December 7, 1990 seemed like an ordinary day for Janet Dennis, a divorced mother of three. However, she failed to show at her son’s wrestling tournament with no explanation, which was unlike her. She never missed a school event. When her children returned to their home, Janet, her car, and her purse were missing. When she had not returned by nightfall, her ex-husband, Lenny, contacted the Oklahoma City Police Department.
When Monday came, and Janet had not returned home, the police department began to look closely at Leroy. They traveled to his home to interview him. Leroy claimed to have been on good terms with his ex-wife. He also insisted he was on his farm at the time of Janet’s disappearance, and his mother confirmed his alibi. The police searched Janet’s home and found no evidence of foul play. It was almost as if she had simply left. However, her father knew she would never leave her children. Something was not right.
Two months after Janet disappeared, Leroy’s neighbors contacted police with a bombshell claim. They remembered seeing fires on Leroy’s property at the time of Janet’s disappearance. Craig Gravel, who led the investigation on the case said, “this was huge”. The new information would lead investigators to put together the pieces of Janet’s disappearance.
“Leroy Dennis allegedly told his children the bones they were playing with belonged to a possum, but they actually belonged to their mother...”
To find out how this case was solved, watch Craig Gravel’s interview in Season 3, Episode 14 of “Buried in the Backyard” on Oxygen Channel.