LA LA - Sharon Hensley, 24, Sulphur, February 1973

[OkieGranny]

http://www.clarionledger.com/story/journeytojustice/2014/05/17/felixvailsharonhensleyskull/9175111/

Authorities are testing DNA from a woman's skull found in a Florida orange grove four decades ago to see if the unidentified remains may be that of Sharon Hensley, whom serial killer suspect Felix Vail called his wife.

Vail, a 74-year-old Mississippi native, is the last known person to be with Hensley, who disappeared in 1973 and is presumed dead.

In his March 20, 1973, letter, Vail wrote his mother that days earlier he had sent Hensley and an unnamed man "off to the ocean and each other with my good wishes and blessings."

Charley Project: http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/h/hensley_sharon.html

NamUs: https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/20525

 

[PastTense]

An attorney for serial killer suspect Felix Vail told a three-judge panel for the Louisiana Court of Appeal on Wednesday that two other women's disappearances should be barred from evidence...

Assistant District Attorney Carla Sigler responded that it does not, explaining that the doctrine of chances applies in this case because the two women disappeared under similar circumstances and were last known to be in Vail's presence...

The Mississippi native is charged with the murder of Mary Horton Vail, whose 1962 death in Lake Charles, La., was originally ruled an accidental drowning.

He is the last known person to be with her and two other women: his common-law wife, Sharon Hensley, who disappeared in 1973; and his wife, Annette, who disappeared in 1984...

The murder trial is expected to take place some time next year.

http://www.clarionledger.com/story/...elix-vail-louisiana-court-of-appeal/16174405/

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.clarionledger.com/story/...ls-court-rules-families-can-testify/18534719/

An appeals court ruled Wednesday that families are able to testify about the disappearances of two women that alleged serial killer Felix Vail considered his wives.

Louisiana's 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that the trial court "did not abuse its vast discretion" when it ruled in March that prosecutors could introduce evidence of the disappearances of Sharon Hensley and Vail's wife, Annette.

Vail, a 75-year-old native of Montpelier in Clay County, is expected to go on trial next year for murder in the 1962 death of his first wife, Mary. Experts say it is the oldest prosecution of an alleged serial killer case in U.S. history.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

The trial was pushed back from August 17th to November 16th and now it will probably be delayed until next year.

Delay expected in Felix Vail trial

http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/local/journeytojustice/2015/10/08/felix-vail-trial-delay/73615570/

Prosecutors expect the murder trial of Felix Vail to be delayed until next year because his lawyer has stepped down.

The trial of the Mississippi native had been set for Nov. 16 in Lake Charles, but Vail’s lawyer, Ben Cormier, moved to withdraw from the case.

The judge has granted his request, and Vail will now be represented by the public defender’s office.

With the change in lawyers coming so close to the start of the trial, prosecutors expect the trial to be delayed.

Cormier recently approached prosecutors, seeing if there were any possibility of a plea bargain in the case.

The families balked at the request for such a deal in which Vail would tell what he did with both Sharon Hensley and Annette Vail.

Mary Horton Vail’s brother, Will, told authorities in an email, “We want you to prosecute and convict the *advertiser censored*! No exception!!!”

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Bumping for Sharon. Felix Vail is set to go on trial next week for the murder of Mary Horton Vail.

LA - Mary Horton Vail, 22, murdered, Felix Vail charged, Lake Charles, 28 Oct 1962

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Sharon's brother will testify at the trial next week.

http://www.kfyrtv.com/content/news/Brother-Speaks-Out-388710272.html

Brian Hensley, Sharon's brother, still lives in Bismarck but will soon travel to Louisiana to provide testimony in the trial of Felix Vail, a man charged with murdering his first wife, and suspected of involvement in the disappearances of Sharon and another woman.

Brian hopes his testimony will help put Vail behind bars. But, more importantly, provide closure for his family after so many years of not knowing.

Brian has been looking for answers for more than 40 years.

"It's a long time, but justice will be served," said Brian.

Hensley says after the trial, he will have a memorial service for his sister, and he invites those who knew her and his family to attend.

 

[Alleykins]

I hope justice prevails for all of the women this man harmed.

 

[Alleykins]

Just thought I'd post an update to the trial even though it was almost a year ago. This guy got life. Maybe he doesn't have a lot of life left to live behind bars, but at least he's off the streets and can't harm another innocent victim.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2016/08/12/felix-vail-trial-day-five/88604212/

 

[madamx]

I actually came across this link and read it all.. its filled with tons of information..Hopefully Sharon and Annette will one day be identified.. Glad that this creep finally is doing his time and just leaves me wondering if there are any other women out there whose lives he took also?? he reminds me a bit of a cross between Rasmussen and Alcala https://www.clarionledger.com/story...ad-two-other-missing-jerry-mitchell/95895894/

some photos from the Clarion Ledger article of Sharon

 

[madamx]

from the article above I copied some quotes (below) I think this guy needs a time line of places he has lived and if there were women missing from the places he lived at the times he was there..

Publicity about Vail’s case fueled questions from people across the country. When did he live in California? Texas? Florida? And most often, “Were there other victims?”
His son, Bill, had quoted his father as saying Mexican men had attacked him in Baja, Mexico, and that he had killed one of them, cut up the body and buried the pieces.
“Bill said Felix told him about it and showed him the knife he used,” said Bill’s widow, Janet. “Bill referred to it as a fillet knife.”
She said Bill also told her about how he found a photograph of a naked black woman, face down, inside a box his father kept. “Bill wondered if she was alive or not.”

 

[madamx]

these quotes about Sharon are also from the article above.

“Do you think the same thing happened to Sharon?” Rose asked.
I told her that I believed that Vail and Sharon had arrived here in Miami in 1972, certainly no later than early 1973.
In his conversation with private investigator Gina Frenzel, Vail talked of living in Miami in a commune, “working in this health food store with no transportation, except 10 speeds.” He talked, too, of being with Sharon, but not by name.

I handed Rose a copy of the letter that Vail wrote his parents on March 20, 1973.
“I’m not married anymore,” he wrote, “and although she has just been gone two days my thinking is starting to clear from the clouds that were in her mind. I saw them there from the time she got us busted in California, and I thought I could get her clear, but I’ve given up the experiment (with her anyway) so now I can begin training full time.”
“Clouds in her mind?” Rose asked. “He blamed her for their arrests?”
“Yes.”
Frenzel found a valuable clue inside Vail’s copy of “Gandhi on Nonviolence.” On the title page, Vail had scrawled several locations, starting in Miami and ending near Key West.
She had telephoned me about her discovery. “This has to be the trip Felix took with Sharon — the last trip before he killed her.”

 

[folieadeuxnola]

Sharon Hensley

Last Seen: February 01, 1973

Missing From: Sulphur, Calcasieu Parish Louisiana / Key West, Florida

**IMO, Sharon could be anywhere in between, however most likely in Florida**






Physical/Clothing/Medical
Age: 24 Years Old
DOB: 12/20/48
Height: 5’8” – 6’0” (68” – 70&#8221
Weight: 120 - 130 lbs.
Hair: Brown
Eye: Brown
Race: White
Sex: Female
Clothing:
Jewelry:
Medical/Scars:
Transportation:
Finger Print: Fingerprint information is currently not available (05/02/18)
Dental Status: Dental information / charting is not available (05/02/18)
DNA Status:Sample Submitted Tests Complete (05/02/18)


Circumstances:
Sharon contacted her family February 3rd, 1973, from suspected Serial Killer William Felix Vail’s sisters home. Sharon had phoned her mother and told her they were heading to New Orleans and then to Florida. Felix stated they used alias in New Orleans; Joseph and Helene Martin where Sharon worked as a table dancer. Felix and Sharon left New Orleans for Miami to live in a commune. In March 1974 Sharon’s mother received a letter from Felix. He stated to Sharon’s family he last saw her around a year ago in Key West, FL on a boat with a couple from Australia that were going to sail around the world. It was told by Felix that Sharon destroyed all her identifications to leave her previous life behind and start anew. Felix had given Sharon’s family various names for the couple; John and Vanessa, Frank and Sally.

Sharon was a native of Bismarck, ND she moved to San Francisco, CA in 1967 where she met and started dating Felix in 1970.

Felix Vail was the last know person to be with Sharon Hensley, Annette Carver Vail (2nd wife) and Mary Horton Vail (1st wife). In 2016 Felix was tried and convicted of murdering his 1st wife Mary Horton Vail it is the oldest conviction of a suspected serial killer in US history and he is currently serving a life sentence at Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, LA.

Sharon Hensley (Feb 1973) and Annette Carver Vail (Oct 1984) remain missing.


Clarion Ledger, GONE (A must read)
https://www.clarionledger.com/story...ad-two-other-missing-jerry-mitchell/95895894/


Investigating Agency:
Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office
5400 E. Broad St, Lake Charles, LA. 70615
Dt Mark Clark / Randy Curtis
MP Case # S2013-3860 (Burleigh Co)
Tele: 337.494.4558 or 337.494.4523
Web: https://www.cpso.com/

Burleigh County Sheriff’s Office
514 East Thayer Avenue
Bismarck, ND. 58501
Dt Troy Fleck
MP Case # S2013-3860 (Burleigh Co)
Tele: 701.222.6651
Web: http://www.burleighco.com/departments/sheriff/

National Crime Information Center (NCIC)
MP Case # M281405737
https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/ncic


Information Resources:

NAMUS
MP Case # 20525: https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/20525/0/
Case Manager: Teresa Wilson - Tele: 225.578.4761
Case Manager: Stacey Pearson – Tele: 337.262.3320

Doe Network
MP Case # 3844DFLA: http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/3844dfla.html
Case Manager: Valda Richards – valdarichards@doenetwork.org

LSU Faces
LSU Faces Case MP Case # 588: http://identifyla.lsu.edu/profile.php?id=669
Teresa Wilson – Tele: 225.578.4761
Maria Allaire – Tele: 225.578.4775
General E-Mail: faces@lsu.edu
LSU Faces Laboratory FB: https://www.facebook.com/pg/lsufaceslab/posts/

Charley Project: http://charleyproject.org/case/sharon-hensley
Doe Network Case # 3846DFLA: http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/3846dfla.html
Do You Know Felix Vail?: https://www.facebook.com/doyouknowfelixvail/



News Articles

12/29/17 – American Press, Vail’s Appeal Rejected
http://www.americanpress.com/vail-s...cle_1301b0ce-ecb9-11e7-b265-af077fde112e.html

05/31/17 – Crime Feed, How a Mother’s Decades-Long Quest for Justice Unearthed America’s “Oldest Serial Killer”
http://crimefeed.com/2017/05/maria-elena/

09/26/16 – Clarion Ledger, Suspected serial killer Felix Vail gets life
https://www.clarionledger.com/story...-serial-killer-felix-vail-gets-life/91105208/

08/30/16 – Clarion Ledger, Memorial held for Sharon Hensley
https://www.clarionledger.com/story...n-hensley-felix-vail-jerry-mitchell/89586312/
Video: https://www.clarionledger.com/videos/news/local/felixvailgone/2016/08/30/89616818/

08/28/16 – Bismarck Tribune, Memorial Service
http://bismarcktribune.com/news/obi...cle_61472ca5-5afb-5647-9bb7-28eea28d6987.html

08/12/16 – ABC News, Felix Vail Found Guilty
http://abcnews.go.com/US/felix-vail-found-guilty-murder-wifes-1962-death/story?id=41305632

07/29/16 – KFYR, Bismarck man to testify at suspected serial killer trial
http://www.kfyrtv.com/content/news/Brother-Speaks-Out-388710272.html

07/28/16 – Clarion Ledger, GONE: ‘Batgirl’ meets Vail undercover, earns his trust
https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/local/felixvailgone/2016/07/29/gone-chapter-8/87427410/

06/17/15 – Daily Advertiser, Felix Vail’s ex-wife says she escaped death
https://www.theadvertiser.com/story...ix-vails-ex-wife-says-escaped-death/28871123/

05/17/14 – USA Today, Woman’s skull tested for link to slaying suspect
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/05/17/is-skull-that-of-vails-wife/9236431/

05/21/13 – My SA, Suspect in 1962 slaying arrested at Canyon Lake
https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/l...2-slaying-arrested-at-Canyon-Lake-4532729.php


Justia US Law
https://law.justia.com/cases/louisiana/third-circuit-court-of-appeal/2017/ka-17-0354.html
https://law.justia.com/cases/louisiana/third-circuit-court-of-appeal/2014/kw-14-0436.html

 

[JerseyGirl]

Hunting for the Truth About Her Missing Daughter, Mom Finds 2 More Women Who Mysteriously Vanished

People Magazine Investigates: Gone Girls airs Monday (10 p.m. ET) on Investigation Discovery.

From the link above:

Mary Horton Vail: GUILTY - LA - Mary Horton Vail, 22, murdered, Lake Charles, 28 Oct 1962

Annette Craver Vail: LA - LA - Annette Craver Vail, 18, Sulphur, 5 Oct 1984

 

[MadMcGoo]

Refreshing the thread...

 

[madamx]

Bumping

 

[Diane Redfern]

As MadameX says, this guy reminds me a lot of Rasmussen.
I found some possible matches for Sharon:
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
It's only a femur, but the age fits and it was located in Monroe County.
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
This is a little bit off, the height doesn't fit, but it's an estimation
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
This is one of four decedents found in 1981 in the same property (I know, that would imply to connect her to another serial killer, William Mansfield Jr., however the portrait is shocking).

To be honest... I feel like taking a shot in the dark. We don't even know for sure if she ever arrived to Florida. Was there any activity in her Social Security number which placed her in Florida?
It's devastating, because all of this could have been avoided if Felix Vail had been convicted in 1962. I know, they did not have enough evidence... but then his own son accused him, he dealt with drugs, and, 50 years later, another pathologist said Mary's death was a homicide...