I've spent the last few days getting up to speed on what has become known as the "Texas Killing fields". The four bodies found off Calder road in League City have captured the public imagination but it is really the total number of killings of young women and girls over the years in a relatively small geographic area that has shocked the nation.
The possibility that one serial killer has been operating in the area for decades has generated a lot of Web traffic but that is extremely unlikely. Almost certainly there have be at least three Serial killers at work (probably more) as well as quite a few random killing that fit the pattern of a sexual predator. There have been quite a few arrests and convictions over the years but most of the killings remain "unsolved". Some of those convicted are probably guilty of additional killings and it is very possible that at least one of those convicted was actually innocent.
Of all the killings, it is the series of killings connected to the city of Galveston in the 1970's that I find the most disturbing. In the period between July and November 1971, six girls between the ages of 12 and 15 disappeared off the streets of Galveston; a city of only 60,000. Their bodies were later found dumped in similar manners. These were normal girls, not hookers or run-always; they were "classic" missing white girls. If that had happened today, it would be a media circus.
At the time however, I can't find any evidence that it attracted much attention locally, much less nationally. Of course that was before the word "serial killer" had entered the public lexicon. It was still a time when many in Law Enforcement approached their job as a matter of figuring out who "did it", sweating a confession out of them, and then turning it over to the courts for sentencing. The Miranda decision and the advent of scientific forensics have changed law enforcement forever.
Three of the killings were "solved"; one, the case of Alison Craven, may have been unrelated to the others and the prep, named Henry Shuflin, may have been guilty. (I can find no information on the case). A second case, that of Rhonda Johnson and Sharon Shaw is more controversial. Michael Lloyd Self was convicted of killing the two 15 year olds. The only evidence introduced by the prosecution was his signed confession that he claimed was obtained by coercion. He died in prison in 2000 still claiming his innocence.
In 1998, a convict named Edward Harold Bell, doing life for the murder of an ex-marine, came forward claiming "credit" for 11 murders of young girls in the Galveston area at that time including Rhonda Johnson and Sharon Shaw. He had strong ties to the area and connections to some of the victims. The case was never officially reopened but there is strong suspicion, both within Texas LE and among media critics of "Texas Justice", that he is the real deal.
Unlike a lot of Serial Killers, Bell was not a loaner with an IQ of 85 who prowled the streets in a 15 year old beater. He was smart, a successful businessman and possessed a little charm. He also had a proclivity for exposing himself to young girls. The murder he was convicted of was related to one of these "incidents".
BBM
It’s hard to be judgmental about the quality of Galveston Law Enforcement 40 years ago when so little information is available, but as an example of some of its problems, the two detectives who were commended for their "successful" interrogation, and subsequent conviction of Michael Lloyd Self, were later convicted of a series of armed robberies.
