Avril Terry:1960, Boonville, Indiana

   

  Avril Terry lived in the little town of Boonville, Indiana. She loved animals. Her family had a pet dog. She and her two sisters also shared the care of two small chameleons. Avril loved to carry those two chameleons around on her shirt. People often thought that they were brooches until they looked closely.

  Avril reminds me so much of Scout from Harper Lee’s book “To Kill a Mockingbird”. Her family called her “Honey”, though. I love to think of her walking up to the shops in her peddle pushers and summer blouse with two chameleons clinging onto it. 

  On August 16th,1960 Avril was running an errand for her mother. Her sister‘s birthday was that day. Avril offered to walk up to the square and purchase birthday candle holders and cake decorations. She made it to the store and bought the decorations. On her way home; something went terribly wrong.

  Emmett O. Hashfield saw Avril on the town square.  He abducted Avril and took her to his small house in Boonville.  He raped and murdered her. He then dismembered the child and took her remains just a short drive south to the Ohio River and discarded her.

   

   Avril’s disappearance was reported very early on. She was only supposed to be gone on this errand for about 20 minutes. Police almost immediately thought of parolee Emmett Oliver Hashfield. They went to his house and found that his car and home were covered in blood.  Hashfield had clothes belonging to Avril in his home. The two little chameleons were found in a drawer. (One of Avril’s treasured pets was still alive but the other had died.) Police immediately arrested him and took him into custody. 

   

   Avril’s father, Robert Terry, was a well respected local doctor.  The family had moved to Boonville a few years before because it was such an idyllic small town. Police informed him that they thought they had taken the man responsible for Avril’s disappearance into custody. He held out hope that Avril was only injured; despite all the blood evidence.  

  After questioning, Hashfield led police to Avril’s remains.  Divers were called out to assist in the recovery efforts. The remains were recovered while curious onlookers sat on the banks of the Ohio and watched. 

   Who was Emmett O. Hashfield?  He was a serial child molester who had been in and out of prison for decades. He was born in 1909 in Kentucky. He was in the newspapers over and over for rape and molestation. At least one female child victim was forced to marry him after he raped her. Before being paroled to Boonville, he was in jail for the rape of a young boy. If rape and molestation had been treated as serious and violent crimes in the 20’s, 30’s, 40’s and 50’s…Avril Terry would not have been raped and murdered in the 1960’s. It’s also noteworthy that they made a female child marry her rapist. Hashfield received jail time for raping a male child. How many unknown victims were there? How many suffered in silence? 

  Emmett Hashfield was tried and convicted of the murder of Avril Terry. He received a death sentence but it was commuted to life in prison when the death penalty was overturned by the Supreme Court in 1972.  A later case reversed that and now the death penalty is decided in each state. Indiana is now a state that allows capital punishment. 

   Emmett O. Hashfield died in prison from complications after a tonsillectomy in 1974. 

   Avril Terry was buried in Boonville.  I’ve been to her grave. It is a small subtle marker of pink granite. In addition to her name and dates there is a little carving of a dog. Avril so loved animals. Perhaps she would have grown up to be a Veterinarian. 

   Avril’s father, Dr Robert Terry, practiced medicine in Boonville until his passing in 1980. Her mother, Gail Terry, passed away in 1981. They were only 64 and 65. I think grief really took its toll on them. 

   If there is something to learn from this story it is that rapists and child molesters don’t ever stop. Society let Emmett O. Hashfield continue to do this for decades. He had arrests and multiple “marriages” producing children in the 1920’s, 1930’s, 1940’s and 1950’s. Victims came forward over and over and testified against him. But, the laws concerning rape and molestation were all written by men then. Grown men didn’t really have to worry about being raped or molested. They did have to worry about being accused, tried and convicted. So they made sure those laws would treat them favorably, just in case. That’s how Hashfield was able to continue his crimes for years until ultimately he crossed paths with little Avril Terry. 

   I grew up about 15 minutes away from Boonville and I never heard of this crime until I found it in 2024 while digging through news archives. I think that people wanted to forget. Some things are unspeakable.

   

                      Rest in Peace Avril.