HOUSTON – A double murder case that went cold for 36 years has finally resulted in an arrest.
Houston police and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office announced Thursday that, thanks to a tip in the cold case file and DNA evidence, an arrest has been made, according to court records.
HPD and the FBI arrested Floyd William Parrott, 64, in Lincoln, Nebraska, on Wednesday. He’s accused of the brutal killings of Cheryl Henry, 22, and Andy Atkinson, 21, in 1990 in west Houston.
OUR FIRST REPORT: Capital murder charge filed in 1990 ‘Lovers’ Lane’ cold case nearly 36 years later
Henry and Atkinson had been dating. On the night before the murders, Aug. 22, 1990, Henry had been out drinking with her sister and Atkinson.
Her sister left, and Henry did not show up for work the next day. Concerned, her family filed a missing person report with HPD.
On Aug. 23, a security guard conducting a routine patrol near the 1300 block of Enclave Parkway spotted a white Honda Civic parked at the end of a cul-de-sac.
The car had not moved for several hours. The guard noticed a purse on the passenger-side floorboard containing Henry’s ID.
HPD officers responded and, in a nearby wooded area, discovered Henry’s body underneath wooden boards, “in what appeared to be an attempt to cover the body,” according to court records.
Nearly 200 yards away, officers found Atkinson’s body, which appeared to be sitting on the ground, propped against a tree. He had been tied to the tree.
Inside the vehicle, officers reported that the driver’s seat was fully reclined, the rubber floor mat was pushed out of position, and there was blood on the inside of the driver’s door near the handle. The key was still in the ignition.
Autopsies revealed that both victims were killed by sharp force injuries to the neck, possibly from a knife, according to records.
Investigators believe Parrott tied up and murdered Atkinson by cutting his throat. Then, they believe he tied up Henry, removed her underwear, left blood behind in the vehicle, raped her, and murdered her by cutting her throat as well, court records said.
The tip that cracked the case
Investigators received a tip identifying Parrott as a possible suspect.
While the exact timing of the tip is unclear, a homicide sergeant began investigating it in late 2025.
Using the name from the tip, the officer discovered a 1996 police report about a sexual assault in which Parrott was identified as the suspect, though he claimed the encounter was consensual.
The DNA from the 1996 case was recently added to the national DNA database CODIS, which matches DNA across local, state, and federal labs.
“There was a CODIS case-to-case match between the male profile in the 1996 case, where the defendant was the accused and admitted to the sexual contact, and the DNA recovered from swabs recovered in Cheryl Henry’s sexual assault examination at her autopsy,” investigators wrote in court records.
Another sexual assault case from June 1990 also produced a DNA match to Parrott, although he was unknown to that victim at the time, records show.
Victim’s sister reacts to arrest
KPRC 2’s Bryce Newberry reached out to Cheryl Henry’s sister, Shane, by phone.
Shane said Parrott is a total stranger and the news of his arrest has been overwhelming.
“It was very unexpected,” Shane Henry said. “It was a lot, and we’re still processing it, the whole family ... I still feel like it’s unreal. It’s hard to see that it’s real after 35 years of nothing.”
The family learned about Parrott’s arrest after being contacted by investigators on Wednesday.
Shane said she and Cheryl’s mother and Atkinson’s father passed away recently.
“It’s heartbreaking that they don’t get to have this day, but we know they’re with them and rejoicing in their own ways,” Shane Henry said, adding that the family had come to terms with it after so many years of being unsolved.
“We’re handing in there ... It’s very hard to comprehend that we got him,” Shane Henry said.
The Henry family released the following formal statement:
“Today is a bittersweet day for our family. Cheryl and Andy were truly incredible people—kind, loving, and with so much life ahead of them. After nearly 36 years, we never imagined this day would come, and we are overwhelmed with emotion.
We are deeply grateful to the Houston Police Department, the FBI, and the countless law enforcement professionals who never stopped working toward justice. We also want to thank our family and friends who have continued to pray, support us, and stand beside us through every year and every breakthrough.
We never gave up hope, and we thank God that a suspect is now in custody. We just wish our mother and Andy’s father would have lived to see this day. Cheryl’s mother, Barbara Craig, and Andy’s father, Garland Atkinson, passed away in 2024.
As we move forward in seeking justice for Cheryl and Andy, we kindly ask for privacy and continued prayers during this time."
Defendant’s criminal history
In May of 1988, Parrott was arrested and later put on probation for impersonating a peace officer in Harris County.
At that time, he provided a work address just over one mile from the “Lover’s Lane” murder scene. Early 1990s reports describe the area as remote and largely undeveloped.
In December 1988, Parrott was arrested for carrying a weapon, resulting in a conviction. The weapon—a blue steel revolver—was later returned to him, records show.
Investigators say this revolver matches the description given by the June 1990 sexual assault victim.
Then in May 1990, Parrott got arrested for impersonating a peace officer again, then released on bond when the June 1990 sexual assault happened—before the August 1990 murders of Henry and Atkinson.
At that time, Parrott was 28.
It is unclear when or if Parrott permanently moved to Nebraska, though public records indicate he owned property in New Caney until 2020.
When arrested Wednesday in Lincoln, Parrott allegedly told police he had never met Henry. He is currently in custody awaiting extradition to the Harris County Jail.