Do you know who committed the Oklahoma Girl Scout Murders? On a summer night in 1977, 8-year-old Lori Lee Farmer was at Camp Scott in Mayes County, Oklahoma, for her first Girl Scout summer camp experience. She, along with her two tentmates, 9-year-old Michelle Guse and 10-year-old Doris Denise Milner, were looking forward to the adventures the camp would bring. The girls were all from the Tulsa area and were staying in a tent that was somewhat isolated from the others, partially obscured by the camp's showers.
That night, a thunderstorm rolled through the area as the girls slept.
The next morning, on June 13, a camp counselor made a horrifying discovery. The bodies of the three girls were found on a trail about 150 yards from their tent. They had been sexually assaulted and murdered. An investigation revealed that the girls had been bludgeoned and strangled. At the scene, investigators found several pieces of evidence, including a flashlight. The brutal nature of the crime sent shockwaves through the community and the nation, marking the beginning of a decades-long search for answers.
Suspicion quickly fell on Gene Leroy Hart, a local man with a history of violence and sexual assault. Hart, a member of the Cherokee Nation, had escaped from the Mayes County Jail in 1973 where he was serving time for kidnapping and raping two pregnant women. He had been living in the hills near Camp Scott. After a nearly 10-month manhunt, Hart was arrested in April 1978 and charged with three counts of first-degree murder.
The subsequent trial in March 1979 ended with a surprising verdict. Despite the local sheriff expressing he was 'one thousand percent' certain of Hart's guilt, a jury acquitted him of all charges. Hart was then returned to prison to continue serving his prior sentences. Just over two months after his acquittal, on June 4, 1979, Hart died of a heart attack in prison.
For years, the case remained officially unsolved, leaving the families of Lori Lee Farmer and the other victims without a sense of justice. However, advancements in DNA technology brought new hope for answers. In 2019, DNA tests were conducted on evidence from the crime scene. While the results were officially ruled inconclusive because a full DNA profile could not be developed, they strongly suggested Hart's involvement and eliminated other potential suspects. Following these results, the Mayes County Sheriff stated his conviction in Hart's guilt. Though no one was ever convicted for the murders, the later evidence provided a degree of certainty for investigators and the victims' families.
