But right then, as I stood over this remote patch of earth, I felt a chill. Although her father, Tim Miller, noticed several similarities between Heide and Lauras disappearances, the authorities considered them utterly unrelated. Nevertheless, even they could not directly tie Robert to the heinous offenses, driving Tim to back off and the investigation to gradually move in another direction. I began to think, Why would he get upset over such a standard question?, He was cocky, and I was offended by his tone, Abel told me, revealing for the first time a flash of what I had been told by some officers was a hostile temper. Between the early 1970s and as recently as 2016, the bodies of 33 murder victims have been discovered in the area. One afternoon on the phone, he said to me, I dont know if you know this, but I had torn rotator cuffs at the time some of those girls turned up dead. Memorial site on Calder Road. The first body discovered in Calder Road Field (aka The Texas Killing Field) was 25-year-old Heide Fye, whose skull was found by a dog. Then someone else saw a pair of womens pants with a drawstring waist, which was discolored and nearly shredded from decomposition. But Mr. Abel doesnt want to come down here any more to answer them. One long-time suspect, Robert Abel, was fatally hit by a train in what may have been a suicide, despite being cleared by police and despite apologies from Mr Miller, for example, who'd thought him guilty for years. Abel denied that they had a physical encounter. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), He has been interviewed by detectives from neighboring towns. It was Robert Abel, the retired Nasa engineer, and he owned a ranch right next to the killing fields. These were bodies found on land next to mine. As for the Chroniclestory, he said, I didnt know anything about serial killers. In 1993, for over 12 hours, officers had searched his home for bodies and evidence using cadaver dogs to find evidence linking him to the murders. Or is he a victim of overzealous police work and outright hysteria? We get to hear the side of their families and how they coped with the trauma. Youtube/TexasEquuSearch100 Intelligent, methodical.sounds exactly like how a scientist would be described. Several young women were disappearing mysteriously. Was Robert Abel The Texas Fields Killer? let gads_event; Depending on whos counting, at least fifteen and perhaps as many as thirty young femalesall of whom resided in the fifty-mile stretch of coastal plain between Houston and Galvestonhave vanished or been brutally murdered since the early seventies. This story is from Texas Monthlys archives. He thus slowly realized that very few believed in his claims of innocence, especially as locals began avoiding him in public places as well. Before leaving, Paula told Bittner he needed to talk to Cindy Jacobs, the woman Abel had been married to for 41 days in 1989. Miller was the man who hadleft the threatening messages on Abels answering machine. More than 30 victims have been found since the 1970s and the land is infamously known as the Texas Killing Fields.. At the time of her disappearanceshe had last been seen walking from her parents home to use the telephone at a convenience storethe League City police had conducted a cursory investigation, and they came across no clues as to where she might have gone or who might have wanted to abduct her. Read More: William Reece: Who Were His Victims? Theres only one problem: They dont have enough evidence to arrest him. Such comments might have sounded incredible to Bittner and his fellow officers. For three decades, the marshy stretch off I-45 between Houston and Galveston kept turning up dead . Paula also said that she had seen several photos of nude women in his desk drawer at the house, and that Abel not only owned handguns but also carried one with him during the later months of 1991. He wouldnt answer any more questions, left the building, and later went to the mayor and complained about me. Hold it! one of the workers yelled, reaching down and pulling up the remnants of a purse. Youre the killer. The father of murdered Laura was for a time convinced that Abel was guilty of killing her. The League City killings appear to be the work of what the FBI literature calls an organized killer, someone who carefully plans his brutal acts. Netflix is now streaming a three-part docuseries on the murders, titledCrime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields. eventAction: 'view' Grant sensed he was being given a hint and conducted a search. In the sixties Abel was one of NASAs great young engineers, part of the team that was instrumental in designing the rocket that would put the Apollo astronauts into Earths orbit. But she never made it. Suspects: Robert Abel, the owner of Calder Field, was considered a suspect, along with an employee of his, Mark Stallings. By all accounts, Stardust Trailrides was an immediate success, drawing people from all over the Houston area, including a few couples who came to have their wedding conducted on horseback. Since the early 1970s, 33 bodies of murder victims have been found along the I-45 area. Police say the original investigations into these. It's owned by Robert Abel, a former NASA engineer who transformed part of the area into stables. 23:57 PST, Dec 6, 2022. Two years ago, FBI statistics showed Texas leading the nation in unsolved serial highway homicides. According to CBS News, the isolated nature of the spot makes it the perfect place for taking someone else's life . He suggested that Abel left the womens bodies on the pastureland because he knew theyd be ravaged by animals. Every day Bittner would sit behind his battleship-gray desk, flip through his case files, repeat to himself all the relevant details, and then stare at the autopsy photos, hoping that the dead women could tell tales. In the 1999 Texas Monthly feature, Robert Abel was painted as the lead suspect. Does Crime Scene: Texas Killing Fields portray events with accuracy? And remember, he had a new trail-rides business going. At that moment, with his back aching and his eyes squinting, he seemed like a kindly old man. More than 30 bodies have been found in the area between 1971 to 2006 leading to its very unceremonious moniker. We have left it as it was originally published, without updating, to maintain a clear historical record. The Crime Scene miniseries will . Just because no hard evidence was found during the search of his home doesnt mean hes exonerated., Not everyone working on the case is convinced that Abel is guilty. However, detectives reportedly suspected Robert only because of his proximity to the crime scene and his alleged aggressive personality experts had determined he was a perfect fit for the profile of a serial killer. window.googletag.pubads().addEventListener('slotOnload', function(event) { Abel led many of the trail rides himself over the property and through his leased land. I wish there was something I could do., He gave me another one of his long, lingering looks. I couldnt have picked a girl up. if(document.querySelector("#google_image_div")){ At one point in the 1990s, former Nasa engineer Robert Abel was a suspect in the Texas Killing Field murders. McCarthy used his speech in NYC to slam President Joe Biden for doing "nothing" to address the nation's financial crisis. The 25-acre patch of land in League City along Interstate Highway 45, between Houston and Galveston, is known as The Texas Killing Fields. Thats because while attempts to recover her remains as safely as possible were being made on February 2, 1986, local law enforcement came across a third body, which remained unidentified at the time. }); But Sales hit $250,000 in 1991, he says. But at least there was someone new for them to questiona retired NASA engineer who had been leasing land on one side of the 25-acre oil field for nearly a decade and who, in 1990, had bought eleven acres adjacent to the field to open Stardust Trailrides, a small horseback-riding business. window.adsContainer = {"position2":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Above_Next_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position3":{"code":"Article_Mobile_300x250_ATF_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position4":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position5":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle1_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position6":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle2_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position7":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle3_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position8":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle4_Rel","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position9":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle5_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position10":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle6_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position11":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle7_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position12":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle8_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position13":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle9_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position14":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle10_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position15":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle11_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250},"position16":{"code":"Article_Mobile_Middle12_Rel","max_width":320,"max_height":250}} Since all of the Killing Fields victims were killed by the same unknown killer, his confession may have only been a way to improve his prison rep with other inmates. He grieved until the day he succumbed to cancer. At the time, no one made the connection that she was last seen alive at the same convenience store where Heide Fye had last been seen. I wanted him to know that I would never forget what he had done, says Miller, who several times a week had been driving out to the site where Lauras body had been found, standing before a wooden cross he had erected there in her memory. A few construction workers, employees of Millers, were on hand to help, as were friends and even Millers ex-wife. }); Lets start here. Nearby were a dozen search dogs, including four trained to detect the scent of decomposing human flesh. The chilling discoveries have sparked fears that a serial killer or killers may be on the loose.. Four women were found dead between 1983-1991 and ex-Nasa engineer Robert Abel was among the . During one of our meetings, Abel loaned me a box of legal documents about the case and about himself. Leave them blank to get signed up. He may sound innocent enough, but he has a dark side. Bell was identified as a potential suspect as early as the 1970s after the League City Police Department and FBI became aware of his activities in the area. Speaking to Texas Monthly in 1999, Miller said: "There are many days when I think about driving over there, putting a gun to his head, and pulling the trigger. All of the victims were young, all of them were attractive, and we think all of them were sexually assaulted before they died.. More than 30 bodies have been found in the area between 1971 to 2006 leading to its very unceremonious moniker. Apocalypse Sow: Can Anything Stop the Feral Hog Invasion? Laura had been a straight-A student in elementary school in League City, but after she began to have seizures at age twelve, she grew depressed, made a couple of halfhearted suicide attempts, and started hanging out with a crowd of teenagers who used drugs. For a moment, the only sound was the wind lightly rustling the trees and the low growl of diesel trucks changing gears out on I-45. In June 1983 Abel moved from Houston into a pleasant middle-class neighborhood in League City. The majority of victims were girls and young women, aged between 12 and 25 years old. There have been few crimes more haunting in Texas than the killings of several young women who lived in towns located along the fifty-mile coastal stretch between Houston and Galveston. In 1999, Texas Monthly reported that a police detective in a sworn affidavit painted Abel as a "serial sexual offender," who displays the violent behavior seen in serial killers. Some refer to this stretch of the Gulf Freeway as a. The League City Police Department naturally wound up under increasing pressure to nab a culprit, and they came to believe they'd found one, courtesy of an FBI profile that matched a local: Robert. (Paula and Cindy would not be interviewed, but they have not retracted the sworn statements they gave Bittner.) Daniel Vaughn is the countrys first barbecue editor, and he has eaten more barbecue than you have. Neighbors liked Abel, though they were aware that he did not have much luck with relationships. Waco: American Apocalypse Doesnt Even Try. She was a . Thats where we need to dig.. ), The only thing that Bittner found justifying the search warrant was a collection of newspaper articles found about the investigation into the League City murders and one long Houston Chronicle story detailing the life of a serial killer. A photo of Heidi Fye in "Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields." The 1999 Texas Monthly feature, Robert Abel was painted as the lead suspect I stood over this patch. Leading to its very unceremonious moniker the building, and he owned ranch! Discovered in the area between 1971 to 2006 leading to its very unceremonious moniker address! 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