Boys on the Tracks /// Part 1 /// True Crime Garage | Forensic Files

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[music] >> [music] [music] >> This is True Crime Garage. [music] >> And this is the case of the boys on the
tracks. [music] >> [music] [music] >> By all accounts, [music] the engineer did a masterful job of bringing his
train to a stop. It had taken a screaming, [music] screeching half mile. By the time the engine had shuttered to
a standstill, conductor Jerry Tomlin was on the radio notifying an approaching [music] train on a parallel track to
stop because some boys had been run over. He had [music] also called the dispatcher.
"Have you got injuries?" the dispatcher asked. No. Tomlin said, "We've [music] got
death. We got death. I'm sure we've got death. They passed under us. It has to be death.
It has It has [music] to be death. It has It [music] has to be death. [music] 4:00 a.m. August 23rd, 1987.
This is a Sunday in Arkansas. There's a train traveling north from Tex Arcana. This train is about a mile long, pulling
mostly freight, but some empty cars as well. The train's headlight is set to the bright position. The crew would
later say that it was particularly dark that night. The train's engineer, this is Steven Shyer, and the conductor,
Jerry Tomlin, notice a dark spot on the tracks. Now, any debris on the tracks, of course, is a big concern. They can
see a flash of light from this dark spot. The train's headlights beam, it must have hit something metal or
something that reflected the light back to them. When the train was approximately a hundred feet away from
the dark spot, engineer Shawyer yelled out, "Oh my god," and he hit the whistle and the emergency brake at the same
time. This is because they could tell that there were two young men laying on the tracks between the rails. They could
also tell that there was a gun lying next to them. >> They could tell that there was something
covering the boys from their waist to their knees. Both boys were between the rails with their heads up against the
west rail and their feet over the east rail. Both were right beside each other and their arms and hands were at their
sides, their heads facing straight up and they didn't move at all. >> The train was traveling approximately 55
m an hour. >> This would only give the crew just seconds to respond before running over
the boys. As we had said, they hit the emergency brake, but with the weight and the speed of the train, this is going to
take some time to bring this metal monster to a stop. >> As they are breaking, the steel wheels
are they're screaming on the steel tracks. The train cars vibrate. The tracks begin to vibrate as well. The
whistles blowing and still the boys do not jerk. They do not flinch. They do not move a muscle. Now, Shawyer couldn't
tell what the object was that was covering the boys, but the other two men on the train, Tomlin and this other guy,
his last name is Delmare, both said that this item that was covering the boys from waist to knee was a tarp, a a pale
green tarp. I believe one of the men actually said that it looked like a boat cover. Um, and they stated that the gun
was clearly a rifle. The barrel was near one of the boys's head and the stock was
mostly underneath the tarp. The men watched as the bodies disappeared under the train. The men heard the train hit
the boys. One of the men explained that what he was used to on occasion, the train would hit a dog. And he said that
you would hear like a thud and then you would hear rocks flying because if it was something that was under the train,
then the train was scooting the object along with the boys and with the gun. The men felt the impact and they said it
was very one, two, three. You could you could feel the hit of the first boy, second boy, and then the gun. It's hard
to imagine what's going through these guys' heads as they're hitting the bodies.
>> Yeah, it's I mean it's a complete nightmare. When the train hits an object, uh one of two things usually
happen. So there is a scoop on the front of this train that the men called a cow
catcher. I believe this is a commonly used term. So either the cow catcher will hit the item and toss the object
violently aside or get sucked up under the train. >> Right? And this is what happened here.
>> And the two boys' legs were laying on the track. So what happened was the feet
were actually severed by the train. >> Yes. Severed from the legs and the heads and the torsos were between the tracks.
So the train would have cleared the bodies and then rolled them under the train. Uh this is what the three men on
board had heard. So armed with flashlights, the men get off of the train and they went looking for what
they had hit. About 35 cars back, they located the first of many pieces that they would find.
>> Right. Train cars. >> Yeah. They they spotted some dismembered toes. The biggest body part that they
found was the chest and head of the second boy. The first boy was he was much more chopped up. The police had
started to arrive on the scene. Um, and they basically found parts of the gun and the bodies scattered along a quarter
mile of the tracks. >> Mhm. >> One thing the crew members noticed very quickly was that there was a lot less
blood than any of them had expected to see. >> And the blood that they did see and find
it was dark. It wasn't it wasn't red. It was a purplish color. And like you said,
they have experience with, you know, hitting the train, the train hitting a dog or a cow or a deer or something of
that nature. >> Yeah. And and in this area of the country, too, these are guys that were
familiar with hunting. Um so they they knew kind of what to expect. Unfortunately, in this situation, that's
why they were so freaked out was they knew what they were expecting to see and they were terrified going back there
looking for that. Well, yeah, cuz it's on a whole different level. I mean, it's one thing to hit a deer, but to hit two
teenage boys. >> Mhm. The police were there at 4:40 a.m. This is just about 13 minutes after the
crew had reported the incident. >> Mhm. >> This fell to the jurisdiction of the Saline County Sheriff's Office. On the
scene, we have Deputy Chuck Talent and Lieutenant Ray Richmond, who was the head of the department's criminal
investigation division. After checking out the scene, the officers decided that they were investigating either an
accident or a suicide. >> The crew working the train immediately disagreed with the officers. They knew
that, of course, accidents certainly do happen around trains, and suicides do as
well. But the troubling thing here is that the men saw neither boy move at all. >> Right? If if it were a suicide, they
said they might be able to be talked into agreeing that one person could brave through the terrifying situation
of the train approaching them, but none of the men would agree that two people could lay there and not flinch or not
move a muscle as the train got closer and closer. >> Right. Which I I think I agree with them
on. Uh I just think that's a really hard thing to even speculate. >> Mhm. Also at the scene was state trooper
Wayne Lanhart of the Arkansas State Police. >> Now Lanheart was concerned by what he
saw at the scene, but let's keep in mind he this is not his jurisdiction, >> right?
>> Uh this is the jurisdiction of the sheriff's office, so he is at their mercy.
>> So I'm assuming that it was the call was made and he was just in close proximity.
So he then showed up to see if they need any assistance. >> Yeah. Everybody was responding to this
call. So this is not his case. He is pretty much just a spectator at this point, but the thing that bothered him
the most was the sheriff deputy's disinterest in the possibility of a murder. According to Lannard's training,
any unnatural death should be investigative first as a possible homicide so evidence can be preserved
and the most serious possibilities eliminated before less serious ones are considered. Leard, after having talked
with the crew members, told the deputies that he doubted the deaths were an accident.
>> Right. >> Another cause for concern was the observations made by the emergency
medical technicians arriving on the scene. >> Right. The EMTs. >> Yeah. They both said that the bodies
looked more like mannequins because there was so little blood. And at the impact site, the blood that they found
was really dark in color, more a purple than a red. >> They didn't see any bright blood. And
this led them to believe that the blood that they were seeing was not fresh. Who
were the two boys on the tracks that night? And why were they there? >> The boys were 17-year-old Kevin Ives and
16-year-old Don Henry. And I know it's 1987 and there wasn't a lot of law enforcement didn't crack down on curfew
as often, >> but what is a 16 and 17year-old boy doing out by these train tracks? I mean,
it's Saturday. They they're hanging out Saturday and then this happens at 4 a.m.
on Sunday. >> Yeah. >> So, it was the weekend. >> Yep. Well, this is a rural area. Um, so,
uh, you don't see curfews really enforced a whole lot out in these parts. Um, but basically the boys were staying
the night at Don Henry's home. >> Uh, and they they got there around 12:15 a.m. Uh, Don lives with his parents,
Curtis and his stepmother, Marvel Henry. Now, the two were supposed to be staying
the night at Don's house. They had known each other about 6 months. Uh they had become quick friends, hanging out
together very often. Uh this was the summertime, nearing the start of another school year, so they were, you know, the
two of them were trying to make the most of their summer, what what they had left,
>> right? >> Uh Kevin had stayed at Dawn's place once or twice before, but Kevin's mother,
Linda, was not real excited about Kevin staying there that night. Uh, in fact, she had originally said no to the
request because last time he had stayed there, she didn't approve of what went down. On that occasion, Don's father had
called Linda the morning after and asked if the boys were at her house, >> right?
>> And she says she says, "No, you know, they they were supposed to be at at your
place. I don't I don't know what happened here." >> Right? So, they did a switcheroo. Well,
what what it turns out that what happened was that uh at some point Don had got in an argument with his father
Curtis. >> Uh and then then after the argument, the two boys went and decided to stay at
another friend's house that night. Um so Curtis maybe thought that they went back
to Kevin's and it turns out that that was not not the case. >> Well, it's very embarrassing when you
have a friend over and you get an argument with your parents. >> Mhm. That's always like you're like,
"Oh, I'm I'm really sorry that my mom's being a big old bee right now." >> Well, I'm sure Kevin's parents would
have wished that they would have returned to to their place rather than just going to this Yeah. this unscripted
place that they ended up. Um, so of course, Linda was reluctant to let Kevin go over there on this occasion, but you
know how it goes. Teenagers talk their parents into things. Uh, so on that night, the two had been hanging out with
some friends. Uh they were told to be home by midnight or 12:30 at the latest. So once they were back at Dawn's place,
they had asked Don's father, Curtis, if they could go out hunting. Uh this is spotlighting, which is an illegal form
of hunting. Plus, I wouldn't think that anything would be in season at that time
of year. Now, Don was an avid hunter, so he was, you know, this activity sounds a
bit strange to me. Uh, but I get the impression that this could have been a common thing here for him.
>> Uh, plus it doesn't sound to me as if Don's parents or at least Don's father Curtis was the strictest of parents,
>> right? Well, and some people remember what their childhood was like when when
it's summertime and they think, you know, some parents get a little more loose and in the summertime and I I
think that's okay. Well, I used to be a, you know, have to be in by a certain time, but in the summertime a lot of
times my parents would let me pitch a tent in the backyard, you know, and have somebody stay over. So, really, I wasn't
totally under their watchful eye. Um, but spotlighting is where you go out with flashlights and a gun and when you
come across some unfortunate animal, and I don't know what they were hunting for,
uh, or maybe if they were just looking for any type of creature out there. Um, but basically, you you shine your
flashlight on the animal and the light beam will pretty much lock up the animal like the old saying, freeze up like a
deer in the headlights. Well, this makes the animal a very easy target. So they ask Curtis if they can go out
spotlighting and he says yes. And that is the last time that the boys are known to be seen alive.
>> Yeah. Last time that they're known to be seen alive by any parents or close family members. Mhm.
>> This story which has not been covered often has so many twists and turns and I
dare say maybe one of the most interesting cases, most fascinating cases with as many twist that you will
ever hear in a case. >> Yeah, it it it's crazy. It starts off as a small town case and it could be I mean
it could be huge. >> Well, it starts out as as a small town case that people think it's an accident
or suicide. Mhm. The next morning, Curtis, the father, he gets up around 5:00 a.m. and he wakes up his wife,
Marvel, saying that that Dawn should have been home by now, but wasn't. And he tells her that he really thinks that
something is wrong here. >> Curtis goes out looking for the boys. He knew where the boys were going to go
hunt. Uh so he headed to the woods near the train tracks. He's out driving around looking for Don and Kevin. And
while he's out there, he passes a uh deputy. >> Mhm. >> And he slows down and he stops and he
asks the deputy if they had seen two teenagers out there running around. The deputy asked who the man was looking
for. And Curtis, knowing that the boys were out hunting illegally, he decided that he didn't want to name any names,
>> right? >> You know, um so Curtis is going to continue on looking for the boys. The
officer also didn't say that they had found two boys on the train tracks when when Curtis had stopped to talk to him.
>> Right. >> After driving around for a few hours, Curtis went home and he called Linda and
he asked her if the boys were at her place. And of course, now she's thinking, "Oh, no, not again. This
happened last time. And why the hell can't this other parent keep the kids at his house,
>> right?" >> Uh she asked if there was an argument. Uh he says no, there was nothing like
that. That the boys had simply went out hunting and they must have stayed out all night. Uh he told Linda not to worry
because Dawn had hunted often. Uh he was very responsible with a firearm and he knew the woods better than anyone.
>> Mhm. >> Linda was beginning to get quite worried about Kevin though. >> Well, and like we said, we're 16 and 17
year old and you have your little stomping grounds. So, it seems like Don, one of Don's stomping grounds was these
woods. And you know, and and back when I was uh probably, you know, elementary school and middle school, there was
woods by my house. And if you took a you know, if a parent came back looking for
a kid, they couldn't find their way around, >> right? >> But but >> but the kids knew how to get through
every inch of that woods. Around noon, the phone rang again, and it was Curtis. Uh Linda could tell by his voice that
this call was much different than the last call. He says, "Get over here quick. They've been shot and tied to the
railroad tracks and they've been run over by the train." Now, this might sound a little weird here, but Linda, of
course, she she's in shock by what she has just heard. >> Yeah, obviously. >> But she she says that she was actually
somewhat relieved once she had a chance to kind of process what Curtis had said.
Uh, Linda was worried that the boys could have been in a car wreck. You know, they were both young drivers at
this time. They both owned fast cars. Don had a Firebird and Kevin had a Camaro, right?
>> Uh, >> 1987. >> But yeah, but she said what Curtis had told her sounded so absurd that it
couldn't have possibly happened, that it couldn't be the truth. >> Right. Right.
>> So, Linda drives over to Curtis Curtis Henry's home. When she pulled up to the
place, she sees Kevin's car at the end of the driveway, and this makes her feel very good. Uh she's immediately thinking
that Kevin had returned to the Henry's and nobody was in a car wreck, and you know, all is good again,
>> right? Maybe maybe something happened and maybe they were on these tracks, but
they're okay now. >> Mhm. Well, that feeling quickly left her. As she's getting out of the car, a
deputy, this is Deputy Talent, came out from the house and he asked her to come inside.
>> So, we go here from from a lot of relief to very worried. Curtis, right in front
of the officer, tells Linda that a neighbor had told him that the boys had been shot. They had been tied to the
tracks and they've been run over by the train. Now, the police officer, he states that the boys, yes, there there
had been two boys that had been run over by a train. Now, these boys had not been
positively identified yet, >> and they were going to be checking dental records at the crime lab to
figure out who these boys were, >> right? But you have no whereabouts of your two of these two teenage boys.
>> Mhm. >> That you know that they went out at night. You know what area they went at.
>> Yeah. You know, they went in the woods down by the train tracks, >> right? And you now and they didn't come
home and their vehicles are at your house. >> Mhm. >> So, this is this is very troublesome.
Well, Deputy Talent, he asked Linda for a description of what Kevin was wearing the last time that she had seen him. Um,
she describes this and he does say that that fit with the items that they had found at the tracks. Um, what led the
officers to Curtis Henry's door? They had found a camouflaged baseball cap with the with a Little Rock electric
logo on it. This is the electric company in the area. >> Right >> now, Curtis was a superintendent with
that company and Dawn had had one of those hats, right? >> Don wanted to become an electrician uh
just like his father after graduating from high school. And that summer he had actually kind of taken Don under his
wing a little bit and would bring him into work with him and you know kind of show him the ropes a little bit to see
if this was something he actually wanted to do after graduating high school. So unfortunately this is a this is a hat
that he knew that Don would have been wearing that night. >> Right. So the writing is pretty much on
the wall. >> Yeah. And unfortunately, the boys would soon later be positively identified as
the two boys who had been run over by the train that night. >> Right. That being Don Henry and Kevin
Ives. >> Now, there are still plenty of more weird things about that night that we
haven't even got to yet. >> Mhm. Uh the first strange thing here is remember that at the beginning of the
show we had said that the train's conductor had called another train that was passing on a parallel track and he
called them telling them to stop because they had just run over some boys. Uh well once the officers had arrived and
they began scoping out the scene, the sheriff's told the other train that it could then continue on. Well, this is
before collecting some of the remains or looking for potential evidence of a crime here,
>> right? >> You know, nothing stirs up a crime scene area like a giant train passing through,
right? Next, the crew had said that they, and this is all three of the crew members, they all got the same feeling
that the sheriff's office, the the officers that were on the scene, they said that they didn't even believe that
any of them were looking for any clues as to what had happened. First off, they were obviously looking at this thing
like it was an accident or a double suicide. And not only that, but the officers were overheard being told,
"Hey, treat this as a traffic accident." >> Yeah. And and I'm guessing that this
might have been the extent of their expertise. You know, they were probably all familiar with traffic fatalities,
but not very familiar with, you know, a potential double double murder scene and
probably not a scene as complicated as this one. >> Uh this next bit is is extremely strange
in my mind. uh regarding the sheriffs that night. Uh it's like they were trying to pull the old Jedi mind trick
on the train crew. After listening to each of the crew members statements, the deputy and the lieutenant told the crew
members that they had all been mistaken, that there was no tarp covering the boys.
>> Do or do not. There is no track. >> Yeah. They they they simply told the guys that they were confused by how dark
it had been that night and that there was simply no tarp. Um, the next thing that the sheriffs did was confusing too
as well because they also seem to doubt the men's statements that there was a gun present with the boys.
>> Right. And we know from Curtis, from Don's father, that they were out there to hunt.
>> So, makes a lot of sense that there would be a gun beside the boys. >> Right. Right. And we and we know that.
But but the officers at the scene, they don't know any of that information yet. But it's very strange here, Captain. Why
would they when you take the the train crew statements >> Mhm. >> Uh and then you're going to go out and
look at the scene and and unfortunately have this terrible job of collecting things there. Why would you have any
reason to doubt them without walking the scene yet? Why why would you even say that there was no tarp? Why would you
say that there's no gun? Um I don't even know why you would even question that. Wouldn't you just take their statements
and not even make any observations of your own until you've walked the scene? >> Well, and as you're walking the scene,
maybe they're just having a hard time finding these items. So therefore, well, I can't find it, so maybe you are
mistaken. I mean, I I don't think all that stuff is nef, you know, nefarious. I think some of it is just simply, well,
maybe, you know, it was super dark. You have this bright light coming from your train
>> and maybe you didn't see exactly what you think you saw. I I can agree with that. I can agree with that. The train
is traveling very fast. It's very dark out that night. These men are trained though to spot things on the tracks. Um
that is one thing that they do, you know, >> right? But what what a law enforcement
should do is just take the statement >> and if the statement is a little off, that's okay. That is the statement from
that individual, not a statement that you guys made in a joint effort. >> Right. Right. and and don't react to
those statements until you have an opportunity to check out the scene and collect evidence to, you know, because
they're probably walking in there thinking this was an accident or this was a suicide. It's the only things that
seem to make sense here. Um, but it's it's weird that they have this kind of preconceived notion before even really
collecting evidence. >> Yeah. But we see this time and time again with law enforcement. It's you
create a narrative and then you make that evidence fit your narrative instead of collecting the evidence and
collecting the statements and and letting that create your narrative. >> Yeah. And while they're walking the
scene with the crew members, uh they even state several times, you know, where so where is this alleged gun?
Where where is this so-called gun that you guys saw? >> We have law enforcement creating a
narrative. Mhm. >> Now, we need to do an autopsy on these bodies to actually figure out, you know,
that's going to point us in a direction, too. And this is where the first twist in this story takes place. We'll get to
that right after this quick beer break. [music] [music] >> [music] >> All right, we're back. Cheers, mates.
>> Yeah, we have two boys that are found dead on the train tracks and we do have
autopsies that we need to get to, but I real quickly I want to go through a couple more things about that night
before we get to those autopsies. Mhm. >> Uh we had talked about the gun, you know, that the the officers refused to
believe the crew statement that there was a gun present present, that they had seen one.
>> Right. And like we said before, Curtis uh Henry, Don Henry's father said they
went out hunting. >> Mhm. And while they're searching the crime scene, they start referring to
this gun as the alleged gun or the so-called gun. It was not until the sheriff's office had actually recovered
pieces of a shattered 22 rifle with that they would believe that there was even a
gun present. >> Right. >> So, they did recover shattered pieces of a 22 rifle. Uh they there were no
bullets in it at the time. There was no tarp found. Um I could see a tarp just getting ripped to shreds. Uh you know,
if it's covering the boys. >> Well, possibly. But you also have the other train.
>> Mhm. >> That just they let go. >> Mhm. And I could totally see a a tarp being trapped into a a train somehow.
Yeah. You know, it gets pulled along. >> You're exactly right. And and not only that, they're not even looking for a
tarp. They're refusing to believe that it it exists. Right. Right. >> So, as they're collecting evidence, they
they they weren't looking for these things. And these things were scattered for about a quarter mile of track.
>> And there was also other items that were found left at the track as well. Mhm. So
the boys were the train incident took place on a Sunday. Well, Monday morning comes and the deaths are reported in the
news and in the papers. >> So people start going down to the tracks to check out the scene. U one group that
went down there, they found a >> I like to call those people whiskers. >> Whiskers
>> cuz they're curious like a cat. >> Well, these people uh be careful what you wish for. They went down to the
track, this one group, and they found a severed foot in the gravel uh that was missed by the sheriff's department.
>> Right. So, you don't believe that there is a gun. You don't believe that there's
a tarp. You find evidence of the gun. >> Mhm. >> And then you leave a foot behind.
>> Yeah. >> Right. I mean, and like we said, some of the police officers that were at the
scene at the time said, "Look, you have to assume that this is a homicide scene,
>> and you need to do your due diligence, so therefore, we can get some answers."
And this is direct evidence to point that they said, "Well, this is a suicide or accident. Case shut."
>> Well, in fact, it became it became well-known knowledge that the sheriff's investigators never even roped off the
scene. Um, and some other people recovered parts of the gun from that scene that the sheriff's office had
missed. >> Well, congratulations. >> When they returned Dawn's clothing to the Henry's, um, his stepmother found a
small bag of pot in his pocket. >> Uh, so the officers had missed this entirely.
>> And two days after the boy's death, the sheriff's, they they offer a statement
saying, "Hey, we haven't ruled out anything except for foul play. We ruled that out." Mhm. Yeah. In review of the
investigation, it was learned that the sheriff's office spent about a week on the investigation. This mostly consisted
of interviews with friends and classmates of the two boys. Uh most of these interviews contained the same two
questions. Well, heck, most of these interviews only consisted of two questions.
>> One, how much drugs did the boys use? And two, were they suicidal? >> Right? And this is what makes me go
bonkers, man. It's it's again, like we said, they are they have a theory and then they're trying to create the
narrative. >> And we see this time and time again. It's it's just it's utter malarkey.
>> Yeah. And usually even in an accidental death when they are invest when they're
investigating it, they will typically ask friends and relatives, well, do you know anybody that would have wanted to
hurt this person, right? >> Or why? And you know, and this is not even a question that is posed to most of
these people, >> right? But you're asking people the same question. Are they suicidal? How much
drugs did they use? >> And then it creates the story amongst the people that well that's must be what
happened here, >> right? And then and then obviously think about the family. Why would you why
would you tell your parents? Why one would you spend the night with anybody? And then why would you decide to oh well
let's just go hunting and uh let's now let's just lay down on the tracks >> and again like you said you'd have to
have I mean you'd have to have the balls >> nerves of steel man >> to lay there on that track
>> and let that happen. >> Yeah. Well, this story obviously very quickly became big-time news all across
the state of Arkansas. Not only was the story a parents worst nightmare, but it was a strange and horrible story all at
the same time. Of course, the rumor mill ran wild and there were a lot of theories regarding the deaths being
traded around dinner tables, dinners, at local bars, and you know, all over the state of Arkansas. One of the things
that I find a little creepy about this and uh our longtime listeners would know we we covered the Phantom Killer, also
known as the Tex Arcana murders. >> Mhm. >> And and having the train come from Tex
Arcana adds a little bit to the creep factor for me. The sheriff's office officially seemed to be describing the
deaths as an apparent accident, but would not give it that official title yet, stating that the official cause of
death would have to come from the state medical examiner's office. Unfortunately, when the deputies were
speaking with the families, they suggested that suicide was a more likely explanation.
>> Right. Again, coming up with your own narrative. >> Well, and both sets of parents disagreed
with this thought uh from the beginning. uh that you know there was no evidence that the boys were suicidal. There was
some evidence that the boys had been using drugs. Uh one 1.9 gram of marijuana was found in the pocket of
Kevin's jeans. >> Right. And not always is there signs of somebody struggling with, you know,
suicidal thoughts. >> Here's another strange thing to this story though, Captain, uh that is often
not reported. Kevin's father, Larry Ives, he was an engineer for the railroad. Mhm.
>> Uh the route that the train was on that passed over the boys, that route just
months before it was his route. >> Um and it was just pure coincidence that that route was no longer Larry's or he
would have been driving the train that night, >> right? So he would have he would have
been engineering the train that basically, you know, uh ran over his own son. >> Mhm. The parents obviously were
devastated by the tragedy, but they were also disappointed in the sheriff's office and how they handled this
incident. They were anxiously awaiting the medical examiner's ruling on the cause of deaths. Uh, and they wanted
answers, obviously. A week after the funerals, the medical examiner had finished his report and a meeting with
the parents was scheduled. When the parents arrived, they were first met in the parking lot by officers from the
sheriff's office. There was also an officer from the Arkansas State Police there as well. This was really good news
to the parents as they had been requesting multiple times in this short time period that the case be transferred
to the state police. Um, but that had not been done. >> Uh, Ke Kevin's parents brought a
potential useful item with them. Larry and some of his friends went to the site where the boys had died. When when they
were there, they found a large piece of cardboard. The piece was large enough that it could have been used to drag two
bodies on it. There was also a stain on it, and that stain could have been blood.
>> Right. >> Larry knew that the sheriff's office didn't have the technology or the
capability to properly analyze it, so he wanted to bring it directly to the medical examiner's office. in the
parking lot. He showed the piece of cardboard to the state police officer and he turns it over to him. There we
have a 16 and 17 year old and obviously they're just teenagers but they're becoming young men and you know you have
a lot of growth spurts at those times. So we're talking about two big individuals
>> that you know now it's very possible if there was foul play that they were they
were attacked on the train tracks because we know that's where they are at. But if they were attacked somewhere
else and they use this piece of cardboard, anybody that knows, it's like a sled push or something like in
weightlifting. Yeah. >> You can put on a ton of weight, but because it's on on a different surface,
you can drag that surface, you know? I mean, most people can't pick up a couch, but people can push it around their
living room. >> Mhm. Yeah. Yeah. And unfortunately, this possible piece of evidence, um, it's not
seen again after this situation. He, the father gives it to the state officer and
he's told that it's going to get where it needs to go to be examined and that just simply doesn't happen.
>> Right. And again, the the my issue is you'd have to test this to one, find out
if it was blood. If there was blood, then we can assume that this was used to maybe transport the bodies.
>> But here's the other thing about it. This is the thing that frustrates me is whoever used if that was used to
transport the bodies, then there's a good likelihood that there was fingerprints on there.
>> Right. Right. >> And and and that's what frustrates me. >> When the parents went inside to meet the
medical examiner, uh this is Fami Malik is his name. Uh they were >> Yeah. And his face looks exactly like
the way his name sounds. >> Okay. [laughter] Uh but >> fomie. >> Well, the >> his face is very fomy.
>> When the parents first met Malik, they found him to be weird. Uh when they first arrived, Malik took Polaroid
pictures of each parent and had asked each of them to sign forms so it was official as to who was in attendance at
this meeting. >> Oh, I thought you were going to say he took pictures. He took Polaroid pictures
of them. Then he asked them to shake it like [laughter] a Polaroid picture. >> Malik then passed out copies of his
official ruling. The statement read something like this. At 4:25 a.m. August 23rd, 1987, Kevin Ives, 17, and Don
Henry, 16, were unconscious in a deep sleep on the railroad tracks under the psychedelic influence of THC,
marijuana, right >> when a train passed over them, causing their accidental deaths. The parents
began questioning Dr. Malik, not really his ruling, but they wanted more information because none of them had
ever heard of people passing out from THC. >> Right. >> According to the parents, Malik seemed
very irritated at the additional questions. I think that he thought that they would simply hear his final ruling,
accept it, and then leave. This is very surprising to me that he would not have expected questions or that he would have
seemed irritated at the additional questions given his amount of experience in these matters. You know, no one
handles a sudden death well, and loved ones are always left with a lot of questions when someone suddenly dies,
especially if it's your kids, and especially if the circumstances surrounding those deaths are abnormal.
This guy has the bedside manner of a wolverine. He basically states that marijuana levels in the boys were
extremely high. Drawing a line on a chalkboard, he writes a large five below the line and a 100 above it. Pointing to
the 100, he says, "This is how stoned they were." >> Well, you know, old Captain Fami over
here. I think part of his annoyance is that, >> you know, he's an expert in his mind
>> and here's my findings and kind of how dare you question me. >> Yeah. Well, of course, the parents are
still confused as the doctor has not clearly explained this very well, >> right?
>> Uh when they ask him, "What kind of measurement is that?" Malik snaps back and says, "It's units."
>> The parents wanted this explained to them in an easier terms because marijuana was not something they were
familiar with. They didn't know if passing out was possible or likely or or really what they wanted to know how much
pot the kids would have had to have smoked to achieve these high levels of THC. Malik never really answers that
particular question. >> Right? >> The more the parents question him or push him for reasonable answers, the
more the doctor gets upset with them. And at some point he holds up a large envelope stating that inside are the
autopsy photos and in these photos is the proof that you are looking for. Well, the parents of course they they
don't want to see these photos at all. >> Right. >> And they told him that they didn't want
to see these photos. >> Yeah. I don't know what parent would want to see that. >> Yeah. They wanted toxicology results and
Malik insisted that they see the photos. As crazy as this whole story sounds, I believe this is true because remember
the officers are there with the parents at this time and at this meeting. Yeah. >> And we already know that they are not
all on the same page. But one of the officers >> Yeah. Just meaning that some of the
officers >> think from the get-go this should be this should have been looked at as a
homicide and then some of the other ones just going this is probably accidental >> or possibly suicide. Well, and the
officers know that the parents are dissatisfied with with the officer's investigation of this incident.
>> Yeah. And I think the officer's hearts would have to go out to those parents.
>> And this is why this statement has to be true because one of the officers then
stands up at the table and this is an increasingly heated debate. But he says, pointing to the photos, pointing to the
envelope, he says, "They don't want to see those." >> Right? Uh that same officer as he begins
to take his seat again, he tells the parents that Malik had told them that 20 joints is what the boys would have had
to have smoked to to have that high level of THC. >> That you know I am not a you know pot
smoker myself, but I would just assume that 20 joints is a is a lot of joints. Yes. 20 joints would be a considerable
amount of >> I mean even if you just put it in like terms of like cigarettes like a normal
cigarette package has 20 cigarettes in it. >> Mhm. >> So they would have had to smoke 20
cigarettes within hours. >> I I don't know. But it sounds that way because he's pointing to the 100 mark
and saying this is how stoned these guys were. Um it it seems like >> Yeah, but I would have walked up to that
board and pointed to that 100 and said, "Mr. Fami, this is how much of an [ __ ] you are. [laughter]
That's that's what that 100 means." >> Well, Malik, he denies that he had ever told the officers such a statement. He
says, "I never told the officers that it would have taken 20 joints." Um and the
officers, they had reason to believe that the boys purchased a $10 bag of marijuana on one of their stops that
night. um the the police, >> right? It's a man, if you can get 20 joints out of $10 of marijuana,
>> Yeah. it'd be a bad business to be in because you could you you could spend $10 and be good for quite some time,
>> right? >> Uh the medical examiner's findings not only seemed questionable to the parents,
but most of the citizens of Arkansas were pretty stunned by the ruling. Uh this is according to the newspapers. The
parents decided to seek a second opinion. They hired a second pathologist to review the deaths. Now, this was a
pathologist that came recommended to them uh from other physicians in the area. This is Dr. JT Francisco. He's
located in Memphis, Tennessee. He was charging the parents $200 an hour. Uh and he explained to them that he would
preserve and test the blood of both boys and the urine of Kevin. they would be unable to test Don's urine because his
bladder had been completely destroyed. >> Right. And then also the this is the first time that the parents are aware
that that his urine hasn't been tested. >> Yeah. So we're seeing some progress here
for the parents. Uh they received the results from Dr. Francisco. Uh and he actually confirms Dr. Malik's ruling. Uh
he quoted the same levels of THC that Malik had reported, >> 100 >> 97 micrograms per milliliter for Kevin
and 122 for Dawn. >> Okay. >> Upon further review of the material sent to the parents from Dr. Francisco's
office, they were able to determine that the results were from a test of Kevin's
urine only. No blood from either boy or no urine from Dawn were tested. >> All right. So he's agreeing with, you
know, Mr. Fami. >> Yeah. So they get Dr. Francisco on the phone and after some debate on how he
could have confirmed Malik's findings with only having tested the urine of one boy, uh the doctor then admitted that
they had arrived at the conclusion by inference. uh because his lab and the Arkansas lab followed standard
procedures, the confirmation of one test gave weight of confidence that the other
findings were going to be true as well. >> Right. But couldn't they just test both
of their bloods? >> But they didn't. That's the whole thing. They were led to believe that that both
sets of blood would be tested. They didn't test any of that. But they but they claim that they can back up Malik's
findings. >> Right. So, we have the Ives family and the Henry family kind of getting [ __ ]
around again. >> In February of 1988, the parents contacted members of the media to
arrange for a press conference. This is a brilliant idea and they arrived at this plan because the longer this thing
went on, they were beginning to realize that the only group interested in this case was the media. No other group
wanted to spend any time on this thing. The day after the press conference, the families were contacted by Richard
Garrett, who is the district deputy prosecuting attorney. Garrett wanted to help. He told Linda that until he saw
the press conference, he had no idea that the parents of the dead boys had been dissatisfied with the sheriff's
department. >> Mhm. >> He was going to hold a prosecutor's hearing. >> Well, what's that exactly?
>> Well, he he's hoping that they will re-examine the case. But a a prosecutor's hearing is not just
unusual. They are highly unusual. These are intended for only special inquiries.
Uh particularly when the cause of death is in dispute. >> Well, here the the cause of death is
definitely in dispute. >> I mean, we have two coroners saying, "Well, they they got super stoned and
then they lay down on the tracks and they got ran over by a train." >> Mhm. >> And then the parents are going, "Well,
that just doesn't add up. Doesn't make a lot of sense to us." Mhm. Well, the uh deputy prosecuting attorney Garrett, he
would introduce the families to a man by the name of Dan Harmon. Now, Dan Harmon
is actually a guy that is off in a private practice. He's not a prosecutor, but he's going to be brought in as a
quote unquote special prosecutor in this situation. and he is going to make arrangements because he wants to get a
grand jury organized so that this case can be looked at by some fresh eyes and decide if the an investigation should
shift gears or if that there's a chance of a trial taking place here. >> Right. Right. So basically this grand
jury is going to be set up. They're going to look at that evidence and they're going to decide, do we need to
reinvestigate this case or is it shut, you know, open and shut case where these guys smoke some pot and then they had an
accident where the train ran over them. >> Mhm. And more importantly, if if the the
cause of death is what's in question, what the big dispute is, then can we get, you know, another autopsy? Can we
get other autopsies performed on these two bodies? >> Right. And after a couple more autopsies
are performed, I think part of it too is like you don't want the families uh of these, you know, victims, they're
victims of at least at this point a tragic accident. You don't want them to be dissatisfied with uh law enforcement
and the way uh the coroner or anybody else handled their loved ones case. >> Mhm. So, upon further review, the grand
jury, the first thing that they're going to do is determine if this cause of death is correct. And their findings,
they're not agreeing with what Dr. Malik had stated. And they basically overturn
the cause of death as a possible accident, as a likely accident to a possible homicide. Well, once that takes
place, they're going to need to bring in somebody to conduct a further investigation into this autopsy. and
take a look at this thing and see if their findings are correct. >> Right. So, we already have two autopsies
done. So, this is technically going g going to be the third autopsy done. >> Yes. So, this they will bring in a man
by the name of Dr. Burton. And they actually bring him in from Atlanta. Uh they wanted to bring in somebody that
had more experience and somebody with outside eyes that wasn't so privy to what was going on in the area.
>> They bring in Dr. Burton. And what are his findings? Well, to begin with, one
of the things that he found most disconcerning or most important to this case is the shirt that was worn by Don
Henry or allegedly worn by Don Henry. This is the shirt that was not on the boy's body when he was found. This was
found some distance away from the track where the torso and the body of Don Henry were discovered.
>> All right. So, Don didn't have a shirt on, but this shirt was possibly ran over
by the train. >> Yes. Yes. This shirt, as we know, has a lot of tears and defects in it. A
question that was raised as to whether these tears or defects were made by the body being pulled down the track by the
motion of the train over the body of the victim. What Burton did was he had took
the shirt to a private laboratory that he had worked in in Atlanta, and they took one of these tears. This was a tear
from the lower back area of the shirt that was kind of in the area of of an injury that they had found on the back
of Don Henry. And they took a scalpel and they cut this defect out which measured a little bit over an inch in
length. They then took this defect and they analyzed it under a scanning electron microscope which is a very
powerful microscope. And with this microscope, they could tell whether the fabric had been torn or cut with
something like scissors or a knife. >> Right. So what he's saying is this cut on the shirt and the body was either
made by scissors or a knife. >> Yeah. Well, basically basically what he can say is that the cut on the shirt, it
exhibited all the characteristics of something that was cut with a very sharp blade.
>> Um, so there's there's no question as far as this being a tear or anything like that. As far as Dr. Burton is
concerned, also around the cut in the shirt, they found evidence of blood, >> which means
>> which means that the the boy had probably bled through some kind of injury before the shirt was removed from
his body. >> Right. So, we're starting to assume that this uh injury was um premortem.
>> Yes. Yes. And and here's the to kind of lay it out very quickly here of Burton's
concerns, right? First of all, we have the the knife. He believes a knife made this cut in the shirt.
>> Second of all, it's majorly concerning to him that this cut matches up with a
with an injury to the boy's back. And that more importantly, that the shirt was not found on the boy's body. Meaning
that if this was an injury that was sustained by the train itself, that you would expect to see you would expect to
see the the shirt still on the boy matching up with the injury. Another thing that concerned Burton was an
injury found to the left cheek of Kevin Ives. Uh this was an injury that he did not find consistent with any pattern
that might have been made from being struck by the cow catcher in front of the engine.
>> Uh he explained that he sent photographs of the boy's injuries to a computer enhancement specialist and he was
awaiting those results. >> So we have two things that he finds pretty odd. Mhm. Yeah. These are
injuries that would not be consistent with with the train. Now, the thing is once they get those results back,
Captain, he finds a as well as the the specialists that he sent them to, they find that that injury to Kevin's cheek
is consistent with that of being struck in the face with like the butt of a gun.
M >> and more specifically uh they said that the gun that was found with the boys could have very likely
made that injury or caused that injury. It would have been a similar type gun or
that gun. The other thing that's interesting here, Captain, is that he would find something in both of the boys
that would give him cause of concern. Uh this is the amount of congestion and fluid in the lungs of both of the boys.
He felt that this was inconsistent with the type of injuries that one might expect from someone being run over by a
train when you have a sudden death occurring. He feels that it's very likely uh that the possibility exists
that because there's this con congestion and fluid in the lungs that both boys were either unconscious or already dead
when they were placed on those tracks. >> They're either dead or they're knocked
unconscious and that's why they didn't move at all. Mhm. >> And so that the train possibly did cause
their death, but who put them there? >> Mhm. >> Who made them unconscious? >> Another thing that he included in the
autopsies as well, and this is more opinion than it is fact. Um, but he had agreed with the train crew members,
stating that he he didn't see how anyone, whether they be passed out from drug use or be sleeping on the tracks,
how they would not have, you know, woke up as the train was getting closer and closer. These these rails, they vibrate.
The the train was extremely loud. Anybody that even has ever stood next to a train, just on the ground, you can
feel the ground moving below your feet. Uh there was also a state trooper that was involved with the u grand jury who
had gone down to the train tracks with with some other people witnessing him. And he timed this so that he would be
arriving and he could he could do this little experiment as a train was coming. He laid down exactly how the boys were
laying on the tracks. >> Mhm. >> And he jumped up from the from the rails pretty quickly. But he said that, you
know, when this train was, this train was still quite a ways away, maybe a quarter of a mile, he said he felt the
thing when it was like a mile and a half away from him. He could feel it coming down the tracks. And then on top of
that, he said he he he got terrified and to the point where he says he still has
a little bit of like PTSD just from from that moment experiencing that little experience.
>> He was also conscious at the time. >> Correct. >> All right. So this third autopsy, it
brings up some questions and and it seems like it's not that agreeable with the first two autopsies.
>> Mhm. >> Which I think, you know, causes a lot of concern. I think it also causes a lot of
concern with the parents. >> Well, as far as that second test goes, and let's let's call that a test rather
than an autopsy because it was supposed to be a testing of the boy's blood and the boy's urine. Um,
>> you're exactly correct. >> Thank you. and and but we know that that didn't take place. Um but not only does
this point out here that the the autopsies were probably wrong, but now this really starts to make you question
the medical examiner himself uh you know what what is he up to? Why how would he
have arrived at these conclusions uh after performing an autopsy? he had a significant amount of time to perform
these tests and he comes up with a completely different ruling than what this this other guy comes up with from
from Atlanta, >> right? And look, then it becomes which doctor is correct? Well, because of this
whole case, we have a lot of interesting things come out about Malik >> and Malik has all these autopsies that
were ruled normally natural causes or accidental. And because of this, you know, because
of the parents, and I applaud the parents, they start stirring the pot. And then they start going back and
looking at some of his other autopsies, >> right? >> We have a scenario where he ruled a guy
saying >> we're we're just going to tell you about some of the more wild ones. Let's call
them wild. And and we won't use any names because these p these particular people are only involved in this case
through Malik. They have really no right, >> you know, nothing to do with this case,
but this gives you an idea of some of the shenanigans going on with Fami Malik, >> right? So, old Fami, he, you know, rules
this guy dies of a ulcer and not a big deal, >> right? That's his ruling. The guy died
of an ulcer >> and everybody actually agrees with him. >> Says, "Hey, Malik did his job again."
But they had people find this guy's head. >> Yeah. So he was decapitated. Apparently
that happens naturally when you have an ulcer. Uh your head just pops off. >> Right. Um
>> so once they found this severed head, they realized this autopsy was completely botched.
>> Yeah. Do do you want to know how he defended himself on that particular case?
>> Sure. >> So um here's what happened here. They they found the the dog that lived with
this guy. Uh he actually lay dead in his home for for quite some time. Uh the dog
that lived there, they recovered some of the dog's vomit and in it they found what what Fami believed to be uh
evidence of of human tissue of of skin. Um, so what had happened was Fami said that the guy had died and he lay there
for quite some time and at some point the dog uh chewed on the neck and to the point of decapitating uh his owner. Um,
but of course the thing here is it it was all the evidence points to a very clean cut of somebody killing this guy
and taking off his head, not the gnawing of a dog uh chewing chewing up this this
guy's neck. >> Right. And then there's this other case where the guy this guy was suicidal. He
he he told his family about it. >> Yeah. >> He they put him in in a place for treatment. He wanted help, right?
>> He went to his family and said, "Help me out." And and >> Right. And it looks like he lost his
battle with, you know, suicidal thoughts and he hung himself. >> Right. >> And in this case, Malik decides, well,
it wasn't suicide. It was actually an accidental death. >> Mhm. And again, it's just stuff like
that where it's like, and this is just three examples of probably like >> doz maybe a dozen or 20 of them out
there that that are pretty well known, >> right? And so the governor at this time
is Bill Clinton. >> Mhm. >> And people are calling for this guy's job, saying, "Look, we got these two
boys that now we believe, there's good reason to believe that there was some foul play and this guy is ruling this.
We dug up all this other stuff. He's not doing his job and taxpayers are paying for that. They want him to c, you know,
they want Bill Clinton to ask for his resignation, right? >> Bill Clinton says, "Well, I I'm not
really in charge of doing that. That's not really my thing." So, what do they do? Do they fire him? Do they replace
him? >> No. They give him a 43% raise. Where this leaves us now is we now have to
look at these two deaths as murders. Okay? So, we need to conduct a proper murder investigation.
>> Mhm. >> And why were these things covered up? And why does it seem that government
officials and people at the medical examiner's office and the sheriff's department, they seem to not want to
investigate this thing properly, right? And at what lengths are they going to go
to or what is anybody going to go to to possibly cover up this murder? There's so much more to get into and we're just
on the first episode of this. >> Yeah. Because if the cause of death can be overturned, that brings up so many
more questions. Okay. First of all, if these boys were murdered, why were they murdered? What what happened during
those four hours between the time they left Don's house and the time that they're found on those tracks? What
occurred during those four hours? Did they see something that they shouldn't have seen? Mhm.
>> Did they come across somebody that they they shouldn't have come across? What
happened to those boys in that 4 hours? >> Well, we have a really good idea what
happened because we have a bunch of eyewitness accounts. We're going to have to get into that tomorrow.
>> Yes. And don't forget to check out all of our old episodes. They're available
in the iTunes store and on our store page at true crimegar.com. >> Thank you guys so much for sharing the
Thank you guys so much for sharing. Thank you guys so much for sharing it with a friends, family. I just got a
text message a couple minutes ago saying, "Hey, I told somebody about your show. Uh they don't call it true crime
garage, they call it the captain's show." >> The captain's show. Well, imagine that.
Isn't that special? All right, we'll see you guys in the garage tomorrow. And until then, be good, be kind, and don't
litter. >> [music] [music]

Boys on the Tracks /// Part 1 /// 93

TrueCrimeGarage.com

By all accounts, the engineer did a masterful job of bringing his train to a stop. It had taken a screaming, screeching half mile. By the time the engine shuddered to a standstill, Conductor Jerry Tomlin was on the radio notifying an approaching train on a parallel track to stop because some boys had been run over. He also called the dispatcher. "Have you got injuries?" The dispatcher asked. "No," Tomlin said. "We've got death." -From "The Boys on the Tracks" by Mara LeverittTonight we discuss the case that many wanted to keep quiet. Two teenagers are run over by a train in the middle of the night. Was it an accident, a double suicide or a double murder? Join us in the garage for the tragic story of the boys on the tracks.

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Brief Summary

The episode investigates the suspicious deaths of two boys found on train tracks, raising questions about foul play and police negligence.

Key points

The Case of the Boys on the Tracks. An introduction to a tragic case involving two boys found on train tracks.
The Train Incident. A train conductor realizes he has hit two boys on the tracks, leading to a grim discovery.
The Boys' Last Night. Kevin Ives and Don Henry were last seen alive while out spotlighting.
Curtis's Disturbing Discovery. Curtis learns the shocking news about his son and his friend.
Boys Found Dead on Train Tracks. Two teenage boys are discovered dead after being struck by a train, raising suspicions.
Strange Police Investigation. The investigation reveals oddities, including officers doubting eyewitness accounts.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

We've got death. We got death.

Conductor's grim realization after the incident.

4:07WatchDec 14, 2025

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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