didnt see it but Rick did. Police reported that in 2018 Sandoval described Sanchez as her brother and that he and his wife were abusing her. K: NPD responded to public criticism of its officers over the years, said Major Kevin Foster. It was a much smaller department then, often only a few police officers would be out patrolling the city at a time. Dave Pearo and some of those guys, they really wanted to go after it.. 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. 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. But Jacobson, never did let go of the case. WebNORMAN, Okla. Norman police on Thursday released the identities of two men who died in an apparent murder-suicide. There is a picture of him in a 1969 OU yearbook with his racket. Two: Why Henslee hadnt focused the investigation closer on Gilley from the beginning? Recording of Solorzano: Theres definitely more rules in place documented. Well, we shared the same bedroom. They took in Sheryls ex-boyfriend for questioning. Recording of Ken: There was just like half a dozen guys on the police department that would even talk to us. Then Mr. Gilley said are you accusing me of stealing your $10? Date: 2/28 #1 stephens co hold. Recording of Pearo: And he told us where hed gotten it. It says after being acquainted with Frank Gilley, it was the opinion of this officer that Gilley is very capable of committing such an act of which he is being investigated by your department. 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. Pearo also testified, noting that almost all the evidence from the crime scene had disappeared, except one bullet casing. Recording of Minty: He just sat there quietly at the defense table the entire time. Henslee said he thought Gilley was the target of a hate plot and a smear campaign. He told my mother, Then I remembered, I still got you, I still got Linda and I still got Steve. So he drove back home.. Maybe hes just gone away and somebody will rescue them or find them. K: They talked to other officers he worked with and they said he liked to run gulleys, a slang term for driving through lovers lane areas and harassing teens. He said the politics were too much, that true policing was impossible because of it. Sherry and I, yes. I was taken into his car and handcuffed to be taken to the jail, along with some of the other boys . Dave and Sherry deserved something better than what they got and their families Maybe there is something in there we missed.. A monthslong extradition fight began, ending in May 1991 with Gilley being brought to the Cleveland County jail. Recording of Pearo: So what we had done in retrospect was probably a mistake. 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