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| Courtesy of nypost.com |
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Doris(Denise) Milner
Denise Milner was 10 years old, this would be here first time at camp. She was one of few African American girls to attend Camp Scott that year. She was able to go because she sold enough girl scout cookies to attend Camp Scott.
Denise was a very bright straight A student and was accepted into a school for exceptionally bright students.
Her friends that were supposed to be at camp with her backed out at the last minute which made Denis very apprehensive not only about going alone but also about leaving her mom and little sister. She cried while boarding the bus to Camp Scott and that would be the last time that her mom would see her alive.
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| Courtesy of people.com |
Lori Farmer
Lori Farmer was from Tulsa and juss a few days away from her 9th birthday when she was murdered at Camp Scott. Lori was so excited to spend two weeks away from home making new friends at camp.
Lori was the youngest among the 140 other campers at Camp Scott.
"Dear mommy, daddy, Misti, Jolie and Kali, I've met two new friends...Michelle Guise and Denise Milner. I'm sharing a tent with them. We're sleeping on cots. I couldn't wait to write you. Love, Lori." Those were the last words the Lori's family would have frim her.
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| Courtesy of koko.com |
Michelle Guise
Michelle Guise was a shy 9 year old girl from Broken Arrow. She was a lover of the outdoors and plants. This wasn't Michelle's first time at camp having been there the previous year.
Michelle's mom would later say that her daughter had been very insistent that she take care of her plants while she was away at camp. African violets were her favorite flower.
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| Courtesy of sites.psu.edu |
The Warning
Two months before campers were due to arrive at Camp Scott, a counselor named Michelle Hoffman found that her tent had been ransacked Michelle's things had been scattered around the inside and outside of her tent.
A letter was left behind saying that " We are on a mission to kill three girls in tent one." No one would take this note seriously. They would assume it was just a joke. They assumed wrong.
The killer left a note warning the camp what they were going to do but the note was taken as a cruel joke. Could the murders have been prevented?
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| Courtesy of koko.com |
Tent number 8
Tent number 8 would be the three victims tent for the next two weeks. Tent 8 was the last in a semi circle It was also the tent furthest away from supervision and hidden behind the showers.
The tents were on wooden platforms and had four cots inside. No lights and only a flap to serve as a door. Michelle, Denise and Lori would share tent 8. Out of sight of the counselors and straight in the sight of a killer.
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Sounds in the Night
On the first night of camp June 12, 1977 a thunderstorm hit the area so the campers spent the time in their tent writing letters home.
Counselors made their rounds doing tent checks to make sure their campers were okay and where they were supposed to be.
Around 1:30 am one of the counselors had to warn tent 6 to be quiet and settle down. While doing this the counselor heard strange noises coming from behind the tents. She described it as a low guttural noise. She wasn't certain it was a person or animal. She did shine her flashlight in that direction but didn't see anything and the noise stopped.
Many campers and counselors heard a lot of strange noises throughout the night. Around 3 am there are a few reports of campers saying that they heard what sounded like a scream and at another point heard a girl cry out for her mother.
At point during these times there were also reports of someone reaching into tents and taking different things, One example of things stolen they took several pairs of glasses.
A camper in tent 7 reported to someone shinning a flashlight in to her tent, after just a few seconds the flap was replaced and the person moved onto tent 8.
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| Courtesy of strangeoutdoors.com |
The Discovery
Around 6 am camp counselor Carla White woke up to shower then she was going to wake up the girls that she was assigned to. As she was walking towards the bathhouse she saw something on the path. As soon as she approached the bundle she could tell that it was a sleeping bag and beside it was the body of a little girl.
Carla immediately woke up other people to help her check on the other girls. Dee would be the one to check tent 8, where she discovered all three girls were missing.
Carla would rush to the nurses office, once the nurse is on her way to the little girl that was found Carla headed to get the director, Barbara Day.
The girl that was found had severe head injuries and had her hands tied behind her back. It was determined that the little girl was Denise Milner and she was obviously dead.
Barbara Days husband Richard would be the one to find the other two missing girls from tent 8. They were found inside sleeping bags not far from Denise. They were also dead and identified as Lori Farmer and Michelle Guise.
The Highway Patrol was contacted and the investigation ensued.
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| Courtesy of koko.com |
The Evidence
A highway patrol officer discovered boot prints from tent 8 to where the body of Denise Milner was found. It appeared that the boot prints went behind tent 8 to the front. It would not be hard to gain access through the flaps of the tent.
Investigators determined that Lori and Michelle had been bludgeoned inside the tent. this was determined by the blood splatter in the tent. It appeared that the killer attempted to clean up inside the tent with bed sheets. A size 9.5 boot print was left in blood but no finger prints were discovered.
Denise Milner had been sexually assaulted, she had been found naked from the waste down bound around the wrist and gagged.
Lori Farmer and Michelle Guise were also sexually assaulted.
Investigators determined that the gag had been brought to the scene along with nylon ties, duct tape and a flashlight. It appeared to be a premeditated attack. A hair that did not belong to any of the victims was found on some of the duct tape.
The tape and nylon had been stolen from a farm about a mile from Camp Scott.
Autopsies would determine that different weapons were used and both right and left hands were used by the killer. It was also determined that different knots were used in the binding of the girls. Could this be evidence that more than one killer carried out the attacks?
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| Courtesy of people.com |
A Suspect
A ten month manhunt ensued with different agencies involved. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations eliminated any obvious male suspects. Such as the farmer that reported things stolen, the directors husband Richard Day and a camp ranger.
Police dogs would find a cave near a campsite that contained some items that were stolen from Camp Scott along with items owned by someone named Gene LeRoy Hart. One item that was left behind was a note that read "The killer was here. Bye Bye fools. 77-6-17"
Gene Hart was an escaped convict who had escaped four years earlier. Hart had been convicted of the raping two pregnant women. He served a little over 2 years on a 30 year sentence.
Hart's previous victims who both wore glasses would later say that he had an obsession with their glasses and tried them on. As previously stated someone, possibly Hart stole glasses from Camp Scott. A pair were found laying near by the crime scene.
Hart was found on April 6, 1978, ironically he was wearing women's glasses. He was charged with the murder of the three campers.
A lot of people in the community didn't believe that Hart committed the murders. They felt the arrest was racially motivated because Hart was Cherokee.
Hart's trial would begin on March 19, 1979 and there was a lot of incriminating evidence. The sperm that was found on a pillow case was said to be very similar to Hart's but this was before DNA. Later in the 80's was determined not to rule Hart out.
The local Cherokee nation fully supported Hart and would say that the evidence including the DNA was planted. This argument would be used in defending Hart.
In the end the defense was successful in defending Hart because he was found not guilty of the murders.
Hart did have to return to prison to serve out his remaining sentence and ultimately died from a heart attack while in prison on June 4, 1979.
Even though Gene Hart was convicted of violent crimes previously, when he died thousands would be at his funeral.
Aftermath
Many investigators believed that Hart was guilty despite the ruling. In 2008 the samples would be tested again and were found to be inconclusive because of the state of the samples. Partial DNA from an unknown female were found but couldn't be matched to the victims or anyone else.
Camp Scott was opened in 1928 but closed down the day after the murders never to be opened again.
Many that believed in Hart's guilt thought he may have had an accomplice. Although its been 45 years the case is still open and many true crime fans are still obsessed.
So do you think Gene Hart raped and murdered three innocent little girls away at camp?
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