GALVESTON COUNTY, Texas – More than four decades after a series of murders along a stretch of Southeast Texas known as the “Texas Killing Fields,” prosecutors say they are making progress—and the investigation is far from over.
During a press conference Wednesday, Galveston County District Attorney Kenneth Cusick formally announced charges against James Elmore, 61, who was taken into custody Tuesday following a grand jury indictment.
OUR FIRST REPORT: Man accused of helping dispose of 2 bodies in ‘Texas Killing Fields’ murders arrested
Elmore is believed to have been involved in the murders of Laura Miller and Audrey Cook. Prosecutors allege Elmore helped longtime suspect Clyde Edwin Hedrick conceal the remains of Miller and Cook after their deaths.
“He has made numerous statements, and yes, he’s implicated himself,” said Cusick.
Elmore is charged with manslaughter and tampering with evidence in Laura Miller’s murder and tampering with evidence in Audrey Cook’s murder.
Both Cook and Miller were found the same day in 1986 in a field off Calder Rd. in League City. The manslaughter indictment reads that Elmore, “prepared a vial of cocaine for Clyde Hedrick to administer to Laura Miller.”
Laura’s father, Tim Miller, said Elmore told him over the course of dozens of meetings that Hedrick gave his daughter a “hot shot” that killed her.
The two tampering indictments read Elmore observed Laura and Audrey’s bodies being dumped in the so-called “Texas Killing Fields,” but never reported their murders.
Hedrick died last week at the age of 72. He was never charged in any of the cases and maintained his innocence until his death.
Galveston County prosecutor Kate Willis tells 2 Investigates Hedrick committed suicide.
“He was taken to the hospital for some breathing issues on Friday, and due to some of his other health issues, he was placed on a ventilator Friday. On Saturday, he removed that ventilator,” said Willis.
Willis said the District Attorney’s Office was preparing to ask a grand jury to indict Hedrick on capital murder charges in Laura’s case and murder charges in the cases of Audrey, Heide, and Donna.
KPRC 2 previously reported a detective with the Hitchcock police department met with Hedrick at the hospital the day before he died. The detective told KPRC 2 that Hedrick could not speak, but he indicated he was not involved in the murders.
Hedrick died while still under the state’s highest level of parole supervision. He was convicted on manslaughter charges for the 1985 death of Ellen Rae Beason.
Elmore remains in custody at the Galveston County Jail. Cusick said prosecutors will seek to keep him jailed pending trial.
“My office is going to seek detention in this case pending trial for various reasons, mainly the circumstances of the case, length of the time, criminal history, and there’ll be other things that will be pointed out to the court,” Cusick said.
The Texas Killing Fields refer to an area off Calder Road in League City, where Laura Miller, Audrey Cook, Heide Fye and Donna Prudhomme’s bodies were found between 1986 and 1991.
For decades, the cases remained unsolved, leaving families searching for answers.
Now, with the arrest of James Elmore and renewed investigative efforts, officials say they are closer to uncovering the truth—but emphasize the work is not finished.
“It took a while to reexamine the stuff, redouble our efforts—but we were able to solve one part of these murders,” Cusick said.
New DA reexamined case
Cusick, who has been in office less than six months, said the case was revisited after he met with Tim Miller, founder of Texas EquuSearch.
“Last December, I was approached by Mr. Tim Miller, who’s the father of one of the victims, Laura Miller,” Cusick said. “I promised him that I would gather in all of the evidence that had been obtained to date since 1983 and I would take a new objective look at it.”
That review ultimately led to the indictment against Elmore.
“I’m here to tell you that we did that. I did fulfill my promise to Mr. Miller,” he added.
Tim Miller describes emotional toll
Tim Miller spoke after the DA, describing years of frustration and emotional strain—including multiple meetings with Elmore.
Miller said Elmore reached out to him 4 years ago, saying he wanted to talk about the murders.
“Over the last four years, I spent a minimum of 30 times with James Elmore,” Miller said.
“There [were] times that I left James Elmore, and he told me some stuff, and I was as strong as I could be in front of him, but I had to pull over and just sob and cry with the information I got,” he said.
Miller said Elmore reached out to him directly.
“He reached out to me. For what reasons, I don’t know,” Miller said.
Despite the arrest, Miller expressed frustration that Hedrick was never charged while alive.
“It’s inexcusable that Clyde Hedrick had the opportunity to die without ever being indicted, convicted on Laura, Heide, Audrey and Donna,” he said.
Families: “Bittersweet”
Family members described the moment as emotional and complicated.
“Certainly there’s a lot of mixed emotions and this is bittersweet,” said Nina Jager, Heide Fye’s niece.
“It’s sad that Clyde didn’t get to pay for what he did,” she said. “On the other hand, I’m glad that he no longer breathes the same air that we do here on Earth.”
Investigation still active
Authorities stressed the case remains ongoing and urged anyone with information to come forward.
“There are other active leads in the case,” Cusick said. “Therefore, we’re not gonna elaborate on a bunch of detailed questions.”
Miller echoed that message, saying he believes more victims could still be identified.
“We got other girls to find,” he said. “We’re not gonna quit.”