ARREST MADE: Lovers' Lane Murders

15:57Brit Prawat:They're both really good kids. They weren't wrapped up in anything shady, and everyone loved them. But Cheryl's loved ones do offer up a couple of names that pique detectives' interest. Let's call them Lance and Aaron. So Lance is the boyfriend of a friend that Cheryl had been kind of on the outs with recently. Dude, like, I guess skipped town the morning after Cheryl was found. More than the town, he skipped the whole country, like took off for St. Lucia. And it seems like this was no planned holiday either. Lance's girlfriend tells him that she didn't even know anything about this trip. Like he didn't even mention that he was going to go to St.

16:33Ashley Flowers:Lucia. What?

16:34Brit Prawat:Yeah. So when detectives end up reaching him on the island, he agrees to come back to Houston. He sits down for an interview. And when they ask him for a DNA sample, he's cool with that too. When the comparison gets run, Lance is ruled out. He's not their guy. Which leads me to Aaron, who, ironically enough, is the kid of a cop. Or maybe a former cop, not totally sure. He is Cheryl's ex from, like, middle school and high school. And he doesn't share Lance's cooperative spirit. I'm not sure if he officially lawyers up or if he talks to investigators or any of that. All I know is that when they ask him for a DNA sample, he refuses.

17:14Brit Prawat:Doesn't give a reason, just no. Shane told us that the cop dad is straight up offended that they even would ask. So there's that. She also told us this weird story about Aaron showing up at their house, like the day after Cheryl died and kind of just standing there, like at the end of their driveway, like didn't say a word, didn't come any closer, just stood there. That's so weird and kind of creepy. Detectives think so too. So does Barbara. Shane said she actually kind of got it. She told us she always liked Aaron. He'd always been decent to her sister. And she's like, I think he was in shock, like kind of like the rest of us.

17:57Brit Prawat:The standoff between detectives and Aaron over his DNA, this goes on for years. And like on the one hand, totally his right. But on the other hand, like you got to know this is going to look bad. And what are you hiding? Why not give your DNA? Right. Because of all the male friends and acquaintances that they approach during their investigation in these years, and there are a lot, he is the only one who won't give a sample. And they're not getting hits on anyone else that they're testing. And so for years, everyone is side-eyeing this guy. But you can't hide forever. Though in a lot of cases we've covered, actually, you can.

18:33Brit Prawat:But it's very frustrating. But not here. Not with this case. Detectives again, years later, finally get a warrant for Aaron's DNA. Hopes are high that they're about to solve this case that has haunted the city once and for all. When the results come back, everyone is probably holding their breath. But Aaron is not a match.

18:59Ashley Flowers:Okay, but if there was more than one killer...

19:04Brit Prawat:That's a big if, isn't it? And to state the obvious, that same logic applies then to all the men who have been ruled out like so far through DNA comparison. Like unless you've got an airtight alibi or something, which I'm sure some of them do, but I don't have insight into any of that. Who was ruled out through alibi? Who had an alibi when their DNA was ruled out? I don't know. All I know is at some point in the 90s, the suspect profile does get entered into CODIS when CODIS becomes a thing, but there are no hits in CODIS. And that activity on the case, it kind of just like ebbs and flows then throughout the years.

19:39Brit Prawat:Like it picks up a little bit in the mid 90s when a reward is announced, but like nothing happens. It's just like dead end after dead end.

19:46Ashley Flowers:And in all this time, there are no like really viable suspects.

19:51Brit Prawat:No, like that's what makes this case so challenging. It truly felt completely random. Like this killer blew into town, committed one of the most heinous crimes these officers would see in their careers, and then was gone before the sun came up, never to return again. Or at least that's how it seemed for many years. But one day, in early 2001, detectives get this very strange letter in the mail. And it's addressed to HPD, but the return address says Cheryl Henry and Andy Atkinson. No address, but I'm going to have you read it for us because, I mean, this is wild.

20:29Ashley Flowers:The letter says, H.P.D., if you want to know who killed C. Henry and A. Atkinson, it will cost$100 ,000. Reply, Hugh Chronicle Personal Column, Munn 3-12-01 only. A lawyer will be hired to make sure you play straight. Anon. And Hugh Chronicle and— Houston Chronicle. Is like the Houston Chronicle. And Munn is Monday.

20:56Brit Prawat:I think so. And Anon, I think it's just supposed to be anonymous. Anonymous. But it's weird, right? Yeah.

21:02Ashley Flowers:Please tell me they play along with this, though.

21:04Brit Prawat:They do. They do exactly as they're told. They publish their reply in the Houston Chronicle. Basically like, we hear you. We want to play ball. Tell us what to do next kind of thing. Yeah. They keep all of this on the down low. Like the public doesn't know a thing about this letter at the time. So like even when they publish their reply, the public doesn't even know what they're looking for or to look for it. But when they publish this, it's just radio silence. They never hear from that letter writer again. They even try having the envelope process to like see if there's DNA or fingerprints, whatever.

21:35Brit Prawat:That's a dead end too. And the case is more than 10 years cold by this point. And once again, like after this letter, when this leads nowhere, like they're out of leads. Now, I haven't touched on this yet, but Detective Belk, remember, he has been on this case from like day one. Over the years, he builds a super solid relationship with Cheryl's family. And what are solid relationships based on?

21:58Ashley Flowers:Trust.

21:59Brit Prawat:How do you earn trust? Transparency. And that's what he's been giving them. Like he doesn't share anything that could jeopardize the investigation, of course, but he has been keeping them in the loop, step by grueling step, which has given them like all along this sense of like, yes, Cheryl's case is actually being actively worked by one of the best. Yes, which is like what so many families want. And in all honesty, this case is like his great white whale and he really wants to solve it before he retires. And, you know, because of all this transparency that he was giving them, Shane actually shared a 2005 email chain with us.

22:37Brit Prawat:It was between them and Detective Belk or Detective Belk and Barbara. And in this, Detective Belk lists out all of the men who have been excluded based on the DNA evidence, which at that time was 17 names deep. He even assures them that in this list, the infamous railroad killer, Rafael Resendez, has been ruled out thanks to CODIS. Now, just for clarification, like no one has placed this guy in Houston at the time of the murders as far as I know, but like I know he was in the state in July of 91 when he killed a man in San Antonio and that's like three and a half hours away from Houston. But like, duh, he's the railroad killer.

23:14Brit Prawat:Right, like dude got around. I don't have any context about like how or why or when he slid on like the investigation's radar. So giant grain of salt here. I was just like, I was surprised to see his name on that list. I thought it was worth mentioning. But here's his name of people who are ruled out. They're obviously trying. They're working hard. By 2007, though, Detective Belk has come to terms with the fact that his dreams of solving the case before he retires actually might elude him. He's been with HPD by that point for 20 years. And like it's his time. So he turns in his badge and gun, admitting this kind of defeat for him, like his great white whale got away.

23:52Brit Prawat:But to be a fly on the wall when his phone rings the very next week and he's told that this could be it. They finally got a hit in CODIS after all these years, except there's always an except, right? The hit isn't a person that they've linked to his case. They've linked his case to another case. A brutal, like with a capital B, sexual assault case also there in Houston. So this guy is still there. Not so fast. The sexual assault wasn't recent. In fact, it happened two months before Cheryl and Andy were killed.

24:35Ashley Flowers:I'm sorry, the backlog is that deep?

24:39Brit Prawat:I have no idea why, but the victim's sexual assault kit was never processed for 17 years.

24:47Ashley Flowers:I was going to say for almost decades.

24:48Brit Prawat:Yes. And it wasn't the only one sitting untested either. I mean, far from it, although that's like a whole nother podcast. Now, the good news in this, though, is the victim in that sexual assault case was still alive when detectives went and tracked her down in Galveston County. Her story is, so basically she got off work as a dancer at a club at around two o 'clock in the morning, one morning in June of 1990. According to reporting by Lindsay Wise in the Houston Chronicle, she was staying at her pilot boyfriend's place and he was off like flying a plane somewhere. So she came home to an empty house, apartment, whatever, or at least it should have been empty.

25:26Brit Prawat:So she walks in, kicks off her shoes, has a bite to eat downstairs and then heads upstairs to go to bed. And that's when this man lunged out at her from a dark room. I mean, it is the stuff of actual nightmares. And here, I think the best thing to do is just have you read an account from Wise's reporting.

25:43Ashley Flowers:The man wore a fishnet stocking over his face, black gloves, and a dark shirt and pants that matched, possibly a uniform. He held a long-barreled handgun in his left hand. Where's Randy, he asked, referring to her boyfriend by name. He taunted her, putting the gun to her head and cocking it. He bound her hands behind her back with gray duct tape before taking cash from her purse. Then he duct taped her eyes and mouth shut, threw her on the bed, and shoved a bag or pillowcase over her head.

26:15Brit Prawat:When the whole thing was over, he forced her down onto the floor and told her that she better stay there because he might be gone in minutes, he might not be, and it would be bad for her basically if she like got up while he was still there. So when she finally does work up the courage to get up, she finds that her phone line had been disconnected. So when they're piecing this together from this victim like 17 years later, there's something like weird that pops out in her interview because they learn that she had actually worked for Andy's dad, Garland. And this is at a different club than I believe that she like the one at the time.

26:51Brit Prawat:But guess who worked as a bouncer at Garland's club every so often? Andy. There was also this mention in KHOU that the first victim said the perp had this, quote, like, very forceful military type stance. So people start to wonder if maybe, maybe this guy was a bouncer, maybe he was a security guard like Andy.

27:12Ashley Flowers:Is there a reason, though? I mean, to me, it's just as likely that he was a customer at the club.

27:17Brit Prawat:Totally. I mean, I think the reason they're coming up with this is, like, the combo of, like, the dark or uniform-like clothes. But I mean, like, absolutely, he could have just been a customer or maybe he wasn't part of the club scene at all. I don't know. Except as far as investigators are concerned, the possible connections only get stronger when they factor in that Cheryl had worked at another club for a short period of time. Like she and a close friend had applied to be bartenders or like cocktail waitresses or whatever. Like I think it was like kind of like a mutual dare.

27:47Ashley Flowers:I'm sorry. There's no way that all of this is coincidental.

27:51Brit Prawat:That's what I thought, too. Like, the suspect pool just got, like, so small. And so the media goes wild with this when they find out. However, like, all these years on, there hasn't been anyone in particular that has popped out from that scene. And actually, Cheryl's family swears that too much has been made of this whole thing. Jane told us that Cheryl worked, like, a few shifts the summer before she was killed at a club. So, like, this is, like, a year plus prior. and she decided really fast it just wasn't for her.

28:22Ashley Flowers:Okay, so that part might be coincidental, but when this guy attacked the first girl, he was looking for her boyfriend, calls him out by name. Maybe Cheryl and Andy's attack was about Andy.

28:36Brit Prawat:Possibly, except there's something that confuses me about that. So the dancer, the thing I've told you, she got a good look at the guy, albeit he had a smushed face because of what he was wearing. She definitely heard his voice, but she didn't recognize him either. Like not as an employee at the club, not as like a regular customer. In fact, she tells HPD that she had always assumed her attacker was someone from a moving company that she had beef with. So who knows? What we do know is she sits down with HPD's forensic artist. She has a composite sketch drawn of the man that she can still picture all these years later.

29:12Brit Prawat:She says he's tall. He has olive skin, dark hair. And as Michelle Homer and Sherman Chow report, she thinks he was somewhere in his, like, late 20s, maybe early to mid 30s.

29:24Ashley Flowers:Hold up. How old was that security guard that found Andy's car? Uniform, military stance, what did he look like? I'm always skeptical of security guards who are, like, the first on the scene.

29:34Brit Prawat:Right. And HPD was, too. Like, he was actually one of the guys who was ruled out with DNA. So probably one of the first, I would assume. So not him. But whoever this guy is who attacked our first victim and then Cheryl and Andy, he's a ghost. The sketch that's published in 2008 doesn't generate any promising leads. And that in 2008 was the last real update in this baffling case.

29:58Ashley Flowers:So when everything with Lake Waco basically unraveled, did anyone go back to see if there could have been a connection?

30:08Brit Prawat:If they did, it never made it into reporting. And keep in mind, like, just how much Lake Waco unraveled is in the eye of the beholder. And if the beholder is the great state of Texas, it never unraveled at all. Like, sure, Munir Deeb won his appeal. He was acquitted at a retrial. But the convictions of the other three defendants were upheld. And the official party line is that they all died in prison guilty men, including David Spence, who was executed in 97 for his supposed involvement. And if you remember, like, there have been a few attempts pushed by, like, private parties to test DNA evidence in the Lake Waco case, which there is DNA evidence in the Lake Waco case.

30:50Brit Prawat:But all of those have either been unsuccessful or have stalled for reasons that are, like, too convoluted to get in here. Again, go listen to the episode. The long and the short of it is, as far as I can tell, no DNA profiles from Lake Waco have ever been entered into CODIS. I don't even know if they were fully processed because, again, there was no CODIS when Andy and Cheryl were murdered. Lake Waco was even years before that.

31:10Ashley Flowers:And at that point, it was closed. Yeah. And to me, this is like baffling.

31:13Brit Prawat:I can't even understand why they wouldn't. But this goes back to like the whole first case where it's like they want to be right more than they want to find the truth. But Cheryl and Andy's case, this case is still unsolved today. Before you ask, yes, they have considered genetic genealogy. It might even be in the works or not IgG exactly. Luckily, a lot of reporting seems to conflate familial DNA with genetic genealogy. And the HPD declined to give us a comment. So, like, I couldn't get a ton of clarity. And actually, to be exact, they told us they had to respectfully decline to comment due to the sensitivity of the investigation.

31:50Brit Prawat:They didn't elaborate on that choice of words. So we tried reaching Detective Belk, too, who was retired. We couldn't get a hold of him. And in all the years, like, since Belk left, I think things have kind of broken down between HPD and Cheryl's family. So they're not even in the inner circle at the moment, which to me doesn't feel like an option. Like, you don't have to be on the inner circle, but I think they deserve a yes or no. Like, are you using this new technology to solve my family member's case or not? That seems like it should be a basic right for a family to get. Okay, this is 2026, Ashley, now.

32:26Brit Prawat:And while I still can't tell you what new technology they might have tried or were trying, I can confirm that it was a DNA match that led to this arrest. An old school one at that. Sometime in the past year, apparently, police received a tip that led them to a now 64-year-old man named Floyd William Parrott. Now, this guy was never on their radar for this case. But he had an interesting past. He was a suspect in a 1996 sexual assault. And this is really chilling. He was charged multiple times with impersonating a police officer. This was in 1988, 1990, and again in 96. And investigators now say that he kept doing all of that through the 1990s and into the 2000s.

33:16Brit Prawat:So here's how I think they made the connection. They mentioned that it had to do with putting evidence from that 1996 sexual assault case into CODIS. So they must have still had evidence in that that had just been sitting there for all these years. Once they got it submitted to CODIS, voila, it matched the unidentified profile from the Lovers Lane case that had just been sitting there for years. Now, they had never convicted him of the 96 assault. So I'm thinking that basically they had two unidentified profiles now that matched together, but they at least had a suspect in the 96 case. And so that probably gave them enough to do a warrant to get a direct comparison from him.

33:59Brit Prawat:And they've stated with confidence that he now is a match to the evidence from the Lovers Lane case. And Floyd Parrott has now been charged with capital murder for the 1990 deaths of Cheryl Henry and Andy Atkinson in Houston, Texas. Houston PD and the FBI took Parrott into custody in Nebraska this week. But at a press conference, investigators said Parrott spent most of his life around Houston. And they feel sure that he has more victims in the area. Maybe many more. Authorities released pictures of Parrott from around 1990 when Cheryl and Andy were killed. And this photo of the fake cop car that they say Parrott was driving at the time.

34:43Brit Prawat:And now they're asking for the public's help. We're going to be posting those on social. So please, if you're in the Houston area, go take a look. And if you had any contact with Floyd William Parrott over all these years or you think you might have known something about this case or other cases, any crime that he may have committed, please call the Harris County District Attorney's Office at 713-274 -5640 and mention Lovers Lane. You can ask for ADA Samantha Connect and leave your name and contact info. We're going to be following this case, so if you want more updates as they come in, follow us on social or in the Crime Junkie fan club.

35:26Brit Prawat:Our thoughts are with Cheryl and Andy's families who have waited so long for answers.

35:43Brit Prawat:you can find all the source material for this episode on our website

35:49Ashley Flowers:crimejunkiepodcast.com you can also follow us on instagram at crimejunkiepodcast

35:53Brit Prawat:we'll be back next week with another episode

36:01Thank you.

36:32Brit Prawat:Crime Junkie is an Audio Chuck production. I think Chuck would approve.