HOUSTON – A few mysteries are as chilling and unresolved as the Texas Killing Fields. A desolate field off Calder Road in League City, Texas, became the burial ground for four women between 1984 and 1991. Audrey Cook, Donna Prudhomme, Laura Miller, and Hiede Villareal Fye were all found in an abandoned oil field off Calder Road in League City, Tx.
In part-two of four, KPRC 2 Investigates nationally recognized show ‘The Evidence Room,’ takes you into ‘The Texas Killing Fields.’ Forty years later, the pain and fight for answers live on in the voices of the victims’ families.
“September 10, 1984,” Laura’s father Tim Miller begins, his voice heavy from dealing with decades of grief. “I’ll never, ever forget that day.”
“I did everything I knew how to do to keep her alive, but somebody else was determined to take her life,” Miller shares.
For years Miller returned to the cross marking Laura’s final resting place.
“I used to walk up to this cross, and I’d look at Laura’s picture and say, ‘Laura, please don’t’ hate your daddy, I can’t come out here anymore. I have to put my life back together.’ But every time, I’d hear a little voice say, ‘Dad, don’t quit.’ It was like, ‘Damn you, Laura, what are you talking about?”
Miller’s agony didn’t end with the discovery of Laura’s body. Instead, it deepened, when Laura’s remains were finally recovered on February 2, 1986. The family was told they couldn’t bury her right away. The medical examiner needed more time to determine the cause of death.
“60 days came and went. Six months. One year. Two Years. Three years and nine months later, we finally got to get Laura’s remains. Three years and nine months,” Miller bitterly recounted.
A search for answers, and lost faith in the system
The pain of the delay was compounded by the shocking discoveries about how Laura’s remains had been treated.
“I lost faith in the police department,” Miller while anger began to build inside him. “I thought at that time, that if they were to listen to me. If they would have came out here and searched, they would have found her body. She would have been dead, but there may have been some damn evidence.”
In March of 1992, there was another grim discovery. Laura’s remains were sent in a FedEx box to a college for research, even though she was buried in 1989.
“Remember, there 212 bones in a human body. Guess how many there were, 28 bones.” Miller said.
Once Laura’s remains were returned, Miller learned some of Audrey Cook’s remains had been mixed in with his daughter’s remains.
Audrey was found the same day that they found Laura. They weren’t found in the same spot. They were found 60-ft away from each other.
“The fingernails were clipped. They’re not to be found. That’s frustrating because of the DNA that we can have now,” said Audrey Lee Cooke’s sister in law Shirley Love.
The Suspects
Robert Abel, a former NASA engineer, owned property near ‘The Texas Killing Fields,’ and was one of the primary suspects. A League City police warrant, based in part on an FBI profile, named Abel as a suspect. However, after extensive searches of his property and years of questions, Abel was never charged with a single crime. Miller, fueled by anger and grief, confronted Abel.
“I put a gun to that man’s head,” Miller admits.
Despite this, Miller later asked for Abel’s forgiveness when he said he realized he was not responsible for the murders.
In July of 2005, Robert Abel drove his golf cart on to a set of railroad tracks in Bellville, Texas, and was hit by a train. According to Justice of the Peace, Richard Yancey, Abel’s death was ruled accidental. Miller believes Abel committed suicide.
Another suspect in Laura’s case is Clyde Edwin Hedrick.
“I just got to call, to let you know, Galveston County comes SWAT into my house this morning, and I’m over here in Galveston County Jail for that Calder Road stuff and all of them dead girls,” Hedrick was recorded telling someone on his phone after he was brought in for questioning in the death of Ellen Rae Beason.
Don’t miss Part 2 of KPRC 2′s Investigation into the Texas Killing Fields, airing Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. on KPRC 2+.
