The Lawrence Deaths | John Sandoval, Cecil Dawes, Harry Oliver, Nilsa Sanchez, Chris Bread
The Lawrence Deaths
John Sandoval, Cecil Dawes, Harry Oliver, Nilsa Sanchez, Chris Bread
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November 5, 1988: 18-year-old Haskell College student John Sandoval disappeared after leaving a wedding receptions in the center of town in Lawrence, Kansas. Witnesses said he was heading in the direction of Haskell Indian Junior College (now Haskell Indian Nations University).
John Sandoval
April 12, 1989: John Sandoval’s body was found in the Kansas (Kaw) River. Police believe he was drunk and his death was likely accidental.
Nilsa Sanchez
August 24, 1989: Several motorists witnessed 37-year-old Nilsa Sanchez walking along Highway 40 on the west side of Lawrence. Experiencing mental health issues in the months leading up to this, Nilsa was known to take long and seemingly purposeless walks.
September 1, 1989: A farmer near Stull, Kansas noticed buzzards on the edge of one of his crop fields. When he investigated, he found the body of Nilsa Sanchez in a culvert under a dirt road. Though little about her case has been made public, it has been reported that she was strangled.
Cecil Dawes
October 15, 1989: 21-year-old Cecil Dawes disappeared after getting his vehicle stuck on railroad tracks. Cecil’s parents both worked at Haskell.
October 24, 1989: Cecil Dawes’s body was found in the Kansas (Kaw) River. The police theorized that Cecil, after getting his car stuck, was worried about getting in trouble for a DUI. To avoid this, he fled the scene and tried to swim the river. The only witness at the scene said she heard–but didn’t see–evidence another person approached Cecil’s car after it got stuck. Those who knew Cecil disagreed with the assumption he would have went into the water voluntarily.
December 3, 1989: 72-year-old Harry Oliver was visiting Lawrence to attend a powwow at Haskell. Early in the morning hours, he was found lying in the road having been hit by a driver who then took off. He died before he got to the hospital and his killer has never been found.
Kansas City Star headline
March 2, 1990: 19-year-old Chris Bread was found dead 5 feet off a small country road. Though the initial investigators at the scene believed he was hit on the head and dragged to where he was found, it was eventually ruled to be a hit-and-run.
March 1, 1992: With hours to go before the statute of limitations ran out on charges in Chris Bread’s case, the Douglas County Sheriff arrested 19-year-old Marvin Schaal and charged him with aggravated vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of an accident. A friend of Marvin’s had told the police he was with him when Marvin, while driving intoxicated, hit and killed Chris.
May 26, 1992: A jury found Marvin Schaal guilty of the misdemeanor of leaving the scene of an accident but could not come to a unanimous decision on the felony vehicular homicide charge. A mistrial was declared and the felony charge was eventually dropped. He was given 1 year in jail for the conviction.
If you know anything about any of the deaths, you can call the Douglas County Sheriff at (785) 841-0007 or the Lawrence Police at (785) 830-7430
Sources: 2025 Crimelines Sources List