A Galveston grand jury has indicted 61-year-old James Dolphs Elmore Jr. on charges related to the deaths of two women whose bodies were found in the Texas Killing Fields in 1986. Elmore faces manslaughter and evidence tampering charges in the killing of 16-year-old Laura Miller, and tampering in the death of 30-year-old Audrey Cook. His bond was set at $3 million following a court appearance.
Galveston County District Attorney Kenneth Cusick announced the indictment Wednesday, linking Elmore to the deaths in the infamous area near League City, where dozens of women's bodies have been discovered since the 1970s. The Texas Killing Fields, a desolate stretch off a dirt road, earned its grim nickname due to the unsolved murders, including those of Heidi Fye-Villareal in 1984, Laura Miller in 1986, and later-identified victims Audrey Cook and Donna Prudhomme between 1986 and 1991. Federal agent Don Ferrarone previously described the region as a perfect place for killings that go undetected for years, as featured on CBS News' 48 Hours. Elmore appeared before a judge Thursday, where his bond was set at $3 million, including $1.5 million for the manslaughter charge and $750,000 for each tampering count. He was assigned a court-appointed attorney and is held in Galveston County Jail, with a trial scheduled for August 31. Laura Miller's father, Tim Miller, who founded the nonprofit EquuSearch, revealed he met Elmore 30 times over four years and received information from him, though he withheld details to avoid jeopardizing the case. Prosecutors sought charges against Elmore's longtime friend Clyde Hedrick, 72, for the four deaths, but Hedrick died by suicide before a grand jury decision. Hedrick had been paroled in 2022 after a 2014 manslaughter conviction in another Texas Killing Fields case. Nina Jager, niece of victim Heidi Fye-Villareal, called the indictment bittersweet, crediting her late grandfather's independent investigation for renewed attention. Cusick pledged continued efforts on cold cases, citing active leads to pursue justice.
