Gone Cold - Texas True Crime

In January 1989, 43-year-old Thomas Charles Hammerton was found stabbed to death on a quiet street in Houston’s Hyde Park neighborhood, near the city’s Montrose district. Hammerton had moved to Houston from Youngstown, Ohio, seeking a place where he could live more openly and freely in one of the city’s most vibrant LGBTQ+ communities.

But his murder came at a time when organized skinhead groups and hate-motivated violence were spreading across the United States. In Houston, reports of harassment and attacks by neo-Nazi skinheads had already begun to surface in Montrose and surrounding neighborhoods.

Investigators eventually identified a self-described skinhead as a prime suspect during a narcotics raid that uncovered drugs and multiple knives believed to be consistent with the weapon used in the killing. Despite the discovery, no homicide charges were ever filed.

Nearly four decades later, the murder of Thomas Charles Hammerton remains unsolved.

If you have any information about the murder of Thomas Charles Hammerton, please call Texas Crime Stoppers at (800) 252-8477.

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In November 1986, 24-year-old June Carpenter Gilkerson left her Midland home to meet a probationer she supervised at the Midland County Restitution Center. She never returned.

Her blue Honda Civic was found abandoned at a Best Western near Interstate 20, purse and belongings still inside. Evidence quickly pointed to probationer David Russell Alderink and Midland library custodian Kenneth Wayne Parker, who had discussed abducting women for profit.

Alderink later admitted helping set up June’s abduction, claiming Parker carried out the attack. Investigators uncovered physical evidence, contradictory alibis, and recorded conversations between the men. Though June’s body was never recovered, Parker was convicted in federal court of conspiracy to kidnap and sentenced to two consecutive life terms. Alderink received 20 years after pleading guilty to aggravated kidnapping.

Nearly four decades later, June Gilkerson has never been found.

If you have any information about the disappearance of June Gilkerson, please contact the Midland Police Department at (432) 685-7108.

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In February 1999, fifteen-year-old Sonya Christene Wallace left her mother’s home in Rockdale, Texas to walk four blocks to the post office. She left around 5:30 p.m.

She never came back.

Initially labeled a runaway by local authorities, Sonya’s disappearance received little urgency. Her family insisted that something was wrong. Weeks passed without answers.

On March 14, 1999, a rancher discovered the body of a teenage girl beneath a bridge in southeastern Williamson County, close to the Lee County line. The remains were badly decomposed. DNA testing later confirmed it was Sonya Wallace.

Her death was ruled a homicide caused by blunt force trauma to the head.

Investigators believed Sonya was killed elsewhere and her body transported to the creek bed where she was found, approximately 25 miles from where she disappeared. Evidence collected included her clothing and soda bottles from the scene. Detectives stated early on they believed Sonya likely knew her killer.

A previous case involving two young men who had been arrested months earlier in connection with inappropriate contact with Sonya surfaced during the investigation. One was incarcerated at the time of her death. The other had been released from jail just eleven days before she vanished. No arrests were ever made in Sonya’s murder.

Over the years, investigators conducted between 150 and 200 interviews. Crime Stoppers rewards were offered. Sonya’s father created a website dedicated to her memory, hoping someone would come forward.

In 2017, the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office established a Cold Case Unit. Sonya’s case was reopened and reexamined from the beginning. Detectives retested evidence using modern DNA techniques and reinterviewed hundreds of people connected to her life. Investigators now believe she may have been planning to meet someone the night she disappeared, and they have stated there is no evidence she ever reached the post office.

More than two and a half decades later, Sonya Wallace’s murder remains unsolved.

If you have information about the murder of Sonya Christene Wallace, please call the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Unit at (512) 943-5204.

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On the night of January 28, 2006, 28-year-old Amber Lyn Smith was last seen at her home in the 1300 block of Aldama Street in Seguin, Texas. She was gone, but her purse, identification, and vehicle were still there. Her two young sons, just four years old and one month old, were asleep inside.

Amber’s disappearance launched one of the largest searches in Guadalupe County history. Local police, Texas Rangers, DPS Crime Lab personnel, K-9 units, volunteers, and later Texas EquuSearch combed fields and vacant properties in and around Seguin. Helicopters, drones, mounted teams, and sonar-equipped boats were used. No sign of Amber was found.

On February 16, 2006, a Texas Department of Transportation worker discovered a badly decomposed body beneath a bridge at FM 725 and Grove Lane, roughly ten miles from Amber’s home. Distinctive tattoos helped confirm the remains were hers. The autopsy listed the cause of death as undetermined due to decomposition, but investigators stated she had not arrived there on her own. In March 2006, a justice of the peace ruled her death a homicide.

No one has ever been charged. Nearly two decades later, the case remains open.

If you have any information about the murder of Amber Lyn Smith in Seguin, please contact Texas Crime Stoppers at (800) 252-8477.

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On Christmas Eve 2015, 71-year-old Schertz businessman Henry Manuel Gutierrez, Jr. was found shot multiple times inside his home along FM 3009, near the yard of his company, Bexar Waste. His son discovered him seated in a recliner, partially covered by a blanket, in what investigators described as an execution-style killing.

Henry was in the midst of negotiating the multimillion-dollar sale of Bexar Waste to Republic Services at the time of his death. His estate was valued at approximately $14.6 million. An active civil lawsuit alleging a handshake agreement over future sale proceeds added financial tension to an already complex landscape.

The home appeared rummaged through. Missing items included cash, his wallet, several Christmas gift cards, a distinctive sterling silver ring, and his white Ford Expedition, later recovered in San Marcos without usable forensic evidence. Some of the stolen gift cards surfaced in Houston days later.

Investigators collected shell casings, an unknown fingerprint, and DNA, but no public forensic link has tied any suspect to the crime. Questions arose about the early handling of the scene and the delayed involvement of the Texas Rangers.

Over the years, police interviewed roughly 100 individuals connected to Henry’s business and personal life. Persons of interest have been identified but not publicly named.

In 2022, the case was officially designated a cold case. In 2024, authorities announced a new person of interest developed through renewed investigation efforts. As of the tenth anniversary in 2025, no arrests have been made, and a reward remains active.

If you have any information about the murder of Henry Manuel Gutierrez Jr., please call the Guadalupe County Crime Stoppers at (877) 403-8477.

You can support gone cold and listen to the show ad-free at https://patreon.com/gonecoldpodcast

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