Kristin Chenoweth Says Her Connection To The Girl Scout Murders ‘Haunts’ Her
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Kristin Chenoweth, 53, is the host of the upcoming ABC News true crime docuseries Keeper of the Ashes: The Oklahoma Girl Scout Murders.
The film uncovers the case of the 1977 Oklahoma Girl Scout murders and follows a new investigation of DNA evidence from the crime scene in an attempt to name the murderer.
Now, Kristin is opening up about her connection to the decades-old case:
Kristin Chenoweth is taking a break from the Broadway stage to revisit her roots in Oklahoma. The actress, 53, is the host of Keeper of the Ashes: The Oklahoma Girl Scout Murders, an ABC News true crime docuseries premiering later this month on Hulu.
The new series unpacks the Oklahoma Girl Scout murders from 1977. On a routine camping trip, three Girl Scouts were murdered—and although police did arrest a suspect, he was eventually cleared of all charges, per CNN.
But how is Kristin connected? Here's what to know.
What happened in the case?
In 1977, a group of Girl Scouts arrived at Camp Scott, located near Locust Grove, Oklahoma, according to the St. Petersburg Times. But on the first night of the trip, three Girl Scouts—Lori Farmer, 8, Michele Guse, 9, and Doris Denise Milner, 10—were sexually assaulted and murdered outside of their tent.
Ten days later, police arrested 35-year-old Gene Leroy Hart as a suspect. Hart had escaped from prison while serving out sentences for other crimes. He was charged with three counts of first-degree murder, but the jury declared Hart innocent in 1979. Later that year, he died in prison while finishing out his original sentences, CNN reported.
At the time, Don Sharp, deputy inspector of special investigations for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, said there were no plans to continue looking into the case.
Recently, new DNA test results were shared with the public.
Mayes County Sheriff Mike Reed released the results from a few 2019 DNA tests last week, according to Tulsa World. The results were made public at the victims' families' request.
The new tests were able to construct partial profiles of the murderer, which Reed said can be used to eliminate suspects in the case. “Unless something new comes up, something brought to light we are not aware of, I am convinced where I’m sitting of Hart’s guilt and involvement in this case," he told the outlet.
Now, the ABC News series is diving into this new DNA evidence, with the goal of identifying the murderer.
How is Kristin involved?
"This is a story I wish I never had to tell," Kristin explains in the series' trailer. "It haunts me every day. But this story, it needs to be told."
In 1977, 9-year-old Kristin was supposed to join the other Girl Scouts on the trip to Camp Scott. "I remember I should have been on that trip, but I had gotten sick, and mom said, 'You can't go,'" she says. "It stuck with me my whole life. I could have been one of them."
"When I think of those three girls, I wonder what's the best way to honor them," Kristin adds. "That's why I'd come back home, to find answers once and for all." But real answers may be few and far between: “There’s no closure,” she says. “There’s no pretty red bow at the end.”
You can watch the trailer for Keeper of the Ashes here:
And stay tuned—the series drops on May 24 on Hulu.
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