Why It Took So Long To Solve Pamela Shelley’s Murder

Sheriff Carl Bowen, who had responded to the initial 911 call, was determined to solve the case, according to Forensic Colleges. Convinced that Shelley’s death was actually a murder, he called Hendrick in to do a polygraph. Hendrick agreed but missed three appointments to take the test, according to Oxygen. Then he disappeared.

For a while, the case stalled. But Bowen remained dedicated to seeking justice for Shelley. In 2008, seven years after Shelley died, he convinced the department to reopen her case. Further investigation into Hendrick revealed a troubling past of abuse towards women. When Hendrick was arrested for a separate domestic abuse charge, they managed to interview him again, and found that his story was inconsistent — and he failed a polygraph. But it wasn’t until 2012 that advances in DNA allowed them to finally test the gun which had killed Shelley, and to discover that it had been wiped down, meaning the death wasn’t a suicide. Later interviews Bowen conducted with Shelley’s friends revealed Hendrick had once threatened to kill Shelley, saying she wasn’t going back to Arkansas unless it was in a pine box. This evidence was enough for police to charge Hendrick in 2012 for murder. He pleaded guilty and got 22 years behind bars.

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In the end, the department’s initial ruling of suicide in the case delayed solving the case for a few years, but justice was eventually served.

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.