Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields, the newest season in Netflix's true crime docuseries, has received its first trailer. On the other hand, detectives continued to carry out their usual investigative procedure, which included a thorough search of his ranch, house, as well as vehicles. He had wanted to check on the horses he still kept there, all of which came up and nuzzled him. Stallings reportedly confessed to killing "Janet Doe". By all accounts, Stardust Trailrides was an immediate success, drawing people from all over the Houston area, including a few couples who came to have their wedding conducted on horseback. On Monday, members of the House Judiciary Committee met in New York for a hearing on violent crime in the city. I couldnt have picked a girl up. Wikimedia Commons/formulanone. Matamoros Was Once Relatively Safe for Texans. Do I really look like someone who would want to kill pretty young girls?. With such a high-profile case, Texas law enforcement was desperate to find. Nows Your Chance. Still, perhaps because no other legitimate suspect ever emerged in the case, Abel never could erase the suspicions about him. In 2014, he was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for the death of 29-year-old Ellen Rae Simpson Beason. Bittner, meanwhile, insists that a pathological serial killer with no remorse could easily pass any lie detector test. Every day Bittner would sit behind his battleship-gray desk, flip through his case files, repeat to himself all the relevant details, and then stare at the autopsy photos, hoping that the dead women could tell tales. But Abel became furious and very defensive. Somethings down there, Miller shouted as people came running with their flashlights. Some refer to this stretch of the Gulf Freeway as a. Emily McCullar is a senior editor covering pop culture, news, and Texas history. I wouldn't know how to kill.". The docu-series has three episodes. And Robert Abel was part of the little band of very bright men who figured out how do it. Today, however, a police detective suggests in a sworn affidavit that Abel is a serial sexual offender who displays the kind of rage and violent behavior thats often seen in serial killers. Why would she still be paying money to a private investigator unless she wanted the reward? Abel asked. My life has been destroyed, my reputation ruined, Abel told me when I first met him earlier this year. We are one of the worlds fastest growing A few construction workers, employees of Millers, were on hand to help, as were friends and even Millers ex-wife. window.adsContainer = {"position2":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Above_Next_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position3":{"code":"Article_Mobile_300x250_ATF_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position4":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position5":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle1_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position6":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle2_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position7":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle3_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position8":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle4_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position9":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle5_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position10":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle6_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position11":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle7_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position12":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle8_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position13":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle9_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position14":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle10_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position15":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle11_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position16":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle12_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250}} As heard in Texas Killing Fields, he remained a suspect in the Texas Killing Field murders until he died. Abel led many of the trail rides himself over the property and through his leased land. My throat suddenly went dry: Was I looking at a serial killers scrapbook? The police soon ascertained the incident as death by suicide, and even the general consensus believes that he chose death as he did not want to go on leading such a lonely life. One long-time suspect, Robert Abel, was fatally hit by a train in what may have been a suicide, despite being cleared by police and despite apologies from Mr Miller, for example, who'd thought him guilty for years. As if thats not enough, a fourth (and final) nearly decomposed skeletal corpse was located by local residents in the same field on September 8, 1991, which also remained unidentified for decades. Leave them blank to get signed up. At one point in the 1990s, former Nasa engineer Robert Abel was a suspect in the Texas Killing Field murders. Fans baffled by singer's sudden exit, All for publicity? . Thats because while attempts to recover her remains as safely as possible were being made on February 2, 1986, local law enforcement came across a third body, which remained unidentified at the time. I wish there was something I could do., He gave me another one of his long, lingering looks. And there were other occasions when I felt as if Abel talked a little too much about the allegations against him. Even after all that time, Id find myself running in there, calling her name, believing that she was back home with us., The number of mothers and fathers left to grieve is staggering. } A fourth body was also found six years later in 1991 in the same area and was identified as Donna Gonsoulin Prudhomme in 2019. Miller was the man who hadleft the threatening messages on Abels answering machine. }); Seventeen days later her nude body was found at the edge of a retention pond in Pasadena. At Christmas wed go back to his old family ranch outside of Bellville, and hed put together a scene from a Hallmark cardwed go out and cut down a Christmas tree.. And although two photos were of a semi-nude woman, she later told the police that she had willingly posed for Abel when they were dating. A color aerial photograph of "The Killing Field" in League City Texas: A black and white satellite shot of the area : One of the best films from 2016 and nobody saw it. Eventually, in 2019 the remaining bodies, Jane and Janet Doe were positively identified as that of Audrey Lee Cook and Donna Prudhomme, respectively. If you fill out the first name, last name, or agree to terms fields, you will NOT be added to the newsletter list. But earlier this spring, he closed Stardust Trailrides (Nobody was coming out any more to ride because they were scared of me), gave up his lease on the thousand acres, sold his cattle, and moved most of his horses back to the family ranch near Bellville, and started spending most of his time there. Some law enforcement officials said the beta-blockers he took for his high blood pressure could have affected the results of those tests. 1 of 2 Tim Miller, founder of Texas EquuSearch, says he hopes his lawsuit will lead to developments in his daughter's slaying. I wouldn't know how to kill, he said. And remember, he had a new trail-rides business going. For several seconds Abel was silent before each site, as if he were visiting a church graveyard. Then finally, in 1993, nine years after Laura's disappearance, an unlikely suspect emerged: Robert Abel, a retired NASA engineer. Robert, though, immediately insisted on his innocence and always maintained he was not involved in the murders in any way, shape, or form. The young cocktail waitress was found murdered in the same location as three other females. The majority of victims were girls and young women, aged between 12 and 25 years old. In fact, they dont have any. We have left it as it was originally published, without updating, to maintain a clear historical record. The medical examiner said she was between 22 and 30 years old and perhaps had been shot to death by a .22-caliber weapon. eventAction: 'click_ads' In July 2022, Tim Miller won a wrongful death lawsuit against Hedrick for $24 million in liability and damages that he filed in 2014. The victims were found in what has become known as the Texas Killing Fields Credit: Netflix. Well, who knows what happened out here? he said. The 25-acre patch of land in League City along Interstate Highway 45, between Houston and Galveston, is known as The Texas Killing Fields. How Hud Began Texass Love Affair With the Bastard, Blue Beetle Belongs in El Paso, No Matter What DC Brass Thinks, The Best Books, Films, TV, Art, and More Coming to Texas This Spring, Forty Years Later, Wrongfully Convicted James Reyos Has Another Day in Court, What Is Left to Say About Waco? Despite being found civilly liable for Laura Miller's death, Hedrick has never been charged with her murder. Abel told Grant that if he had been in charge in 1991 when the fourth body was found, he would have searched a nearby pond because the killer might have thrown something in there. Suppose youre such a confident killer that you think youre smarter than the police, he says. I began to think, Why would he get upset over such a standard question?, He was cocky, and I was offended by his tone, Abel told me, revealing for the first time a flash of what I had been told by some officers was a hostile temper. A few days later I returned to League City. Yet, nothing has been officially corroborated, meaning all four homicides, unfortunately, remain unsolved to this day. You can spend a week driving through the towns south of Houston, visiting the parents of murdered daughters. Jos R. Ralat is Texas Monthlys taco editor, writing about tacos and Mexican food. As heard in The Texas Killing Fields, local League City man Robert Abel was linked to the murders, but he has never been convicted. The Texas Killing Fields is a 25-acre patch of land in League City, Texas [1] situated a mile from Interstate Highway 45 and approximately 26 miles southeast of Houston. I had no reason to ask except out of curiosity, Bittner says. Long story short, he's the prime suspect in the murder of four women found in an oil field next to property he owns. Somethings down there!. I couldnt have overpowered her and gotten her into my car. if(document.querySelector("#ads")){ It was on April 4, 1984, when a womans dog suddenly ran off into the wilderness near the field, but the shocking aspect was that he returned with a human skull in his mouth. Most people whose remains were found in the land were little girls or adult women, all between the ages 12 to 25. Grant sensed he was being given a hint and conducted a search. document.querySelector("#ads").addEventListener('click',function(){ We visited the exact locations where each body had been found. After a long search, police officers discovered the rest of the body and identified the remains as those of Heide Villareal Fye, a 23-year-old cocktail waitress who had been reported missing six months earlier. 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