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A key suspect in Houston’s infamous “Lovers’ Lane murders” has passed away in custody just weeks after being apprehended for the chilling double homicide that remained unsolved for 36 years.
Floyd William Parrott, aged 64, was discovered unresponsive in his prison cell in Nebraska on Tuesday. He was awaiting extradition to Texas, where he faced charges for the 1990 brutal killings of Cheryl Henry, 22, and Andy Atkinson, 21. The young couple’s throats were slashed in a crime that shocked the community.
The cause of Parrott’s death is currently under investigation, but preliminary indications suggest it may have been a suicide, according to Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare, as reported by KHOU.
Parrott was arrested in Lincoln, Nebraska, on March 25, finally bringing a breakthrough in the haunting cold case that had left a lasting scar on the Houston area.
While Texas prosecutors express disappointment at the missed opportunity to present their evidence in court, they continue to pursue the case. Additionally, they are investigating another cold case that may have connections to Parrott.
“We ache for Andy’s and Cheryl’s families who were denied their day in court. Our anger for what Parrott took from them is matched only by our determination to keep going,” Samantha Knecht, division chief prosecutor of the Harris County District Attorney’s Office’s cold case division, said in a statement.
“Yes, we are still working. Parrott’s death does not erase his crimes or end our motivation. It does not bring comfort to the people he hurt. Which is why we are in Louisiana right now seeking to close a cold case linked to Parrott. His survivors deserve accountability.”
Henry and Atkinson had driven to a then-remote road known as “Lovers’ Lane” in West Houston after a night out in a club on Aug. 22, 1990. Their bodies were found near their car by a security guard the next day.
Cheryl had been sexually assaulted and her throat had been sliced open, according to investigators. Atkinson was found nearby tied to a tree, and his neck had been cut so deeply that he was nearly decapitated, officials said.
It became “one of Houston’s most haunting and infamous cold cases,” Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said after announcing Parrot’s arrest last month.
Parrot was arrested after detectives managed to get a hit on DNA from the slayings matching a sample Parrott once submitted when accused of a sex assault that he insisted was consensual, according to court records obtained by KHOU.