Two years after a double slaying at a Pizza Hut in Terrell, the restaurant is still closed, but the problem-plagued investigation remains open.

File

Anthony Holliman

Terrell police think they know who robbed the pizzeria and killed two employees, but they haven't been able to prove it despite a handful of short-lived arrests and a $35,000 reward offered by American National Bank and Schepps Dairy.

"We and the district attorney's office are still working together and trying to bring this to resolution," said Terrell police Capt. Richard Peavy. "It's a sensitive investigation, and we have no comment on developments right now."

The victims' families marked the second anniversary of the slayings quietly, with a banner and a pair of crosses.

"We didn't want anything else," said Jimmy Mitchelltree, mother of one of the victims. "We just want the people of Terrell to remember what happened and how brutal the crime was."

File

Vincent Bernard Edmond

A witness found the bodies of Stephen Mitchelltree, 47, and Patricia Oferosky, 40, behind the counter minutes before midnight on Sept. 2, 2006. More than $1,500 was missing from the restaurant.

Police arrested four current and former Pizza Hut employees within a few days of the slayings, but problems soon arose.

Ed Walton, the Kaufman County district attorney at the time, canceled a preliminary hearing after learning a key witness had failed a polygraph. All four suspects were out of jail by November 2006, and there was friction between Mr. Walton and police over who had dropped the charges.

A fifth suspect, 21-year-old Vincent Edmond of Terrell, was arrested in May 2007 on robbery charges. He has not gone to trial.

One of the four original suspects, Anthony Holliman, now faces a murder charge in Cleveland.

He and several family members are accused in the stabbing death of a 15-year-old girl.

Mr. Holliman, who is jailed in Ohio on $1 million bail, faces a maximum of life in prison if convicted. His trial starts Oct. 27.

Kaufman County District Attorney Rick Harrison has said his office is working with Terrell police to identify and prosecute the killers.

On the first anniversary of the slayings, Capt. Peavy said that his department had received help from the Sheriff's Department and the Texas Rangers, whose Garland-based Company B helps local agencies investigate major crimes throughout East Texas.

Ms. Mitchelltree said the lack of resolution on the Terrell slayings is difficult.

"There is no closure," she said. "And you can't help thinking it could happen to someone else."

Jenny Burchfield, Ms. Oferosky's sister, said the families feel like they're stuck "at square one."

"The police assure us that they're still working on their leads," she said. "I guess they keep it quiet so we won't jeopardize anything."

Ms. Burchfield last saw her sister the night she died, when they celebrated their parents' anniversary. She remembers everything about that evening and counts it as a blessing.

"We desperately need the community's help," she said. "We know that there are people out there who know."

Ms. Burchfield drives by the shuttered Pizza Hut every day and wonders why the company hasn't contributed to the reward fund.

She said the slayings changed her family's lives but in a way made them stronger. And they hope one day to know the truth.

"Steve and Pat and both families deserve for these people to be brought to justice for what they've done," she said. "Whoever they may be."

Anyone with information about the slayings can call Terrell Police Service at 972-524-3699.

Sept. 2, 2006: Stephen Mitchelltree and Patricia Oferosky are slain in a robbery at Terrell's Pizza Hut. A witness finds their bodies shortly before midnight. The store safe is open, and more than $1,500 is missing.

Sept. 6-10, 2006: Four current and former employees of the Terrell Pizza Hut are jailed on charges related to the robbery and murders.

Nov. 6, 2006: The last of the four suspects is released from jail after District Attorney Ed Walton cancels a preliminary hearing upon learning that a key witness failed a polygraph exam.

May 31, 2007: Police arrest Vincent Edmond, 21, of Terrell in connection with the robbery.

Sept. 2, 2007: More than 100 friends and family members gather in the parking lot of the closed Pizza Hut to remember the victims with candles, prayers, songs and a slide show.

Nov. 1, 2007: Anthony Holliman is indicted along with three female relatives in Cleveland on charges of aggravated murder and attempted murder. He and his relatives are accused of stabbing a 15-year-old girl to death as she waited for a bus and stabbing a friend who tried to aid her. Mr. Holliman remains in the Cuyahoga County Jail with bail set at $1 million. If convicted of aggravated murder, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Sept. 2, 2008: Relatives of the two victims gather quietly at the still-closed Pizza Hut to commemorate the second anniversary of their murders. They place a banner and two crosses in front of the building.

Oct. 27: Mr. Holliman's trial is scheduled to begin in Cleveland.