In the late 1960's, there were some never solved murders of young boys in the town and vicinity of Henryville Indiana. So far as this
writer knows, these crimes were never solved.

At this late date, I cannot recall too much about the cases. I post this to see if the
collective knowledge of the forum can be used
to recall the crimes and re-examine them in light of what is a more sophisticated understanding of serial murder and 'ritual'
killing. (I have heard that some or perhaps all
of the cases had a 'ritual' aspect)

So I pose these questions to the forum:

1. Do you recall the crimes? If so, what do
you recall.

2. What have you heard about what happened?

3. What happened to the police investigations?

4. Why were the crimes never solved?

5. Did the crimes have a 'legacy'? If so, what
was it?

6. Who dunnit? (please do not engage in slander).

I remember hearing that there was a serial killer in Henryville once because ...

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One time a lady came home and she found a box of Wheaties and it had a knife sticking out of it.

Ba-dum-dum!

In addition, I heard recently that the lake
at the top of the hill (behind the fire tower)
in the forestry was recently drained (about a
year ago). A source tells me that DNR was supposedly looking for a body or bodies which
were allegedly at the bottom of the lake. But,
none were found.

When I was a kid, it was rumored that this
was a site for occult gatherings. I have no
idea if this is connected. The 'sticks in the
nostrils' claim by ismileutoo seems to ring a
bell....what in the world would that mean is
another question.

I don't recall the name of the lake.

I remember rumors of "satan worshippers" in Henryville back in the mid-late 80s. But we were kids in school, and thought that half of the urban legends really occurred on Tunnel Mill Road, too...

some one else was researching this case
on a googled website. They got this reply...

"I believe that the person that committed these murders died a few years ago and he that he was from Crothersville, IN I have no proof of this, but it was the talk of the town at the time."

The evolving analysis:

1. There were three murders.
2. The victims were all young males or boys.
3. There was mutilation.
4. There was an atmosphere or a background
of occult or satanic activity in the area.
5. The cases were not solved.
6. The cases took place in the early seventies
and then apparently ceased.

Thank you Kingfish and Pearl and others who
are responding. It seems like we are getting some of the basic facts. out.

Pearl is right the name is Jeff Burkhead not McCain but I still think he was the third victim. He was found near his home but the secound barn had something to do with the crime or crimes. Two people I new had drivers training with him the day before ( one has sence been killed ). Will try to find out more Friday.

It seems unlikely that in a small rural area like Henryville, where 'everybody knows everyone else" this killer was able to commit these crimes and his identity not be known to
someone there. When I think about it, it seems
like it would be or should be more difficult
to have 'captured' the victims in that town
than a big urban area. Then for the crimes to
suddenly cease would seem to have some significance too.

quote:

Originally posted by ismileutoo:

quote:

A source tells me that DNR was supposedly looking for a body or bodies which were allegedly at the bottom of the lake. But, none were found.

Which lake was that? Bowen or Wilcox? If it was Wilcox, I don't believe that lake was there during the 1970's. If it's Bowen, it was there as I recall. It's fairly deep too. I do remember the dnr drained and repaired several of the lakes some years back. I remember reading somewhere that they had drained another lake fairly recently and thought it odd that they would do that again so soon. Maybe they just hadn't gotten to that lake yet, but who knows.

It's Franke lake they've drained, I've heard it's to fix the dam.

Is Franke Lake up 'behind' the fire tower?

Thanks ismile, I wasn't sure.

Do police records have a shelf life until they are released to the public? If they are considered cold cases, are the records closed? Is there a release policy for these records to the public? Just a few random questions...looks like we could get some of those police records after this long of time.

I will try to get them. Let you know how it
goes.