True Crime Chronicles: Hart's criminal record precluded his ill-fated trial in the 1977 Girl Scout murder case

Gene Leroy Hart's criminal record began well before the 1977 Girl Scout murders made him infamous. Born November 27, 1943, in Claremore, Oklahoma, he grew up in Locust Grove as a full-blooded Cherokee.

He confessed to the kidnapping, rapes, and sodomy. In Tulsa County District Court, he was convicted on charges including two counts of first-degree rape, kidnapping, and related offenses. He received three concurrent 10-year sentences and entered prison on October 15, 1966. Due to concurrency, he served only about 28 months and was paroled in 1969.

After release, Hart turned to burglaries in the Tulsa area. In 1969, he committed four first-degree burglaries in a short span, including three unreported ones over 24 hours and a fourth at the home of a Tulsa police officer, which led to his capture.

Evidence from his vehicle linked him to the prior break-ins. Convicted in Tulsa County on four counts of first-degree burglary (one case in 1969 resulted in 30-90 years), his parole violation from the 1966 crimes triggered massive additional time. Consolidated sentences ranged from 145-305 years , landing him at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester

.While awaiting hearings or transfers, Hart was held in the Mayes County Jail. He escaped once shortly after, but was recaptured quickly. In 1973 (specifically September 16 in some accounts), he escaped again, this time staying on the run until 1978.

He lived in the remote Cookson Hills area, supported by local ties.

These crimes—violent sexual assault, kidnapping, and repeated burglaries--established Hart as a dangerous repeat offender long before suspicions arose in the Girl Scout case.

Despite his acquittal in the 1979 trial for the 1977 murders of the three Girl Scouts at Camp Scott, prosecutors and many investigators remained convinced that Hart was the perpetrator.

The physical evidence presented at trial, including hair and semen matches that placed him in a very small percentage of the population, along with his proximity to the camp and history of similar crimes, left law enforcement persuaded of his guilt even after the jury's verdict.

The case has remained officially unsolved ever since, with no new charges or convictions in the decades that followed.

He died of a heart attack in prison on June 4, 1979, at age 35, shortly after his acquittal in that trial.