Arrest in 1990 “Lovers’ Lane” Houston double‑murder — suspect charged nearly 36 years later

A man with a documented history of impersonating police officers has been charged with capital murder in one of Houston's most enduring cold cases: the 1990 "Lovers' Lane" killings of Cheryl Henry, 22, and Garland "Andy" Atkinson, 21, whose throats were cut in a remote west Houston field after a night out together.

Floyd William Parrott, 64, was arrested in Lincoln, Nebraska, and charged with capital murder by Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare on March 26, 2026. He is awaiting extradition to Harris County.

Henry and Atkinson had been dating only a few weeks. Their car was found parked in a cul-de-sac on Aug. 23, 1990, and their bodies were discovered nearby in a wooded area near Enclave Parkway. Both had been killed by knife wounds to the neck. Henry had also been sexually assaulted.

The break in the case came from a tip received in late 2025. While following up on the tip, a detective reviewed a 1996 report of a separate sexual-assault case in which Parrott was the suspect. The DNA collected in that case was recently uploaded to CODIS, the national Combined DNA Index System. The system flagged that male DNA from the 1996 case matched samples collected from Henry's sexual assault exam at her autopsy. A June 1990 sexual assault case also produced a DNA match to Parrott.

Parrott's record placed him squarely in orbit of the killings long before investigators had his name. In May 1988, he was arrested and put on probation for impersonating a peace officer, providing a work address just over one mile from the murder scene. In December 1988, he was arrested and convicted for carrying a weapon, a blue steel revolver that records show was later returned to him. He was again arrested for impersonating a police officer in May 1990 and was out on bond when the June 1990 sex assault and the August 1990 murders occurred. Teare said Parrott impersonated law enforcement in the late 1980s, the 1990s and the 2000s. When detectives interviewed Parrott on March 25, 2026, he denied ever knowing Cheryl Henry.

The grief surrounding this case deepened before the arrest ever came. Cheryl's mother, Barbara Craig, and Andy's father, Garland Atkinson, passed away in 2024. At a news conference, Henry's family said: "We never gave up hope, and we thank God that a suspect is now in custody. We just wish our mother and Andy's father would have lived to see this day."

Teare asked the public to share any possible information regarding Parrott, signaling that investigators believe his crimes may extend beyond the two murders. Parrott lived in the Houston area for most of his life and left a few years ago. As extradition proceedings move forward, the forensic disclosures expected at trial will be closely watched by cold-case investigators who have long pointed to CODIS backlogs as a barrier to exactly this kind of resolution.