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Thread: Harvey Lester Cyphers Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison in 2016 TX Murders of Sidney Taylor and Krislyn Gibson

  1. #1
    Moderator Bobsicles's Avatar
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    Harvey Lester Cyphers Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison in 2016 TX Murders of Sidney Taylor and Krislyn Gibson

    6A914D17-560A-4F2C-81B2-6E7BF7028BC0.jpg
    Harvey Lester Cyphers

    0A9658BF-5224-467C-9BDA-A7E7DEEBDB85.jpeg
    Sidney Taylor and Krislyn Gibson


    Man charged with capital murder in 2016 deaths of visiting friends

    AUSTIN, Texas — A man has been arrested and charged with one count of capital murder and four counts of murder related to the 2016 deaths of two of his friends in Travis County.

    On September 18, a grand jury indicted Harvey Lester Cyphers, 53, in the murders of Sidney Taylor and Krislyn Gibson, who were visiting Austin from Houston to attend the 2016 Urban Music Festival.

    A previous indictment last year accused Cyphers of knowingly concealing the bodies using a bath mat, shower liner and shower curtains, as well as allegedly altering or concealing “a motor vehicle, a cellphone, text messages.”

    In 2016, Taylor and Gibson, both 35, arrived at a friend’s house in Austin on April 1 to attend a concert. They then contacted Cyphers, whom Taylor had allegedly known for several years.

    Investigators said the three of them went a club called The Landing Strip and stayed until 2 a.m., when they were seen on surveillance video leaving the club.

    The friend they were staying with called to check on them at 3 a.m., and Taylor told the friend they were with Cyphers.

    Taylor and Gibson have not been seen since the morning of April 2, 2016.

    Taylor’s car was later found abandoned in midtown Houston and his cellphone last pinged around Bear Creek Park in West Houston.

    Cyphers was convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm in 2001 and convicted of possession of a controlled substance in 1998, according to that indictment.

    He served two years in prison after being caught with firearms days after the disappearance of Taylor and Gibson and was released in February 2019.

    Cyphers was apprehended in Downtown Austin on Monday evening while on federal supervised release for felon in possession of a firearm, the U.S. Marshals said.

    He was arrested without incident and taken to the Travis County Jail with a bond set at $1.5 million.

    https://www.kvue.com/mobile/article/...2-5b586a6bf011
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    Man accused of killing Houston friends after Austin festival faces capital murder charges

    Harvey Cyphers was charged in the 2016 case in 2020, although the bodies of Sidney Taylor and Krislyn Gibson have never been found.

    Author: Lauren Talarico

    TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas — The murder trial for the man accused of killing two Houston-area friends is scheduled to begin in Travis County early next year.

    On April 1, 2016, Sidney Taylor, a 35-year-old father of four, went to Austin with his friend Krislyn Gibson for a music festival. Investigators said they were last seen that night outside a club with Harvey Cyphers, described as an acquaintance. Cyphers has been charged with murder in the case, although the bodies of Taylor and Gibson have never been found.

    At the time, Cyphers was considered a person of interest and wasn't charged even though investigators said they pinged his phone near downtown Houston where Taylor's car was later found abandoned. Investigators also said it appeared something violent happened inside his Austin home that someone tried to clean up.

    In 2019, Cyphers was arrested for tampering with evidence with intent to impair a human corpse. In 2020, he was charged with capital murder of multiple persons. His trial is scheduled to begin in January.

    “We want answers to know what exactly happened during that evening,” Taylor’s sister, Amanda Wade, said. “It has almost broken my family to pieces.”

    Taylor's family is planning a candlelight vigil for him to honor his life and help raise awareness about his case in hopes of finding answers.

    “My brother is not trash,” Wade said. “He’s important. An HBCU alumni, an educator, football coach, played football, father -- all of these things my brother was.”

    Taylor’s family wants to know what happened to his body because they would like to provide a proper burial.

    The candlelight vigil will be held on Oct. 22 at 1411 Hugh Road in Houston. The doors will open at 6:30 p.m. with the vigil set to start at 7 p.m.

    https://www.khou.com/amp/article/new...1-5e8605759df6
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    Man sentenced for tampering, capital murder charge dismissed

    By Julianna Russ
    KXAN News

    AUSTIN (KXAN) – On Jan. 4, a Travis County judge sentenced a Central Texas man to 25 years in prison after he pled guilty to tampering/fabricating physical evidence with the intent to impair involving a human corpse, a second-degree felony.

    Harvey Lester Cyphers, 56, was previously charged with capital murder of multiple persons for an April 2016 offense, according to Travis County court records. The murder charge was dropped the same day he was sentenced.

    According to records, Cyphers also had another charge of tampering/fabricating physical evidence with the intent to impair that also showed a 25-year sentence; however, the sentences will run concurrently.

    Jail records showed Cyphers was arrested in September 2020. The arrest was made in connection to the 2016 deaths of Sidney Taylor and Krislyn Gibson, both of Houston, who were visiting Austin to attend a music festival.

    A 2016 indictment said Cyphers attempted to conceal one of the corpses to hide it from police. Records said items like a bathmat, shower liner, shower curtain and bath towels were used to hide the body.

    As of Friday, records showed Cyphers remained booked in the Travis County jail.

    https://www.kxan.com/news/crime/man-...rge-dismissed/
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