What do these 3 tragic cases of intimate partner homicide have in common?
1) Their deaths were ruled either as accidents or suicides;
2) The families have been fighting for justice to have the cases of their loved ones re-opened;
3) The current Sheriff Steve Brooks was in one way or another at the crime scene of all 3 cases;
4) The Garvin County prosecutor Greg Masburn has flat our refused to open these cases and prosecute those responsible for their murders;
Chandra Turner (left), just 23 years old, was shot to death at her home in Paul's Valley on July 12, 2000. Her boyfriend claimed she shot herself while he slept through the sound of gunfire and later found her outside on the back steps after she was dead. Crime scene photos depict blood throughout the inside of the home, including on the mattress he claimed he was asleep on. The mattress had been stripped of sheets; no one asked where they went. There were more signs of cleanup in the bedroom, including a bottle of cleaning solution on the floor. The boyfriend had fresh scratches on his arms, and Chanda was covered in bruises. There were signs of a struggle in the living room, including broken furniture.
Shiela Deviney , 30, died on January 6, 2004, when her mobile home, located about one mile east and one
mile south of Maysville, Oklahoma, burned to the ground. She was murdered. It should be no surprise that Sheila had been married to an abusive, controlling man. They had a court date over past-due child support scheduled the next day. According to eye witnesses, her ex-husband was at the home, although by law not allowed on the premises. He and another friend destroyed evidence and took items from the home.
Shiela Deviney , 30, died on January 6, 2004, when her mobile home, located about one mile east and one
mile south of Maysville, Oklahoma, burned to the ground. She was murdered. It should be no surprise that Sheila had been married to an abusive, controlling man. They had a court date over past-due child support scheduled the next day. According to eye witnesses, her ex-husband was at the home, although by law not allowed on the premises. He and another friend destroyed evidence and took items from the home.TOM HORTON had been a beloved and respected Vo/AG teacher for twenty five years in Wynnewood, before he was killed by a shotgun blast in his home on December 10th, 2008. Numerous family member
s sounded the alarm of foul play: they pointed out obvious evidence of a homicide to local authorities which fell on deaf ears.
The Medical Investigator John Miller (who is not a physician and who also obstructed the performance of an autopsy in Chanda Turner's case) classified the death a suicide. No autopsy was perfomed despite Tom Horton dying of an unattended, violent death by firearm. The family's repeated requests for an autopsy were denied. Without benefit of an autopsy or other direct scrutiny by any pathologist, Horton’s death remains incorrectly classified as a suicide. The famiy called attention to physical evidence in other areas of the dwelling corroborating homicide, all of which the ME's Office met with hostility.
s sounded the alarm of foul play: they pointed out obvious evidence of a homicide to local authorities which fell on deaf ears.The Medical Investigator John Miller (who is not a physician and who also obstructed the performance of an autopsy in Chanda Turner's case) classified the death a suicide. No autopsy was perfomed despite Tom Horton dying of an unattended, violent death by firearm. The family's repeated requests for an autopsy were denied. Without benefit of an autopsy or other direct scrutiny by any pathologist, Horton’s death remains incorrectly classified as a suicide. The famiy called attention to physical evidence in other areas of the dwelling corroborating homicide, all of which the ME's Office met with hostility.
Faced with an overwhelming number of inconsistencies and physical evidence, five individuals from Wynnewood, including two of Horton’s sons, two family friends and a former student began the arduous task of seeking justice in Garvin County, up to and including the petitioning for a Grand Jury.
I will be in Garvin County, Oklahoma next week with all the families in hopes of having these 3 cases properly opened and investigated. Garvin County has operated behind closed doors for too many years. The light of justice needs to beam brightly in each case.
To read more on these tragic cases please take a moment and visit the Time's Up Blog for the latest developments.
