HOUSTON — Four decades ago, someone murdered Tim Miller's 16-year-old daughter Laura and dumped her body in an area south of Houston that would later become known as the Texas Killing Fields.
Four other young women were also murdered and dumped in the same remote area on Calder Road in League City.
It's a story that has troubled Houstonians for years, even becoming the subject of a 2022 Netflix special.
"It's been a long 40 years," Miller told us on Thursday. "Life is never the same."
After his daughter's death, the founder of Texas Equusearch dedicated his life to helping other families whose loved ones are missing.
Miller is also on a mission to find justice for Laura. He's convinced that a man named Clyde Hedrick killed the teen and four other young women and dumped them in a remote area off I-45.
"Two and a half years ago, I actually had somebody reach out to me that was with Clyde," Miller said. "He helped Clyde put every one of the bodies out there."
Miller said the man, who wants to remain anonymous, took him to the area where Laura and the others were found.
“He stopped at a point and just stared, he said, ‘We dumped something there.’ And I said, 'Oh my God, that’s where Laura’s body was dumped,'" Miller told KHOU 11 in 2022.
Miller said he was skeptical at first because of how widely the cases were reported, but now he's convinced of the witness's story.
“He sat in front of the house and he said, 'I told you, someday you are going to know what happened in this house.' And I said, 'Was Laura murdered in this house?' And he said, 'Yeah.'"
In 2014, Hedrick, now 70 years old, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for the death of one of the victims. Ellen Beason's body was also found in 1984, not far from Laura's.
Hedrick was sentenced to 20 years in prison for her death but has never been charged in the other cases. After serving eight years, he received what's called mandatory release. He was released from prison under what's called the Super Intensive Supervision program.
"Intensive supervision by the parole division includes things like GPS monitoring, review of any travel request, really a day-to-day supervision," KHOU 11 legal expert Carmen Roe explained.
Miller said he was recently notified by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice that the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles will soon consider withdrawing the special condition of the super intensive supervision program from Hedrick's parole terms.
That notice prompted Miller to take to social media, requesting supporters send emails and letters to the board asking them to keep Hedrick under that intensive supervision.
"You know, I think it's only fair to all of us that, that Clyde stays where he's at, and when he passes, he's alone," Miller said.
Roe tells me the board will be aware of any letters or emails they receive, but their consideration should be limited to actual convictions.
Roe said if the board ended the intensive supervision, Hedrick would still be supervised by the parole division, like every other parolee in a felony case.
She said that Hendrick's probation officer would have had to recommend the removal of that special supervision based on his compliance since leaving prison and his age for it to be considered by the board. And at this point, it's not exactly clear when the board will make a decision. though a letter from the Texas Department of Justice said that this type of review can now come up every five to 12 months in Hedrick's case.