HOUSTON (Court TV) — More than three decades after a young couple was found dead in their car, a man has been arrested and charged with their murders. Now, police are asking for help because they believe there could be more victims.
Cheryl Henry and Andy Atkinson were found killed in a car on Dec. 23, 1990. (Court TV)
A security guard on patrol on Dec. 23, 1990, found a vehicle parked for a long time along a cul-de-sac. Inside the car were two bodies, later identified as Cheryl Henry, 22, and Andy Atkinson, 21. Their deaths, known as the “Lover’s Lane Murders,” would go unsolved for nearly 40 years.
“The car was in the cul-de-sac. It had cigarette butts, so we knew they had been hanging out, they had spent some time there,” Cheryl Henry’s sister, Shane Henry, told KTRK in a 2025 documentary on the case. “The windows were rolled down, there was blood on the door.”
On Thursday, the Harris County District Attorney announced they had made an arrest in the case: Floyd William Parrott, 64, was charged with capital murder. He was taken into custody in Lincoln, Nebraska, and is awaiting extradition to Texas.
Floyd Parrott is charged in the deaths of Cheryl Henry and Andy Atkinson in 1990. (Harris County District Attorney)
“It gives me so much pride, so much joy, to be able to say: ‘We got him,’ Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said at a news conference announcing the arrest. “These unsolved murders have weighed so incredibly heavy on these families and our communities for more than three decades. That stops today. That stops now.”
Shane Henry was at the news conference, where she offered her gratitude to the investigators for their dogged persistence in solving her sister’s killing. “Hearing that the person responsible has finally been caught doesn’t bring her back, and it doesn’t erase the pain our family has lived with all these years,” she said. “But it does bring a sense of relief knowing justice is moving forward and that this person cannot hurt another person again.”
More than 100 persons of interest were investigated over the last 36 years, investigators said. While Teare refused to offer any specifics about how they linked Parrott to the killings after so long, he did say that a tip helped speed things along.
A white car, retrofitted with red and blue lights, allegedly belonged to Floyd Parrott. (Harris Co. District Attorney)
While Parrott is facing charges for the the deaths of Atkinson and Henry, Teare said that he may be linked to other crimes as well. “We believed that there are victims of numerous different types of crimes that are still living with it right now. We need to know the full picture of what Floyd William Parrot was doing in our community.” Part of what he was doing, Teare said, was impersonating a law enforcement officer. Photos were shared with the media showing a 1980s vehicle that was retrofitted with red and blue lights. Teare said he believed Parrott was using the vehicle the night Henry and Atkinson were killed.
Any member of the public with information about Parrott is asked to contact the Harris County District Attorney’s Office at (713) 274-5640. Callers are asked to mention the “Lover’s Lane” case and leave their name and contact information.
