Cold cases from Indiana discussed, mapped, and brought back into public eye. In this book, every chapter is a new case with new victims. From Burger Chef to Lauren Spierer, I cover all types of unsolved cases. Theories and serial killer studies incl...
Serial Murder is defined as "a series of three or more killings... with common characteristics such as to suggest the reasonable possibility that the crimes were committed by the same actor or actors." Was a serial killer at large near Henryville, Indiana in the 1970's? Unlikely, but possible.
Richard Sweeney was an eight year old little boy in 1974. On April 28th, he was reported to police as missing. Family, friends, and officers began conducting a search for the boy. Richard was from Memphis, Indiana so the search area encompassed a couple of small towns.
Albert Sweeney, Indiana state police officer John Booher, and another family friend decided to search an area only three miles from the town of Memphis. They came upon the Blue Lick Auction Barn, where a gruesome discovery would be made. Mr. Booher found the body of the boy in the barn.
Richard Sweeney was found five hours after he had been reported missing. He was found under rags, boxes, and clothing. His hands were bound with wire. A coroner would later determine that his cause of death was asphyxiation via strangulation and that he had been dead for only three hours before he was found.
Authorities were quick to state that they had no suspects in the case. With only a handful of news articles published about Richard, the case soon faded from the public spotlight. More than twenty years later, there have never been any confirmed suspects.
It would only be three years before the Henryville area would be rocked again by murder. In 1977, the murder to two high school students would bring Richard's murder back into the light for a short period.
Jeffrey Burkett, 15, was reported missing on June 9th after leaving school and not reporting to his drivers training course. He was reported missing by his brother, only a short time after he had gone missing. He had last been seen getting into a black pickup truck at Henryville High School.
Like the Sweeney case, the family would not have to wait too long before finding answers. Two children on trail bikes found the body of Burkett the next day. The body was discovered in Clark State Forest. The forest is located in Henryville and is approximately 8 miles from where the boy was last seen.
Burkett's hand were bound in a manner similar to Richard Sweeney's. Unlike Sweeney, he had been beaten and had received a skull fracture. The coroner would determine that the cause death was strangulation. One article stated that the coroner believed that the victim had been sexually assaulted, but I was unable to corroborate that.
Burkett's community came together. Henryville had quickly put together a reward fund for information in the young man's murder. The reward totaled $4,525.
Burkett's murder would not be the only one that year in the Henryville area. Donald Abell, 19, lived in Borden, Indiana. He attended Henryville High School, where he had a gap between his morning and afternoon classes. Since the school was an open campus, he was allowed to leave in-between. On September 27, 1977, he told friends that he was going to walk downtown after his morning classes and would return later.
Abell would be reported missing by his father Earl Abell. Donald would be missing for two weeks before walnut hunters near Clark State Forest would find his remains. The body was badly decomposed when it was discovered. His identification was determined using clothing and dental records.
The wooded area, in which the body was found, was near Clark State Forest on October 9, 1977. The coroner determined that Donald had died because of a skull fracture. The fracture was not consistent with a fall. Due to the location of the body, it was believed that the body may have been pushed down a hill from a vehicle on the near by road.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
By October of 1977, officials believed that there might have been a connection between the cases. State Police visited the area and were conducting an investigation to decide if the cases were linked. Oddly enough, a short time later the Charlestown State Police Post announced that they did not believe the cases were linked.
With very little information or evidence in the cases, they did not stay in the spotlight for long. The High School became a closed campus, so students were no longer allowed to go off campus during lunches or breaks. The community was filled with rumors and accusations that had no support.
Forums on the internet are filled with speculation and blame. Family members occasionally get involved. Overall, family members have given up hope of having answers while others believe that they already know who was responsible, but don't have enough evidence to get anywhere legally.
No one knows for sure if the murders are related. Maybe only two of the murders are linked or maybe none of them are. With 41 years gone by, it is unlikely that we will ever know what happened to the Henryville 3.
