TX TX - Cheryl Henry, 22, & Andy Atkinson, 21, Houston, 21 Aug 1990

[McSpy]

I wonder if there is a database of DNA found on crime victims. If not there should be. Links could be found, which may help in finding the perps. Here is an interesting story:

http://www.examiner.com/article/the-cluster-of-murders-is-haunting

 

[canadiandoc]

AA's dad was the owner of the stripbar wasn't he? Could have been that the letter writer was an employee. Just curious why the dad didn't comment on the killings.

 

[zwiebel]

Right off the bat, I don't think there is a connection at all, because this man's British accent would have been very noticeable to the rape victim. He had spoke to her, so I'm pretty sure she would have picked up on his accent. It is quite different than the Texan accent. Something like that is very hard to disguise too. JMO

I think she would have even noticed an northeastern US accent too, because it is so different from the Texan accent. I guess this all depends on how much he talked, but even the word "talk" is pronounced differently in different regions of the US. JMO

Sorry, I wasn't being clear. I didn't mean to imply this guy was in anyway responsible for Cheryl and Andy's murder; I just thought the 'type' of killing seemed to match, and the suspect in this case might be a similar sort of person - even with similar living conditions and work (this guy was a night warehouseman so his being away from home at all hours was never questioned.)

 

[zwiebel]

I have found a few links that I thought might be useful to have on the thread.

May 19, 2004. 'Note may hold clues'
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-t...old-clues-in-lovers-lane-slayings-1634109.php


August 28 1990. 'Ex NC man slain in Texas'
'Officials also found Atkinson's golf club with what appeared to be blood on it....150 yards away. Far enough away that they couldn't see what was happening to each other.'
http://news.google.com/newspapers?n...klOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_BMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6529,5274313


May 19, 2008. 'DNA may help break notorious Lover's Lane murders'
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-t...help-break-notorious-Lover-s-Lane-1635849.php

October 10th, 2010. 'Who is my sister.?'
http://www.prestoimages.com/site/rd3/3_page12622.pdf

December 11, 2010. 'Mysterious Lover's Lane Murderer still at large'
http://www.examiner.com/article/mysterious-lover-s-lane-killer-still-at-large

December 11, 2010. Radio interview with Andy's Dad.
http://imaginepublicity.com/2011/01/11/3752/

 

[zwiebel]

The article I linked above contained some information I hadn't read before. Andy Atkinson's golf club was found with blood on it, yet police say there were no defence wounds on the bodies and 'no signs of a struggle'.

A golf club with blood on it indicates some kind of struggle to me, even if it was a one-sided one with Andy being hit with his own golf club while unawares. This might explain why the killer appeared able to march them into the woods with such apparent ease - Andy might have been dazed.*

Also, it says 'several weeks ago' *(so sometime in July 1990) a programme called 'Current Affairs' aired a programme about a string of Lover's Lane murders which had taken place in 1986-89 in Virginia. The FBI agents who investigated them were consulting with Houston LE.

Another of the articles I linked mentions Andy and Cheryl's hands being bound AFTER they had been killed. This would be an unusual 'signature' if that's the case, but I'm not sure if that information is correct. Also, Cheryl was found naked and I'm not sure if her clothes were recovered. Could be a trophy-keeper if they weren't.

If anyone is good at calling up old newspaper articles, I think it might really help us to have some more to look at. Fresh eyes on old info and all that.....

 

[zwiebel]

AA's dad was the owner of the stripbar wasn't he? Could have been that the letter writer was an employee. Just curious why the dad didn't comment on the killings.

Yes, I believe he was the owner and the Star article I linked says Andy had just been promoted to manager of the club.

Respectfully, I think he has commented quite a lot. There's a radio interview I linked with him above and a very extensive newspaper interview I linked earlier. He talked quite openly about his drug dealing and jail time, etc. He was the supplier of a leading actor of the Exorcist movie fame, amongst other stars and served time for this, so I think he was pretty well-known at one time.

 

[zwiebel]

hmm, I found this in the chron.com news link:

"The man wore a fishnet stocking over his face, black gloves, and a dark shirt and pants that matched, possibly a uniform. He held a long-barrelled handgun in his left hand. "Where's Randy?" he asked, referring to her boyfriend by name."

Fishnet stocking? I don't think they were popular in 1990. Probably only strippers wore these. Wonder where he got it? They aren't something you pick up at CVS or Walgreens.

The goth/punk scene was still going strong at this point. It is all just being discussed, in great detail, on the Andrea Doe cold case on our front page. Black fishnets were definitely a big part of that look! It does seem that among all the striptease clubs in Houston at that time, there were also some 'alternative', purely dance clubs. I think - only think, mind you - that Bayou Mamas' that Andy and Cheryl went to that night was one of these.

 

[zwiebel]

Not casting any aspersions on the victims at all - but does anyone know if Andy or Cheryl tested positive for the presence of any drugs? The only reason I am asking is that on Andrea's thread a former 'clubber' has said there were a lot of drugs on the dance scene at this time, and, if they did, they must have got them from somewhere. That 'somewhere/someone' might be worth taking a look at.

 

[zwiebel]

I am answering my own post here, but I just had a thought on this . . . maybe this guy remembers seeing Cheryl as a stripper in the past and saw her at the nightclub that evening . . then followed her. Just a thought . . .

I agree this could be possible and he might even have followed her before. I've seen other pictures of her and she was a very beautiful young woman who would have been easy to spot in a crowd.

I wonder what the parking was like? What the roads were like to drive? We could really do with some local input for stuff like this.

 

[zwiebel]

Just thought - a fishnet stocking would be a lot easier to see through than a normal one, so the description may be much more accurate than I thought?

Also, what kind of idiot wears a fishnet stocking as a disguise? It just wouldn't work. Was it a fetish, or all he had to hand?

We have a perp here who leaves behind DNA and a description. Not the brightest button in the box. Wouldn't be surprised if he left a fingerprint or two as well somewhere.

 

[zwiebel]

This is what I mean:

Person disguised with normal stocking mask;
http://www.masterfile.com/stock-pho...576/Portrait-of-Woman-With-Stocking-Over-Head

Person NOT disguised with fishnet stocking mask;
http://theurbandaily.com/978525/caption-this-tyra-banks-wears-a-fishnet-stocking-mask/

Apart from the fact our perp is a vicious killer, his attempts at disguise would be laughable.

ETA, don't google fishnet stocking masks unless you don't mind raunchy stuff coming up on your computer!
ETA, I don't think that last link is working, here's another:
http://www.trendhunter.com/photos/89957

 

[zwiebel]

I've found a criminal who I think looks like our perp, grown fat. But he may have been too young at the time. In Houston. There is another 'connection' too. I don't think I can just go linking pictures though, when the crime is nothing to do with murder.

 

[zwiebel]

This young, unidentified couple were found in California, ten years befor our perp struck in Houston. Our perp could have been as young as 16 or 17 then, but I just can't help wondering about these two....it's a strange case. I would really like to know if any ropes or bindings were found with the bodies, or if the DNA samples they managed to obtain for the pair revealed the presence of a third-party's DNA.

I know it's in CA, but I wouldn't be surprised if our perp had come from another state, and I wouldn't be surprised either, if he turns out to have been a serial murderer who'd been practising for years before he encountered poor Cheryl and Andy.

http://www.mendocinosheriff.com/missing/coldcases.html

And this one too (scroll down): Jeanette Drzewiecki, (AKA Cherry) who worked in a striptease club and disappeared in Odessa, Texas, in 1982. Investigators suspect foul play.

http://ocs.crimestoppersweb.com/missing.aspx

 

[zwiebel]

There is a book out there called 'Headless man in Topless Bar'. I know it sounds terrible, but from the preview I've read it is a fairly comprehensive work on homicides connected to people working in or connected to the striptease industry.

I'm going to buy it and read it in the hopes of unearthing some of our perp's previous - or post - cheryl and Andy, crimes. I'm sure he murdered before them, and I'm sure he murdered after them too.

 

[zwiebel]

DA Kym Worthy of Detroit has been doing some sterling work on getting serial rapists identified. I hope she keeps up the good work. The faster those rape kit backlogs are cleared, the faster the killer of Andy and Cheryl might be found.

http://www.mountain-news.com/online...cle_a8ed10ad-1aa1-5770-be85-7d7d16d347bd.html

 

[zwiebel]

He murdered in Ohio and Wisconsin but lived in Kentucky. His last murder was in 1996. He specialized in courting couples and stabbed and shot them. He had connections to the military, and other jobs with uniforms.

His dna must have been run and ruled out in this case, mustn't it?.....Mustn't it?
http://host.madison.com/edward-wayn...cle_1604863a-741b-11df-ae59-001cc4c03286.html

 

[zwiebel]

No, he was 50 plus in 1990. He couldn't have been mistaken for a 30 year old.

I am reading the book I posted about above. The author is a MA, PHD etc. The book's full of references and research. Just what we need in this case.

 

[mocity]

I am back on and just realized this was a featured case. I am just now reading through the thread. Thank you to all that is participating. I am Cheryl's step-sister.

 

[zwiebel]

Welcome back to the thread, mocity. I'm really hoping we can gain some attention for this terrible murder. It's been too long.

If you don't mind me asking - do you know anything about the golf club with bloodstains on it that one article reported was in the car? Do you know if it was Andy's, and if so, if he was a regular player?

 

[zwiebel]

I didn't realise there was another, older thread for Cheryl. Link here:

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28202&highlight=chery+henry