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Speaker 1: inherent in cold cases. We remind listeners that everyone has
Speaker 1: presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Speaker 1: Nothing in the podcast is intended to state or imply
Speaker 1: that anyone who has not been convicted of a crime
Speaker 1: is guilty of any wrongdoing. Thanks for listening.
Speaker 2: It was September third, nineteen eighty seven, and in Oklahoma City,
Speaker 2: two sisters, twenty five year old Cheryl Genzer and sixteen
Speaker 2: year old Lisa Pennington, were hanging out together at the
Speaker 2: Oklahoma State Fair. Y recently separated from her husband, Mike, but,
Speaker 2: according to what her mother Charlotte later told reporters, was
Speaker 2: taking it in stride. She was staying with a friend
Speaker 2: of hers and had told her mom just that day
Speaker 2: when they had coffee together, that she was looking for
Speaker 2: a job painting houses. Cheryl was petite five foot three
Speaker 2: and one hundred pounds with long black hair. Lisa was taller,
Speaker 2: five foot eight and one hundred and forty pounds with
Speaker 2: blonde hair and green eyes.
Speaker 3: Cheryl was more outgoing.
Speaker 2: Lisa was quieter and loved music, especially Motley Crue, her mother,
Speaker 2: Charlotte told The Oklahoma in two thousand and seven. Charlotte
Speaker 2: indicated that everything seemed fine with both.
Speaker 3: Of her girls that day at the fair.
Speaker 2: That night, Cheryl and Lisa were with their brother Alan
Speaker 2: and his girlfriend, and according to what he later told
Speaker 2: The Oklahoma, at some point he left the fair to
Speaker 2: drop his girlfriend off at home. That night, the girls
Speaker 2: didn't show up at the spot where their brothers said
Speaker 2: they were due to meet him, and they never came
Speaker 2: home that night at all. For a few days, their parents,
Speaker 2: Rocky and Charlotte, thought they might be staying at a
Speaker 2: friend's house. That friend's name was Lane Henley the Third,
Speaker 2: and according to multiple reports, their dad knew that they
Speaker 2: might be hanging out with him, so Rocky contacted Lane
Speaker 2: and when Lane said he didn't know where Lisa and
Speaker 2: Cheryl were, and by now it had been several days
Speaker 2: since Lisa and Cheryl went missing. Rocky called the police
Speaker 2: to report his daughter's missing. At first, police said they
Speaker 2: didn't believe there was any foul play involved, but as
Speaker 2: the days turned into weeks, Rocky and Charlotte became more
Speaker 2: and more terrified, and then on October twentieth, nineteen eighty seven,
Speaker 2: so almost a month after Lisa and Cheryl were last
Speaker 2: seen at the fair, a car salesman was taking a
Speaker 2: drive with a prospective buyer in North Oklahoma, near the
Speaker 2: intersection of Northwest one hundred twenty second Street in Santa
Speaker 2: Fe Avenue. He was showing the buyer how the four
Speaker 2: wheel drive function worked. So they went off road into
Speaker 2: a field, and when they did, they stumbled onto two
Speaker 2: shallow graves.
Speaker 3: I'm Catherine Townsend.
Speaker 2: Over the past eight years of making my true crime podcast,
Speaker 2: Helen Gone, I've learned that there is no such thing
Speaker 2: as a small town where murder never happens. I have
Speaker 2: received hundreds of messages from people all around the country
Speaker 2: asking for help with an unsolved murder that's affected them,
Speaker 2: their families, and their communities. If you have a case
Speaker 2: you'd like me and my team to look into, you
Speaker 2: can reach out to us at our Helen Gone Murder
Speaker 2: line at six seven eight seven four four six one
Speaker 2: four five. That's six seven eight seven four four six'
Speaker 2: one four, five or you can send us a message
Speaker 2: On instagram At helen. Gonepod this Is Helen gone murder.
Speaker 2: Line after the car salesman and potential buyers stumbled onto
Speaker 2: two shallow, graves police came to the scene and realized
Speaker 2: that the bodies were two women and that there was
Speaker 2: a significant amount of. Decomposition forensic and medical testing showed
Speaker 2: this Was lisa And cheryl and that the spot where
Speaker 2: their bodies were found was less than a mile From
Speaker 2: Lane henley's house In North Oklahoma. City police said Both
Speaker 2: lisa And cheryl had been shot in the. Head as
Speaker 2: investigators try to track the two sisters last night and
Speaker 2: figure out what, Happened cheryl And lisa's devastated parents prepared
Speaker 2: to bury two daughters at the same. Time cheryl was
Speaker 2: born On may, twentieth nineteen sixty. Two lisa was born
Speaker 2: On october, sixth nineteen, seventy So lisa disappeared just a
Speaker 2: couple of weeks away from her seventeenth. Birthday both girls
Speaker 2: Attended Putnam City High. School their, Mother, charlotte Was Native.
Speaker 2: American they had two, Brothers ronald And, allen and were
Speaker 2: active in their Local baptist. Church this case very quickly made,
Speaker 2: headlines but the facts that emerged in the, beginning and
Speaker 2: this is not uncommon in murder investigations in early, stages
Speaker 2: were often. Contradictory since this is still an open, investigation
Speaker 2: we have to try to put together facts from the
Speaker 2: little bit of information that police have given publicly and
Speaker 2: the newspaper articles from back in the. Day On Thursday octoughctober,
Speaker 2: eighth there was the first news story in The Daily.
Speaker 2: Oklahoma the headline read two sisters missing after visiting fair
Speaker 2: and reported That lisa And cheryl had been last seen
Speaker 2: at a friend's home after visiting The Oklahoma State, fair
Speaker 2: but the newspaper stated no foul play was. Suspected, then
Speaker 2: On october twenty, second newspapers reported the discovery of the
Speaker 2: bodies and the fact that the two women were in
Speaker 2: side by side. Graves police later revealed that both women
Speaker 2: had been shot in the head and that they believed
Speaker 2: that they had been murdered shortly after they left the.
Speaker 2: Fair law enforcement made a public appeal for any. Information
Speaker 2: they asked anyone who had seen anything unusual in the
Speaker 2: areas where the bodies were found on the day of
Speaker 2: the fair to reach out to, them and they did receive.
Speaker 3: A lot of.
Speaker 2: Tips someone told police they had seen a woman blindfolded
Speaker 2: in a white pickup truck at around the time When
Speaker 2: lisa And cheryl went. Missing, later a woman called police
Speaker 2: and claimed that it had been.
Speaker 3: Her she was the woman who had been.
Speaker 2: Blindfolded she said it was part of a birthday party.
Speaker 2: Prank but the weird thing was that she didn't leave her,
Speaker 2: name and so police publicly appealed for her to call.
Speaker 2: Back it's not clear if she ever did or if
Speaker 2: they ever really closed that, lead but it seemed as
Speaker 2: though it turned into a dead. End On october twenty,
Speaker 2: fourth it was reported in multiple sources that the house
Speaker 2: That lisa And cheryl were supposedly seen at was a
Speaker 2: house belonging To Lane. Henley the third police executed a
Speaker 2: search warrant on the. Property now at the, time police
Speaker 2: said that some tarps had been removed and That lane
Speaker 2: was not a. Suspect they said this was just part
Speaker 2: of normal police. Procedure The Daily oklahoma later reported police
Speaker 2: had seized other items from that, residence including a shovel
Speaker 2: hoe and dirt. Rake Lieutenant Julie smith Told The Daily
Speaker 2: oklahoma That lane Said lisa And cheryl had left the
Speaker 2: house on foot to go to a local convenience, store
Speaker 2: which was later reported to be a seven to. Eleven,
Speaker 2: now this was not the first time that two women
Speaker 2: had vanished into thin air after visiting The Oklahoma State.
Speaker 2: Fair there was another notorious case of two thirteen year old,
Speaker 2: Girls Charlotte kinsei And Cenda, palette who disappeared in nineteen
Speaker 2: eighty one from the same state. Fair the two friends
Speaker 2: went to the fair together On september twenty, sixth nineteen eighty.
Speaker 2: One it was actually the first time they had ever
Speaker 2: been allowed to go, alone and they were planning to
Speaker 2: spend the night At senda's. House there were some leads
Speaker 2: in that. Case at around five pm that, Afternoon charlotte
Speaker 2: called her mom and said that she And cinda were
Speaker 2: going to be doing a job helping someone who worked
Speaker 2: at the. Fair they were supposed to unload a truck
Speaker 2: that was supposedly filled with stuffed, animals the ones that
Speaker 2: were used for the booth. Prizes charlotte's mother said that was,
Speaker 2: okay But charlotte had to call her by nine. Pm
Speaker 2: senda's mother said the same, thing, okay but check in
Speaker 2: by nine. Pm neither of the girls ever called their
Speaker 2: mothers back that, night and they never showed up at home.
Speaker 2: Again the last sighting of the girls was reportedly at
Speaker 2: around five thirty at the. Fairgrounds when they didn't show
Speaker 2: up back, Home senda And charlotte's families immediately reported them
Speaker 2: missing to The Oklahoma City Police. Department police got a
Speaker 2: tip about a suspicious man who claimed to be an
Speaker 2: employee of the fair and was described as being about
Speaker 2: thirty five to fifty years, old six' one to sixty,
Speaker 2: three weighing two hundred to two hundred and fifty, pounds
Speaker 2: with dark, hair a, mustache and a leather belt with
Speaker 2: the Name joseph printed on, it as well as a yellow.
Speaker 2: Badge the man supposedly was driving in nineteen eighty to
Speaker 2: nineteen eighty One Pontiac Grand prix With South dakota. Plates
Speaker 2: this is a pretty specific, description and they also had
Speaker 2: statements from other kids at the to say this guy
Speaker 2: was walking around offering to pay them five dollars an
Speaker 2: hour to do odd. Jobs two teenage boys told police
Speaker 2: they took this guy up on the alleged job offer
Speaker 2: and were in the backseat of his car With charlotte And.
Speaker 2: Senda they told police this man told them that the
Speaker 2: truck loaded with toys was at a truck stop Off
Speaker 2: Inner state. Forty according to what the Retired District attorney
Speaker 2: For Oklahoma City Ray, elliott later TOLD Koco News, channel
Speaker 2: the boys went with this man to the truck, stop
Speaker 2: but when they got, there the guy told them that
Speaker 2: the truck wasn't, there and then he gave the boys
Speaker 2: ten dollars and told them.
Speaker 3: To get out of the car and wait.
Speaker 2: There he said he was going to drive around and
Speaker 2: look for the, truck and he drove off With charlotte
Speaker 2: and send it in his. Car the two girls were
Speaker 2: never seen alive. Again police tracked down the rental, car
Speaker 2: A Grand, prix and were able to see that it
Speaker 2: was rented by man Named Royal Russell, long who was
Speaker 2: described as a carney and long haul truck.
Speaker 3: Driver russell had a criminal.
Speaker 2: Background his daughter later told police that he had molested
Speaker 2: her for several.
Speaker 3: Years he was.
Speaker 2: Never convicted of, that but he did serve time In
Speaker 2: wyoming for kidnapping a sixteen year old girl and her
Speaker 2: twelve year old. Friend according to court, Documents russell's daughter
Speaker 2: told police that while he was traveling around the country with,
Speaker 2: her he would give her money to play arcade games
Speaker 2: while he used stuffed animals to lure young girls back
Speaker 2: to his. Truck Russell long also looked a lot like
Speaker 2: the composite sketch of.
Speaker 3: The man police were looking for at the.
Speaker 2: Fair according To, koco the resemblance was so strong That
Speaker 2: russell's ex wife actually called law enforcement and told them
Speaker 2: that the poster was her ex. Husband the two teen
Speaker 2: boys also positively Identified russell as the, driver but he
Speaker 2: completely denied that he had been involved in theduction Of
Speaker 2: charlotte And. Senda On may, ninth nineteen eighty, Five Russell
Speaker 2: long was charged with kidnapping the two. Friends after, that
Speaker 2: he was extradited From, wyoming where he was, living back
Speaker 2: To oklahoma And. Ray elliott Told koco that the prosecution
Speaker 2: and law enforcement continued to build their. Case there were
Speaker 2: a few issues with the physical, evidence like the fact
Speaker 2: that the scalp pairs that were found in the truck
Speaker 2: Of russell's rental car were described as being a match For,
Speaker 2: cenda but the tests were later described as, inconclusive but
Speaker 2: Ray elliot still said he believed the case was. Solid
Speaker 2: he said he got a shock when the judge granted
Speaker 2: the defense's motion to dismiss the, case which meant that
Speaker 2: it was thrown out of, court and So russell was
Speaker 2: never charged in connection with the disappearance of these two.
Speaker 2: Girls years, later Ray elliott told a local news channel
Speaker 2: that he and the victim's families absolutely believed That russell
Speaker 2: was the, killer and thatlaw enforcement considers him the prime
Speaker 2: suspect to this. Day so this was Another Oklahoma State
Speaker 2: fair kidnapping and another unsolved. CASE i want to be,
Speaker 2: clear there's no suggestion that the cases Of lisa And
Speaker 2: cheryl And charlotte And cinda are. Connected Russell long told
Speaker 2: his own, daughter according to court, documents that he would
Speaker 2: never be attracted to a young woman over the age of.
Speaker 2: Thirteen so these were completely different mos Than lisa And cheryl's.
Speaker 2: Killer and although the charges Against Russell long were, dismissed
Speaker 2: he was imprisoned in nineteen eighty seven and stayed there
Speaker 2: for the rest of his life on unrelated. Charges, still
Speaker 2: the circumstances frightened a lot of. People four girls disappearing
Speaker 2: without a trace from the Same state fair six years.
Speaker 2: APART i also wanted to Mention charlotte And senda's case
Speaker 2: for another. Reason according to What Ray elliott Told, koco
Speaker 2: When russell was leaving the, courtroom he leaned over to
Speaker 2: the victim's families and told them quote ONLY i know
Speaker 2: where the bodies, are And i'm not talking end. QUOTE
Speaker 2: a former cellmate Of russell's told police while they were
Speaker 2: doing time together In, Wyoming, russell who had worked as
Speaker 2: a meat, cutter allegedly told him, quote if you cut
Speaker 2: the bodies up small enough and stick them in a rat,
Speaker 2: hole they'll never be.
Speaker 3: Found end.
Speaker 2: Quote Russell long died in nineteen ninety three while serving
Speaker 2: time In Wyoming State. Prison so to this, Day charlotte
Speaker 2: And cinda's remains have never been. Found i'm hoping someone
Speaker 2: might hear, something even after all this, time something that
Speaker 2: would help these families bring their remains. Home back To
Speaker 2: cheryl And lisa's, case police were looking hard At. Lane,
Speaker 2: henley the guy whose House lisa And cheryl had supposedly
Speaker 2: been last seen. At, lane had also left town pretty
Speaker 2: much immediately After cheryl And lisa went, missing but he
Speaker 2: told police that this had been a pre planned, trip
Speaker 2: And lane's Friend doug La, lawson who was With lane
Speaker 2: the night of the, fair gave him an. Alibi for a,
Speaker 2: while things went, Quiet then in nineteen eighty, nine there
Speaker 2: was what appeared to be a huge break in this.
Speaker 2: Case police Hit Doug lawson with several drug, charges and
Speaker 2: as part of a plea, deal if the state agreed
Speaker 2: to drop the charges against, Him doug said he would
Speaker 2: tell them what he claimed really. Happened On september twenty,
Speaker 2: third nineteen eighty, seven on the Night Lisa pennington And
Speaker 2: Cheryl ginzer, Disappeared doug said that he was operating the
Speaker 2: monorail at The State, fair according to police. Records according
Speaker 2: to an arrest, Warrant doug told police he And lane
Speaker 2: Met cheryl And lisa at the. Fair he said the
Speaker 2: four of them left the fair grounds together and went
Speaker 2: to a friend's, house where they smoked, pot drank, beer
Speaker 2: and did some cocaine for a. While, then he, said
Speaker 2: the four of them left that friend's house and ended
Speaker 2: up At lane's. House doug said once the four of
Speaker 2: them got back To lane's, house they kept drinking beer
Speaker 2: and took some more. Drugs, then at some, Point doug
Speaker 2: And cheryl left the house to walk to the store
Speaker 2: and buy some more. Beer according to What doug told,
Speaker 2: police after they got, back a fight broke out After
Speaker 2: lane Told cheryl that he had raped her. Sister doug
Speaker 2: claimed that he passed out for a. While he said
Speaker 2: when he woke, up he Heard lisa And lane arguing
Speaker 2: about this alleged sexual. Assault he said he Heard lisa
Speaker 2: SAY i can't believe you did this and ask for
Speaker 2: a ride. Home Then doug claimed That lane told her
Speaker 2: okay that he would take her. Home after, That doug
Speaker 2: claimed That lisa And cheryl got into the. Car doug
Speaker 2: said that an argument broke out In lane's car Between
Speaker 2: lane And, lisa and That cheryl jumped in to try
Speaker 2: to defend her. Sister at that, Point doug testified he
Speaker 2: Saw lane Hit cheryl in the face with his, gun
Speaker 2: a three fifty, seven and Then lisa tried to jump
Speaker 2: out of the car and run back inside the, house
Speaker 2: But doug claimed That lane caught her on the way
Speaker 2: and hit her in the face with a. Shovel doug
Speaker 2: told police he Saw lane force both women back into
Speaker 2: the car and That lane drove away with. Them doug
Speaker 2: stated in court this was the last time that he
Speaker 2: ever Saw lisa And. Cheryl doug said after he witnessed
Speaker 2: this alleged attack that he went back to, sleep and
Speaker 2: six hours, later when he woke up and asked where
Speaker 2: the girls, Were lane told him that they had.
Speaker 3: Left to go to the local seven.
Speaker 2: Eleven doug said he later noticed blood Inside lane's car
Speaker 2: on the passenger side front door and quote a radio
Speaker 2: broken underneath the dash as if a struggle had taken
Speaker 2: place end. Quote in nineteen, Ninety Lane henley was living In,
Speaker 2: dallas So Oklahoma county police went To texas to search for.
Speaker 2: Him they caught, him and On august, thirtieth nineteen, Ninety
Speaker 2: Lane henley was sent back To. Oklahoma In august of nineteen,
Speaker 2: ninety prosecutors filed first degree murder charges Against Lane.
Speaker 3: Henley doug was the key.
Speaker 2: Witness he later testified that he gave police the information
Speaker 2: after they agreed to drop pending drug charges against.
Speaker 3: Him doug had spoken.
Speaker 2: To police in nineteen eighty, seven but according to court,
Speaker 2: documents he left out key, facts the fact that he
Speaker 2: witnessed this alleged argument that ended With lane Hitting cheryl
Speaker 2: And lisa and the alleged sexual assault. Allegations Lane henley
Speaker 2: completely denied any involvement In cheryl And lisa's. Murders, then
Speaker 2: in nineteen ninety, two as the trial date, Loomed lisa
Speaker 2: And cheryl's family got a. Shock doug recanted his earlier.
Speaker 2: Testimony he now said he lied when he claimed to
Speaker 2: have Witnessed lane Hitting cheryl And lisa and the argument
Speaker 2: about the alleged sexual. Assault after, that the prosecution dropped
Speaker 2: all charges Again, lane and after spending nineteen months in
Speaker 2: The Oklahoma county, Jail Lane henley was. Free as he left,
Speaker 2: Court lane said that he was going to go out
Speaker 2: and get a real.
Speaker 3: Life Ray elliott.
Speaker 2: Was still Assistant District attorney in nineteen ninety, two and
Speaker 2: he Told The Daily oklahoma In september of that, year
Speaker 2: near the fifth anniversary Of lisa And cheryl's, disappearance that
Speaker 2: they still considered the two, men Meaning lane And, doug
Speaker 2: the prime suspects and were exploring whether other charges could be.
Speaker 2: Filed Doug lawson was sentenced to five years for. Perjury
Speaker 2: he went away and started serving his. Time lisa And
Speaker 2: cheryl's family showed up at every one of his parole
Speaker 2: hearings to try to ensure that he stayed behind.
Speaker 3: Bars after, that.
Speaker 2: The case was sent to The Oklahoma City Police Unsolved Homicide. Unit,
Speaker 2: Meanwhile rocky and the other members of the family did
Speaker 2: everything they. Could they talked to, Reporters they FORMED homa
Speaker 2: side survivors. Groups they even appeared On America's Most. Wanted
Speaker 2: at some, point they met up with a newspaper. Reporter
Speaker 2: she later became a private investigator and after that became a.
Speaker 3: Counselor her name Was Dorian.
Speaker 2: Quillen they became friends And dorian started to look into the.
Speaker 2: Case she was trying to help the family every way
Speaker 2: that she. Could they continued to pursue unorthodox methods in
Speaker 2: trying to gather clues and. Evidence in nineteen ninety, eight
Speaker 2: a treasure hunting club went out to a field Near
Speaker 2: northwest one twenty two In Santa Fe, avenue near where
Speaker 2: the bodies were, buried to look for the. Bullet rocky
Speaker 2: mowed the lawn in preparation for this, hunt but the
Speaker 2: projectile was never. Found on the twelfth anniversary Of lisa
Speaker 2: And cheryl's, deaths their parents put white crosses in the
Speaker 2: same area at some. Point it does seem as Though
Speaker 2: lisa And cheryl's family's viewpoints might have diverged from law.
Speaker 2: Enforcement it's interesting because in an article about that in
Speaker 2: nineteen ninety, Nine The Daily oklahoma reported that the parents
Speaker 2: no longer thought That Laane henley was the, killer or
Speaker 2: at least they weren't sure that he acted. Alone in
Speaker 2: two thousand and, Six Charlotte pennington Told The Daily oklahoma
Speaker 2: that she went to bed every night and woke up
Speaker 2: every single morning thinking about who killed her two precious
Speaker 2: daughters and wondering if.
Speaker 3: They would ever get.
Speaker 2: Justice in the years following nineteen eighty, seven her health
Speaker 2: deteriorated and she had two heart.
Speaker 3: Attacks lane moved To, Roswell New.
Speaker 2: Mexico In january of two, thousand his, girlfriend thirty five
Speaker 2: year Old Molly, keeley was reported missing by her. Sister
Speaker 2: two months, Later molly's body was found in a shallow
Speaker 2: grave by The Pecos.
Speaker 3: River she had been fatally shot in the.
Speaker 2: HEAD a fatal shooting and a shallow, grave, so at
Speaker 2: least on the, surface similar circumstances To lisa And cheryl's.
Speaker 2: MURDERS A roswell police officer told The, oklahoma But lane
Speaker 2: had been investigated in connection With molly's, death but he
Speaker 2: was never arrested or. Charged and then In february of
Speaker 2: two thousand and, Eight Lane henley made headlines. Again he
Speaker 2: was still In New mexico and the trailer he was
Speaker 2: living in burned to the. Ground Lane henley was living
Speaker 2: with his longtime, girlfriend thirty eight year Old Amy, mirrable
Speaker 2: a mother of, four when their trailer caught on.
Speaker 3: Fire she was trapped inside the home and.
Speaker 2: DIED a spokesperson for The New Mexico State Medical investigator
Speaker 2: Told The Daily oklahoma that there were no signs of foul.
Speaker 2: Play detectives In New mexico said the cause of the
Speaker 2: fire appeared to be accidental and that the agency knew
Speaker 2: About lane's. Past lane was fifty one years old at
Speaker 2: the time he was hospitalized with second and third degree.
Speaker 2: Burns it's interesting because in two thousand and, Eight The
Speaker 2: Daily oklahoma quoted The Oklahoma City police cold case Inspector
Speaker 2: Kyle eastridge as saying That lane was still the main
Speaker 2: suspect In cheryl And lisa's. Murders Dorian, quillen the journalist
Speaker 2: and private investigator turned, counselor who became involved sometime in
Speaker 2: the mid two, thousands never gave up on the. Cases
Speaker 2: Detective Mike, burke who was one of the homicide detectives
Speaker 2: on the case back in nineteen eighty, seven told The
Speaker 2: Alamagordo Daily news in two thousand and eight that he
Speaker 2: found it very interesting that four women who had associations
Speaker 2: With Lane henley were all dead at the. Time charlotte
Speaker 2: told the newspaper she had always Considered lane's, suspect and
Speaker 2: she suspected That doug or possibly others could have been.
Speaker 2: Involved she also gave another small, detail saying that police
Speaker 2: had found the bodies near a pond Where lane's friends
Speaker 2: said he went. Fishing rocky told the newspaper that when
Speaker 2: he found out That lane was living in Almagai, ordoh
Speaker 2: the town where the house fire, happened he said he
Speaker 2: had called law enforcement and told them About lane's suspected
Speaker 2: involvement in his daughter's. Death this was before the trailer
Speaker 2: burned down. Again doug was never charged in connection With
Speaker 2: cheryl And lisa's. Murders lane was, charged but those charges
Speaker 2: were ultimately, dropped and he continued to deny any. INVOLVEMENT
Speaker 2: i was looking at old newspaper clippings about the, fire
Speaker 2: and there's something else that's odd about the circumstances of this.
Speaker 2: FIRE a guy Named Gerald, moore a freelance, photographer told
Speaker 2: The alan Mcgardo Daily news that he'd witnessed the.
Speaker 3: Fire he said he was headed home.
Speaker 2: From work on the morning Of january twenty second when
Speaker 2: he saw. Smoke once he got to the, scene he
Speaker 2: and another neighbor Saw, lane in his, words pacing. Around
Speaker 2: gerald claimed that at that Point lane approached, them and
Speaker 2: in his, Words gerald said That lane quote did not
Speaker 2: seem overly distraught end. Quote according to this same news,
Speaker 2: article the man went in and Saved lane from the,
Speaker 2: fire but there seemed to be conflicting stories about who
Speaker 2: went in to try to look For, amy and Whether
Speaker 2: lane had gone back in to rescue his girlfriend or
Speaker 2: whether it was this other. Guy Dorian, quillen who was
Speaker 2: still working on the, case called this man to try
Speaker 2: and clear up the real. Story but there seemed to
Speaker 2: be conflicting stories about who went in to try to
Speaker 2: look For, amy and Whether lane had gone back in
Speaker 2: to rescue his girlfriend or whether it was this other,
Speaker 2: Guy Dorian, quillen who was still working on the case
Speaker 2: called this man to try and clear up the real.
Speaker 2: Story Then dorian told The Alamagordo Daily news that this
Speaker 2: guy had been surprised because he Said lane really didn't
Speaker 2: have any interest in going back to Rescue. Amy dorian
Speaker 2: also told the paper that While sheryl And lisa's murders
Speaker 2: were being, Investigated lane's house In North Oklahoma city had
Speaker 2: also burned to the. Ground is this just an odd
Speaker 2: coincidence or could it point to something?
Speaker 3: MORE i want to be careful.
Speaker 2: Here lane was not charged In Molly keeley's death Or
Speaker 2: Amy mirraball's, death and the charges In cheryl And lisa's
Speaker 2: case were ultimately, dropped but these overlaps are one reason why,
Speaker 2: investigators family, members and advocates continued to ask. Questions so
Speaker 2: after that fire In New mexico in two thousand and,
Speaker 2: eight there really aren't many news articles About cheryl And lisa's.
Speaker 2: Case in twenty, twelve the daughter of a man police
Speaker 2: once interviewed in connection to the murders told police her
Speaker 2: father had confessed to her that he Murdered lisa And,
Speaker 2: cheryl and also said one of the girls was raped
Speaker 2: and murdered while the other was kept alive for days
Speaker 2: being raped and, tortured but in the end the police
Speaker 2: called the confession a dead end. Street Dorian quillan did
Speaker 2: Tell fox twenty five in twenty seventeen she hoped modern
Speaker 2: forensic testing could help get. Answers she said she had
Speaker 2: seen evan its collection reports and from that she had
Speaker 2: learned police had collected physical, evidence including what she described as, earrings,
Speaker 2: jewelry fingernails from both, girls clothing from both, girls and
Speaker 2: hairs from both. Girls then there's another huge gap in
Speaker 2: coverage until around twenty twenty. Two during those, years Both
Speaker 2: charlotte And Rocky pennington. Died they were buried next To
Speaker 2: cheryl And. Lisa in twenty twenty, two The Homicide Victims
Speaker 2: Family's Rights act was signed into.
Speaker 3: Law this law is a federal.
Speaker 2: Law it allowed family members of homicide victims and cases
Speaker 2: that could be prosecuted in federal court the right to
Speaker 2: request a. Review Dorian quillan said she was working with victims'
Speaker 2: rights groups to try to create a similar law In.
Speaker 2: Oklahoma The oklahoma reported in twenty twenty That dorian and
Speaker 2: her team were focused on someone other Than Lane, henley
Speaker 2: another person of interest that they said they believe was
Speaker 2: still living In Oklahoma, city but never was. Charged in
Speaker 2: the fall of twenty twenty, Three dorian spearheaded an attempt
Speaker 2: to get this case brought before a grand. JURY a
Speaker 2: judge signed a petition stating that If dorian and the
Speaker 2: family could get five hundred or more signatures in forty five,
Speaker 2: days that.
Speaker 3: A grand jury could be.
Speaker 2: Convened but at least according to WHAT i can, find
Speaker 2: it seems as though that never, happened that it was
Speaker 2: canceled due to some kind of. TECHNICALITY i want to
Speaker 2: talk for a minute about What dorian said about why
Speaker 2: she was advocating for a change in the. Law The
Speaker 2: Daily oklahoma said she was inspired to try to do
Speaker 2: this after behavior she had witnessed from law enforcement over
Speaker 2: the years and the things she claimed police had said
Speaker 2: to victim's. Families dorian, said, quote they were told so
Speaker 2: many things that were wrong by people that were supposed
Speaker 2: to help, them things like we don't have time to
Speaker 2: look for your. Girls we know who did, it but
Speaker 2: we can't do. Anything wait fifteen years and someone will.
Speaker 2: Confess you can't speak like that to these.
Speaker 3: Families end.
Speaker 2: Quote on a personal, NOTE i have worked on many unsolved,
Speaker 2: cases And i've heard so many victims' families talk about
Speaker 2: their dealings with law enforcement saying that they've heard these same.
Speaker 2: Phrases SO i do feel passionately that the laws should.
Speaker 2: CHANGE i should also, mention, though When dorian's talking about forensic,
Speaker 2: evidence there could be another potential complicating factor in this
Speaker 2: case involving forensic, testing because the forensic chemist at the
Speaker 2: time When lisa And cheryl were killed Was Joyce Skill.
Speaker 2: Christ she was later fired after she was accused of forensic.
Speaker 2: Misconduct at the time she was, Fired joyce had handled
Speaker 2: over three thousand cases In, oklahoma and her work prompted
Speaker 2: reviews in over one thousand and two hundred felony. Cases
Speaker 2: AN fbi investigation found one hundred and sixty five of
Speaker 2: these cases were flagged for further.
Speaker 3: Review Lane henley continued to live In New.
Speaker 2: Mexico he was never charged in connection with any of
Speaker 2: these women's deaths and continued to completely deny involvement in
Speaker 2: any of. Them he died in twenty, fifteen But cheryl's
Speaker 2: surviving family still holds out hope even after almost forty.
Speaker 2: Years this is the kind of case THAT i believe
Speaker 2: could really benefit from war stuff being made, public especially
Speaker 2: since the forensics may not exist or may be. Questionable
Speaker 2: in twenty twenty, Six Dorian quillan appeared On behalf of
Speaker 2: The Pennington. Family as legislators In oklahoma continued to debate
Speaker 2: changing state law to allow families to ask for cold
Speaker 2: case review after a certain period of, Time Senator Carrie
Speaker 2: hicks held an interim, study which she said she hoped
Speaker 2: could help change the. Law the idea is that after
Speaker 2: a certain time, period families would have a mechanism to
Speaker 2: allow other outside people to take a look at case. Files,
Speaker 2: again on a personal, note this is something THAT i
Speaker 2: think is much needed at the federal, level but doing
Speaker 2: something at the state level is a great. Start if
Speaker 2: you listen to season one Of Helen, gone some of
Speaker 2: you may have heard me With Rebecca gould's father in
Speaker 2: that cold, case going To Little rock and talking to
Speaker 2: lawmakers In arkansas about the possibility of changing the law.
Speaker 2: There and AS i was writing this, episode there was
Speaker 2: some good news on this. Case On may, seventh twenty twenty,
Speaker 2: Six Senate bill sixteen thirty six was approved by The.
Speaker 2: Governor kaotio, reported meaning this will allow families of cold
Speaker 2: case victims to request a formal review of cases by
Speaker 2: investigators who were not involved in the original. Investigation, crucially
Speaker 2: it also mandates response, time including thirty days for written
Speaker 2: confirmation and a six month review timeline nineteen eighty seven
Speaker 2: was almost forty years ago, now though a lot of
Speaker 2: people may have. Died there are a lot of basic
Speaker 2: questions that presumably the case, file if it was made,
Speaker 2: public could help, answer such as what was the exact
Speaker 2: sequence Of cheryl And lisa leaving the, fair who were
Speaker 2: the independent witnesses who corroborated that they were At lane's
Speaker 2: house in the seven eleven story where they killed by
Speaker 2: one or two?
Speaker 3: Guns and what caliber were?
Speaker 2: They WHAT dna or biological evidence was, collected and could
Speaker 2: it be retested, today obviously with a different forensic. Chemist
Speaker 2: cheryl And lisa's, Brother Allan, pennington spoke to The oklahoma
Speaker 2: in twenty twenty. Two he said he still thinks about
Speaker 2: the moment when he left his sisters at the. Fair
Speaker 2: alan told the newspaper, QUOTE i think about how things
Speaker 2: could be now If i'd been given the chance to
Speaker 2: enjoy watching their, kids my nieces and nephews grow into,
Speaker 2: adults WHERE i would be. Living basically just a lot
Speaker 2: of what ifs about how things would be.
Speaker 3: Today where WOULD i be if that hadn't? Happened end.
Speaker 2: Quote if you know anything about the murders of sixteen
Speaker 2: year Old Lisa pennington and twenty five year Old Cheryl,
Speaker 2: ginzer please contact The Oklahoma City Police department at FOUR
Speaker 2: o five two nine seven one. Thousand I'm Catherine. Townsend
Speaker 2: this Is Helen Gone Murder. Line Helen Gone Murder line
Speaker 2: is a production Of school Of humans And iHeart. Podcasts
Speaker 2: it's written and narrated by Me Catherine townsend and produced
Speaker 2: By Etily's. Perez special thanks To Amy tubbs for her
Speaker 2: research assistance And Sarah burns for legal. Review noah camer
Speaker 2: mixed and scored this. Episode our theme song is By Ben.
Speaker 2: Sale executive producers Are Virginia, Prescott Brandon, barr and. L. C.
Speaker 2: Crowley listen To Helen gone ad free by subscribing to
Speaker 2: The iHeart True Crime plus channel On Apple. Podcasts if
Speaker 2: you were interested in seeing documents and materials from the,
Speaker 2: case you can follow the show On instagram At Helen.
Speaker 2: Gonepod if you have a case you'd like me and
Speaker 2: my team to look, into you can reach out to
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