Article contains topics of sexual abuse
Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields shared the deadly history linked to the Great Houston area, but there are many things the show left out. The show primarily focused on four victims who were found in the Calder Road Oil Field, as well as three potential suspects in those cases. In reality, though, the case of the killing fields has a far wider scope than what was covered in the series.
There have been at least 33 murders and several disappearances connected to the killing fields as opposed to only four in the focus of The Texas Killing Fields. Given the magnitude and time span over which these cases have occurred, there are also many more suspects than only three. It makes sense to some degree why Netflix would leave out several of these aspects of the case, given it would take dozens of episodes to cover every single case and suspect(s) involved. However, below are some of the major aspects Netflix did not take into account.
Who Was The Texas Killing Fields’ First Victim?
In The Texas Killing Fields, the first victim discussed was Heidi Faye, a woman who disappeared from League City in 1983 and was found dead the following year. However, the first crime considered part of the Texas Killing Fields murders actually occurred much earlier. 14-year-old Brenda Jones from Galveston disappeared in 1971 while walking to her aunt’s house. It is unknown what happened to her, but her body was recovered the next day in Galveston Bay, only a few miles away from the Calder Road Oil field. Like many cases in this series, her murder and the circumstances surrounding it remain unclear.
Who Was The Texas Killing Fields’ Most Recent Victim?
Although the final victim discussed in the Netflix's true-crime documentary, Donna Prudhomme, perished in 1991, there have been many other murders and disappearances that have occurred since then. The most recent of these occurred only 16 years ago, in 2006. 16-year-old Terressa Vanegas was last seen walking through a subdivision in Dickinson, Texas, on Halloween night. Several days later, her body was found dumped in a field across from Dickinson High School, a few minutes' drive away from the Calder Road Oil field. Vanegas had been strangled and sexually assaulted. Additionally, her hair had also been cut off. Like many other murders in the area, her case remains unsolved.
Texas Killing Fields Investigators Wasted Time with Michael Self
Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields primarily focused on three potential murderers, Clyde Hedrick, Robert Abel, and William Reece. Ultimately though, there were other suspects who were not discussed in the series. One of these people questioned turned out to be a waste of time and may have prevented investigators from looking into more likely suspects. The name of this man was Michael Self, a gas station attendant who resided in Galveston.
In 1972, police picked Self up and questioned him regarding the deaths of Rhonda Johnson and Sharon Shaw, two teenage girls who were abducted and murdered in the area. Self reportedly confessed to the crime and was charged with murder. He was soon after found guilty, despite his “confession” not matching many details of the crime. It later turned out that Self only confessed after being repeatedly tortured by the police. He was reportedly suffocated with a plastic bag, beaten by interrogators, and burned with cigarettes. Self later died in custody years later. However, a number of police officials and the district attorney for Harris County later stated they believed Self was wrongly convicted.
Suspect Mark Stallings Wasn’t Mentioned in The Texas Killing Fields
Another person of interest Netflix's true crime show neglected to mention was Mark Stallings. Stallings was a convicted criminal who is currently serving a life sentence for kidnapping and other crimes. In 2013, he confessed that he was responsible for the 1991 murder of Donna Prudhomme, who was found in the Calder Road Oil Field (via KHOU11). At the time of the murder, Stallings lived in League City and worked as a ranch hand near where several of the victim’s bodies were found.
Additionally, details of Stallings’s confession matched several details of Prudhomme’s death. Despite this, he was never mentioned in the show and has not been officially charged in the case. He is also a suspect in the death of Audrey Cook, whose body was found near Laura Miller’s in the Calder Road Oil Field (via Newsweek).
Where Is Texas Killing Fields Suspect Clyde Hedrick Now?
The most credible of the three suspects posited by Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields was Clyde Hedrick. Tim Miller, the father of Laura Miller, has claimed that he is beyond certain that Hedrick is responsible for the death of his daughter after hearing that Hedrick confessed to his daughter’s murder while in jail. Hedrick was eventually only charged with causing the death of Ellen Beason, who was found dead in Galveston back in 1984.
In 2012, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the crime. In October 2021, after only serving a fraction of his sentence, he was let out on account of good behavior. After his release from prison, he is now currently residing in a local halfway house (via Bustle). Authorities have declined to comment further on his current whereabouts or future plans at this time.
Was Serial Killer Edward Bell Involved With The Texas Killing Fields?
Although Edward Bell has always been associated with the Texas Killing Fields murders, he was not featured in Netflix’s series on the case. 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. Bell owned a surf shop in Galveston that was frequented by two of the victims, Maria Johnson and Debbie Ackerman. He also owned a property in Dickinson that was extremely close to where two other victims, Brooks Bracewell and Georgia Greer, would be found murdered (via Chron).
Bell would later flee the country in 1978 after gunning a man down in Dickinson who confronted him for exposing himself in front of a group of children. Police would catch up to him in 1993, extraditing him from Panama back to the US to stand trial for this murder. While serving his sentence for this crime, Bell wrote several letters to the District Attorney for Harris County, wherein he confessed to at least 11 of the killing field murders. These claims were later investigated in the A&E Documentary “The Eleven.” Despite his claims and knowledge of the cases he confessed to, Bell was never charged in any of the murders, nor was he featured in Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields. Further investigation into Bell’s claims was further hampered by Bell’s passing. He died after a medical emergency behind bars in April 2019 (via KHOU11).