Netflix just released another installation of the streaming network’s Crime Scene docuseries, and it’s an intense one. Over the course of three episodes, Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields tells the true story of the unsolved murders of several young women that occurred in Texas between 1984 and 1991.
The docuseries details how the bodies of victims were dumped in an oil field, called the Calder Road oil field, that was part of a 50-mile stretch of highway-adjacent land connecting Houston, Texas, to nearby Galveston, Texas. In fact, so many bodies were found along the miles and miles of land over the years that the area was dubbed “The Killing Fields.”
The show dives into the lives and deaths of four victims: Heidi Villareal Fye, Laura Miller, Audrey Lee Cook, and Donna Prudhomme. But more than 30 bodies—of mostly young women and girls—were found in “The Killing Fields” between 1971 and 1999, per The New Zealand Herald, The Washington Post, and CBS News. This has raised a lot of questions about who, exactly, is behind these murders. Here’s what you need to know.
Who are the suspects?
Detectives worked hard to find potential suspects over the years, but they’ve struggled to get anywhere, the documentary shows. Plus, there are no known witnesses for the four Calder Road field murders, the FBI reported back in 2019.
The first major suspect was a felon who falsely confessed to the Calder Road oil field murders from jail in 2001, according to The Washington Post. Another suspect was a man who owned a horse stable in a nearby lot. However, there wasn’t enough evidence to press charges against either one.
A man named Clyde Hedrick, who was found guilty of murdering another woman, Ellen Beason, in the area, is still a suspect, according to Bustle. An assistant district attorney actually says in the docuseries that Hedrick confessed to murdering Fye, and raping and murdering Miller, but Hedrick has publicly stated (in a letter to The Guardian) that he’s innocent. While there’s not enough evidence to prove the case, the District Attorney says he hasn’t been ruled out as a suspect just yet.
Another man, William Reece, recently confessed to murder in three other cold-cases linked to the “Killing Fields,” per Click2Houston and the New York Post.
Have any killers been caught?
There have been several arrests in connection to the scores of murders that took place along the “Killing Fields.”
- Kevin Edison Smith: Smith was arrested in 2012 for the murder of 13-year-old Krystal Jean Baker, 16 years after her death, according to Newsweek. Baker’s dress was submitted for a DNA analysis, and it matched Smith, who was arrested for a minor drug offense in 2010. He was sentenced to life in jail.
- John Robert King and Gerald Peter Zwarst: King told police in 1987 that he killed 19-year-old Shelley Sikes while she was in her car, per Newsweek. He also said that he raped and murdered her with the help of Zwarst. Both men died in prison.
- William Lewis Reece: Reece was arrested in 1997 for the kidnapping and attempted murder of 19-year-old Sandra Sapaugh, Click2Houston reports. (She escaped by jumping out of his truck as he drove down a highway.) His DNA matched the evidence in the death of 19-year-old Tiffany Johnson back in 2015. Johnson was murdered in Oklahoma in 1997. Reece confessed to killing Jessica Cain, 17, and Kelli Cox, 20.
Where is Clyde Hedrick now?
Hedrick was released on parole in 2021, even though he allegedly told jailhouse informants that he killed several other people, including Fye and Miller, Click2Houston reports.
It’s unclear where exactly he is now. But, one of the “Killing Fields” victims’ dads, Tim Miller, has been investigating Hedrick in relation to his daughter’s death, even visiting his old house in Florida, speaking to Hedrick’s ex-wife, and cleaning out his home, per USA Today.
Where is William Reece now?
Reece is in jail and has been transferred to Texas, where he has pleaded guilty to the murders of Cain, Cox, and Laura Smither, per Click2Houston. He received a life sentence for each of the three cases, The New York Post reported.
So, who is the killer?
There’s no quick answer to this one. Since there were so many bodies found along the stretch of land, there are likely many different people involved. Several suspects have been convicted or charged in different cases over the years, and other names have also been put forward without evidence to support any charges, per Newsweek.
The four Calder Road oil fields killings of Miller, Fye, Prudhomme, and Cook remain unsolved cold cases.
Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields is streaming now on Netflix.
Korin Miller is a freelance writer specializing in general wellness, sexual health and relationships, and lifestyle trends, with work appearing in Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Self, Glamour, and more. She has a master’s degree from American University, lives by the beach, and hopes to own a teacup pig and taco truck one day.
