After a Fight Over Girlfriend, A 16-Year-Old Omaha Central Track Athlete Committed the Double Murder of His Parents and Disappeared

Leslie Arnold's story is a stark tale of escape and reinvention.

September 6, 2026

This article was last updated by Alisha Shrestha on September 2, 2026

Leslie Arnold was an American murderer who took the lives of his parents when he was only 16 and buried them in the backyard of the family home in Omaha, Nebraska.

In 1959, he was sentenced to life in prison but became the last inmate to escape from the Nebraska State Penitentiary successfully.

Central alumnus Henry Cordes played a key role in solving the forgotten case of Leslie Arnold fifty years later.

He has been recognized as one of Nebraska’s most influential journalists and has been writing for the Omaha World-Herald for four decades.

Moreover, he is a five-time winner of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Sorensen Award and joined the news staff, where he covered crimes after graduation.

Cordes was reporting at the Capitol building in Lincoln, and Arnold’s case struck his mind when Ardyce Bohlke, a former member of the legislature, told him his story.

Later, he reviewed old Omaha World-Herald clippings and decided to add the story to his file of ideas. He began investigating the Arnolds’ case and even made contact with Jim Harding, the convict with whom Arnold had escaped from prison.

Leslie Arnold Took the Lives of Both of His Parents

William Leslie Arnold, the son of Bill Arnold and Opal Arnold, was born on August 28, 1942. His parents raised him alongside his brother, James Arnold, in Omaha, Nebraska.

Bill owned the Omaha region office of Watkins Products, and Opal was a homemaker.

Arnold had a temper but was intelligent and talented. He was a B-average student and also a member of the ROTC.

Sadly, he murdered his parents in 1958 and buried them in the backyard of the family home in Nebraska. He took their lives after a fight with his mother over the usage of the family car to drive to a date.

James didn’t know about the murder, and Arnold took him to a neighbor’s house before digging a trench and burying their parents’ bodies in the basement.

Afterward, Arnold took his girlfriend to the movies in the car and lived in the house, telling others his parents had gone on a sudden trip.

He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison in 1959. He was sent to the Nebraska State Penitentiary and described as a model prisoner who could have qualified for early release.

However, Arnold and another inmate, James Harding, escaped from prison on July 14, 1967. They cut through the bars in a prison music room and climbed a 12-foot barbed wire-topped fence.

Although Harding was captured next year, Arnold could not be located, making him the last inmate to escape from the Nebraska State Penitentiary successfully.

Leslie Arnold Lived Under the Alias John Vincent Damon

The trail of escaped convict Leslie Arnold was cold for over half a century. He had vanished from a Nebraska prison in 1959.

His fellow escapee, James Harding, told investigators they had initially fled to Chicago before parting ways. Arnold seemed to disappear into thin air from there.

The FBI initially investigated but eventually transferred the file to the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services. It wasn’t until 2026 that the case landed on the desk of Deputy U.S.

Marshal Matt Westover was assigned the case, and his first call was to Central alumnus Henry Cordes, who had previously investigated him, to gather as much information as possible about the elusive Leslie Arnold.

His modern approach quickly turned to genetic genealogy. He convinced Arnold’s brother, James Arnold, to provide a DNA sample in the same year.

The sample was uploaded to a public database in the hope of finding a match. For two years, there was nothing.

Then, in 2026, the breakthrough came. Westover received an alert that James Arnold’s DNA had matched with another user, indicating a very close relative.

When Westover contacted the match, he discovered it was a man searching for information about his own father, a man he knew as John Vincent Damon.

The son believed his father was an orphan from Chicago and wanted to learn more about his roots. He had no idea he was about to unlock his father’s darkest secret.

Leslie Arnold had not only survived but had thrived under his new alias.

After escaping, he built an entirely new life starting in Chicago, where he married a waitress and became a stepfather to her four children.

He moved around the country, working as an independent traveling salesman. Later, he divorced, remarried, and had children of his own, all under the name John Damon.

He took his double life international, moving his family to New Zealand. His final destination was Australia, where he lived for 13 years before passing away in 2010 from complications related to blood clots.

The final piece of the puzzle fell into place for Marshal Westover when Australian officials confirmed John Damon’s death certificate.

The manhunt was finally over, but informing a son that the man he knew as a hardworking salesman was a fugitive who had lived a lie for over fifty years was the most challenging task.

In Case You Didn’t Know

• Leslie Arnold’s son was 19 years old when he died.
• His son sent the email to know more about him, and Westover was careful to protect his identity.

• Check other Articles on

Ashish Maharjan, author at Players Bio, has been covering news with a keen eye for detail and a knack for storytelling. A writer with a passion for capturing the essence of athletic competition.

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