The Deck - Rebecca Harvey & Steven Hendricks (Queen of Clubs & 8 of Hearts, Indiana)

Episode Date: February 23, 2022

Our cards this week are Rebecca Harvey and Steven Hendricks, the Queen of Clubs and the 8 of Hearts from Indiana.Rebecca Harvey, an 18-year-old with plans to marry her boyfriend Steven Hendricks, was found dead in a house fire in rural southern Indiana in 1988. Investigators said she was doused with gasoline and set on fire before her killer took off. Steven Hendricks hasn’t been seen since. If you have any information about the murder of Rebecca Harvey or the disappearance of Steven Hendricks...you’re asked to call the Indiana State Police Jasper Post at 812-482-1444. To learn more about The Deck, visit www.thedeckpodcast.com. To apply for the Cold Case Playing Cards grant through Season of Justice, visit www.seasonofjustice.org

Our cards this week are Rebecca Harvey and Stephen Hendrix, the Queen of Clubs, and the Eight of Hearts from Indiana. In this episode, I'm going to tell you everything our reporting team could find out about Rebecca's horrific death in 1988, and how it's connected to Stephen, who is still missing today. For years, there hasn't been much out there on Rebecca's murder or Stephen's disappearance. That's because their case is a lesser known unsolved mystery from right here in my home state of Indiana.

But our team went right to the lead investigator on the case to learn more. More than 30 years later, the case continues to baffle law enforcement and everyone who's asking the question, what really happened to Rebecca Harvey and Stephen Hendrix? I'm Ashley Flowers, and this is The Deck. September 3, 1988 had been a busy day for Jackie and Carol Arnold. The couple had taken a road trip to and from the Indianapolis airport that afternoon to pick up a family member. That trip is about a two hour drive southwest to their home in Washington, Indiana, which

is this small town in Davies County. When they got to their house that evening on Oak Grove Road, nothing out of the ordinary was going on. The Arnold's lived on the outskirts of their small town and a typical night there was quiet. They went to bed, and like every other night before, didn't hear a thing stir. That is, until around three in the morning. That's when Mr. Arnold woke up to something extremely unusual for the neighborhood, a strong smell of smoke. The smoke wasn't in their house, it was coming from outside, so he peaked out a window and that's when he saw it. The neighbor's house was on fire.

Almost the entire structure was engulfed in flames, to the point that there were flames shooting out from every direction, the roof, the windows, everywhere. Without even thinking, Mr. Arnold grabbed the phone and dialed the local fire department. In a matter of minutes, several volunteer firefighters responded to the scene. Some of them even drove up in their personal cars. They started fighting the blaze on the outside and called for more backup. As the firefighters quickly worked to knock down the flames, the Arnold were left to help lessly look on from next door, terrified. With each piece of the house that collapsed, they worried that the young couple who lived

inside hadn't made it out. Jackie and Carol knew that the vehicle parked out front belonged to a young man who lived there with his girlfriend. They hoped the couple may be stayed out late or were just out of town, but their hopes were dashed when not long after the firefighters tamed the blaze, a coroner's van pulled up to the burned house. According to Indiana police records, when the firefighters made their way through the small house, they hollered for anyone alive inside to come out, but no one responded. When they'd reached a bedroom, they found the burned remains of a single human body on what was left of a bed.

Now it was clear, just from looking at it, that the remains were those of a person, but because they had been burned so badly, no one could tell right away whether the body was that of a woman or a man. Reports stated it appeared from burn patterns in the room that the person had been lying on top of the bed and likely never moved even as the house caught on fire, almost as if they'd been asleep the whole time and didn't even know that the house had started to burn. Before removing anything, the Davies County Sheriff's Department and Indiana State Police arrived and quickly secured the scene and started investigating.

The first thing they needed to do was ID the body, but that would take a few days for the coroner to confirm, so in the meantime, detectives started talking with the neighbors. They wanted to get a better idea of who lived in the house, and that's where the Arnold's became helpful. The couple told detectives that a 22-year-old man named Steven Hendrix had been renting the house in just a week before the fire his girlfriend, a woman named Rebecca Harvey, had moved in.

They confirmed for investigators that it was Steven's car that was parked out front of the scorched house. And the Arnold said they'd seen Steven and Rebecca coming and going regularly, but never spent much time with them. They described Rebecca as being several years younger than Stephen and said, overall the couple was nice, at least from the limited interactions they'd had. Unfortunately, the night of the fire, the Arnold's told police they didn't see much action happening at Stephen's house in between the time when they'd gotten home from the airport

and before they went to bed. But what little info the Arnold's did give investigators set detectives off on a good start. They quickly learned that Stephen worked as a local mechanic in town. An 18-year-old Rebecca had recently dropped out of high school to live with him. With this information in hand, authorities had to wait for the coroner's office to identify who the body in the house belonged to. Was it Stephen or Rebecca or someone else? Eventually, law enforcement got medical records and dental impressions for Stephen and Rebecca, and those were compared to the burned remains.

The results confirmed that the body belonged to Rebecca. The reason police were so focused on finding out who the victim was, was because initial autopsy and evidence findings indicated that she had been intentionally set on fire. Traces of gasoline were found inside the house, particularly in the bedroom. That detail told investigators all they needed to know. They weren't just dealing with an accidental fire. They were dealing with murder. Now, the two glaring questions they needed to answer were, who did it? And most importantly, where was Stephen Hendrix? As authorities picked and shuffled through the charred remains of Stephen's rental house

on Oak Grove Road, they started finding more clues, and one thing became very clear. The fire that eventually engulfed the whole structure had started in the bedroom where Rebecca's body had been found. Fire marshals found high concentrations of gasoline residues splashed all around the rail. According to police records, the county corner who conducted Rebecca's autopsy wasn't able to determine if she died before the fire started. And it's not super clear because investigators won't release the full autopsy report, but

I guess there wasn't enough of Rebecca's lungs left for the coroner to determine if she inhaled any smoke before dying, or if she was already dead before the fire started. Our reporter Emily interviewed Indiana State Police Sergeant Brock Werny, who said that he and the other investigators who have worked on this case over the years have always contemplated the terrible thought that maybe Rebecca burned alive because she was restrained or incapacitated somehow on the bed. But Sergeant Werny is actually one of a handful of investigators who doesn't believe that, though. He thinks Rebecca was killed prior to the fire starting. He says the position of her remains indicated she was lying on the bed motionless when she

was set on fire. It doesn't say she was alive, she could have been, this is just an assumption, I would say she was dead, and that's just based off if the house is on fire And she's alive and she can get out. She probably would have got out And I don't think a suspect would hold somebody down until they burn you know, I mean they would be also be burnt So my assumption is that she was dead before the fire started Our team did find some rumors out there online that suggest Rebecca might have been tied to the bed while she was being burned, but Sergeant Werny said this isn't true. He couldn't really share more from his case file

about that, but all he said was it's just not true. So the rumors are not being tied to the bed or false? I didn't see anything about her and her forebearing tied to the bed. Unfortunately, whether or not Rebecca was alive or dead before being set on fire is just not something anyone but her killer can know. All police were sure of at the time was that Rebecca's death was no accident. Naturally, their next move was to figure out where Stephen was. Firefighters found no trace of him in the house, but his car was left parked out front, his personal belongings like his wallet and keys were ultimately found in the house.

That told investigators he either walked away from the crime scene, or he got a ride, or he was never there at all. But just the fact that Steven was Rebecca's boyfriend and the only other person known to live in the house made him authorities prime suspect. Please wondered if there was anything in the couple's history or relationship that could have led him to kill her in flee. Sometimes people say they were a happy couple I guess and then they're something that say

that they were on and off. One time they'd be happy and one time they would be yelling at each other. The problem was everyone detectives spoke with friends, family, the Arnold's. They all said that Steven and Rebecca really seemed to love one another. In fact, they weren't even just girlfriend and boyfriend. They were engaged. It was kind of low key, but together they had been working hard to save up for their wedding. Steven worked on cars at a place in Washington called Cranie's Body Shop, which is still in business today, and Rebecca worked as a waitress at a local restaurant called Pazzi's Pizza. Some of her friends told police back in 1988 that she had even contemplated going back

to high school to finish her senior year and get her diploma. In the Arnold's told police that on several occasions, they'd gotten the impression from Steven that he really encouraged Rebecca to go back and graduate. Emily tried to contact several of Rebecca's old classmates and friends about their relationship, and even just to learn more about Rebecca in general, but no one responded. Records indicate that her parents died years ago,

and little else is known about her, other than what I've told you. In 88, police knew just as much info, and so they were left asking the question, if Steven and Rebecca had a wedding date on the horizon and a happy future ahead of them, then why would he kill her? That's a question that investigators have never been able to find the answer to, because they have never been able to find the answer to, because they have never been able to find Stephen. Today, he's listed as a missing person.

Investigators back in 1988 interviewed his boss at the Autobotty shop in Washington right after the fire, and that guy told the cops that it was truly bizarre Stephen never showed up to work again after the incident. He was one of the best employees Cranie's body shop had at the time. He was a very good worker, I know that for them. I really didn't report that in here because I think Mr. Cranie at one time, when he hired him or they went in and read him, said he was a good worker. Mr. Cranie told police that Stephen not returning to work was odd because he'd left thousands

of dollars worth of personal mechanics tools inside the shop. For a long time, news publications that have covered this case reported conflicting information about whether or not Stephen collected his paycheck from his work before the fire. Some news reporters from that time said that Stephen did not pick up his last paycheck. But Sergeant Werney took a fresh look at the investigative reports, specifically for this show, and he said that Stephen did, in fact, pick up his paycheck a fresh look at the investigative reports, specifically for this show, and he said that Steven did, in fact, pick up his paycheck and cashed at the local IgA the afternoon before the fire.

So you could assume if Steven was planning to murder Rebecca and take off and start a new life that he might have used that paycheck to get ahead start. But then why wouldn't he take his valuable mechanics tools with him that he could, I don't know, sell or pawn off to help with his getaway? And why would he leave his wallet behind? It doesn't make sense. The last known sighting of Stephen was after he cast his paycheck, just a few hours before the Arnold's woke up to see his house on fire.

A friend of his was at the Oak Grove Road House with Stephen late in the afternoon on September 3rd. Police interviewed that friend not long after the crime and he told investigators that Stephen was helping him work on his truck, which had overheated earlier that day. The guy told police that everything seemed normal with Stephen when he was there and that Rebecca was gone at the time

working at Potsy's pizza. No one has heard from or seen Stephen Hendrix since that moment. That's the hardest part of this case is he hasn't been located, so is he somebody that was involved or is it somebody else involved that took him somewhere else? That's the unknown right now, and that's probably the biggest question they had back then. It's probably still the biggest question we have today is where he's at. Never having a solid lead on where their prime suspect went, and no forensic evidence to push Rebecca's murder case forward caused the investigation to grind to a halt. There's just so much unknowns, I think, in this case.

So some people out there have a make assumptions to the case and don't know the facts. And that's all the rumors are getting going around, you know, especially since Stevens miss him, Hendrick. So with him, it's never been found. There's a lot of scenarios I could have took place. You know, that sends people into starting rumors. A bizarre theory that was floated on social media a few years back indicated Stephen was killed the same night as Rebecca, and his body was dumped in Oak Grove Cemetery, not far from the original crime scene. Police took this tip so seriously that they taped off the cemetery and started to dig.

It's my believed body to be, I don't remember whose body if it was Hendrix or somebody else's, but we just looked into that area, nothing was located. The number of semi-credible tips dwindled as the case got older and colder. Police struggled to get to the bottom of who killed Rebecca and where Stephen was. Cold case investigators turned to re-examining Stephen's life more closely, hoping it would reveal more clues.

Learning more about Rebecca and Stephen's past was essential for us to put this episode together. Law enforcement is limited to what detectives working on the case now can say on the record, but that's why we hired the team to dig deeper. Emily interviewed Stephen Hendrix younger sister, a woman named Felicia, to learn more about him and his past both before and while he was dating Rebecca. Felicia didn't want to be recorded, but she says for years she felt something terrible

happened to her older brother the night Rebecca was murdered. Felicia says Stephen was funny, caring and protective of her, and anyone else he loved, including Rebecca. He enjoyed writing motorcycles, fixing cars, and getting together with family when he could. Growing up, Felicia and Steven were tight, and on a weekly basis either went to dinner or the movies and sometimes went on camping trips. Felicia says that three days before the fire, she met Rebecca over the phone. She'd been chatting with her brother and said it was great to hear about how happy and

excited he was to get married. Felicia says Rebecca sounded like a really sweet girl and she wishes she could have met her future sister-in-law in person. But for all his good qualities and bright future, Steven did have his share of trouble though. He didn't have a significant criminal history by any means, but according to a statement Steven's boss gave police, Steven had actually been arrested just one town over five months before the fire. Sergeant Werny said that police arrested Stephen for battery, criminal mischief, and criminal recklessness in late spring of 1988.

The charges were fairly minor, and according to county jail records, Stephen only served 45 days in jail before being released on the morning of May 26, 1988. Here's the thing though, Stevens' arrest wasn't because he got out of control with Rebecca or any kind of domestic violence incident. According to Sergeant Werney, Stephen was arrested for taking a baseball bat to the car of one of Rebecca's ex-boyfriends while the ex-boyfriend was in a car. As far as we could find, this information has never been reported in detail before, and what he told us about the ex really peaked my interest.

Sergeant Werny said at one point in time this ex-boyfriend who Stephen attacked was someone investigators did look at pretty hard. There was other persons of interest, of course, ex-boyfriends to her, I think, were persons of interest. Were they ever named as suspects? No, I guess everybody's suspects, depends on how you put that, you know what I mean? So yeah, were they suspects, yeah, they were suspects, but they were interviewed and obviously nothing came out of those interviews where they're not in custody, you know what I mean, they were locked up for it. So, but are they still suspects? Yeah, I guess anybody still suspect in this case because we don't have the answers

yet. The rumor at the time was that Rebecca's ex was overheard in a local store stating that if he saw Rebecca and Stephen together, he would kill them both. As promising as this lead seemed, after several interviews with locals who reported the rumor, police determined someone made the whole story up. Everybody was interviewed at the time, all family members. I mean, I saw the list, people being interviewed. It's huge. They did a very good investigation.

They did this. I mean, they interviewed everybody. Everybody knew anything, friends, to family, to neighbors, to co-workers. Everybody was interviewed and asked questions. On top of that, Rebecca's ex provided police with an alibi. According to reports, he was said to be at a friend's house the night of the fire, and he had some buddies who corroborated his story. But there never seemed to be any additional follow-up by police, that the ex-boyfriend provided proof that he was at the friend's house the whole night. What's worse, police said that that ex-boyfriend has since died, so who knows if he took any secrets to the grave with him. According to Sergeant Werny, two other suspects emerged over the years that felt like they could be solid leads. Police say these suspects were two men from Indianapolis who were seen in the town of Washington on September 4th and 5th of 1988. They had been hired to do some electrical

work at Potsy's Pizza, the same restaurant where Rebecca worked. While on shift the night of September 4th, the bartender at the restaurant saw these two men come in, and after a while, the guys started chatting her up. According to her transcript in Sergeant Warnie's case file, the bartender mentioned the men indicated they wanted to buy some cocaine while they were in town. The strangers also stated that they didn't have a place to stay while they were there, so they tried to convince the bartender to let them crash with her. The bartender said that the guys wouldn't let up, so finally she told them that they

could crash at her place, but she intentionally gave them a wrong address to throw them off, which is like such a great crime junkie move on her part. But according to her interview with police, though, these two guys somehow still figured out where she lived. When she got home from work that night, which was technically early in the morning September 5th, the men were at her kitchen table. Her boyfriend's brother had let them inside. The bartender told police that she sent these guys packing into the darkness in the direction

of Oak Grove Road, and that would have been around the same time of mourning that Rebecca Harvey was murdered. Now, I don't know if the police ever tracked these guys down and interviewed them or ever got alibis for them. But from what Sergeant Worry said, the men reportedly just drove around the rest of the night and mourning in Washington. So maybe the cops did interview them, maybe they just relied on eyewitness sightings,

I'm not really sure. But either way, Sergeant Werny said they could never come up with a motive for why these men would have been involved in killing Rebecca and abducting or killing Stephen. I mean, I guess you could venture and say robbery or possibly it was sexually motivated, but again, why take Stephen? Why burn the house and only

douse Rebecca with gasoline? But just the detail that these guys were working at Potsy's pizza, the same day as the crime is super interesting to me. Unfortunately, the police could never come up with enough evidence or witness testimony to connect these men or anyone else to the case. And that's what the problem has always been and might always be with this case if we keep looking where we've already looked. The reality is the key people that have been investigated

are either missing or dead. The ex-boyfriend deceased, the shady guys from Indianapolis confirmed dead. Steven hasn't been seen in 33 years. So possibly he's dead too. Who did it we don't know? Is Steve dead or did somebody else kill him and take him out first?

Do you know what I mean? And then go to the house. I mean, just a lot of unknowns. Greed to this report, we still don't know either way. And that's just making a guess on my part. We don't know whether he's a suspect or a victim, obviously because he's missing can't be interviewed. Make sure you assume something happened to him,

but at the same time, as a detective, you never want to assume anything because if you assume that, and actually you know he shows up somewhere, just because he changed identities or he started a new bank account in a fake name. So I've learned in this job and never do assume anything. Anything can happen.

Despite these setbacks, Indiana state police think there are still people out there who know exactly what happened to Rebecca Harvey and Stephen Hendrix. And those people have to come forward to even begin to move this case forward. We never lose hope. We always hope you can solve it, but the longer the years go by the harder it is to solve a case forward. We never lose hope. You always hope you can solve it, but the longer the years go by, the harder it is to solve a case like this. Somebody noticed something out there, I would say in this case, whether Steven's still alive and maybe somebody's talked to him

and he's admitted to killing somebody and lives in another state, or if an ex-boyfriend at this point has told anybody that they admitted to anybody over the years that they did it. It's just anybody that would know any information just to come forward. It's been long enough.

That's what we hoped for. It's been long enough and the truth needs to come out. The family needs closure. If you have any information about the murder of Rebecca Harvey or the disappearance of Stephen Hendrix, you're asked to call the Indiana State Police Jasper Post at 812-482-1444. The Deck is an audio chuck production with theme music by Ryan Lewis. To learn more about the Deck and our advocacy work, visit thedeckpodcast.com. So what do you think Chuck, do you approve? Bye!