HOUSTON – Memorial benches were dedicated Wednesday in honor of Cheryl Henry and Andy Atkinson, whose 1990 murders remained unsolved for 36 years before forensic DNA evidence led to an arrest.
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What we know:
Cheryl Henry and Andy Atkinson were a young couple in love with their whole lives in front of them. All that changed in 1990 when they were murdered in an area known as Lover’s Lane.
The double murder would be a cold case for more than four decades.
Thanks to forensic DNA evidence, their killer was arrested in Nebraska and charged with capital murder.
He died by suicide in April while awaiting extradition to Houston.
“For 36 years, we have suffered through the pain of no answers, no justice, and the loss of family members who never saw the finality of knowing the coward responsible for their murder was arrested,” said Francisca Del Rosa, Andy’s stepsister. “But today’s a new day, and it starts hopefully finding some peace and healing.”
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“Cheryl and Andy were such beautiful people taken out of this world so horrifyingly,” said Chris Covert, Cheryl’s brother. “One of the hardest things that we live with, the pain and the heartache we’ve experienced pales in comparison to the fear and terror Cheryl and Andy experienced during their last hour on Earth. That in itself is heartbreaking to fathom, and something our family still struggles with.”
On Wednesday, benches were dedicated in their honor at Susan C. Kellner Pocket Park.
Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey has created other tributes to crime victims in Precinct 3 parks and is expected to announce more memorials in 2027.
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