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

[Kat]

http://galvestondailynews.com/story/265190

Brief quote by Shelley's Mom in article.

 

[Richard]

These two Texas inmates were convicted of kidnapping Shelley. They come up for parole from time to time. Please include the following information in any correspondence to the Parole Board.


Name ZWARST,GERALD PIETER
TDCJ Number 00485451
Race W
Gender M
Projected Release Date LIFE SENTENCE
Unit of Assignment HUNTSVILLE
DOB 1954-07-09


Name KING,JOHN ROBERT
TDCJ Number 00479010
Race W
Gender M
Projected Release Date LIFE SENTENCE
Unit of Assignment MICHAEL
DOB 1957-08-12

 

[*~Aimee~*]

Her case was on Paula Zahn this am. So sad. Wish the dirt bags would tell where they buried her so her family can put her to rest.

 

[Tbone144]

This came across my Facebook feed. Looks like Houston Channel 11 is doing a piece on her.

https://www.facebook.com/KHOU11/videos/10156284943249062/

And an older piece from the Chronicle.

https://www.google.com/amp/www.chron.com/neighborhood/bayarea/news/amp/26-years-after-her-disappearance-relatives-of-9324158.php

"It has been 26 years since Shelley Sikes of Texas City was abducted and never returned.
It is a long time, but her family hasn’t had the luxury of moving on as one of Sikes’ kidnappers is again eligible for parole, five years after his last hearing.

On May 24, 1986, a day of drinking at the beach ended when John Robert King, driving Gerald Zwarst’s car, ran Sikes off the road as she drove home from working at Gaido’s restaurant along the Galveston Seawall.

Sikes’ car was found the next morning along Interstate 45 near Dickinson, and the 19-year-old college student was never seen alive again. Sikes is presumed dead but her body was never found.

In 1987, King called El Paso police from a motel room there and confessed to the crime, but without a body, police could not charge him or Zwarst with murder.

The men were convicted of aggravated kidnapping in separate trials in 1988, and both were sentenced to life in prison.

Although they were not ruling on murder charges, former Galveston County Sheriff Gene Leonard said when interviewed in 2007 that jurors in both trials were convinced that King and Zwarst killed Sikes.

Zwarst had his first parole hearing in June 2007, 20 years after his conviction. The parole board denied his request and ordered that he become eligible again after five years - the maximum period under Texas law.

The same happened for King later that year and he is eligible again in April with the parole decision in October.

Back then, Sikes’ family had mobilized all their friends and acquaintances to write to the parole board and tell them to deny parole for Zwarst, and later for King.

As one of the criteria for their decisions, parole board members look at public comments regarding a possible parole for an inmate, according to Rissie Owens, chairwoman of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. People can send their comments to the board up to 30 days before the set date for the decision, which in Zwarst’s case is June 22, she said. The decision could be made any time within that 30-day period.

 

[Kim M]

Shelley Sikes's Namus page
https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/8604/0/

 

[MadMcGoo]

• NamUs MP8604

2 Unidentified Person Exclusions
UP6279 12/18/1996 Fairfax VA
UP12683 06/06/2014 Newport News VA

 

[theshadow45]

Shelley has been missing for 34 years today.

 

[theshadow45]

The 37th anniversary of Shelley’s disappearance passed recently.

 

[spartanx]

another beautiful woman murdered at the hands of two misfit scumbags, drug addicts and cowards... a very young girl with her whole life ahead of her and these two trashes blamed each other and were not able to show their faces...
rest in peace shelley

 

[John/Jane Doe]

Shelley Kathleen Sikes – The Charley Project

 

[Richard]

Shelley Kathleen Sikes, age 19
Missing since 24 May 1986

 

[theshadow45]

Shelley has been missing for 38 years today.

 

[theshadow45]

Today is Shelley’s birthday.