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Authorities have apprehended a suspect in connection with the notorious “Lovers’ Lane” cold case murders, a tragic event that took place over 30 years ago in Texas. The victims, a young couple, were discovered lifeless inside a vehicle.
Floyd William Parrott, now 64, faces capital murder charges for the violent deaths of 22-year-olds Garland “Andy” Atkinson and Cheryl Henry. This development emerged after law enforcement revisited an earlier tip regarding the case, as stated by the Harris County District Attorney’s Office in an official announcement.
Parrott was detained in Lincoln, Nebraska, on Wednesday by a joint effort of the Houston Police Department and the FBI. He is currently awaiting transfer to Harris County for further legal proceedings.
In their investigation of a lead in late 2025, authorities uncovered a 1996 sexual assault case implicating Parrott. By entering DNA evidence from that case into the FBI’s CODIS database, they linked it to another unresolved sexual assault case, as well as DNA collected during Henry’s autopsy, according to a criminal complaint reviewed by Fox News Digital.
While investigating the tip in late-2025, authorities uncovered a sexual assault case from 1996 in which Parrott was the suspect. After uploading the DNA from the 1996 case into the FBI’s CODIS database, investigators were able to match the sample to another unsolved sexual assault case, along with DNA found during Henry’s autopsy, according to a criminal complaint obtained by Fox News Digital.
The bodies of Atkinson and Henry were discovered on Aug. 23, 1990 by a security guard who noticed a vehicle that had been stationary “over a period of time” while conducting a routine patrol, according to the Houston Police Department (HPD).
Cheryl Henry, 22, was found dead inside a parked car in Houston, Texas on Aug. 23, 1990, according to the Houston Police Department. (James Nielsen/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
Garland “Andy” Atkinson, 22, was found dead tied up next to a tree in Houston, Texas on Aug. 23, 1990, according to the Houston Police Department. (Houston Police Department)
As the security guard approached, he noticed an unresponsive female inside the vehicle.
Police were called to the scene, subsequently finding an unresponsive man nearby.
A Crimestoppers poster from 1990 for Cheryl Henry and Andy Atkinson who were killed in the “Lover’s Lane Murders” in August 1990, Wednesday, May 14, 2008, in Houston. (James Nielsen/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
A 2008 news release revealed the pair had died at the scene after being stabbed in the throat.
At the time, police said Atkinson had been found tied up next to a tree, with Henry being located approximately 100 yards away.
An autopsy report later indicated Henry had been sexually assaulted.
For 36 years, the case remained unsolved, with authorities circulating a hand-drawn composite image of the potential suspect years after the murders.
Authorities previously circulated a hand-drawn composite image of the potential suspect in 2008. (Houston Police Department)
Additional details regarding how investigators linked Parrott to the killings were not immediately made clear.
“One of Houston’s most haunting and infamous cold cases has weighed on the Henry and Atkinson families, as well as our community for more than three decades,” District Attorney Sean Teare said in a statement. “Our prosecutors, working with the HPD and FBI, have pursued this investigation with relentless and dogged determination.”
“They have worked hundreds of leads, facing dead ends and plenty of frustration. But, they never gave up on Cheryl and Andy. Thank you to all investigators who have touched this case. Your perseverance has delivered something two families long deserved: progress and hope. Today is a good day.”
The Houston Police Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.