"Killing Field" in League City, Texas- Calder Rd Cold Cases

[ikoihil]

In regard to the I-45 killings, there is some information that I haven't seen elsewhere. There was a murder in 1989 of a young mother in LaMarque, TX. She was shot and beaten, dying of blunt force trauma, in a field near I-45. Nobody was ever charged with her murder, but there was a man with a violent history and a penchant for firearms who had worked with the Houston Police Department who was a suspect until the investigation was abruptly called off. Two months prior to the murder, Linnis A. Gibbons, Sr. bought some land at 5005 Hopper Rd, Houston, TX 77093. It is undeveloped - I drove by it this afternoon; aside from bushes and some oddly placed concrete blocks, nothing is there.

A few years after the murder of Foster, he shot a prostitute named Dana in Houston, who briefly escaped from him, and ran to a neighbor's house, crashing through their home's front window in her panic. She never got the bullet removed, in fear that he would kill her. She has since disappeared. I believe another woman who was involved with Gibbons, disappeared in the early 90s also.

Nobody knew about the land at Hopper Rd until now. Detectives searched his home on Echo Ln for evidence for the Foster case, and some ranch land in Giddings (I think), TX but found nothing, since he had time to destroy anything incriminating before the police arrived.

I think that a search of the property at Hopper Rd may yield new information about the disappearance of the Dana woman, and might also provide results linked to disappearances from the I-45 Corridor.


Map of 5005 Hopper - Owner: Linnis A Gibbons (Per Harris County Appraisal District)
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=5005+...code_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBsQ8gEwAA

 

[Salem]

I hope we can get a media thread started. Might take some "digging" but it will be helpful!

Your wish, is the Mod's command You can post links to media, timelines, maps or other resources right here: COLD CASES - The Killing Fields - Time Line - Media-Reference NO DISCUSSION - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community


Salem

 

[JeannieC]

I'm pretty sure I've seen maps done by someone who is a profiler. If I have time later I'll try and dig them up (that is, if nobody beats me to it!).

Thanks, that will be great!

 

[JeannieC]

In regard to the I-45 killings, there is some information that I haven't seen elsewhere. There was a murder in 1989 of a young mother in LaMarque, TX. She was shot and beaten, dying of blunt force trauma, in a field near I-45. Nobody was ever charged with her murder, but there was a man with a violent history and a penchant for firearms who had worked with the Houston Police Department who was a suspect until the investigation was abruptly called off. Two months prior to the murder, Linnis A. Gibbons, Sr. bought some land at 5005 Hopper Rd, Houston, TX 77093. It is undeveloped - I drove by it this afternoon; aside from bushes and some oddly placed concrete blocks, nothing is there.

A few years after the murder of Foster, he shot a prostitute named Dana in Houston, who briefly escaped from him, and ran to a neighbor's house, crashing through their home's front window in her panic. She never got the bullet removed, in fear that he would kill her. She has since disappeared. I believe another woman who was involved with Gibbons, disappeared in the early 90s also.

Nobody knew about the land at Hopper Rd until now. Detectives searched his home on Echo Ln for evidence for the Foster case, and some ranch land in Giddings (I think), TX but found nothing, since he had time to destroy anything incriminating before the police arrived.

I think that a search of the property at Hopper Rd may yield new information about the disappearance of the Dana woman, and might also provide results linked to disappearances from the I-45 Corridor.

Great post! So you're a local?

 

[ikoihil]

I'll start working on the names lists. This has always been a case that I hated to see go cold. So many young girls and no answers!

There are many victims who haven't been named, I believe so that the police can mitigate further embarrassment, since they didn't realize this was the work of serial killers until Jessica disappeared in 1997.

I personally know that a woman's body was found in Galveston in 1996 on East Beach (Apffel Park) wrapped in a rug. I've seen no mention of that.

Also, the unsolved murder of Darlynn Foster has not been mentioned, although her body was found about 3/4 of a mile away from where Jessica Cain's truck was found.

I have seen statistics of unsolved murders and abductions/disappearances in the Houston Galveston area, with numbers around 200.

 

[ikoihil]

Great post! So you're a local?

Yes. Darlynn Foster was my mother. Jessica Cain was on my basketball and volleyball teams at O'Connell High School.

This tragedy is personal for me; I've lived it since I was 9 years old, only compounding each time another person was found... or not.

The police closed both of their cases prematurely.

 

[JeannieC]

Welcome koihil

:welcome2: :welcome3:

 

[JeannieC]

Yes. Darlynn Foster was my mother. Jessica Cain was on my basketball and volleyball teams at O'Connell High School.

This tragedy is personal for me; I've lived it since I was 9 years old, only compounding each time another person was found... or not.

The police closed both of their cases prematurely.

I am so sorry for your loss. This has to be very hard on you and we are so glad you are willing to share with us. We will add the names to the list as we get them.

Thank you so much!

 

[JeannieC]

ikoihil

I hope you don't mind me asking about your mother's death. Can you tell me when she died and the circumstances. If this is too hard on you I'll understand. I want to be sure she is accounted for on our Link.

 

[ikoihil]

Thank you. I just want to help find closure - not only for myself, but because I know that if we can put together information to help solve ANY of these mysteries, it will lead to a resolution for more cases.

Location of body recovered of Foster:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=2412+...code_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CCMQ8gEwAA

Location of Jessica Cain's truck:
Between exits 7 & 8 on I-45 South in La Marque, TX

Location of body found in Apffel Park:
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&c...l8l0l0l0l0l0l0ll0l0&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl

 

[JeannieC]

Thank you. I just want to help find closure - not only for myself, but because I know that if we can put together information to help solve ANY of these mysteries, it will lead to a resolution for more cases.

Location of body recovered of Foster:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=2412+...code_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CCMQ8gEwAA

Location of Jessica Cain's truck:
Between exits 7 & 8 on I-45 South in La Marque, TX

Location of body found in Apffel Park:
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&c...l8l0l0l0l0l0l0ll0l0&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl

Thank you. These are good maps.

When was your mother murdered?

 

[JeannieC]

ikoihil

Thank you. I just want to help find closure - not only for myself, but because I know that if we can put together information to help solve ANY of these mysteries, it will lead to a resolution for more cases.

Can I give you a kiss on the cheek..........:smooch:

 

[ikoihil]

ikoihil

I hope you don't mind me asking about your mother's death. Can you tell me when she died and the circumstances. If this is too hard on you I'll understand. I want to be sure she is accounted for on our Link.

Friday, September 15, 1989

Foster, Darlynn A: Caucasian. 5'6" green eyes; 140 lbs; light brown hair. DOB 09/30/55. Body found at or about 2500 Maxwell St, La Marque, TX 77568.

I came home from school with my aunt and cousin to find the front door wide open, blood all over the floors and walls, furniture overturned. Blood ran down the front stairs. There had been no forced entry. Handbag and belongings had not been touched. We discovered that all four tires of her car had been slashed. She was nowhere to be found at that time.

My aunt got me out of there, and went to her office to call police. A few hours later, her body was found in the field near her home. Positive identification showed it was her. She had been shot six times while running into the field, and then bludgeoned until dead.

Later fingerprinting of the home yielded no actionable results. There were threatening letters written by the ex-boyfriend, Gibbons, that later disappeared from the home. Her ex was once on the HPD police force, had a violent history, and collected guns and other weapons. These have been a suspect details, since evidence related to this case disappeared on more than one occasion, before the investigation was stopped due to the victim being deemed not worthy of further investigation. (That was the statement of the LMPD in the report.) Please note that the police did not realize these murders in the area were the work of a serial killer until 1997.

She had drug problems stemming from the recent death of her younger brother (07/31/1989) and was scheduled to go into drug rehabilitation for methadone and marijuana at UTMB that afternoon; Gibbons, her ex-boyfriend, was supposed to pick her up and take her to the rehabilitation facility. The morning all this happened, Darlynn called her sister and confirmed that he would be picking her up. Because of his connection with the police, he was tipped off prior to the search of his home, and when they arrived, there was a fire burning in his back yard. (Burning of trash is not allowed in Houston City Limits).

After this occurred, Gibbons was said to have moved a prostitute by the name of Dana into his home on Echo Ln in Houston. This house was a corner lot, and he had installed cyclone fencing around the perimeter, with barbed wire at the top... however, the barbs were facing inward. At some time, he shot Dana, and in her escape, she scaled the fence and ran to a neighbor's house, crashing through their window with her body. She has since disappeared.

There was information passed to me that there was another disappearance of a woman linked to this man, but as I was only a teenager, I didn't get many details about this.

I was told that Gibbons passed away a few months before my 15th birthday, thus he could not be responsible for any disappearances after the mid-90s. However, he was retired, and was often between Galveston and Houston prior to then, and had land in the country that he often visited in the early hours of the morning to avoid being seen. Nobody put two and two together about the property on Hopper Rd until I found it by searching records today.

From the time I was 9 to the time I was 15, this person was linked to the murder, assault and/or disappearances of three women - most likely more. The police are always hesitant to charge another member of a police force, thus leading me to believe many of these murders and disappearances have some sort of link to an official of some sort.

I'm open to answering questions, as I will not be able to contribute to any development if I don't. Additionally, growing up with this kind of event makes you kind of callous to questions, unless they're derogatory or meant to be hurtful.

I saw this movie, Texas Killing Fields, last night, since I'd heard that they didn't consult the families of the victims, and I wanted to prepare myself in case I needed to. I didn't feel that it represented the events much, but I do appreciate the renewed interest in the cold cases, which would otherwise remain dormant.

 

[ikoihil]

Sorry the response took a few minutes to type! Just trying to give helpful and complete information.

 

[JeannieC]

Thank you, ikoihil for being so candid. It was hard for me to read, knowing that is your mother.

You mentioned they discontinued the investigation do they consider your mother's case open or have they every said?

 

[ikoihil]

Thank you, ikoihil for being so candid. It was hard for me to read, knowing that is your mother.

You mentioned they discontinued the investigation do they consider your mother's case open or have they every said?

It was closed in October 1989, because she 'was not a productive member of the community' or something like that.

 

[JeannieC]

From the time I was 9 to the time I was 15, this person was linked to the murder, assault and/or disappearances of three women - most likely more. The police are always hesitant to charge another member of a police force, thus leading me to believe many of these murders and disappearances have some sort of link to an official of some sort.

Do you know who the other 2 women were or were there 3 beside your mother?

 

[JeannieC]

It was closed in October 1989, because she 'was not a productive member of the community' or something like that.

Please, please tell me you are kidding! :furious::furious::furious:

 

[JeannieC]

Members feel free to jump in and ask questions. Post your thoughts. Guests come on and join in. We welcome new members.

 

[ikoihil]

Please, please tell me you are kidding! :furious::furious::furious:

100% serious.

Which means, ANY other victims that weren't considered by the police to be 'worthwhile' got the same kind of investigation - especially those unidentified without advocates. And this was shocking to us because my aunt is a longtime member of the community and a friend to many mayors, city council members, and police. Actually, I was wrong about the date of the case being closed. It wasn't even October yet. I think maybe the last week of September it was officially closed. The last time any action was taken was them tapping a tree near her grave to see if the killer went there and confessed. That was within days of her death though.

The three victims referred to my mother, Dana, and the un-named victim.