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Don henry1

Don Henry and Kevin Ives

Real Names: Larry Kevin Ives and Donald George Henry
Nicknames: Kevin (Larry); Don (Donald)
Location: Bryant, Arkansas
Date: August 23, 1987

Case

Details: Shortly after midnight on August 23, 1987, seventeen-year-old Kevin Ives and his best friend, sixteen-year-old Don Henry set out to go night hunting in the wooded area along the railroad tracks near Don's home in Bryant, Arkansas. Four hours later, a 75-car, 6000 ton cargo train made its regular night run to Little Rock. The train was over a mile long and was traveling at speeds of over 50 miles per hour. As the train approached Bryant, engineer Stephen Shroyer noticed something on the tracks. He soon realized that there were two boys laying motionless on the tracks; they were Kevin and Don.
The boys appeared to be covered by a light-green tarp. Don's .22 rifle lay beside them. The two were lying parallel on the tracks. Despite blowing the diesel horn several times, the two did not move or react at all. Stephen attempted an emergency stop, but it was too late. The boys were run over by the train and killed.
The state medical examiner, Dr. Fahmy Malak, determined that the boys were under the influence of marijuana. He concluded that they had smoked approximately twenty marijuana cigarettes. He believed that they were in a drug-induced coma when they were run over. He ruled the deaths accidental. However, the boys' families did not believe this and were certain that they were murdered. They did not believe the boys were involved in drugs.
The families also could not understand why they laid down in identical positions, if they were under such a high influence of marijuana. They also did not believe that the boys could "sleep" through the loud sound of the diesel horn. Don's father did not believe that his son would lay his rifle on the gravel, as he took great care of it and would not want it scratched.
Kevin's family hired a private investigator to look into the case. Every time he would try to question police or other investigating agencies, he met with resistance. They seemed to be unwilling to cooperate or change their opinions about the case. Five months after the deaths, the boys' parents held a press conference, hoping to get the case reopened. The plan worked; the next day, the case was officially reopened.
Prosecutor Richard Garrett had the boys' bodies exhumed for another autopsy. A new pathologist concluded that the boys had smoked between one and three marijuana cigarettes, much less than what was concluded before. He also found evidence to indicate that one of the boys was already dead, and the other unconscious, when they were hit by the train. In July of 1988, a grand jury reversed the ruling of accidental death and ruled their deaths to probable homicides.
Garrett next focused on the green tarp allegedly covering the victims. Multiple witnesses on the train confirmed seeing the tarp covering the boys. However, police who were initially on the scene later claimed that Stephen Shroyer never told them about the tarp. He insists that he told them about the tarp. Although the initial investigators claimed the tarp didn't exist, Garrett is certain that it was there. Strangely, it was never found.
Six weeks after the case was reopened, Garrett found that a similar case occurred in Hodgen, Oklahoma, in which two young men, Billy Hainline and Dennis Decker, were found lying on railroad tracks and ran over in 1984, positioned almost identically to Kevin and Don. However, police have found no suspects in their deaths.
Garrett and the boys' families are convinced that they were murdered. However, they do not know why the murders were committed. The case remains unsolved.
Suspects: A week before the boys were killed, an unidentified man wearing military fatigues was spotted in the vicinity of the tracks. His behavior had aroused suspicion. Police officer Danny Allen stopped to question the man. Suddenly, he opened fire on officer Allen. The area was searched, but the man was never found.
On the night the boys were killed, witnesses again saw the man in military fatigues. This time, he was leaving town, heading down a road less than 200 yards from the spot where the boys were later run over. Police have been unable to locate or identify him.
Extra Notes: This case first aired on the October 12, 1988 episode. It was also the subject of a book, "The Boys on the Tracks," by Mara Leveritt, published by Bird Call Press in 1999. It ranks as one of the most remembered one in the series. Scott Johnson and Norman Ladner are two other cases involving youths who might have been murdered after observing drug drops.
Results: Unresolved. Prosecutor Richard Garrett had another autopsy conducted on the victims; this report stated that there was evidence of stab wounds on Don's shirt and that Kevin had apparently been struck in the head with a rifle butt. As a result, the investigation changed from probable homicide to definite homicide.
Tips to the telecenter suggested that Don and Kevin were murdered by drug dealers, and that they may have stumbled onto them with the drugs. Garrett was later interviewed by Unsolved Mysteries host Robert Stack; Garrett claimed that there is drug trafficking throughout Bryant, Arkansas, that also is connected to several other states. He believes that the boys stumbled on a drug lab that manufactured methamphetamine and that they were killed as a result. He also suspects that there was some sort of police coverup involved in the case.
However, no suspects were ever named in the case. In 1995, the investigation into their murders was officially closed without their killer captured or identified. Don and Kevin's families have conducted their own investigations and are still hoping that the case can be solved.
A local witness later came forward, claiming that on the night of the murders, he saw two police officers beating two boys senseless in a store parking lot before tossing them into a truck and driving away. It is unknown whether or not they were Kevin and Don.
In 1996, Linda Ives released the video, "Obstruction of Justice," detailing the botched investigation and a cover-up of an alleged drug ring in Saline County. Several people have been implicated in this conspiracy which has involved numerous investigations and two grand juries.
In 2018, Billy Jack Haynes, a former wrestler, came forward, claiming that he had witnessed the boys' murders. However, many do not consider him to be a credible source. Oct. 23, 2018 Richard Garrett passed away at the age of 72.
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