For nearly 30 years, no one was charged for the murder of a young woman in a small Texas town—but that didn’t mean that the police didn’t have a prime suspect. There was just one problem: the prime suspect didn’t do it. But who did? Bryan Burrough unwinds the fascinating history in a doorstop of a cover story for Texas Monthly.
What frustrated the Stephenville police most was their inability to secure Michael’s fingerprints. Had the visiting Texans tried a gentler approach, they might have left with them. Court records confirm that Michael would have had no problem handing them over—as long as it occurred in Indiana. “I volunteered to give them blood samples, hair samples, fingerprints,” he recalls. “They insisted it be done in Texas, where the cops have full rein. I felt like if I went to Texas, I’d for sure get shot and police would claim it was an escape attempt.”
Hensley badly needed those prints. By this point, he had no other suspects. He was certain that Michael’s prints would match those found beside Susan’s body—if only he could get them.
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