Floyd William Parrott was awaiting extradition to Texas on capital murder charges in the 1990 Lovers’ Lane killings.
LINCOLN, NE — Floyd William Parrott, a 64-year-old Lincoln man charged in a 1990 Houston double murder, died Tuesday morning in the Lancaster County Jail while awaiting extradition to Texas, Lancaster County officials said.
Parrott’s death ended the pending criminal case against him before he could be moved to Harris County, where prosecutors had charged him with capital murder in the deaths of Cheryl Henry and Garland Andrew “Andy” Atkinson. The case, long known in Houston as the Lovers’ Lane murders, had gone unsolved for more than 35 years before investigators announced Parrott’s arrest in March.
Lancaster County Chief Deputy Ben Houchin said medical personnel were called to the jail at 7:23 a.m. Tuesday for a medical emergency involving Parrott. Houchin said Parrott’s cell door had been open for some time, but he had not come out. Jail staff checked on him, found him unresponsive and began lifesaving measures until paramedics arrived. Parrott was pronounced dead at the jail. Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare told a Houston television station that Parrott’s death appeared to be a suicide, but Lancaster County officials had not released a final cause of death. Houchin said investigators wanted to complete their work before making a finding public.
Parrott was arrested March 25 in Lincoln by Houston police cold case detectives and FBI agents. The Houston Police Department said he was charged with capital murder in the 176th Criminal District Court in Harris County. Police identified the victims as Henry, 22, and Atkinson, 22, though some reports have listed Atkinson as 21. Houston police said a security guard found their vehicle parked in a cul-de-sac at 1300 Enclave Parkway on Aug. 23, 1990. Officers later found both victims dead with neck injuries. The case drew years of attention because of the violence, the age of the victims and the long lack of an arrest.
Houston investigators said the case remained open for decades while police, the FBI, the Texas attorney general’s Cold Case and Missing Persons Unit and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office continued to work on it. Recent court and police accounts said investigators linked Parrott to the case after a tip and DNA evidence. Houston reports said evidence from Henry’s autopsy was matched through a national DNA database to a 1996 sexual assault case in which Parrott had been identified as a suspect. Authorities also reported a DNA link to another sexual assault reported in June 1990. Prosecutors said after Parrott’s arrest that additional survivors had come forward.
The case dates to a night when Henry and Atkinson were together in west Houston. Reports from investigators said Henry had been out with her sister and Atkinson before she failed to show up for work. Her family reported her missing. A security guard later found a white Honda Civic at the end of a cul-de-sac near Enclave Parkway, with Henry’s purse and identification inside. A search of the wooded area nearby led investigators to the bodies. Houston media reports said Henry’s body was found under wooden boards, while Atkinson was found about 200 yards away near a tree. Autopsies found both died from sharp-force injuries to the neck.
In Lancaster County, Parrott also faced a fugitive from justice charge tied to the Texas warrant. He had been expected to appear in Lancaster County Court on Thursday at 10 a.m. as officials worked through the extradition process. Lancaster County Attorney Pat Condon ordered an autopsy for Wednesday morning. Houchin said lab results could take 10 to 12 weeks. Once the sheriff’s office completes its investigation, homicide investigators are expected to review the evidence and present findings to Condon. A grand jury will then review the in-custody death, which officials described as standard procedure.
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office said Parrott’s death did not end its work on related cases. In a statement, prosecutors said they were continuing to investigate other allegations and were in Louisiana seeking to close a cold case linked to Parrott. “We ache for Andy’s and Cheryl’s families who were denied their day in court,” the office said. The statement said new survivors had come forward since Parrott’s arrest and had been reliving painful events in detail. Prosecutors said their focus remained on the victims and on people still seeking answers in old cases.
The death also left Lancaster County officials with questions about what happened inside the jail. Houchin said he did not believe Parrott was on suicide watch, medical watch or any other special housing monitoring status before he died. He said the public interest in the case made it important for officials to be careful before releasing conclusions. Local and Texas authorities had been preparing to move Parrott south before the death. With the criminal case against him now halted, the open questions center on the jail investigation, the autopsy and any other cold cases investigators believe may be tied to him.
As of Saturday, Parrott’s official cause of death had not been released. Lancaster County investigators are awaiting autopsy and lab findings, while Harris County prosecutors say their review of related cold cases will continue.
Author note: Last updated May 2, 2026.