[1] [59], In 2021, Reece was convicted of Johnston's murder and sentenced to death. 1. Yes, there have been multiple arrests in the numerous murders that have been associated with the Texas Killing Fields. At about the same time, a detective tested Baker's dress for DNA. The filmmakers hired officers Goetschius and Land as consultants while making the movie. Already serving time for the attempted murder and kidnapping of Sepo, Reece was convicted of Johnston's murder and sentenced to death. Yet another body was found by two horseback riders while police discovered Laura Mills in the same location as well. Texas Killing Fields (Blu-ray, 2012) | Films & TV, DVDs & Blu-rays | eBay! "And I said, "Look, you know, let's go for a ride,'" Stallings said. He told police he carried out the rape and murder with the help of Gerald Peter Zwarst. It is believed that many of the murders are the work of multiple serial killers. On the same day, the body of Laura Miller was discovered in Calder Field. Over the last three decades, more than 30 women have been found dead along an area of Insterstate 45 that runs 50 miles between Houston and Galveston. Her remains were identified along with Georgia Geer's in an Alvin, Texas ditch. Heidi Fye and Laura Miller were the other two victims previously identified. "It's. In The Texas Killing Fields, the first victim discussed was Heidi Faye, a woman who disappeared from League City in 1983 and was found dead the following year.However, the first crime considered part of the Texas Killing Fields murders actually occurred much earlier. Janet Doe, meanwhile, was identified as Donna Gonsoulin Prudhomme, according to the FBI. Private. 19 relations. now = new Date Both men have since died in prison, King in October 2015 and Zwarst in November 2020. Since the early 1970s, 30 bodies of murder victims have been found within the Killing Fields area. [53], In 1987, 30-year-old John Robert King phoned the El Paso police, claiming that on May 24, 1986, he, together with 33-year-old Gerald Peter Zwarst, attacked Shelley Sikes while she was in her car, after which the girl was raped and strangled. Some shared similar physical features, such as similar hairstyles. Oh sure. Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Texas Killing Fields (2011) - Financial Information", "Venezia 68: International competition of feature films", "Sam Worthington Confirmed as Lead of The Fields, Formerly Called The Texas Killing Fields | /Film", "Danny Boyle Probably Not Entering The 'Texas Killing Fields' Or 'Ponte Tower', "Box office / business for Texas Killing Fields (2011)", "Texas Killing Fields (2011): Filming Locations", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Texas_Killing_Fields_(film)&oldid=1138529267, Wikipedia articles with plot summary needing attention from January 2016, All Wikipedia articles with plot summary needing attention, Rotten Tomatoes template using name parameter, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 10 February 2023, at 04:56. RELATED:Is A Serial Killer Responsible For The Colonial Parkway Murders Or Are The Vicious Roadside Slayings Unconnected? Despite his partner's warnings, he sets out to investigate the crimes. Her car was found the next day, stuck in mud, blood-stained, and abandoned on the side of an I-45 access road, south of the Galveston causeway. That's exactly where I put her, exactly where I put her," Stallings said. She had a pretty tough life, but she loved her children so much, and, you know, we all just do the best we can with what we have, sister Dianne Gonsoulin-Hastings told the FBI. In 1978, Bell, while masturbating on the street in front of a group of teenage girls, he was confronted by 26-year-old former Marine Larry Dickens, while his mother called the police. On his office wall is a map of the killing fields and photos of all the missing girls in the county. She said she'd walk herself the short way back home. Nowhis story is changing again. "Just because somebody says they did something doesn't always give us ammunition to go to court," said DetectiveMarty Grant. In 1976, some of her remains were found by police, but due to neglect, weren't identified as hers until a new detective took over the case in '81 and re-examined the ditch where they were originally found. When no one cares . (L to R) Atmosphere in Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields, Everyone Practices Cancel Culture | Opinion, Deplatforming Free Speech is Dangerous | Opinion. He was convicted of Dickens' murder and was sentenced to 70 years in prison. Laura's father, Tim Miller, is still set on finding justice for his daughter as well. It's where Stallings once worked as a ranch hand, and where three bodies had been discovered in the 1980s. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Her body was found in 1991. Your login session has expired. [2] After visiting some of the sites of recovered bodies in League City, Ami Canaan Mann, director of the film Texas Killing Fields, commented: "You could actually see the refineries that are in the south end of League City. Members of the community have left a memorial site for each of the four victims, though, to acknowledge the horrors that happened there and honor the women whose lives were cut too short, according to the FBI. A man named Kevin Edison Smith was charged and sentenced to prison for murdering a 13-year-old girl named Krystal Jean Baker in 1990s. [45][46], In 2013, Mark Roland Stallings, a convicted kidnapper serving a life term, confessed to killing a girl in 1991 and later dumping her body in the fields, later identified as Donna Prudhomme. Both men were asked to indicate the whereabouts of Sikes' body in exchange for avoiding life sentences, but their directions failed to uncover it. The three-part documentary investigates the strange disappearance of young women in the 1980s and 1990s, only to be discovered dead on Calder Road in Texas. Are you praying for their souls? the CBS correspondent asked. Browse 205 texas killing fields stock photos and images available or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. ALSO STREAMING: Netflix true crime documentaries also focus on Vanessa Guilln case. All That's Interesting is a Brooklyn-based digital publisher that seeks out stories that illuminate the past, present, and future. The string of unsolved murders earned the route the nickname "highway to hell." In a featured story by CBS News, for 48 Hours Mystery, federal agent Don Ferrarone noted, This bridge up ahead had a sign on it when you came out in this directionit said, You are now entering the cruel world,' as he and the reporter, Erin Moriarty, drove along Interstate 45. Last seen leaving her job as a waitress at Gaido's beach-front restaurant in Galveston. The impending takeover of HISD by the TEA dates back to 2019, when Wheatley High School triggered a state law by failing to meet accountability standards for seven consecutive years. Three years later, police chief Don Morris and his deputy, Tommy Deal, were arrested and convicted of numerous crimes, including torture and misconduct against detainees. Local and federal investigators believe, at least, some of the cases are. What makes an area the perfect place to dispose of a body? Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields is the latest true-crime documentary to land on Netflix, joining a host of content such as Unsolved Mysteries, Killer Sally and I Am Vanessa Guillen. Joe Berlinger's next installment in the Crime Scene docuseries examines the eerie connections between the still-unsolved murders of three young women. Last seen at Dobie High School while she was there for a driving test. Bell confessed to murdering eleven young women in and around Galveston in the 1970s, and there was an A&E miniseries made about it. Grant said investigators plan to pay Stallings a visit in prison, with the hope he will once again talk about what happened to Janet Doe. document.write(theYear) If he is, in fact, clearing his conscience, he's doing so in great detail. He stated that he did not remember the names of most of his victims, but confidently stated that he had killed Debbie Ackerman, Maria Johnson, Colette Wilson and Kimberly Pitchford, as well as two other then-unnamed girls whom he had abducted from Webster in August 1971, later identified as Rhonda Johnson and Sharon Shaw. Hill Country, and we welcome you to our family. It competed in the 68th Venice International Film Festival.[2]. Her parents panicked and called the police. Her severed remains were found near Addicks Reservoir in the same area as Colette Wilson. Several suspects have been convicted or charged in different cases over the years, and other names have also been put forward without evidence to support any charges, per Newsweek. The following year, he was found guilty and convicted, receiving a 60-year imprisonment term. After two decades on the run from U.S. police for the murder of former Marine Larry Dickens, Edward Harold Bell was extradited from Panama to the states to face trial in 1993. [47][48], Clyde Hedrick was named as a suspect in the 2022 documentary series Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields. Over 30 victims mostly women or girls were found along the 1-45 corridor south of Houston between 1971 and 2016. Southeastern Texans know it better as the "Killing Fields." The bodies and bones pulled from the old oil field along Calder Road in League City between 1984 and 1991 belonged to four young. Directors Ami Canaan Mann Starring Sam Worthington, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chlo Grace Moretz Genres The first victim was a 23-year-old League City bartender named Heidi Fye. Debbie Catherine Ackerman 23 Jun 1956 - 16 Nov 1971 . The same day Miller was found, police discovered a third unidentified body that they named Jane Doe. Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads, Last seen October 26, 1983: Sondra Ramber, 14, Last seen May 24, 1986: Shelley Sikes, 19, Last seen October 7, 1988: Suzanne Rene Richerson, Last seen July 12, 2002: Tot Harriman, 57, November 3, 2006: Terressa (or Teressa) Vanegas, 16. Last seen accepting a ride near an island ice cream shop with Maria Johnson. After that, she never heard from Prudhomme again. Join the discussion on our new social platform Texjas.com! The three-episode limited series titled Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields tells the story of the victims whose bodies were dumped (and later found) in a desolate oil field along a 50-mile stretch of highway that runs from Houston, Texas, to the nearby beach town of Galveston. Photos of Kevin Edison Smith and William Lewis Reece. She had an aptitude for music, but then she started having seizures, which impacted life as she knew it. The lot measures nearly 25 acres and is full of overgrown mesquite trees and is criss-crossed with dirt roads. In 2016, Reece confessed to police he had kidnapped and murdered Laura Smither, 12. Who Were "The Texas Killing Fields" Victims? 21 Breathtaking Images Of The Golden Gate Bridge, Five Fascinating People Who Inspired Your Favorite Fictional Characters, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. For me its that little bit of comfort to step into it and give people some answers, he explained. "The effect that this has had on people for the last 30 years is still there," said Miller. In 1993, he was arrested in Panama and extradited back to the United States, where he was subsequently convicted of Dickens' murder and received a 70-year sentence. A man named Kevin Edison Smith was sentenced to life in prison in 2012 for murdering a 13-year-old girl named Krystal Jean Baker in 1996, according to The Houston Chronicle. Her remains were found 60ft away from where police had found Heide Villarreal-Fye the year before. As of 2009, Killeen had 119,510 people. The below map shows the more than 500 cases in our Highway Serial Killings Initiative database; the red dots mark where bodies or remains have been found along highways over the past 30 years. This page was last edited on 1 March 2023, at 06:21. texas killing fields crime scene photos. The area surrounding the killing fields (Hobbs Rd/518) was pretty well developed with housing, gas stations, fast food restaurants, etc. Fye's father spent the rest of his life searching for answers, ultimately dying before he could ever get one. Jane Doe was finally named as Audrey Lee Cook, a 30-year-old mechanic who worked in various parts of Texas and had last been seen alive in December 1985. Her body was found in Galveston Bay near, Last seen walking with Sharon Shaw along Seawall Boulevard in Galveston. Since the early 1970s, mass numbers of bodies have been discovered in the region, resulting in the area being grimly nicknamed by locals as "The Killing Fields.". She died six weeks to several months prior to being found. They were mainly the bodies of girls or young women. ABC 13 reported that the decomposed body showed that she had been shot in the back and had several broken ribs. Since the early 1970s, some 30 bodies of murder victims have been found within the Killing Fields area. A film adaptation of the deadly events that occurred along the I-45 highway was released on September 9, 2011, with the title Texas Killing Fields. Seventeen picks products that we think you'll love the most. A dog discovered the first victim, Heidi Villareal Fye, 23, on April 4, 1984. They were also probed for other such crimes committed during the mid-1980s, but both vehemently denied any involvement. Her body was found bound and partially nude in Turner's Bayou along with her friend, Maria. over 30 women were found dead along an area of Interstate 45. according to a 1999 Texas Monthly article. Miller was last seen using the same pay phone that Fye was using months before. Unfortunately, the movie often seems to stray from such discipline. Last seen with Georgia Geer at the U-Totem convenience store off of FM 517 and I-45. "Janet Doe" was 34 at the time and was identified as Donna Prudhomme. Texas Hill Country. Where is Anthony Cook From "Murdaugh Murders" Now? [63], Learn how and when to remove this template message, Murders of Rhonda Johnson and Sharon Shaw Michael Lloyd Self, List of fugitives from justice who disappeared, List of serial killers in the United States, "The Killing Fields: Decades Later, Investigators Still Searching for Answers in Murders of Four Women", "The real-life mystery of Texas' killing fields", "True crime podcast 'What About Holly?' AG. Bell was able to name some of his victims: Despite his alleged confession, Bell was never charged with the murders and there was no physical evidence against him. She was found in April 1984, when a dog brought a human skull over to its owners. The next victim was a 16-year-old named Laura Miller. Goetschius was integral to the investigation and became a guardian angel of sorts to Bakers mother in the process. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The victim was later identified as Donna Prudhomme.