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Cheryl Henry and Andy Atkinson were a young couple who disappeared on August 22, 1990, after spending the evening at Bayou Mama's nightclub in Westheimer, South Gessner, Texas. Cheryl Henry and Andy Atkinson then drove to a remote area called the Lovers Lane in West Houston and were never seen alive again.
When Cheryl didn't return home all night, her parents informed the Houston Police that their daughter was missing. The police began their investigation, and upon reaching Lover's Lane, they started a search operation but found a murder scene. Cheryl and Andy had been brutally murdered and their bodies were found in different spots near the car.
The investigators also found DNA at the crime scene that matched the DNA of an unknown person who had s*xually assaulted a woman at a night club a few two months before the murder. However, over three decades later, the police have yet to find their killer.
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The Crime Junkie Podcast's latest episode titled INFAMOUS: Lovers' Lane Murders explores the murders of of Cheryl Henry and Andy Atkinson. The episode debuted on March 10, 2025, and its official synopsis reads:
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"When what should have been a carefree date goes horribly wrong, the city of Houston realizes there’s a monster in their midst. Will they be caught in time?"
5 key details about the murders of Cheryl Henry and Andy Atkinson
1) Cheryl Henry and Andy Atkinson were brutally killed
According to an August 2023 article by KHOU, a security guard first noticed Andy's white car, which still had Cheryl Henry's shoes and purse inside. Cheryl's mother, Barbara Craig, was accompanying the Houston police in the search. She reportedly began panicking when they found the car.
The authorities used search dogs to track down Cheryl Henry and Andy Atkinson's bodies in the woods. Authorities found Andy's decapitated body tied to a tree, and they found Cheryl's naked body hidden behind a wooden board that had a $20 bill beside it.
According to the KHOU article, Barbara spoke about how she regretted letting her daughter go out that night. She also said that if she could have, she would have "breathed into her [Cheryl] and she would be alive."
2) Authorities found the killer's DNA but were unable to trace it back to the person
Retired Houston Police Detective Billy Bulk was leading the investigation into the murders of Cheryl Henry and Andy Atkinson. As per KHOU News, Detective Belk traveled throughout the country in search of a possible suspect.
With the DNA they found at the crime scene, the detective initiated DNA tests on convicted criminals at the time. However, even after conducting nearly 25 DNA tests, they found no match to the killer's.
Cheryl Henry and Andy Atkinson's murders attracted the media, and a woman who worked as an exotic dancer at a nightclub approached Houston police officers. She revealed that a man had r*ped her two months before Andy and Chery's murders.
She reported to the police that after finishing her job at the nightclub, she went to her boyfriend's house in Northwest Houston. She said that while her boyfriend was not at home, a man knocked at the door, looking for him, and told the woman that her boyfriend owed him money.
The man then forced himself inside and tied her with duct tape before covering her head and mouth with a bag, which he also duct taped. She described the man to be almost 6 feet tall, with olive skin complexion, wearing black gloves and a fishing glove over his head. He threatened her with a gun and stole $250 from her purse before leaving.
In 2017, police matched the DNA found at Cheryl and Andy's crime scene to the DNA from the woman's boyfriend's apartment.
3) The murder case of Cheryl Henry and Andy Atkinson was reopened after 17 years
After the initial investigation, authorities didn't have enough concrete evidence to lead them to the killer, and the case went cold until 2017. With the advancement in forensic science, investigators found that the DNA retrieved from the r*pe victim matched with the one found at the crime scene.
Investigators located the woman, and while interviewing her, they found that she used to work for Andy's father, Gerald Atkinson. Investigators found a picture frame that the killer was most likely, also an employee of Andy's father.
4) Genetic genealogy is used to trace the killer of Cheryl Henry and Andy Atkinson
During the early 1990s, forensic science in DNA testing was still in the developing stage and very expensive. As per KHOU News, as DNA technology advanced, Detective Storten wished to use genetic genealogy to trace the killer's family tree.
“That individual profile can be used as probable cause to go and get a DNA sample from the actual targeted person," the detective said.
The method had been used to crack several cold cases, however, Houston authorities are still awaiting to find who killed Cheryl Henry and Andy Atkinson.
5) The murderer of Cheryl Henry and Andy Atkinson remains unidentified
Authorities are still looking for any concrete evidence that could take them to the killer. With the help of the r*pe victim, they created a sketch of the killer, hoping someone would provide crucial intel. However, the Lovers Lane murders remain a cold case.
Cheryl's mother, Barbara, told KHOU News that she still wears her daughter's ring and watch.
“In my mind, I can see Cheryl holding other people because they were traumatized too, and (she) lets them know that they're fine now," she said.
Cheryl's siblings said that they wished that the killer would still be identified and brought to justice. Shane Craig, one of her siblings, noted that the murders destroyed their family.
"They bound them. They tortured them. They assaulted them. And then, they murdered them. It just destroyed our family. I walk through every minute I was with her that day and what I could have done differently. If I hadn't left her ... if she had gone home," Craig added.
Cheryl and Andy's families have made several appeals to the public to reach out to the authorities if they have any information about the murders of the two teens.
Check out our other articles to know more details about other cases on the Crime Junkie Podcast
