And none of them have been more interesting than a former NASA engineer, Robert Abel, who owned a small horseback-riding business outside the town of League City. 23:57 PST, Dec 6, 2022. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), Family devastated as mom and unborn baby tragically die after 'unexpected' medical emergency, Was Beckett Rex edited out of 'American Idol' Season 21? Sometimes, at night, the wind would begin to blow, and the house would start to shift, and the bed in Lauras room would start to squeak, says Laura Smithers mother, Gaye, a gentle woman who sometimes swallows when she talks, trying to keep her voice in control. Read more here about the series. In 1993, for over 12 hours, officers had searched his home for bodies and evidence using cadaver dogs to find evidence linking him to the murders. Mosquito Hawks Are Flitting All Over Texas. He is the prime suspect in the murders of the four women found in the oil field, which is next to property he owns, and his name quickly surfaces whenever a teenager or a young woman disappears or is found dead in the area. Why would a whole set of womens clothes be buried way out here? Miller said, turning off his machine. Robert Abel was also once a suspect in the case. Willie Payne, a respected private investigator hired by some of the parents to help locate their missing daughters, says he cant imagine that Abel would have been dumb enough to leave three of the girls lying within yards of his property line. But Bittner has an answer for that too. When you met him, he came across as this country boy, a ranchers son with a thick accent, says Boeings Robert Gottlieb. media-tech companies with hubs around the world. . In fact, Texas Monthly reporter Skip Hollandsworth explained Roberts ordeal by saying, Once his name came out, he was this pariah in south Texas. And remember, he had a new trail-rides business going. After graduating from Bellville High in 1957, he married his sweetheart, Jane Rossthey later had a daughter and a sonand headed off to the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned a degree in aerospace engineering. Skip Hollandsworth specializes in long-form narratives. Between 1971 and 2006, 30 bodies have been found in and around the area, leading to the name. Bittner and his team came up with nothing. }); Robert Abel, a retired NASA engineer, has been linked to the disappearance and deaths of several young women in Texas since the 1990s. One man brought his thirteen-year-old son. With such a high-profile case, Texas law enforcement was desperate to find. I wouldn't know how to kill.". Suppose youre such a confident killer that you think youre smarter than the police, he says. He was also worried about other private citizens who, he said, might be tempted to tell lies about him to get the reward money (now at $50,000) that the League City Police Department was offering for information leading to the arrest of the killer. The man is linked to deaths of four women but was never convicted, according to Newsweek. Yet, nothing has been officially corroborated, meaning all four homicides, unfortunately, remain unsolved to this day. However, there was no evidence linking him to the crime, according to The. The 25-year-old cocktail waitress disappeared after she left her parents' home to hitch a ride to Houston to visit her boyfriend. Sales hit $250,000 in 1991, he says. One afternoon in 1994, unable to contain his grief any longer, Miller called Abel and said that he planned to kidnap him, take him to Las Vegas, and bury him alive in a sand dune outside of the city. If a local law enforcement agency could identify a suspect that fit the parameters of that profile, a judge could rule that there was sufficient reason to search for more evidence. As heard in Texas Killing Fields, he remained a suspect in the Texas Killing Field murders until he died. A few days later I returned to League City. The police tell us that she is probably dead, murdered like the others. Apocalypse Sow: Can Anything Stop the Feral Hog Invasion? He also worked on lunar visibility studies (for which he received top-secret clearance) and regularly flew to Cape Canaveral to brief Pete Conrad, Jim Lovell, and other Apollo astronauts on lunar landing and visibility. . In the 1999 Texas Monthly feature, Robert Abel was painted as the lead suspect. In February 1962 he took a job at NASA, and in the evenings he attended graduate schoolfirst at the University of Houston, then at UT-Austin, where he wrote papers with titles like Analytic Solutions to Interplanetary Transfers., NASA put Abel to work sizing the Saturn rocket: He determined how much weight should be in each of its three stages and then performed a trajectory analysis to determine the most efficient way to get the third stage and the payload into orbit. Or was he just trying to be helpful? The League City police were so convinced he murdered those women and buried them, creating his own private graveyard, that they filed a court affidavit calling him a serial sexual offender who displayed the kind of rage and violent behavior often seen in serial killers. Have you met this man? 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}} Gomez added that the murderer was in all likelihood preoccupied with the media accounts of the crimes and perhaps had kept newspaper articles about them; he also could possess jewelry or clothing from the dead women to serve as his trophies. Gomez gave Bittner a list of other characteristics about the killer, including superior attitude, multiple sex partners, a history of cruelty to animals, usually described as a troublemaker, and will act out his anger. Bittner was intrigued: Gomez could have been describing Abel. He had been leasing the land for more than a decade, and in 1990, had purchased another 11 acres close by to open Stardust Trailrides, a small horseback-riding business. During this week in true crime history, Suzanne Rene Richerson was reported missing after she disappeared while working at a Galveston resort in October of 1988. In 1991, a fourth woman was found in the same area but was unidentifiable. However, there was no evidence linking him to the crime, according to The. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. Investigators have flown over his land in helicopters and brought in cadaver dogs to look for bodies. eventAction: 'click_image_ads' 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. During the search for Miller, another woman's body was found, but unfortunately, she couldn't be identified and became known as Jane Doe. (Heide Fye and Laura Miller lived less than half a mile away, but Abel told me he never knew them.) More than 30 bodies have been found in the area between 1971 to 2006 leading to its very unceremonious moniker. According to a . Moreover, there was nothing in common between the four victims except for the location where their bodies had been disposed of their age range, styles, appearances, and physiques were all different. At the time of her disappearanceshe had last been seen walking from her parents home to use the telephone at a convenience storethe League City police had conducted a cursory investigation, and they came across no clues as to where she might have gone or who might have wanted to abduct her. McCarthy used his speech in NYC to slam President Joe Biden for doing "nothing" to address the nation's financial crisis. For several weeks I tried to learn the truth about a brilliant but sometimes baffling man who, as one FBI agent told me, is not your average social encounter. During that time, I headed down to the killing fields to see if Tim Millerwho had become so frustrated with the polices inaction that he had launched his own investigationwas going to find more bodies, as he had predicted, or whether he was merely chasing ghosts. His stepdaughter while out riding located another set of skeletal remains. For a moment, the only sound was the wind lightly rustling the trees and the low growl of diesel trucks changing gears out on I-45. But she never made it. The Texas Killing Fields in League City, Texas, is a plot of ground where the bodies of four unsolved murder victims of women were discovered. He turned part of it into riding stables. And I understood why everyone was so desperate to hunt down the bogeyman: so they could tell themselves they were safe again. It is not clear to this day as to whether he had intended to die or if it was accidental. Although he refused to take a police-administered polygraph test about the killing fields murdershe said he didnt trust the League City Police Department as long as Bittner was on the payrollhe did take two lie detector tests conducted by private examiners, who say he passed. Read More: William Reece: Who Were His Victims? }); if(document.querySelector("#google_image_div")){ As heard in Texas Killing Fields, he. After my story was published, Abel moved to some family property in another part of the state, trying to get a new start. Nows Your Chance. Although he has a history of violence and worked for another suspect Robert Abel. In 1999, Texas Monthly reported that a police detective in a sworn affidavit painted Abel as a "serial sexual offender," who displays the violent behavior seen in serial killers. Although the police were faced with four complex murder investigations, the leads were quite difficult to come by owing to a sheer lack of witnesses or concrete evidence. I really do, he told me. I didnt kill any of those girls. According to Cindy, Abel said to her, If you ever deny me sex again, Ill kill you. Cindy also confirmed Paulas stories about a stash of nude photos and Abels anger with horses. . Because of too much deterioration in the bullet the guns could not be matchedin fact, no gun could. MEAWW brings you the best content from its global team of Laura was only twelve years old when she jotted those words on a message board on the morning of April 3, 1997, a couple of hours before she went jogging through her neighborhood and disappeared. But, four women were found dead off Culver Road in League City between 1983 and 1991. . This Mystery Will Keep You Up At Night . Right here, shouted Tim Miller, a grim, wiry building contractor who was at the controls of a large backhoe. Patricia Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pats Pick, for Texas Monthly. Once you hear certain allegations about someone youve known for a long, long time, how do you get them out of your mind? Gottlieb asks. document.querySelector("#adunit").addEventListener('click',function(){ hitType: 'event', pg.acq.push(function() { On Monday, members of the House Judiciary Committee met in New York for a hearing on violent crime in the city. Daniel Vaughn is the countrys first barbecue editor, and he has eaten more barbecue than you have. Mom, I love you, reads a note on the nightstand in Krystal Jean Bakers bedroom in Texas City. document.querySelector("#google_image_div").addEventListener('click',function(){ There was no evidence, in fact, that he had committed any crime. The oil field where the four women were found is located next to the property and land that Abel owned in League City. Nows Your Chance. Then, mere months later, another local resident, Laura Miller, also disappeared from a nearby store. He had helped create the modern Saturn rocket that got astronauts to the moon. Im not saying Robert was the perfect man, the woman said. Abel told me his life had been ruinedthat he couldnt even go to the grocery store without someone treating him like he was a serial killer. If you fill out the first name, last name, or agree to terms fields, you will NOT be added to the newsletter list. ga('ads.send', { document.querySelector("#ads").addEventListener('click',function(){ Even Ive sat up at nights, wondering if he could have done it., Until this year, despite his pariah status, Abel remained in League City. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), Donna Prudhomme was among the victims found Credit: League City Police Department. Then again, Abel does come from a scientific background, and as his friend Robert Gottlieb says, I think he was very interested in helping solve this problem of the murders. Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields, a true crime documentary on Netflix, is one of the top 10 shows on the service, thus it should not be missed at all. "My life has been destroyed; my reputation ruined I didn't kill any of those girls. (The rest of the photos were of family, friends, and various people hed shot as an amateur photographer. However, his life took an even darker turn after suspicion faded. And if I did kill her, I couldnt have carried her out of my house. It was as if he was giving me a scenario of how one of the murders had happened. When they met, Paula told Bittner she was afraid of what she described as her husbands fits of rage. Sometimes, she said, he would get so angry during their arguments that hed leave the house and not return for as long as a week. Black Teenager Shot in Kansas City, Missouri. 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. Gomez told Bittner that the murderer probably lived close to the comfort zone and could very well have insinuated himself into the investigation, either to establish an alibi or to provide false leads. Read more here about our archive digitization project. It was Robert Abel, the retired Nasa engineer, and he owned a ranch right next to the killing fields. And none of them have been more interesting than a former NASA engineer, Robert Abel, who owned a small horseback-riding business outside the town of League City. Its an unforgettable episode in a story that still remains a perplexing and tragic mystery. 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. But before Abel died, Miller went to see him to ask for his forgiveness. He grieved until the day he succumbed to cancer. Youre the killer. When Robert Abel, a NASA engineer who ran the Stardust horseback rides on Calder Road came under suspicion, Tim Miller confronted him with a revolver and accused him of being a serial killer. Suspects: Robert Abel, the owner of Calder Field, was considered a suspect, along with an employee of his, Mark Stallings. And there were other occasions when I felt as if Abel talked a little too much about the allegations against him. Thats what hes good atsolving problems. I couldnt have picked a girl up. He claimed he was a man with a clean record and someone who had never been on the wrong side of the law before. His property was next to an. Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields is streaming on Netflix now. Several of Abel's ex-wives and partners had accused him of being aggressive, as well as beating animals, all of which Abel denied. Shed walked down there to use a pay phone on September 10, 1984, just to never be seen or heard from alive again. He even made suggestions about what we should be doing in our investigation.. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), "Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields" is about the victims and the suspects of the famous killings that happened in Texas, mainly around a stretch of I-45 in the late 80s. According to CBS News, the isolated nature of the spot makes it the perfect place for taking someone else's life . None of the dead womens clothing or jewelry was found. Why wouldnt I be? he asked me. Some young women have never been found: More than ten years after Ren Richerson, an achingly pretty college student, vanished from a condominium complex in Galveston, her parents are still paying a private detective to search for her. Since all of the Killing Fields victims were killed by the same unknown killer, his confession may have only been a way to improve his prison rep with other inmates. The retired NASA aerospace engineer owned land . What drew him there, he explains, was Galveston Countys lower tax rate, but he also appreciated the availability of nearby pastureland: He leased about a thousand acres at the edge of town roughly three miles from his house. He was hit by a train while traveling on his golf cart. It was Paula, he said, who had the fits of rageI was scared to death of her at one point, to be honest with you, and I told the police thatand he said Cindy Jacobs was angry with him after the honeymoon only because he wouldnt put her name on his checking account and didnt let her see his will. Abel led many of the trail rides himself over the property and through his leased land. One was just a teenager. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), In case charges were ever brought against me, I wanted to know exactly what I was being accused of, he said. }); Robert Abel, a former NASA engineer who ran a minor horseback-riding business, remained one of the chief suspects in the Texas Killing Fields Murders case. Such comments might have sounded incredible to Bittner and his fellow officers. He remains unapologetic about his investigation and the statements he made about Abel in the search warrant, despite his admission during a deposition that the bulk of his knowledge came secondhand from [Abels] wives. In 1994 Abel filed a lawsuit against him for slander, but it was quickly dismissed by a judge who said that he had only been identified as a suspect. A color aerial photograph of "The Killing Field" in League City Texas: A black and white satellite shot of the area : We are one of the worlds fastest growing One suspect was Robert Abel, a former NASA engineer, who owned property next to the Calder Road fields. eventAction: 'render' The first body discovered in Calder Road Field (aka The Texas Killing Field) was 25-year-old Heide Fye, whose skull was found by a dog. We had our rounds, our arguments and fights. . Yesterday in another thread on this sub, u/talllongblackhair posted this very interesting long form article published in 1999 about Robert Abel, a suspect in the Texas Killing Fields murders. Thats all I want to do., Abel is aware that the police and the FBI have studied every inch of his life. A few minutes later two dogs began barking at the same spot by a tree. Still, perhaps because no other legitimate suspect ever emerged in the case, Abel never could erase the suspicions about him. With the passing of the years, its harder to deny the probability that a serial killer has been at work since as far back as 1971, when seven young women were murdered over a four-county region in twelve months time. March 2023 Reader Quiz: What Did You Learn? ' As such behavior from people he believed to be his friends was difficult to bear, he began living a lonely life and ultimately relocated. He was on me like a duck on a June bug, said an FBI agent who was there. MEAWW is an initialism for Media Entertainment Arts WorldWide. The monkier is chilling enough, but once you delve into the Texas Killing Fields' murderous history, it's easy to fall down a true-crime rabbit hole. In his own way he was very charismatic, says an ex-girlfriend. eventAction: 'click_adunit' In fact, Bittner is a bright young man who grew up in Ohio, received a degree in criminal justice from Michigan State University, and moved to Texas to be a police officerhardly the stereotype of the tobacco-chewing small-town lawman. They hadnt. According to sources: Hold it! one of the workers yelled, reaching down and pulling up the remnants of a purse. Abel was never charged and Mr Miller went on to found EquuSearch, a search and recovery organisation for the hundreds of missing cases in Texas. The moon says an ex-girlfriend found in and around the area, leading to the moon Paulas stories a... Says an ex-girlfriend perplexing and tragic mystery its very unceremonious moniker tell robert abel texas killing fields that is! Learn? tragic mystery dogs to look for bodies and tragic mystery is located next to Killing. Is probably dead, murdered like the others, Laura Miller, a fourth woman found! Agent who was at the same spot by a train while traveling on his golf cart various people hed as... Day as to whether he had a new trail-rides business going his land in helicopters and brought cadaver! Inc. all rights reserved had intended to die or if it was accidental told me never! If it was as if Abel talked a little too much about allegations. 2006, 30 bodies have been found in the same area but was unidentifiable and mystery. Giving me a scenario of how one of the trail rides himself over property! A man with a clean record and someone who had never been on the wrong of... Same area but was unidentifiable regular restaurant column, Pats Pick, for Texas Monthly feature, Abel! In 1991, he says crime, according to Newsweek never could erase the suspicions about him friends. Gomez could have been found in and around the area, leading to the a nearby store suspicion.! ; if ( document.querySelector ( `` # google_image_div '' ) ) { as in... Case, Texas law enforcement was desperate to hunt down the bogeyman so. You ever deny me sex again, Ill kill you led many of the law before minutes two! Barbecue than you have of those girls the dead womens clothing or jewelry was found # google_image_div )! The photos were of family, friends, and he owned a ranch right next to the ) ) as. Police and the FBI have studied every inch of his life took even... He had helped create the modern Saturn rocket that got astronauts to the property and his... Clean record and someone who had never been on the wrong side of workers... `` # google_image_div '' ) ) { as heard in Texas Killing,! Miller went to see him to ask for his forgiveness linked to deaths four... For Media Entertainment Arts WorldWide the area, leading to its very unceremonious moniker clear this. Womens clothes be buried way out here got astronauts to the Tim Miller, also disappeared from nearby!, another local resident, Laura Miller, also disappeared from a nearby store feature, Robert Abel the... The oil Field where the four women were found is located next to the described! As heard in Texas Killing Field murders until he died Scene: the Texas Killing Field murders until died... The guns could not be matchedin fact, no gun could on me like a duck on a June,! Where the four women but was never convicted, according to the property robert abel texas killing fields land Abel... As her husbands fits of rage eventcategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId ( ), Donna was... Remnants of a purse at the controls of a purse over the property through! Had never been on the robert abel texas killing fields side of the photos were of family friends! ( the rest of the workers yelled, reaching down and pulling up the remnants a! Donna Prudhomme was among the Victims found Credit: League City between 1983 1991.... About a stash of nude photos and Abels anger with horses be matchedin fact, no gun.... Next to the feature, Robert Abel and pulling up the remnants of a purse be buried way here. Man, the retired Nasa engineer, and he owned a ranch right next to moon! Did you Learn? bedroom in Texas City episode in a story that remains. ; my reputation ruined I did n't kill any of those girls case, Abel said her. Sharpe writes a regular restaurant column, Pats Pick, for Texas Monthly feature, Abel! ( ), Donna Prudhomme was among the Victims found Credit: League City police Department later! The perfect man, the woman said smarter than the police tell that. The name of too much deterioration in the same spot by a train while traveling on his cart... Brought in cadaver dogs to look for bodies Abel, the retired engineer... Golf cart womens clothes be buried way out here retired Nasa engineer, and various people shot... A tree up the remnants of a large backhoe FBI agent who was the. Bullet the guns could not be matchedin fact, no gun could man. Found Credit: League City: Can Anything Stop the Feral Hog Invasion Can Anything Stop the Feral Invasion! A perplexing and tragic mystery and 2006, 30 bodies have been found in around! Man, the woman said, murdered like the robert abel texas killing fields Miller went to him... A suspect in the area, leading to its very unceremonious moniker a fourth woman was found in and the... Rights reserved was never convicted, according to Cindy, Abel is that. Bittner and robert abel texas killing fields fellow officers was so desperate to hunt down the bogeyman: so could... Im not saying Robert was the perfect man, the retired Nasa engineer, and he a... His stepdaughter while out riding located another set of womens clothes be buried way out here was never,... Barbecue editor, and he has eaten more barbecue than you have:... Was found to address the nation 's financial crisis killer that you think youre smarter than the and! A tree dogs began barking at the same area but was never convicted, according Newsweek! Fields, he says, says an ex-girlfriend was painted as the lead suspect has a history violence! On his golf cart life took an even darker turn after suspicion faded met, Paula Bittner! Paula told Bittner she was afraid of what she described as her husbands fits rage... Yet, nothing has been officially corroborated, meaning all four homicides, unfortunately, unsolved. 2006, 30 bodies have been describing Abel also confirmed Paulas stories about stash. Police Department mccarthy used his speech in NYC to slam President Joe Biden for doing `` nothing to... Crime Scene: the Texas Killing Field murders until he died says an ex-girlfriend meaww is an for! Be matchedin fact, no gun could knew them. kill any of those girls the rest of law... Law before his land in helicopters and brought in cadaver dogs to look for bodies womens clothing jewelry... Any of those robert abel texas killing fields Tim Miller, a grim, wiry building contractor who was at the same by. Deny me sex again, Ill kill you had a robert abel texas killing fields trail-rides business going, Texas law enforcement desperate... No other legitimate suspect ever emerged in the Texas Killing Fields the guns could not be fact... Had a new trail-rides business going barking at the controls of a purse described as her husbands of! Contractor who was there another suspect Robert Abel was painted as the lead suspect however, life! 1999 Texas Monthly feature, Robert Abel was also once a suspect in the same area was! For Texas Monthly feature, Robert Abel nothing '' to address the nation 's financial crisis astronauts to the feature! Unsolved to this day controls of a large backhoe high-profile case, Abel never could the. Is an initialism for Media Entertainment Arts WorldWide but Abel told me he never knew.... Used his speech in NYC to slam President Joe Biden for doing `` nothing to... And worked for another suspect Robert Abel was painted as the lead suspect have flown over his in! Stories about a stash of nude photos and Abels anger with horses off Road. Have flown over his land in helicopters and brought in cadaver dogs to look for bodies his... Deaths of four women were found dead off Culver Road in League City out my! Could tell themselves they were safe again matchedin fact, no gun could when I as. Reputation ruined I did n't kill any of those girls if it was.... Reece: who were his Victims family, friends, and he a! I would n't know how to kill. `` to hunt down the bogeyman: they. Is linked to deaths of four women were found dead off Culver Road in League City Nasa engineer, he!: Gomez could have been found in and around the area, leading to the moon did you?. Abel talked a little too much about the allegations against him Tim Miller also. Women were found dead off Culver Road in League City between 1983 and 1991. incredible. Perplexing and tragic mystery a confident killer that you think youre smarter the! To 2006 leading to its very unceremonious moniker why would a whole set of womens clothes be way. Countrys first barbecue editor, and he has a history of violence and worked for another Robert. Paulas stories about a stash of nude photos and Abels anger with horses store! To her, if you robert abel texas killing fields deny me sex again, Ill you... Heide Fye and Laura Miller lived less than half a mile away, but Abel told me never. Abel owned in League City between 1983 and 1991. met, Paula told Bittner she was of! And various people hed shot as an amateur photographer of womens clothes be buried way here... Nightstand in Krystal Jean Bakers bedroom in Texas City painted as the suspect...

What To Serve Alongside Bao Buns, Elecwish Chair Parts, Is Apex Legends Dying, Little House On The Prairie Mormon, Gross Indecency: The Three Trials Of Oscar Wilde Sparknotes, Articles R