Post by Scumhunter on Aug 22, 2016 0:57:42 GMT -5
From the AMW archives:
Love At First Sight
Houston summers are hot, humid and stifling affairs, and the summer of 1990 was no different. Cheryl Henry, 22, and 21-year-old Andy Atkinson’s love affair had just begun a few weeks into a major heat wave.
The young, attractive couple met one night at a popular local bar, Sam’s Boat. While the throngs of 20-somethings danced to the bar band and knocked back draft beers, Cheryl and Andy found a quiet place to talk. A friend had introduced the pair and as everyone could see, it was love at first sight.
Like Andy, 22-year-old Cheryl returned home to Houston from college earlier that summer. Cheryl studied at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches while Andy took business classes at Campbell University in North Carolina.
Having just broken up with his girlfriend and decided a change of scenery could help, Andy moved in with his grandma in Houston and started working at a gym. Just days away from his 22nd birthday, it seemed as though Cheryl was the change Andy sought.
Houston Rocked By Lover's Lane Murders
On Aug. 22, 1990, Cheryl and Andy met up with Cheryl's sister, Shane, for a night out with some friends. The sisters said their goodbyes when they left the Bayou Mama’s nightclub at 10:45 p.m.
Cheryl and Andy then headed just outside Houston to an area known to locals as Lover’s Lane. It consisted of a lonely, paved cul-de-sac jutting up against an open, grassy field dotted with thick woods and lakes that proved the perfect hideaway for young lovers wanting to be alone. However, that night in August 1990, the innocent, idyllic landscape became a crime scene usually reserved for the grisliest of horror movies.
Police believe that someone came up behind Cheryl and Andy while they sat in Andy’s car listening to music. Cops say the assailant struggled with Andy. Police don’t know if the assailant had a knife and a gun, but he somehow managed to corral Andy and Cheryl and force them out to the wooded area, hundreds of yards from the car. Police speculate that the couple might have thought if they just did what was asked, everything would be fine – unfortunately, that’s not what happened.
The assailant sat Andy with his back to the base of a tree and tied him to it. Once he subdued and restrained Andy, the attacker slashed Andy's throat with a knife. Cops say that’s when he turned his attention to Cheryl.
In a place no one could hear her scream, the killer cut Cheryl’s clothes off her body and raped her before cutting her throat. The killer tied Andy and Cheryl’s hands together in the same intricate knot with a rare kind of hemp rope.
The following day, a security guard noticed Andy's Honda with Cheryl's purse and shoes still inside. When he called it in, authorities had already been notified that Cheryl hadn't returned home the night before. Officers and search dogs descended on Lover's Lane. That night they found Cheryl’s body in the field, covered by planks from a broken fence. Dogs found Andy’s body the next day.
For years, police struggled to solve the case. Hundreds of interviews were conducted. Suspects were checked out and discarded. Cheryl and Andy's murder became an infamous cold case that some doubted would ever be solved.
DNA Helps Give A Face To A Killer
However, 17 years later, cops caught a break when a rape kit from 1990 was processed into the CODIS labs in Texas.
In 2007, CODIS technicians matched the killer’s DNA sample to a sexual assault case that occurred in Houston just months before Cheryl and Andy’s murder. When the Houston Police Department reached out to the woman, she provided them with a sketch and a description of her attacker. At last, the Lover's Lane killer had a face.
The rape victim told authorities that her attacker was a white male in his mid-30s with an olive complexion. He wore a stocking over his head during her attack, but she told cops that he had brown hair and may have a mustache.
web.archive.org/web/20101214052317/http://www.amw.com/fugitives/brief.cfm?id=71049#case
Thoughts? This case was aired on the December 11th, 2010 episode of America's Most Wanted.
Admin Note #1: Based on crime location, our advice for anyone with information on this case would be to contact Houston Crime Stoppers where they can remain anonymous: www.crime-stoppers.org/
Admin Note #2: If you have any news-related updates on this case, please contact us here: amwfans.com/thread/1662/website-contact-form