TX TX - Shelley Sikes, 19, Galveston, 24 May 1986

[NewMom2003]

I was 16 when Shelley Sikes was abducted and I remember seeing her missing flyers all over the place, even for years after this happened. I've often wondered if anything was ever found, but hadn't thought about it in years. Then today I ran across her page while I was looking for something else in the Texas Clearinghouse for Missing Persons.

I hope and pray that her family has found some peace over the last 20 years. God Bless you Shelley. :angel:

http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/mpch/MissingPersons.asp?Search=Name

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/297dftx.html

Sikes, a 19-year-old University of Texas student who was home for the summer, was last seen just before midnight May 24, 1986, when she left her job as a waitress at Gaido's beach-front restaurant in Galveston.
Her car was found about 2 the next morning, stuck in deep mud along an Interstate 45 access road just south of the Galveston causeway. The driver's window was broken, and blood was spattered on the door and driver's seat. Despite an intensive search, Sikes was never found.
Authorities got a break in the case in June 1987 when John Robert King telephoned El Paso police from a motel in that city to report his attempted suicide and confessed to kidnapping Sikes and burying her body.
King said he and a friend, Gerald Peter Zwarst had been high on drugs when they ran Sikes' car off the road and abducted her.
King later reneged on an offer to tell police where the body was buried. Both men have blamed each other for Sikes' death and admitted burying the body near King's home. King and Zwarst were convicted of aggravated kidnapping in 1988 and sentenced to life in prison. Zwarst was offered immunity from a murder charge in 1990 if he would help find Sikes' body. Under hypnosis he drew a map of a field in San Leon, where he said he last saw Sikes, but her body was not found.
Authorities uncovered a white blouse during the search. Lab tests could not prove it belonged to Sikes, but her family is convinced the petite, handmade blouse was hers. The case remains open.

 

[Richard]

... Both men have blamed each other for Sikes' death and admitted burying the body near King's home. King and Zwarst were convicted of aggravated kidnapping in 1988 and sentenced to life in prison. ... The case remains open.

This is a case where both men should be tried together for first degree murder, and the death penalty put "on the table". Use both confessions as evidence, convict them both, and then hang them both together. First one to give up her body gets to eat the last meal.

 

[NewMom2003]

This is a case where both men should be tried together for first degree murder, and the death penalty put "on the table". Use both confessions as evidence, convict them both, and then hang them both together. First one to give up her body gets to eat the last meal.

Thank you for responding. I completely agree with you and I like your way of thinking.

It saddens me to think about Shelley's family and the fact that her remains have not been found.

 

[RedFoxMama]

Update on Shelley's case. Her killers are up for parole after serving only 20 years of a life sentence.

You can argue against their parole by sending an email to victim.svc@tdcj.state.tx.us with their ID information: Gerald Pieter Zwarst (State ID: 02060724, TDCJ ID: 00485451) and
John Robert King (State ID: 02559332, TDCJ ID: 00479010). Please consider sending a letter stating why they should be released.


She has never been found. Since she never got to go home, why should they?

 

[RedFoxMama]

Shelley Sikes was last seen leaving her job as a server at Gaido's Seafood Restaurant on the beachfront in Galveston, Texas prior to 12:00 a.m. on May 24, 1986. She was a student at the University Of Texas and was staying at her family's residence in Texas City, Texas for the summer. Sikes has never been heard from again and has never been found.


John King and Gerald Zwarst were both sentenced to life in prison in 1988 for the kidnapping of Shelley. They are now up for parole after serving only 20 years.



Please consider writing the Texas parole board arguing against their release.

You can email victim.svc@tdcj.state.tx.us. Include their ID information: Gerald Pieter Zwarst (State ID: 02060724, TDCJ ID: 00485451) and John Robert King (State ID: 02559332, TDCJ ID: 00479010)



Shelley never got to go home. Why should they?

 

[sissy's mom]

I remember her. There was a big billboard with her picture on it. Then we moved out of state and I always wondered if she had been found.


I like Richard's idea.

 

[GraceBlue]

Could this be her? http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/16ufla.html

-The victim was 3 months pregnant but some women dont show at all at 3 months pregnant.
-The age is a little off by few years.
-The height is off by a bit but both had 'petite' stature
-Both had scar on right knee
-Texas is next to Louisiana


Did Shelley get breast implants? Did she have a nose job? Was she ever in a car accident? Was she married?

 

[RedFoxMama]

Update on Shelley's case. Her killers are up for parole after serving only 20 years of a life sentence.

You can argue against their parole by sending an email to victim.svc@tdcj.state.tx.us with their ID information: Gerald Pieter Zwarst (State ID: 02060724, TDCJ ID: 00485451) and
John Robert King (State ID: 02559332, TDCJ ID: 00479010). Please consider sending a letter stating why they should be released.


She has never been found. Since she never got to go home, why should they?

RedFox Mama here. Let me restate my earlier post: Please consider sending a letter stating why they should NOT be released.

 

[RedFoxMama]

Could this be her? http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/16ufla.html

-The victim was 3 months pregnant but some women dont show at all at 3 months pregnant.
-The age is a little off by few years.
-The height is off by a bit but both had 'petite' stature
-Both had scar on right knee
-Texas is next to Louisiana


Did Shelley get breast implants? Did she have a nose job? Was she ever in a car accident? Was she married?

Oh how I wish it were Shelley, but it's not. For one, the resemblance isn't there (see her pic in 1986, not long before she disappeared http://www.texasequusearch.org/missing_persons/ShelleySikes.pdf). Second, the creeps who took her didn't get any farther than Bacliff, which is not too far from Galveston/Texas City.

 

[Richard]

bumping thread up. Any update on the parole hearings?

 

[meggilyweggily]

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/s/sikes_shelley.html

 

[Richard]

Any update on these dirtbags' parole hearings?

I wonder if they had anything to do with the disappearance of Rene Richerson, who also disappeared from this area in 1988. She was abducted from her place of employment and was about the same age as Shelley.

Suzanne Rene Richerson Missing Galveston, TX 1988 - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community

LINK:

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13749&highlight=richerson

 

[Richard]

Bumping case up...

 

[NewMom2003]

Thanks for bumping Shelley's case Richard.

For me, this is one of those cases I'll never forget.

Many prayers for her family.

 

[Taximom]

http://www.khou.com/news/local/galveston/stories/khou070529_ac_paroleletters.1f9f31f3.html You might get an annoying Hummer ad, but the "close" button is on the license plate.
TEXAS CITY — The state parole board has denied Gerald Zwarst’s bid for early release from life in prison after a community letter-writing campaign.
In 1988, a jury convicted both Zwarst and John Robert King of aggravated kidnapping in the 1986 disappearance of Texas City resident Shelley Sikes.
Her parents led a letter-writing campaign to keep both King and Zwarst in prison.


YAY!!!

 

[Richard]

... The state parole board has denied Gerald Zwarst’s bid for early release from life in prison after a community letter-writing campaign. ...!!!

Good news. But remember that these clowns will continue to come up for parole every year. Feel free to express your opinion about them and the idea of their parole to the parole board - often.

 

[Taximom]

Every YEAR?! :doh: Thanks for letting us know.

 

[MandaMalice]

*Hello, this is my first time posting*

I'm so happy to finally find out that he was denied parole!

Both my mother and I sent in letters and I sent out many bulletins on the few MySpace pages that I run asking people to send in letters. I not only live in Texas City (Her home town) at the time of her disappearance, but went to the same dance school as her. I was much younger than her, (Her last year there was my second year), and she would sometimes "help out" with us younger girls. All of us younger girls looked up to her. I still remember her finally solo dance. It was only a year later that she was kidnapped.

Her kidnapping and murder was one of the most frighting moments of my early childhood. I still remember my father talking to my mother and her friends on how they should "protect" them selfs if someone tried to pull them out of their car. (It was the 80's, so he told my mom to spray them in the face with her hair spray and stab them with her hair pick if she had too!)

I was only six years old when she died, but I've never forgotten her. My older brother now lives in San Leon and the location of her remains is much like the "Jimmy Hoffa" legends. I really do home her family can bring her home one day.

 

[Earthbound Misfit I]

Ruled out by dentals
Shelley Kathleen SIKES
RULED OUT BY DENTALS

Texas Missing Persons Clearinghouse Online Bulletin

Missing Person Details

Date Picture Updated: 9/27/2001

Name: Shelley Kathleen Sikes
Case Number: M8606005
Case Type: Endangered - Foul Play Possible
Last Seen in: Galveston (Galveston County)
Last Seen on: 5/24/1986
Height: 4' 11"
Weight: 90 lbs.
Age Missing: 19
Eye Color: Brown
Hair Color: Brown
Date of Birth: 9/2/1966
Race: White
Sex: Female
State Missing From: Texas
Country Missing From: USA
Circumstances: Shelley is very petite in stature and was known to have made most of her clothing. She has a 1/2 inch long by 3/4 wide scar on her right knee and is unable to bend her right index finger.
http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/mpch/mp...3:54:20PM'

 

[Richard]

In May 2011, this case will be 25 years old. Although Shelley's killers were caught and put in prison on a kidnapping charge, her body has never been found.

---------------------
Shelley Kathleen Sikes
Missing since May 24, 1986 from Galveston, Galveston County, Texas.
Classification: Endangered Missing

Vital Statistics

Date Of Birth: September 2, 1966
Age at Time of Disappearance: 19 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 4'11; 90 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: White female. Brown hair; brown eyes. Sikes has a petite stature.
Marks, Scars, Tattoos: She has a scar on her right knee. She is not able to bend her right index finger.

Circumstances of Disappearance

Sikes, a 19-year-old University of Texas student who was home for the summer, was last seen just before midnight May 24, 1986, when she left her job as a waitress at Gaido's beach-front restaurant in Galveston.

Her car was found about 2 the next morning, stuck in deep mud along an Interstate 45 access road just south of the Galveston causeway. The driver's window was broken, and blood was spattered on the door and driver's seat. Despite an intensive search, Sikes was never found.

Authorities got a break in the case in June 1987 when John Robert King telephoned El Paso police from a motel in that city to report his attempted suicide and confessed to kidnapping Sikes and burying her body.

King said he and a friend, Gerald Peter Zwarst had been high on drugs when they ran Sikes' car off the road and abducted her. King later reneged on an offer to tell police where the body was buried. Both men have blamed each other for Sikes' death and admitted burying the body near King's home. King and Zwarst were convicted of aggravated kidnapping in 1988 and sentenced to life in prison.

Zwarst was offered immunity from a murder charge in 1990 if he would help find Sikes' body. Under hypnosis he drew a map of a field in San Leon, where he said he last saw Sikes, but her body was not found.

Authorities uncovered a white blouse during the search. Lab tests could not prove it belonged to Sikes, but her family is convinced the petite, handmade blouse was hers.

The case remains open.

Investigators
If you have any information concerning Sikes' whereabouts, please contact:

Galveston County Sheriff's Office
409-766-2322


Texas Department Of Public Safety
800-346-3243

You may remain anonymous when submitting information to any agency.

NCIC Number: M-199085895
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.

Source Information:

Texas Department Of Public Safety
KHOU
The Doe Network: Case File 297DFTX

LINK:

http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/297dftx.html