What truly happened to Dave and Sheryl is still and may always be speculation, but some people believe they have a pretty good guess. What do you think was the change there? K: By this point, it had been over a year since the murders and the small group of dedicated investigators had spent hundreds of hours on the case. The At the end of episode four, police called Frank Gilley at work and told him to hurry home. Said hes shoot rabbits with it and stuff. And after almost 50 years, she said the pain is more manageable. While Sandoval lived with Sanchez and his wife, there were multiple reports filed with law enforcement and state agencies, investigators said. K: Back to that Tuesday in 1970: the OU protest ended peacefully, but police and residents were on edge for the rest of the week. Recording of Ken: One of the hardest things about something like this is what you know happened but you cant prove it. K: Welcome back to Uncovered: The Lovers Lane Murders. When you read Davids autopsy report, you find massive right hemoral thorax. But amid the chaos, David Sloan and Sheryl Benham were preparing for a date. Come on home. So I hung up. As I remember it, they thought he was guilty but after 20 years, you know hes sitting there, Dave and Sheryl had been dead for 20 years. I think when he came back he stood back and fired a couple rounds in the side of the car to see if they were still in there and alive and he probably heard them oh please you know and he popped the trunk and started killing. Recording of Solorzano: Theres definitely more rules in place documented. Recording of Jacobson: David Sloan was from Amarillo, and when they tried Gilley on his aggravated assault out there, they tried it like a murder case because it was a horrible thing for a law enforcement officer to be accused of aggravated assault. He was arrested early May 6, 1977, after being found by a neighbor asleep outside the bloody apartment. Recording of Pearo: In February of 1990, just out of the blue, the old landlord for where Frank Gilley, where he used to live.. On May 14, investigators executed a search warrant at Sanchezs home at 1224 Westlawn Dr. and recovered documents showing he and his wife were receiving Social Security benefits intended for Sandoval. 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. K: Thats Chip Minty, a reporter at The Oklahoman who covered the trial, describing Gilleys demeanor on Oct. 21, 1991, as jurors were picked. According to articles, testimonies and interviews, Henslee was worried. There were press conferences asking for information and a reward fund was set up, raising thousands of dollars to give to anyone who could provide helpful details. There was a lot of talk about cover up from the chief of police back then and everything, so the whole thing just had kind of a bad smell to it I guess. 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. 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. Sanchez was charged with possession of a firearm after a former felony conviction. I think he was but was not dying or dead, maybe not even dying. 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. 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. They began to feel the full weight of frustration that only a couple of guys were truly working together to bring down a case held back by politics. I think dad was with him for a long time with what was going on He was so honest and wanted justice done. Get to know their families and the rural Norman road that is just the beginning of the unsolved mystery. Using the testimonies from other young couples and from Butch Green, they eventually secured a warrant to search Gilleys home in Amarillo in December of 1970. Seven: How much Henslee knew but wasnt letting on? And your first thought is Good! So I go, Dad did you find Sherry? Munoz told investigators he last saw Sanchez in May of 2020 when Sanchez was trying to get into the house uninvited, according to the search warrant affidavit. Thats when we realized this case was more than a pair of untimely deaths. 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. Who knows.. I just dont think its there. Turns out I was right. 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.. Im Kayla Branch and Ill be your host as we hear stories and first-hand accounts from those involved with the case. Henslee backed him, saying Gilley wasnt the kind of man to commit any serious crimes, definitely not murder. 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. Davids keys, wallet and shoes were all missing, too. Recording of Linda: Our family was very close, very close. The police department brought in dozens of suspects, potential witnesses, family members and friends to interview. 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. K: Youre listening to Uncovered: the Lovers Lane Murders. Any kind of doubt that he could create was important to him. Mike Brake, a police reporter for the Oklahoma Journal in 1970, went out to the crime scene with officers. 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. David was shot 11 times and Sheryl 14. An old pool cue, broken in half, was in the front seat. What do you think was the change there?, Recording of Linda: I dont know how to explain that. Badge was in a black holder. NORMAN Cory Jay Bodily was killed in 2008. Now Im almost like, not mad, I dont wanna use that word but damn, I wish they had had DNA back then.. Investigators were also dealing with the biases of the Norman community. 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. She told them he was home with her, but later recanted her statement, saying she didnt know exactly where he was. But handwritten here, in Ken Jacobsons handwriting, Gilley made a verbal statement on 5-12-70 to this agent that he was personally acquainted with Sloan and had trouble with that wise punk in Amarillo two or three times.. 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. If you come across them, do not attempt to apprehend them yourself. 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. Recording of Linda: I thought, Ive seen you. In episode 2, listen to the the story of Sheryls sister, Linda, on the day her family searched for Sheryl. Recording of Pearo: And he told us where hed gotten 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. And then, on the last full day of trial, on Friday, Nov. 8, Perrine put Gilley on the stand. Two years later, it seems like charges might be put against Gilley, but nothing is certain. 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. I told him we hadnt. That happens all the time at OU. WebThis horrific crime happened on June 13, 1977 at Camp Scott in Mayes County. Bill Maher funeral home. On the way up, Mr. Gilley made several remarks to the Mexican, one remark was that he didnt like his face. The jurors came back Monday, Nov. 11 with a verdict. I dont fault them for trying. So if you come across something at a department where something may have beentried to be swept under the rug because the department didnt want to look bad, the current chief or sheriff didnt want to look bad for whatever reason you might think that happens. Recording of Linda: Ken Jacobson, I remember that name a lot. David and Sheryl were each shot at least 10 times, and Davids car had multiple bullet holes through the rear of the car and the trunk. Soon after he testified, the jury began deliberations. She did have a couple of chest wounds, but there was not a lot of bleeding internally in that. Sanchez and his wife lived at the Ann Branden Boulevard apartment until October 2018, according to investigators. 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. Benham did write the letter on May 11, 1971, exactly one year after the body of his daughter and her date were found in the trunk of Daves car. He still lives in the area. Recording of Pearo: Frank had rented a house from this guy and he brings in this .22 caliber rifle.. The murders of David Sloan and Sheryl Benham remain unsolved. -36.90% lower than the Oklahoma violent crime rate of 458.6 per 100,000 people. Some guy said that to me and I kinda went off on him a little bit.. A reporter there had a tip about someone on Normans police force. SpotCrime crime details. Video source: Dylan Strilko/WEATHER TRAKER /TMX. Recording of Brake: Well the second one, the guys at the Norman Police Department really wanted to solve the darn thing. He gets the rifle, which is a high capacity rifle, a .22 rifle might have a magazine of 22 rounds or more. It was us that broke into your house and youre under arrest. So he started looking around and he looked at me and he said, Where are you from? and I said Norman, Oklahoma. And he said I thought so.. 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. K: We heard this again from Brake, who had a copy of the official police reports Ken filed the day they found the bodies. When the husband went to court, it was speculated that Gilley was involved, that maybe he had tipped off the husband to the affair. And its important to remember here that Gilley left the Norman police force on May 15. FOX23 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. Just after 3 p.m. Wednesday, officers responded to a 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. I can talk about it now, I can., Recording of Kayla: Why do you think that is? Your chance of being a victim of violent crime in Norman is 1 in 316 and property crime is 1 in 32. WebOKLAHOMA CITY - Authorities have identified the two men shot in an apparent murder-suicide Wednesday in the backyard of a Norman home. Investigators spoke with former wives of Gilleys who said he was obsessed with his former life as a cop, keeping firearms, badges, uniforms and other police paraphernalia,close by, that he had a rampant temper and always carried a gun. Recording of Brake: Ava Yvonne Boden, this was her statement on Nov. 14, 1970. The case becomes exceedingly complicated and twisted from here on out, so be prepared. Two days later, testimony began. NORMAN, Okla. (KOKH) Police identified the suspect in a homicide and officer-involved shooting in Norman that happened earlier this month. He told them that Gilley was their main suspect, but they were struggling to convince other law enforcement officials, like the DAs office or the OSBI, that he could be charged with the murders of Sheryl and David. If you see them, do not try and apprehend them yourself as they are most likely armed and dangerous. We still do a complete background on these people talking to everybody looking at everything. Sheryls family started thinking of possibilities of what could have happened. K: Gilley rushed home to a frenzy of officers. 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. So we called him at work. They picked through old evidence and files, contacting anyone who would still have a good recollection of what happened two decades before. Property Crime Rates In Norman 3,261 Property Crimes 2,578.3 Property Crimes / 100k People 31.67% Above National Average 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. When these kids started coming up and picking his picture out of a photo lineup is when I really started believing they knew what they were talking about.. It was a much smaller department then, often only a few police officers would be out patrolling the city at a time. 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.. The OSBIs Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program and State Incident-Based Reporting System (SIBRS) are part of a nationwide, cooperative statistical effort I think he just thought it was embarrassing to have the guy being investigated.. The medical examiner said Byron What more do you want me to say?, Recording of Linda: What all he did to how many people after Sherry and Dave? Keep in mind that they had been at a fraternity party at the SAE house. They were spurred on by the initial evidence; the assault charge, Henslee hiring Gilley out of line with protocols and Gilley disappearing. Uncovered: The Lovers Lane Murders is a five-part investigative podcast into the murders of two teenagers in Norman, Oklahoma in 1970. Jacobson also testified. Web9801 DEERFIELD DR, NORMAN, OK 73026 Get a FREE Property Report for this home. Recording of Ken: Well Frank and Henslee and the sheriff were all buddies from out there and so we asked Henslee if we could take a look at that letter and he couldnt produce it. She would drive it to work, drive it to see her friends She loved life, she loves everything that everybody did, and she looked for that in people.. Way past that 1991 trial. Investigators said Sandoval at one time was placed in Griffin Memorial Hospital for mental health treatment, and on Feb. 17, 2018 she filed a report with Norman police stating Sanchez and his wife were abusing her. K: Linda lives in Oklahoma City and has multiple children of her own. K: But investigators did find .22 caliber weapons in the house, however they were technically owned by Gilleys father. Recording of Linda: When something like this happens, you feel like, What could I do? And the neighbor across the street had gone to OU So I called her and explained that you know Sherry went on this date last night, and she isnt home yet. Officers with assault charges arent usually allowed to continue policing. I dont think she was shot at that point. He says he found the gun in Aug. of 1970,, Recording of Pearo: but kept it for 20 years and didnt know that there was any significance to the fact that it was a .22 rifle and that it may have belonged to Gilley So we didnt know if this was the gun or not, but it sort of caught Gilley in a lie. Norman violent crime is 14.7. When we got upstairs, Mr. Gilley was filling out the paperwork on the Mexican boy and he asked the boy how much money he had and the boy said $10. Because there was not a hard piece of evidence to put him on the trigger. WebBest Places to Live | Compare cost of living, crime, cities, schools and more. Around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, police were called to reports of a shooting in the A monthslong extradition fight began, ending in May 1991 with Gilley being brought to the Cleveland County jail. Recording of Minty: He just sat there quietly at the defense table the entire time. De Soto PD called him, and said Is this Mr. Gilley? and he said yeah. K: Brake and Jacobson had personal theories they shared with me on exactly what happened the night of the murders. It wasnt going to get any better.. Now detectives believed themselves to be without any physical evidence. Authorities found a 9mm handgun inside a trash can in the garage, according to an arrest warrant. The Norman Police Department said it didnt hold any officials records back that far that we could use to verify specific details. Re-reading articles and court documents, its clear he challenged every step of the trial. Davids mom raised him and her other children on her own, according to Linda. K: The caliber of the weapon that killed Dave and Sheryl. Recording of Linda: This was one of the weirdest things ever. A woman who was a clerk for NPD in 1970, said Gilley was in the office around 3:30 a.m. Sunday, within a few hours of the murders, and acted unusual. When officers are tipped off to start investigating Frank Gilley as a suspect in the double homicide of David Sloan and Sheryl Benham, the Norman police force splits into two groups working against each other. Instead call the Cleveland County Sheriff at 405-701-7700. Theres a large backyard shaded by multiple trees. Description: DISTURBANCE/DOMESTIC. No murder weapon, no footprints, no tire tracks. Two of Gilleys ex-wives testified, saying he never mentioned to them his work in Norman as a police officer, though they knew of his work in Amarillo. Recording of Ken: Henslee set it up and at that time, we werent sure if Henslee was for us or against us. We were told he had been living in a nursing home. Now you dont die right away from a wound in the lung unless there is a major artery hit. The driveway is to the left, the sidewalk running along the length of the house for a few yards before the steps to the front door. 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. K: Boden and her date Rick had been west of Norman, in the same area that David and Sheryl were just 30 days earlier. But by that point, he was gone. Instead, immediately call the Cleveland County Sheriff's Department at 405-701-7700. She was outgoing and fun and their family was close. Recording of Pearo: So what we had done in retrospect was probably a mistake. K: He told us about finding the old case information from the murders and becoming interested. Of course Gilley passed the polygraph and we didnt get to talk to him or anything.. 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