Every Town - UNSOLVED Lovers Lane Nightmare - Who Murdered Cheryl & Andy?

Episode Date: December 13, 2024

The couple was young and in love but when they were nowhere to be found, soon it would be discovered that they had encountered somebody who terrorized them in a way that is hard to fathom. 👀 Watch This Episode On Youtube: https://youtu.be/xrYqrrXFzRA 👁 Check out our movie AN ANGRY BOY for FREE! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvtlOlODQ8g&t=5238s https://tubitv.com/movies/100029672/an-angry-boy https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0D56WC9ZN/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r International & Other Ways To Watch: https://www.anangryboy.com/ 💀 Free 7 Day Trail on Exclusive Episodes, Secret Library & Perks! https://www.patreon.com/scarymysteries 🎧 Our Other Podcast Scary Mysteries: https://open.spotify.com/show/3ZooEZMoZ421WdsOVJhVkT 👁 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrew.fitzg 👁 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andrewfitzgerald 👁 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scarymysteriesofficial 🗣 Business Inquiries, questions and comments hit us up at [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you love true crime, grab your favorite mug and pour yourself a dose of creepy true crime every single morning with a morning cup of murder. This short daily show is the perfect podcast to incorporate into your morning routine because in less than 15 minutes, you'll hear about a true crime that took place on a day's date in history. Each day's dark history lesson will kickstart your morning with intriguing tales of murder, abduction, serial killers, cults, and everything in between.

With over 20 million downloads, Morning Cup of Murder has something for every true crime lover. One listener describes the show as a small package with a powerful punch of crime. Another writes that the show is an absolute delight in the morning. Support yourself a piping hot cup of murder every single morning with Morning Cup of Murder. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Everytown has a dark side. It's a case of extreme and senseless violence that remains unsolved today. A warm summer night back in 1990 had couple,

Cheryl Henry and Andy Atkinson, driving out to a secluded lover's lane on the outskirts of Houston. The pair was young and in love, but the following day, when they were nowhere to be found, well, soon it would be discovered that they had encountered somebody who terrorized them in a way that is hard to even fathom. Now, hey guys, it's Andrews. Andrew, thanks for tuning in to today's episode of Everytown. But today, we're checking out the vulnerable situation that Cheryl and Andy found themselves in

and the killer who took full advantage of that. And this individual not only cut their lives short, but he took pleasure in doing it. And despite knowing, this wasn't his first time committing such a vile act, but to this day, the case remains one of the most mysterious ones in all of Texas. Let's head on down to Houston, dig into the Lover's Lane case, and find out who killed Cheryl and Andy. Even before cars were invented, young people sought out hidden areas for makeout sessions and probably a little more. By the 1860s, these secluded spots for getting naughty were become known as Lover's Lanes, where couples parked their horse-drawn buggies seeking privacy from prying eyes.

These places were typically visited by young couples who wanted to be. wanted to hide their activities because they were unmarried, which of course was heavily frowned upon then. Mothers used lover's lanes as places to cheat on spouses in order to keep things on the down low. Over time, the buggies were replaced by cars, but lover's lanes continued to attract those looking to lust. But this sinning and privacy would all come at a cost, because lover's lanes everywhere quickly became the target for bad individuals looking to commit all sorts of crimes, robbery, assault, and murder, because they knew that their targets would have their guards down, and because they were already in a secluded spot,

no one would hear them scream. And tragically, Cheryl Henry and Andy Atkinson are among the many who visited a lover's lane only to never return, and this is their story. As Cheryl was born in Florida on October 24th of 1967, to parents Robert and Barbara. Even as a child, she was good-natured, easy-going, and always loving. The family says it was difficult to be down whenever she was around.

Her infectious laughter had a way of brightening the lives of those around her. With wavy blonde hair and blue eyes, Cheryl's cheerful demeanor continued on as she grew older. The Henry's moved to the Houston area of Texas eventually, and in 1986 after graduating high school, Cheryl enrolled at Stephen F. Austin State University, about 150 miles north of her home. In 1990 at 22 years old, she then returned to Houston where she found work as an optometrist or planning for her and her sister Shane, who was three years younger than her, to live together.

In the meantime, when she was staying with her mom, and it was that summer that Cheryl met Andy. Garland Andrew Atkinson, known to his friends as just Andy, was born to parents Anne and Garland on September 6th of 1968 in North Carolina. Andy's folks were young at the time. His dad was 18, his mom just 16. Shortly after his birth, the Atkinson's divorce, leaving him to be raised by his grandmother for much of his life. Despite this somewhat rocky upbringing, Andy was known to be a happy birthday. baby and child. Longing for a real sense of family, he grew up inseparable from his cousin Timmy.

In 1977, Andy's father, Garland, relocated to Houston amid some legal troubles in North Carolina. Garland had gotten into trouble after accidentally shooting a man in the face during a fight that occurred at Rick's lounge. A man survived and all charges were later dropped. It's worth noting, so you understand a bit better the type of person Garland was. as it's possible to come into play later on in the case. Initially, Andy moved to Houston with his dad, but he decided he didn't want to stay and quickly moved on back to North Carolina.

This was for the best, as not long after, his father found himself in trouble again with the law, and this time he was busted for dealing drugs. Garland spent the next several years in prison where Andy made the trek to visit him once a month. Upon his release, Andy visited him, visited his father in Houston for weeks during summer break. Garland often asked Andy to move in with him permanently, but Andy wasn't interested in this as he wanted to be with his friends back on the

East Coast. During these summer visits with his dad, Andy worked the door at Dream Street, a club managed by his father to earn some extra cash. Andy attended Campbell University in North Carolina for a few semesters, however driven by a desire to connect back with his father and perhaps seeing more opportunities out there, he headed out to Houston in early June of 1990. He began working at a gold's gym, enrolled at the University of Houston, and was due to start classes in early September. Over tragedy would strike before that would ever happen. In early August, Andy, along with a friend, decided to catch up at one of their usual night spots, popular place called the Yucatan Liquor Stand.

In that particular night, one of Andy's buddies brought a lot. along a girl he was seeing, and she, in turn, introduced her friend, and this friend was Cheryl Henry. And from their first encounter, both Cheryl and Andy were feeling the butterflies. Cheryl didn't usually get worked up over boys, yet here she was utterly enamored with Andy. Her sister had never seen her so blissfully happy. Andy too fell hard, and the connection was instant. They were inseparable, each declaring the other as the one. Their bond grew fast and was seemingly unbreakable. On the night of August 22nd, the couple in love headed out on the town on a double date with Cheryl's younger sister Shane

and her boyfriend. They hit up Bayou Mamas, a nightclub right in the heart of Houston on South Gessner Road. They sip some cocktails and shared a few laughs. Shane vividly remembers the affectionate exchanges between her sister and Andy, playfully teased. teasing them and telling them to go get a room. And at around 11.30 p.m., they did exactly that. At least sort of. After leaving the club, Cheryl and Andy set it out for a secluded lover's lane out in West Houston, popular rendezvous spot for young couples seeking some cheap privacy.

But after that night, well, neither of them would ever be seen alive again. Shane, who often drove her sister to work, stopped by her mother's house the following morning to pick Cheryl up, only to find no trace of her. Assuming she had simply stayed with Andy and had forgotten to let her know, the Shane continued on with her day, brushing aside any sort of concern. But as the hour slipped away, the problems kept adding up. And Cheryl failed to arrive at work altogether, which was very unlike her. And then no one could reach Andy, so by 5 p.m. on August 23rd, Cheryl's family reported her as missing to the Houston PD. Around that exact same time, a Cisco food security guard in the area of that lover's lane

found Andy's White Honda Civic, abandoned in an isolated cul-de-sac. Initially, that security guard was an alarm, but when the car was still sitting there at APM when he made his neck set around, he felt the need to investigate a bit further. As he approached, he noticed the windows were rolled down, which, a little. allowed him to get a clearer look inside. And there he saw the key still sitting in the ignition, and the seats fully reclined. It scattered on the passenger's side floor with Cheryl's shoes and her purse.

But what really grabbed his attention was what appeared to be some fresh bloodstains inside the vehicle. At that point, the guard contacted the police. After phoning them, he then decided to phone a number found in the purse. That number just happened to belong to Cheryl's mother Barbara. And so she rushed the wooded area, arriving long before the cops did. When police arrived upon checking the license plate, they learned that the vehicle belonged to Andy, knowing the couple hadn't been seen since last night. They knew they had a problem on their hands.

Officers armed with canines commenced a thorough search of the area, Barbara was never far behind. It was just before midnight on August 23rd when a cadaver dog led them to an utterly gruesome discovery. and it was Cheryl's body around 200 yards away from Andy's car. Her death was so brutally violent that officers had to restrain her mother, shielding them from the horrific sight. Nearby, another unsettling discovery awaited. The killer had meticulously laid out Andy's golf clubs and balls from his trunk,

forming a trail that pointed directly to Cheryl's location. The girl was found face down, naked, in cover with together. decaying cedar fence boards. Her clothing had been savagely cut away, her underwear stuffed into the pocket of her jeans. Her hands were bound heavily behind her back with hemp rope, and her throat had been slashed three times. Evidence of SA was confirmed with DNA samples collected from her remains. The golf clubs and balls weren't the only unusual piece of evidence investigators found at the crime scene. As suspended from a tree above Cheryl's body were four partially deflated balloons, and lying beside her was a crisp $20 bill. It appeared where the killer had enjoyed his time out

there, setting up a macabre scene, the likes of which these officers had never encountered. He was toying with them. I'm concealing it, but not enough that you cannot find her. In other words, I want him to be found. The search for Andy was called off because it was just too dark, but it resumed at first light the following morning. After nearly ten hours, they found him, found to a tree, 75 yards away from his girlfriend. And his throat had been cut so deep that he was nearly decapitated. Unlike Cheryl, Andy was discovered clothed, with his watch and money untouched. The killer's motive was clearly aimed at the victims, not their possessions, but the investigation begged the question.

question, why did the murderer provide clues to Cheryl's whereabouts, yet none for Andy's? Examining the crime scene further, investigators believe that Andy willingly allowed his killer to tie him to that tree, perhaps by the threat of a gun. It was determined that the girl had been killed first, and she put up a fierce fight. That means that Andy was forced to endure the horror of hearing Cheryl's screams. Perhaps he thought they would get out of it at first if they just obey But then he had to witness her murder, fully aware that he faced the same fate, at that point completely powerless to intervene. And their families and the town were devastated.

The worst part of it all was that they didn't have any leads whatsoever, at least not back in 1990. At that time, DNA testing was in its infancy. Introduced only five years earlier in 1985, it was not yet a common tool in criminal investigations. For the DNA sample collected from Cheryl's body, even to be analyzed, permission had to be explicitly granted. By September of 1990, a $10,000 reward was announced for any information that could lead to the arrest of the perpetrator. Despite investigators' relentless pursuit of every lead, fairly quickly, months turned to years without any answers. It wasn't until 2001, 11 years after the crime that a significant development emerged. In that year, the Houston Police Department received a letter, claiming to have information

about the murders, but they weren't looking to just be a good Samaritan and help solve the case. They were demanding $100,000 in exchange for the info. The public only learned of this letter three years later in 2004. A handwritten note read, HPD, if you want to know who killed C. Henry plus A. A. A.kinson, it will cost you $100,000. reply Houston Chronicle personal column Monday 312 only a lawyer will be hired to make sure you play straight postmarked March 1st of 2001 a letter arrived at the police station early that month and the police replied with an ad saying we do want to know what you know about Henry and Atkinson

they included a contact number hoping for a response yet despite their efforts no one reached out And was this merely a cruel hoax, an attempt at a cash grab? I mean, why weighed over a decade to come forward if the sender truly had valuable information? In a desperate bid for leads, the police finally released the letter to the public in 2004, hoping someone might recognize something crucial. During the investigation up to this point, the several potential suspects were identified, however each was found innocent through DNA testing, and the letter never led anywhere.

Then in 2007, all samples were retested, marking a very pivotal moment in a case that had long gone cold. As the retest revealed that DNA evidence from semen found in Cheryl's body, actually matched DNA collected in the unsolved assault of a Houston exotic dancer. With DNA testing expensive and in its infancy, it would take 17 years before that sample was run. It turned out to be a match to the lover's lane killer. And this assault, it had occurred just two months prior to the murders of Cheryl and Andy

right around the time they first met. The victim, an employee at Gigi's nightclub in Houston, left work around 2 a.m. on June 20th of 1990. He headed to her boyfriend's house in northwest Houston. With her boyfriend Randy was a pilot away traveling, she was all alone. She had a late dinner in the living room, unaware that likely an intruder was upstairs the entire time waiting for their moment. This man eventually emerged wearing a black fishnet stocking over his head, waving a long-barreled handgun. The woman froze in fear, and this guy demanded to know where Randy was, claiming that he owed him money. There was a brief pause, and then the intruder attacked.

He grabbed her and wrapped her wrists tight with duct tape, and then pulled $200 from her purse, her pay for working that night, and stuffed it in his pocket. He then blindfolded and gagged her and placed a pillowcase over her head and threw her onto the bed. And taunting her, he repeatedly cocked and uncocked the gun, acting like he was about to shoot her over and over again while he committed his heinous act.

Another game, just like the golf clubs and balloons, from the lover's lane case. Before leaving, he ordered her to remain on the floor and disconnected the foam. Despite wearing the stocking over his head, the victim provided a detailed description. The attacker was described as a white male in his late 20s to mid-30s,

about six feet tall and weighing 180 pounds, black hair and an olive complexion. He wore black gloves, a dark shirt and dark pants, possibly a uniform of some sort, His stance was described as very forceful, military-like. The victim helped generate this sketch of her attacker, which was also aged. Something else that stood out? He had a very forceful military-type stance about himself.

Although DNA was collected, testing was too new and costly, delaying the analysis for 17 years, only to find it matched the DNA found on Cheryl. The similarities in each case raise many questions. Could Cheryl and Andy have known their killer as it appeared in the case of the exotic dancer that the perpetrator knew Randy, the boyfriend? Authorities speculated that the suspect likely frequented or worked at a local strip club.

And when re-interviewed, the female victim actually disclosed that she had previously worked for Andy's father at the club that he managed. So, was that just a coincidence? or was somebody perhaps out for revenge? In May of 2008, a police released a composite sketch of the perpetrator based on the victim's description, aged to reflect how the attacker might look now. Yet despite these efforts, his identity still remains elusive.

The DNA, which links one individual to both crimes, has not matched any profiles in any national databases or any of the 23-Me type places either. It might be a matter of time before that happens, but also the 34 years have passed, which is a long time. Today, the case remains unsolved, and the killer is still at large, and what have they been up to since then and how was their life gone? I'm more bothered with just knowing what happened, who did it. I'm curious of what this person's been doing all their life, how they've been able to live with it every day. And fast forward two years after the infamous Lovers Lane murders to the night of August 4th of 1992.

And Tammy Breckenridge, a 23-year-old waitress, vanished after leaving the Men's Club in Houston at around 1 a.m. The Men's Club was only a short distance from Bayou Mamas. And Tammy had been last seen talking to the security guard at the club. Unfortunately, though, to this day, she's never been found in no red. for her abduction and likely murder has been made. Worth noting is that many other young women have also disappeared in Harris County, many in the early 90s, and they've never been found. Several of them were in their early 20s with blonde or brown hair.

They were roughly the same height and the same weight, and all vanished in the early hours of the morning. While Houston is a large area, and it is possible they aren't related, you also can't deny that perhaps they are. Maybe there is a serial killer out there that's yet to have even been identified as a serial killer. Today, Cheryl and Andy's families remain tormented by all the unanswered questions in their case. While recent breakthroughs and familial DNA have illuminated countless cold cases across Houston and beyond, they've yet to cast light on the mystery of Cheryl and Andy's murders.

So it's hard when people ask us if there's anything new, because for 33 years there hasn't been. been anything new. But somewhere out there, somebody holds the key to unraveling this sinister secret. The senseless and brutal act against Cheryl and Andy remains one of Texas's most infamous and mysterious murder cases, and it is just one of many other unsolved lovers lane slings. And so, you'd be careful out there. So that's it for this week's episode of Everytown, and I hope you all enjoyed it. Remember to come back next week for another episode.

but with scary, strange, and mysterious stories, because you never know. Maybe your town will be next.