On June 11, 1982, 31-year-old white female Brenda Kay Broadway of Kermit, Texas, was brutally murdered in a remote desert area of Winkler County. That night, shortly after midnight, Brenda returned home from work and took her two daughters—14-year-old Salina Kay Elms and 8-year-old Christy Michelle Elms—to a local car wash. There, the family was abducted at knifepoint by a man later identified as Michael Eugene Sharp. He forced the three into his vehicle and drove them south on the Monahans highway before turning onto a dirt road.
Once in the secluded area, the assailant ordered Brenda, a white female, and her daughters to remove their clothes. He bound their hands with rope and committed horrific acts, including forcing Brenda and her older daughter to perform sexual acts under duress. He then stabbed Brenda multiple times. As he turned his attention to the younger daughter, Salina managed to free her legs and escape into the desert. She wandered for hours, naked and injured, eventually reaching an oil rig where workers helped her and contacted authorities.
Law enforcement launched an intensive search and discovered the bodies of 31-year-old white female Brenda Kay Broadway and 8-year-old white female Christy Michelle Elms buried in a shallow grave. The crime scene had been meticulously cleaned, with even footprints raked away. An autopsy was ordered, and the Texas Rangers joined the investigation.
Based on Salina’s statement and a composite sketch, authorities identified Michael Eugene Sharp as the suspect. An arrest warrant was issued on June 14, 1982. Sharp was apprehended two days later in Sweetwater, Texas. He was charged with capital murder and later convicted. Sharp was sentenced to death and executed by lethal injection on November 19, 1997. He was also suspected in other murders, though not formally charged due to his existing death sentence.
