A photograph of Floyd William Parrott, who has been charged with capital murder in the case, is displayed as Houston Police Chief Noe Diaz stands nearby during a news conference at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center in Houston on Friday, March 27, 2026.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
John Belk, a retired Houston Police Department homicide detective who originally investigated the case, speaks during a news conference announcing developments in the 1990 “Lovers’ Lane” murders at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center in Houston on Friday, March 27, 2026.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
Cheryl Henry and Andy Atkinson were found dead in a west Houston parking in August 1990. Their killings became known as the Lovers Lane Murders. Authorities on March 26, 2026 announced an arrest in connection to the case. Floyd William Parrott, 64, was charged with capital murder
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Houston Mayor John Whitmire speaks during a news conference announcing developments in the 1990 “Lovers’ Lane” murders at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center in Houston on Friday, March 27, 2026.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
Shane Craig, a friend of the victims, becomes emotional as she sits with other friends and family members during a news conference announcing developments in the 1990 “Lovers’ Lane” murders at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center in Houston on Friday, March 27, 2026.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
Shane Craig, a friend of the victims, becomes emotional as she stands with other friends and family members during a news conference announcing developments in the 1990 “Lovers’ Lane” murders at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center in Houston on Friday, March 27, 2026.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
Friends and family of the victims hold hands during a news conference announcing developments in the 1990 “Lovers’ Lane” murders at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center in Houston on Friday, March 27, 2026.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
Shane Craig, a friend of the victims, speaks during a news conference announcing developments in the 1990 “Lovers’ Lane” murders at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center in Houston on Friday, March 27, 2026.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare speaks with members of the press and friends and family of the victims during a news conference announcing developments in the 1990 “Lovers’ Lane” murders at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center in Houston on Friday, March 27, 2026.
Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle
Retired Houston Police Sgt. John “Billy” Belk was in the dentist’s chair when he got a phone call from one of his successors at the department.
There was news about the Lovers Lane case.
He rushed downtown, where he heard in person what the world would soon know. After more than 35 years, an arrest had been made in one of Houston’s most infamous unsolved murder cases.
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“This is a good day,” said Belk, who investigated the case for 19 years before his retirement, to the family of Cheryl Henry, one of the victims in the murders. “I want to thank you guys, because you all kept it alive for almost 36 years. I kept telling you this case would clear. I know it’s hard to have patience.”
LOVERS LANE ARREST: Arrest made in 1990 Houston Lovers Lane killings, one of Houston’s oldest unsolved murder cases
Floyd William Parrott, 64, was arrested Wednesday in Lincoln, Nebraska, and charged with capital murder in the 1990 killings of Henry and Garland “Andy” Atkinson. The couple, who were 21 and 22, were killed with a knife in a then-secluded area of west Houston after they left a double date on an August evening.
The case became known as the Lovers Lane Murders because of the location’s popularity as a destination for couples looking to find a private moment together.
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The murders baffled generations of Houston investigators who interviewed hundreds of people over the course of decades without ever making an arrest. The killings became the subject of newspaper retrospectives and TV specials, without a suspect ever emerging.
Parrott, a felon with multiple convictions for impersonating a police officer in the 1980s and 1990s, was never among the people questioned, District Attorney Sean Teare said Friday during a press conference. He credited the work of a dogged group of investigators from the DA’s office and Houston Police Department’s cold case unit for sticking with the case until they finally found a break.
In a complaint released Thursday, police wrote that two critical pieces of evidence pointed them to Parrott. First, a tipster gave police his name in late 2025, according to court records.
Second, Parrott’s DNA taken from a 1996 rape case was uploaded to CODIS, the FBI’s forensic database. That DNA matched samples taken from the murder case, as well as an unsolved rape.
It’s unclear why Parrott’s DNA from the 1996 case wasn’t already in the database or why investigators kept the DNA samples for so long after the prosecution was dropped.
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Teare declined to offer other details about the evidence during the news conference.
Prosecutors might have to offer information about the case in open court relatively soon. Teare said his prosecutors would seek to hold Parrott with no bail once he is transferred to Texas. To hold someone without bail, prosecutors must present evidence that a suspect is a danger to the community or a risk of flight.
Officials said they also hoped to talk to more people who might have encountered Parrott in the ’80s and ’90s. They released old booking photos from his previous arrests, and a picture of the car he was known to drive at the time. Parrott worked as a bouncer at nightclubs and strip clubs and also worked for an auto parts store. He may have also worked for a wrecker company, Teare said.
Parrott moved to Nebraska within the last two years, Teare said.
“We feel really comfortable in saying that he’s been preying on this community for a long time,” Teare said.
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As of Friday morning, Parrott was still in custody in Nebraska and awaiting transfer to Texas, a process that could take a month or more. Parrott is opposing his extradition, and the DA’s office is seeking a governor’s warrant to have him moved. The warrant requires the signatures of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, Teare said. He said he didn’t expect either governor to stand in the way of the warrant.
Parrott was arrested by a SWAT team outside his apartment, officials said. Police have attempted to interview him, and he denied ever knowing Henry, officials said.
As of Friday, no attorney was listed for Parrott. If convicted of capital murder, Parrott could be sentenced to life in prison or be given the death penalty.