murders in norman, oklahoma

Im Kayla Branch and at the end of episode three, investigators had taken testimonies from 14 young adults who came forward claiming Frank Gilley had harassed them while they parked on lovers lanes. After picking Sheryl up at her Oklahoma City home, the pair drove down to Norman to attend a party at Daves fraternity. Why? When the husband went to court, it was speculated that Gilley was involved, that maybe he had tipped off the husband to the affair. Recording of Pearo: In February of 1990, just out of the blue, the old landlord for where Frank Gilley, where he used to live.. Video source: Dylan Strilko/WEATHER TRAKER /TMX. 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. Recording of Pearo: And he told us where hed gotten it. WebOKLAHOMA CITY - Authorities have identified the two men shot in an apparent murder-suicide Wednesday in the backyard of a Norman home. So I think that helped cloud their decision was the fact they thought he was guilty by a good percentage that he was guilty, probably enough to convict. The violent crime rate in Norman is 289.4 per 100,000 people. Said if I went out in the woods and took off all my clothes, he wouldnt take me to jail.. The only thing we had to work with was the shell casing that had been ejected, and the firing pin makes a distinct impression on the shell casing, and this one was unusual But we could never match them. Investigators located in the basement a 3 feet by 4 feet container heavily wrapped in high density plastic, packing tape, and rope stored under the stairs of the basement. A daughter of an ex-wife said Gilley told her he had killed someone and kept a diary of old cases with pictures of dead bodies. K: The defense strategy was one of continual questioning. 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. It was like, Hey look, that case will probably never go anywhere, so forget that one, you can look at the rest of them. Recording of Brake: Ava Yvonne Boden, this was her statement on Nov. 14, 1970. Gilley had taken his first polygraph a few days after the murders and when Henslee said he passed, Gilley packed up his bags and left the force. Im Kayla Branch, and when we left off in episode one, the murders of David Sloan and Sheryl Benham had just happened after they left a fraternity party in Norman. The 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. The grand jury Sheryls father had requested would finally convene. Recording of Minty: He just sat there quietly at the defense table the entire time. WebThis Cleveland County Oklahoma Most Wanted List posts the top 50-100 fugitive criminals on the run. The DA at the time, I told him I wanted to file kind of a lesser charge on Gilley, just so hed go to jail, because I thought hed fall to pieces in jail. Recording of Brake: They asked, Were you acquainted with Frank Gilley when he was employed by the Norman Police Department? Any kind of doubt that he could create was important to him. Recording of Linda: I would just love to look him straight in the face and say What happened? Sanchez and his wife lived at the Ann Branden Boulevard apartment until October 2018, according to investigators. According to articles, testimonies and interviews, Henslee was worried. Another unsolved case is that of 2-year-old Riah Thomas. In addition to debris, there are cars with K: But investigators did find .22 caliber weapons in the house, however they were technically owned by Gilleys father. The National Guard was called in to contain the crowd, and shots were fired when students wouldnt disperse. Most of the trial information was kept from the public, but news articles indicated that Henslee and other officers testified, as did Jacobson and the other investigators. 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. When it was decided the case would once again be brought to a grand jury in February 1991, the trajectory looked similar to when the murders were first investigated in the 1970s: A team of investigators followed Gilley, arrested him for a related but not directly connected charge and then a grand jury determines whether he could stand trial. Why that change?, Recording of Foster: Its just due to the public pressures on things and us relooking at things and listening to the public go Oh yeah yeah, that does make sense, that would be a lot better. What more do you want me to say?, Recording of Linda: What all he did to how many people after Sherry and Dave? Some guy said that to me and I kinda went off on him a little bit.. And even though these statements were coming in after the murders of Sheryl and David, police were including pictures of Gilley. By early morning Sunday, Sheryls dad had driven to Norman to speak with police and report her missing. The 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. Born on Dec. 28, 1935, he was in his mid-30s during the early 1970s. Bill Maher funeral home. WebCrime Map. 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. She suggested we go to the police station and see if anythings come up. Police reported that in 2018 Sandoval described Sanchez as her brother and that he and his wife were abusing her. Recording of Brake: Henslee, I think, after the murder happened, I think he thought right away Oh this guy might have done it and Im going to look terrible for hiring him, so lets just get him the heck out of town. So Henslee was in cover up mode at that point. 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. 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.. Recording of Pearo: Its bad enough in a normal murder case, I mean we know we take every murder seriously but if theres a dirty cop somewhere, that looks bad on all of us. David came to OU as a student from Amarillo, Texas, in 1966. WebOklahoma Bookings. Recording of Linda: I dont know how to explain that. When the couples started coming to police, investigators put together a line up of photos of officers. 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. 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. Those pressing to charge Gilley uncover what they believe to be undeniable evidence, but the stakes may have been too high for those who wished to keep Gilley from being arrested. WebExplore recent crime in Norman, OK. SpotCrime crime map shows crime incident data down to neighborhood crime activity including, reports, trends, and alerts. 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. 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.. 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. Investigators believed they reached a tipping point in March of 1971 when they persuaded the district attorney to bring Gilley in on charges of impersonating an officer in connection with the statements given to police by the various teen couples. K: This is Linda Adams, the older sister of Sheryl Benham. Pearo and Jacobson worked closely at times, and as Pearo found out more about the case, his determination to give Sheryl and David justice mimicked his predecessor. Recording of Kayla: Is that difficult to do?, Recording of Brake: Let me tell you, its not difficult to do for a true sociopath., K: Ex-policeman appears victim of hate plot, headlines a June 2, 1970 article in the Norman Transcript. The more I learned about that night, the more I realized it started off just like the fraternity parties today. Norman investigators tried to use these charges to connect Gilley with Sheryl and Daves murders, but in the end, nothing ever came of that either. Hundreds of thousands of college students were protesting the Vietnam War. In the following months, officers deliberated how best to pin Gilley down for the murders. They tried to set up sting operations, but they came up with no solid evidence. 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. Theyd see Gilleys pictures in the papers, on TV Amarillos not that big of a town. Its not that we know everything and that the other side of that is us hearing it but its that the public is coming to us and telling us because in the past, a lot of people didnt, it didnt affect them they didnt care or if it was affecting them they was too afraid to come to the police because theys like Ill just be in more trouble if I try to tell them were doing some wrong. Violent Crime Rate Norman, OK Oklahoma USA 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 100 WebGet full property details, plus crime rates, environmental hazards, natural disaster risks and more at HomeDisclosure.com 145441690. They checked his police car, finding that on an average night, he would drive well over 100 miles on patrol. A few days after he came here, to the state crime bureau for a polygraph test. A Norman man has been arrested in connection with the murder of a Wellston woman whose remains were found at Lake Thunderbird, the Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation reported Wednesday. I mean this guy was a cop and he did this stuff. Certain convictions you cant have to get hired at a police department. On Nov. 21, 1990, officers were able to search Gilleys residence. Recording of Ken: Im thrilled that somebody is still interested enough in it to try to put something together, thats why I didnt hesitate to meet with yall. 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. At the end of episode two, we first heard the name Frank Gilley as a possible suspect in the murders of Sheryl Benham and David Sloan in early May of 1970. I got to know her parents very well. K: Most of these testimonies didnt come as a shock to those intimately involved with the case. Forty years ago, Gregory W. Canatis got into a fight with his father in their Midwest City apartment and killed him with a brand-new butcher knife. 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. And over the years, when we went back and started looking for those things, the OSBI couldnt locate them. So got a lot of fire power.. And then he goes on duty and comes back in the police car and finishes them off., Recording of Brake: And you notice there were a couple bullet holes in the fenders of the car. NORMAN, Okla. (KOKH) Police identified the suspect in a homicide and officer-involved shooting in Norman that happened earlier this month. Theres a large backyard shaded by multiple trees. An article almost 15 years later cites the grand jurys final decision, saying, We have investigated any and all complaints against the district attorney or his office and find them without merit., Recording of Ken: Some people just couldnt believe that a police officer had done something like this and of course I didnt believe it at first. 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. K: Slowly, multiple other young couples started to come forward and they told stories like this one, of being out in a lovers lane area and getting harassed by a man claiming to be with the sheriffs department. Now Im almost like, not mad, I dont wanna use that word but damn, I wish they had had DNA back then., Left in the Dark: Patients, teachers and graduate students left behind after closure of Counseling Psychology Clinic, Oklahoma football: Many players have tattoos, some have special meaning, Hidden Legends: Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher, OU College of Laws first black student, Hidden Legends: Clara Luper, Oklahoma City Sit-in, Hidden Legends: Sylvia Lewis, University of Oklahomas first African American regent, Oklahoma football: Kyler Murrays 2018 season defined by big moments, confidence in self, Oklahoma football: Kyler Murray wins 2018 Heisman, Black History Month 2019: David Surratt returns to OU amid cultural reckoning on campus, Black History Month 2019: Prentice Gautt, first black football player on scholarship at OU remembered for humility and respect, Black History Month 2019: George Henderson reflects on activism, years of service at OU, Oklahoma football: Creed Humphrey and other Sooners stayed in their home state to play football, OU scores three 5-star wide receivers, each with a similar story, OU football: CeeDee Lambs journey full of hardship and pain makes him the perfect leader for Sooners, We all kind of felt that was our own little Woodstock: Norman residents reminisce on music glory days, reflect on current scene, Norman businesses, apartment complexes struggle to recycle at low costs as city program initiatives continue to fall short, A board in repair: University of Oklahoma Board of Regents seek best practices for university governance, Five years after SAE: OU community discusses universitys efforts to address diversity, acknowledges more work needs to be done. WebOn Feb. 13, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation opened a suspicious death investigation after remains were found at the lake in Norman. -36.90% lower than the Oklahoma violent crime rate of 458.6 per 100,000 people. The highest number of murders were reported on 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. Five days later, a few miles west of OUs campus, shots were fired again, ending the lives of two college students. Recording of Linda: I thought, Ive seen you. K: After Ken Jacobson left the OSBI, he eventually started working as security for a company in Dallas. (The US average is 35.4) NOTE: Click on the links below to see charts for each crime category. Perrine put in dozens of requests, ranging from declaring a mistrial to requesting that words like grotesque not be allowed in the courtroom. 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. 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. The next few days were chaos. NORMAN Investigators arrested a man in connection with the death of a woman whose remains were found at Lake Thunderbird last Monday. What do you think was the change there?, Recording of Linda: I dont know how to explain that. Two counts of first-degree murder. He told Jacobson he needed to shift his focus elsewhere, but Jacobson was already convinced Gilley was the main suspect. During the May 14 search of Sanchezs home, authorities made contact with Sanchez near his garage. Of the 249 murders, 139 were cleared by arrest or exceptional means, yielding a 55.8% clearance rate. Three, four and five: Why before Gilley was hired, he didnt take a polygraph test, have a background check or enter his fingerprints into the system? 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. 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. Davids keys, wallet and shoes were all missing, too. What happens is you have blood seepage into the lung., Recording of Ken: I think he came out of that car and Frank had to shoot him a couple times, I dont think he intended to shoot anybody, he just wanted, you know, to do his thing. 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. Sheryls family started thinking of possibilities of what could have happened. The Benhams became close with investigators, especially Ken Jacobson, the lead investigator from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. And theyre almost all headshots at that point. WebThe following are some of the more dangerous Most Wanted individuals in Cleveland County, the state of Oklahoma and the United States. W. E. Joslin, a worker on the Norman dairy farm owned by Charles Haynes in western Norman, said he arrived at the property, which has a view of the lovers lane where David and Sheryl were killed, at about 3 a.m. to go to work on Mothers Day 1970. By early morning Sunday, Sheryls dad had driven to Norman to speak with police and report her.. Below to see charts for each crime category to get hired at a police Department police, investigators together... Speak with police and report her missing, yielding a 55.8 % clearance rate: of! Said if I went out in the backyard of a woman whose remains found... 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murders in norman, oklahoma