A 64-year-old man was arrested Wednesday in Lincoln, Nebraska, accused in the long-unsolved Lovers Lane killings that left Cheryl Henry and Andy Atkinson dead in 1990. The arrest marks a major break in a case that has weighed on Houston families and investigators for nearly 36 years.
Prosecutors announce an arrest
Investigators identified the suspect as Floyd William Parrott, 64, who was taken into custody in Lincoln on March 25 and has been charged with capital murder in the deaths of Henry, 22, and Atkinson, 21. The Harris County District Attorney's Office said prosecutors worked with the Houston Police Department and the FBI and that a joint press conference was planned. District Attorney Sean Teare called the case "one of Houston’s most haunting and infamous cold cases" and said his office had pursued it "with relentless and dogged determination," according to KHOU.
The 1990 killings
On Aug. 21, 1990, Henry and Atkinson were last seen leaving Bayou Mama’s nightclub near Westheimer and Gessner before their car was found abandoned at the end of a dead-end street in west Harris County, a spot locals knew as Lovers Lane. Searchers later discovered Henry's body in nearby woods and Atkinson's body about 100 yards away. Henry had been sexually assaulted, and both victims suffered fatal stab wounds, according to earlier reporting on the case by the Houston Chronicle. The brutal details and lingering DNA evidence kept investigators coming back to the file for decades.
How investigators say they made the break
Police and prosecutors said they chased hundreds of leads over the years and repeatedly re-examined forensic evidence as technology improved. Those efforts eventually produced the connection that led to Parrott's arrest. Officials described the collaboration between the DA's office, HPD and the FBI as central to the breakthrough in what had remained unsolved for nearly 36 years, according to KHOU.
What comes next
Parrott is expected to be transported to Harris County to face formal proceedings. He is charged with capital murder, an offense that under Texas law can carry the death penalty or life in prison without parole. Whether prosecutors will seek the death penalty has not been announced, and officials said they will provide more details at the planned news conference. For legal context, see Texas Penal Code §19.03, which outlines the state's penalties for capital murder, and additional background reporting by the Houston Chronicle.
