Man sentenced to 20 years over a 'Texas Killing Fields' case, decades
after dozens of bodies found
[September 04, 2026]
By JAMIE STENGLE
A man convicted over a “Texas Killing Fields” death was sentenced to 20
years in prison Thursday in a rare trial related to the bodies of dozens
of women found near Houston beginning in the 1970s.
James Dolphs Elmore Jr. was given the maximum sentence by a Galveston
County jury a day after they found him guilty of manslaughter in the
death of 16-year-old Laura Miller, whose body was found in the infamous
area in 1986.
What became known as the “Texas Killing Fields” refers to a stretch of
land along Interstate 45 southeast of Houston where the bodies of more
than 30 girls and young women have been found. The area has inspired
books, movies and a Netflix documentary.
Most of the deaths remain unsolved, and investigators believe multiple
people may be responsible.
Miller's body was found 17 months after she went missing. After the long
search for her and frustration with authorities, her father, Tim Miller,
started Texas EquuSearch, a nonprofit that helps search for missing
people.
“I begged, I pleaded for somebody to do something,” Miller told jurors.
“I knew something happened to Laura, I just knew it. I just didn’t know
what it was.”
Charges filed decades after Texas teenager's killing
Elmore, 61, had approached Miller several years ago, telling him he was
there when Laura Miller died, and the two men met dozens of times.
During the trial, jurors watched a video produced by Tim Miller showing
the two men visiting locations connected to his daughter's death.
Elmore was arrested this year, accused of preparing the dose of cocaine
that killed her.
Laura Miller was one of four young women whose bodies were found between
1984 and 1991 in a rural field off a desolate dirt road in League City,
located about 28 miles (45 kilometers) southeast of Houston. The other
three were: Audrey Cook, Heidi Fye-Villareal and Donna Prudhomme.
Elmore was accused in an indictment of preparing a vial of cocaine that
was administered to Miller by Clyde Hedrick, who authorities have
alleged was the person responsible for the deaths of the four women and
had been Elmore’s longtime friend.
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Surrounded by friends and family, Tim Miller, father of Laura
Miller, reacts after James Dolphs Elmore Jr. was found guilty of
manslaughter in the death of Laura Miller, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026,
in Galveston, Texas. (Stuart Villanueva/The Galveston County Daily
News via AP, Pool)
The district attorney’s office said in March that it had decided to
seek grand jury indictments against Hedrick in the deaths, but the
72-year-old Hedrick died by suicide before the grand jury
presentation.
Elmore’s attorney, Bill Agnew, told jurors that his client “didn’t
have anything to do with this.” He also noted that had Hedrick
lived, Elmore would have likely been called to testify at his trial.
“Clyde killed himself, and once that happened you’ve got one guy
standing,” Agnew said.
Hedrick was convicted of manslaughter in 2014 in the death of Ellen
Beason, a young woman whose body was found in 1985 after going
missing the previous year. He was released on parole in 2022.
Few convictions in ‘Texas Killing Fields’ cases
Most of the deaths associated with the “Texas Killing Fields” remain
unsolved.
When Kenneth Cusick was appointed district attorney in Galveston
County last year, he said he would be taking a harder look at the
cases.
In 2022, William Reece, an Oklahoma death row inmate, pleaded guilty
to three murders in Texas: Laura Smither, 12; Jessica Cain, 17; and
Kelli Cox, 20. Cox was from Denton, north of Dallas, but her body
was found hundreds of miles away near the “Texas Killings Fields”
area.
Reece received life sentences for all three murders.
Testifying at Elmore's trial, Tim Miller told jurors that he wanted
to see Elmore punished for “mixing up the dope and giving the needle
to Clyde.”
“You handed it to Clyde Hedrick. You handed it,” he said, as he
pointed at Elmore and began to cry.
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