New Evidence & Person Of Interest In Murder Of 2 Teens Who Went Missing On July 4, 1988

SAN ANGELO, TX — A Texas man has been linked to the cold case slayings of two teens who disappeared on July 4, 1988.

Shane Stewart, 16, and his girlfriend, Sally McNelly, went out watch the fireworks together — and never returned. Stewart’s car was recovered from a lake in San Angelo, Texas, the day after he disappeared. The teens’ skeletal remains were discovered near another lake in the area a few months later. Though investigators were able to determine that the teens died from gunshot wounds, the state of the remains made it difficult to extract other evidence.

Heartbreakingly, Pat Wade, Sally’s mother, shared that since there wasn’t enough of the body left to dress, she buried her daughter with her prom dress laid inside the coffin, as opposed to on her body.

Police say that John Cyrus Gilbreath, 47, is now being considered a person of interest in the 29-year-old murder case. Detectives were searching his home looking for items related to drug-trafficking charges and found a fingernail, a lock of hair, and blood. They also reportedly found written material related to the murder including Shane and Sally’s names and three audio tapes with “SS” written on them.

The search was a result of a traffic stop, during which Gilbreath’s passenger told police Gilbreath kept ledgers and scales in his home and that he travels to Austin to pick up large amounts of marijuana to distribute throughout Tom Green County. A half a pound of marijuana, a loaded .38 caliber handgun in a black lockbox with ammunition, and body armor were found in the car. Gilbreath currently faces charges of possession of marijuana, possession of a firearm by a felon, and possession of body armor by a felon.

For decades, the crime has gone unsolved as Stewart’s father, Marshall, and other family members prayed for answers and justice for his teenage son, the Dallas News reports. Over the years, the families and authorities have made multiple appeals to the public for information to try and solve the case. An episode of Unsolved Mysteries put forth the theory they’d been killed in a Satanic cult ritual.

In March of 1988, Sheriff’s Deputy Larry Counts got a phone call from Sally. He reported:

“She and her boyfriend, Shane, were members of this group and they were trying to get away from it. She said there was a lot of drugs involved. There was a lot of group sex. She also expressed that she had a weapon that had been given to her by another member of the cult. And when he gave it to her, he told her and Shane that the gun had been used in a murder/robbery.”

Authorities, however, reportedly never took the cult theory seriously. Perhaps now the truth will be known.

Main photo: John Cyrus Gilbreath [Tom Green County Jail]

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