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<v Speaker 1>Tuesday, we dive into current and sometimes cold cases for

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<v Speaker 1>True Crime Tuesday and Today the story is true, sounds true?

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<v Speaker 2>No, it sounds made up. I don't know.

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<v Speaker 3>Garry and Shannon present True Crime Today.

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<v Speaker 1>We bring you the story of Cheryl Henry and Andy Atkinson.

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<v Speaker 2>And it is not a good story.

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<v Speaker 1>It comes to us from nineteen ninety a beautiful summer night.

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<v Speaker 3>Cheryl and Andy Young. She was twenty two, he was

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<v Speaker 3>twenty one. They meet up at Buy You Mama's nightclub.

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<v Speaker 1>If you want to picture them, picture the quintessential like

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<v Speaker 1>eighties permed blonde.

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<v Speaker 2>Bubbly girl.

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<v Speaker 1>The guy look like out of Fast Times, a Ridgemont

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<v Speaker 1>high blonde, Zach Morris type hair style, green eyes, big smile.

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<v Speaker 2>That's what these two, these two looked like.

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<v Speaker 3>So they meet up at this night club. That was

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<v Speaker 3>really the last time that anybody saw them alive, because

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<v Speaker 3>they drive to an area of known as Lover's Lane.

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<v Speaker 2>Everybody's got one of them.

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<v Speaker 3>This is off of Enclave Parkway near Eldridge Parkway in

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<v Speaker 3>West Houston. The problem is there was somebody there that

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<v Speaker 3>eventually was going to kill them.

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<v Speaker 1>Twenty two year old Chryl did not come home that night.

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<v Speaker 1>And the next morning her family realizes she did not

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<v Speaker 1>come home that night, so they call Houston Police. Security

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<v Speaker 1>guard who is out in the area of Lover's Lane

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<v Speaker 1>was actually the person who came across what appeared to

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<v Speaker 1>be the crime scene.

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<v Speaker 2>It was that security guard.

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<v Speaker 1>He found Andy's car, the white car there and it

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<v Speaker 1>had Cheryl's purse and her shoes inside. When the security

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<v Speaker 1>guard found the car, Cheryl's mom, Barbara, rushed to the area.

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<v Speaker 1>By the time Mom got there, as you can imagine,

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<v Speaker 1>there had been a police presence, there had been crime

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<v Speaker 1>scene tape, there had been search dogs, and the search

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<v Speaker 1>dogs found Cheryl's body. When Mom was there, officers had

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<v Speaker 1>to hold Barbara back. They did not want Barbara to

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<v Speaker 1>see the horrific scene that the dogs had come across.

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<v Speaker 1>That they did not want the mom to see the

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<v Speaker 1>horrific way her daughter was killed.

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<v Speaker 3>Now, this quote from Mom, this was just a few

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<v Speaker 3>years ago. Actually, even though the murders took place in

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<v Speaker 3>nineteen ninety. Mom said, I know if they had let

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<v Speaker 3>me go to Cheryl, to her body. She said, I

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<v Speaker 3>would have breathed into her and she would be alive,

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<v Speaker 3>and that I don't think I've ever seen a mother's

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<v Speaker 3>love described in a more poignant way than the belief that,

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<v Speaker 3>regardless of what had happened to her daughter, she would

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<v Speaker 3>be able to just through the sheer power of will,

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<v Speaker 3>been able to breathe life back into her daughter.

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<v Speaker 2>Also, just.

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<v Speaker 1>The shock and the disbelief and your mind not being

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<v Speaker 1>able to grasp the fact that your child has been murdered,

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<v Speaker 1>to the point of if I could have gotten there,

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<v Speaker 1>that wouldn't have been the case.

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<v Speaker 3>That was Cheryl's body. Andy's body was found nearby. He

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<v Speaker 3>had been tied to a tree, nearly decapitated, and detectives

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<v Speaker 3>told Andy's father that, in fact, Cheryl was the one

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<v Speaker 3>who was killed first. His d is also a nightmare.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, his dad's name is Garland, and he said, this

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<v Speaker 1>means my son was tied to a tree, listen to

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<v Speaker 1>Cheryl's scream, listen to her being murdered, knowing that he

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<v Speaker 1>couldn't do anything about it, and that they were going

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<v Speaker 1>to do the same to him.

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<v Speaker 2>So that's just hard to accept. Still, of course, still

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<v Speaker 2>it's kind of a.

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<v Speaker 3>Tangent to this, or an interesting aspect to the scene itself,

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<v Speaker 3>was that whoever it was that killed Cheryl and Andy

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<v Speaker 3>used Andy's golf balls and golf club out of his

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<v Speaker 3>car to point the way to Cheryl's body, who was

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<v Speaker 3>found hidden under some wooden boards. There was a twenty

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<v Speaker 3>dollars bill lying next nearby, and one of the detectives

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<v Speaker 3>said it was very odd and even in twenty seventeen,

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<v Speaker 3>even twenty seven years after the murders, this detective said,

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<v Speaker 3>I've gotten sick to my stomach stomach thinking of what

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<v Speaker 3>they endured. That was actually Cheryl's sister that said that

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<v Speaker 3>about the what it was that went on.

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<v Speaker 2>When you think.

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<v Speaker 1>About the violence and the crime scene, the fact that

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<v Speaker 1>she was personally attacked and assaulted, and that he was

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<v Speaker 1>tied to a tree and made to listen to all this,

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<v Speaker 1>and the setup with the golf balls and the golf

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<v Speaker 1>club pointing the way, it seems like it was personal.

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<v Speaker 1>Retired detective Billy Belk spent two decades trying to track

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<v Speaker 1>down the killer. He said that even after he retired,

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<v Speaker 1>as you can imagine, the case stayed with him because

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<v Speaker 1>he says, it's one of the few cases that I

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<v Speaker 1>never cleared. It's like I left unfinished business when I retired.

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<v Speaker 2>He still had his theories.

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<v Speaker 1>He thinks like maybe the evidence suggests that these two

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<v Speaker 1>were targeted. Coming back, we'll talk about what else retired

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<v Speaker 1>Detective Billy Belk thinks about the case and the fact

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<v Speaker 1>that it's been re opened and where DNA could take us.

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<v Speaker 1>Because DNA was found, and with all of the progress

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<v Speaker 1>that has been made with DNA testing and familial testing,

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<v Speaker 1>maybe it doesn't remain a cold case for much longer.

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<v Speaker 3>We're in the middle of a true crime Tuesday. We're

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<v Speaker 3>telling you the story about Cheryl Henry and Andy Atkinson.

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<v Speaker 3>Summer nineteen ninety. This young couple out on a date.

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<v Speaker 3>They meet up at a nightclub and then they head

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<v Speaker 3>off to lover's Lane. Their bodies were found a short

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<v Speaker 3>time later, both of them brutalized and just the gruesome

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<v Speaker 3>scene that haunts detectives years later. Now, Belk, Billy Belk

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<v Speaker 3>was one of the Houston PD detectives that did this.

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<v Speaker 3>They covered this case and traveled around the country trying

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<v Speaker 3>to find the suspect. And there were DNA samples found

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<v Speaker 3>at the crime scene, and he compared again this nineteen

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<v Speaker 3>ninety he compared those DNA samples to those of known criminals,

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<v Speaker 3>and he said he came up with about twenty five

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<v Speaker 3>potential suspects DNA that had been compared with what they

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<v Speaker 3>found at the crime scene, but that all of them

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<v Speaker 3>had been ruled out.

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<v Speaker 1>There was a report by FBI profilers that has surfaced.

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<v Speaker 1>KHOU out of Houston eleven News dug this up. Here

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<v Speaker 1>are some of the theories from FBI profilers that took

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<v Speaker 1>a look at the facts of this cold case. Number One,

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<v Speaker 1>the suspect may have been known to Cheryl or Andy

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<v Speaker 1>or both. Number two he was about the age of

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<v Speaker 1>the victims. Three he had above average intelligence but was

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<v Speaker 1>a low achiever. And four police may have interviewed him

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<v Speaker 1>at one time. Now, I don't need to be an

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<v Speaker 1>FBI profiler to tell you that those things. Those four

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<v Speaker 1>things are usually true with most the murders.

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<v Speaker 3>I think you and I, who are not f biprofilers,

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<v Speaker 3>could have written those four points as well.

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<v Speaker 2>Exactly my point.

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<v Speaker 3>In two thousand and one, somebody did send a letter

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<v Speaker 3>to Houston Police Department promising information in that case for

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<v Speaker 3>one hundred thousand dollars in exchange. And they don't know

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<v Speaker 3>if it was written by the killer someone close to

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<v Speaker 3>the killer, if it was a hoax. They simply don't

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<v Speaker 3>know because that never led anywhere. But there was one lead.

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<v Speaker 3>There was one lead that came out about twenty five

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<v Speaker 3>years after the actual murders.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, an exotic dancer who was raped about two months

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<v Speaker 1>before the murders provided the first real break in the case,

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<v Speaker 1>but like you mentioned, it wasn't until years later. This

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<v Speaker 1>woman says, back in nineteen ninety, she left her job

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<v Speaker 1>at Gigi's nightclub and went to her boyfriend's house in

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<v Speaker 1>northwest Houston. A man shows up, says he's looking for

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<v Speaker 1>the boyfriend who owed him money, and then attacked her,

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<v Speaker 1>put her hands behind her back, wrapped him in duct tape,

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<v Speaker 1>covered her eyes and mouth, put a bag over her head.

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<v Speaker 1>She said he kept pulling the trigger, taunting her over

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<v Speaker 1>and over. She described him as late twenties to mid thirties,

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<v Speaker 1>about six feet tall, one hundred and eighty pounds, with

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<v Speaker 1>black hair, olive complexion. He had a black fish net

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<v Speaker 1>stalking over his head. He wore black gloves, dark shirt,

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<v Speaker 1>dark pants, possibly a uniform. She said he had a

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<v Speaker 1>very forceful military type stance.

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<v Speaker 3>Now back then again, this would have been nineteen ninety.

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<v Speaker 3>DNA testing was pretty new, was very expensive, and it

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<v Speaker 3>took investigators seventeen years before they would run the DNA

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<v Speaker 3>that they found on the rape victim and actually get

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<v Speaker 3>a match, a match to the DNA that was found

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<v Speaker 3>at the scene of Cheryl and Andy's death from nineteen ninety.

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<v Speaker 1>So they track her down to Galveston County seventeen years later,

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<v Speaker 1>interview her again and learned another astonishing link.

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<v Speaker 3>She once worked for Andy's dad. Now they didn't know

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<v Speaker 3>if again his name was Garland. They didn't know if

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<v Speaker 3>the killer might have also worked for Garland Atkinson, or

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<v Speaker 3>if this was just a complete weird coincidence.

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<v Speaker 1>She helped a famous sketch artist, to Lois Gilbson, create

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<v Speaker 1>a sketch of her attacker, which was also aged to

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<v Speaker 1>depict what he may look like in two thousand and eight. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>despite the DNA match, despite the interview with the dancer,

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<v Speaker 1>despite the sketches on all of it, the identity remains

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<v Speaker 1>a mystery.

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<v Speaker 2>He is not in the national DNA database.

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<v Speaker 3>So I mean, we're thirty thirty five years later, no suspects,

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<v Speaker 3>but we do have the DNA, and as we've seen

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<v Speaker 3>multiple times and talked about many times on this segment,

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<v Speaker 3>it is probably a matter of time before they can

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<v Speaker 3>establish that sort of backward ward's family tree that they

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<v Speaker 3>have used multiple times to actually find the culprit in

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<v Speaker 3>this case.

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<v Speaker 1>In recent months, family members have bought full page ads

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<v Speaker 1>and local newspapers calling for any new leads. It's only

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<v Speaker 1>a matter of time, right, How many stories have we

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<v Speaker 1>done where there's always a knock on the door, someone

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<v Speaker 1>thinks they may have gotten away with it, or somebody

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<v Speaker 1>knows that they never will get away with it.

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<v Speaker 3>Interesting, that's why we do our true crime Tuesdays.