FBI Seeking Clues in Texas 'Killing Fields' Murders

The FBI and local police are seeking clues in the unsolved murders of four women whose bodies were discovered in a remote wooded field in a small Texas town between Houston and Galveston.


Video Transcript

Richard Rennison, special agent, FBI Houston: This case is known as the Calder Road killings, or the Killing Fields.

There were four victims found throughout the years.

Title: Between 1984 and 1991, the bodies of four women were discovered in a remote wooded field in League City, Texas, a small town between Houston and Galveston.

Title: Heidi Fye and Laura Miller were missing for months before their bodies were found and identified in 1984 and 1986, respectively.

Title: The bodies of two more women were discovered in the field in 1986 and 1991.

Title: They were known as Jane Doe and Janet Doe until this year when they were identified through DNA analysis as Audrey Lee Cook and Donna Gonsoulin Prudhomme.

Title: The FBI and local police are hoping the women’s identities might help shed new light on the decades-old unsolved cases.

Rennison: The fact that the offender chose this area gives us a couple little tidbits of insight. It's such a remote, rural area. Somebody had to know about that place.

Rennison: What we’re looking for is some anomalies that exist between all four girls. If there’s one person that knew all the girls or one person that was seen with the girls, that, of course, would be a great lead for us. But anything that anybody in the public knows, anything no matter how small they think it is, we really want them to come forward because it may be very significant to us even though they think it’s just a small tidbit that doesn’t have any meaning.

Title: Laura Miller was 16 when she disappeared in 1984. Her father has dedicated his life to finding justice and helping others in his situation.

Tim Miller: I think about Laura every day. I miss her and it's always going to be that empty plate at the dinner table. But you know her death wasn't in vain. It wasn’t in vain. I'm not going to say it still isn't difficult.

Miller: I would go out there where Laura's body was found, you know, and walk up to her cross. I put my hand on her cross and I would say Laura, please don't hate your daddy, but I can't come out here anymore. I have to say goodbye and I have to put my life back together. And I would literally be walking away and I would hear this little voice saying, dad don't quit, please don't quit.

Miller: I’m going to fight to my dying breath to do what I can do to make sure whoever murdered Laura and the other girls justice is served.

Rennison: The fact that it hasn’t been solved doesn’t mean it’s not being worked and doesn't mean it’s not being worked diligently. It just means that we aren’t getting the breaks that we need at this point.

Rennison: We need to go further and find the killer and bring him to justice. And I think that would heal a lot of wounds in the community.

Title: Donna Gonsoulin Prudhomme was missing for more than 30 years before authorities determined the body recovered in 1991 was hers. Her sister found some comfort in finally knowing Donna’s fate.

Dianne Gonsoulin-Hastings: I was at work and one of the girls said Ms. Diana, your phone is going off. And when I went and looked at it I had two calls from my cousin. And then a text that said call ASAP. And when I called her, she said where are you, I said I’m at work. She said go outside.

Gonsoulin-Hastings: I said, okay I’m outside. And she said, Dianne, I just got off the phone with the Detective Tisdale from the League City Police Department. And I knew. I mean my knees fell out.

Gonsoulin-Hastings: Gina started to tell me they found her. I don’t want to know. I didn't want to know any of it. I was just relieved. I was relieved.

Gonsoulin-Hastings: She had a pretty tough life. She loved to shrimp and crab and fish on the banks of the Sabine River. She loved her children so much. The bottom line to all this is no one deserves to die like she did. No one.

Rennison: It’s very important for the public to know we have not given up. It may be labeled a cold case. That doesn’t mean it’s just sitting on the shelf not being worked. It’s being worked actively at FBI. And it's being actively worked at League City Police Department. And we have other resources from other agencies that are helping out. I want everybody to know that nobody has given up on this case. And I want the offender to know, if he’s watching, that we will come get you.

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