Kelsey Bransby's Pals

The news came suddenly, without even a hint from local police that they were onto something. It hit the net a few hours ago and details are at best minimal.

Two people were busted yesterday and charged with the murder of Kelsey Bransby, who was killed last October in an apartment on the far south side of Oklahoma City. Their names are Cole Dean Hopper and Danielle Marie Cooley. Hopper is listed as 20 years old. Cooley, depending on who you read, is either 19, or 21.

On the local CBS affiliate's site, reporter Adrianna Iwasinski writes that a person who found Bransby that awful day told her Cooley was Bransby's best friend and Hopper was Cooley's boyfriend. KOCO is the ABC affiliate, their site is reporting that Bransby's mother, Sheila Davis told reporter Katy Bakey that both Hopper and Cooley were friends with her daughter. I suppose that revelation should come as no surprise. If you are murdered chances are overwhelming the crime was committed by a relative, friend, or acquaintance. It would seem we prefer to have relationships with our victims before we do them in.

There is, as yet, no word as to why the pair would murder, Kelsey Bransby. The motive will no doubt be revealed once attorneys start trying the case in the media. So will the reason the police came to suspect the pair and what evidence has been amassed against them. At this point no one knows if they've been the prime suspects all along, or if someone ratted them out when they screwed the pooch and blabbed about the murder over too many beers, or hits of meth to a fellow traveler. In this age no one can keep their mouth shut. If you say something, anything, it is immediately public knowledge.

KOCO reports that Bransby's mother is glad this part of the ordeal is over. She tried to put into words what really can't be explained fully by the parent of a dead child. She is emotionally drained, especially after finding out Cooley and Hopper were the ones charged. She says she has no idea why they would have done it. She'll find that out shortly and bets are her current daze will turn into a white hot anger fairly soon.

Three girls perished last autumn in this burg. Suspects in Carina Saunders' gruesome murder currently reside in the Oklahoma County lockup. Now two people have been charged and are being held in the Cleveland County detention center for the slaying of Kelsey Bransby. That leaves the death of Alina Fitzpatrick the only one seemingly without a hope of being solved.

No one has been convicted yet. As the blurb on the TV cop reality show says, "All parties are considered innocent until proven guilty."

It is hard to keep that ideal in mind right now.

Kelsey Bransby is dead and no one outside of police headquarters, or the people who did it knows why.

When the reason is revealed it will be foul and stupid. That we can be assured of. Because, if they did did do it, those two sets of vacant eyes staring out at us from their mug shots guarantee it.

5-31-12