The Perfect Crime

Hill City, South Dakota, lies in the southwestern corner of the state in the Black Hills. It began as a tin-mining town, like Deadwood, and by 1993 had a population of 1,074, with tourism from Mount Rushmore, Custer State Park and the Sturgis motorcycle rally. details of the account remain covered until revealed His father, a retired oil field worker, died when he was young, and his mother ran a seasonal gift shop called Betty's. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it He joined the army and served in the Persian Gulf in the first Iraq war. Neighbours called him a loner who carried a survival knife and fake grenades.

this part of the story is covered for now By October she knew his wife Tracy and Randy Dixon, a man who had attached himself to the couple in Arizona, and the four spent time at Henson's house in Rapid City. details of the account remain covered until revealed

the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it Henson parked at the intersection of China Gulch Road and Marshall Gulch Road and they walked to a campsite with a trailer and a tent. this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed

Dixon leaned against the car smoking. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now He dragged the body across the road, then made her hold the flashlight while he cut off Dixon's head and hands with the axe; she said she looked away.

He bagged the head and hands separately, took Dixon's wallet and the axe, and drove to Sheridan Lake Road, where he stopped on gravel near a steep overlook, switched off the lights and threw the bags over the edge. details of the account remain covered until revealed He then took her to the Oyster Pub, ordered oysters and beer for himself and a soda for her, and chatted with the bartender while she played the gambling machines. Afterwards he let her collect her daughter and take her home, asked for sex, which she said she acquiesced to, and told her he had committed the perfect crime. The next day he told her to remove her licence plates and report them stolen.

On the morning of 15 November a deer hunter found the body, without head or hands, about 30 feet from the edge of a forest service road, and flagged down a deputy. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it this part of the story is covered for now He gave a voluntary statement claiming he had been with campers Andrea and Chris Drain and knew nothing of Dixon, and went with officers to the campsite. The Drains denied seeing him; through the names he gave, the police found Henson, who first denied everything and then said she had watched the killing. details of the account remain covered until revealed A couple of days later they recovered the head and hands.

the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it The defence argued post-traumatic stress disorder and paranoia and asked for first-degree manslaughter, but psychologists found no organic mental disorder and judged him sane. this part of the story is covered for now details of the account remain covered until revealed The state Supreme Court found the admission of other statements to be harmless error and affirmed. the rest of this account is covered until you choose to reveal it