After a deadly fall and winter it would seem the birds have all come home to roost except in the case of Alina Fitzpatrick. Her's is the only death out of five brutal murders in a breathtakingly short span last year where no charges have been filed, or persons of interest have been identified.
Of course it doesn't help the police technically don't consider her death a murder because of the amount of meth found in her system during an autopsy. On January 20th of this year, in a story written by The Oklahoman's Matt Dinger, OKC police Sgt. Jennifer Wardlow was quoted as saying the department was keeping an open file on the case, but didn't consider it a homicide. Nine days later in a story by Bryan Dean, OKC police Capt. Dexter Nelson tried to smooth over that apparent cold blooded attitude toward Fitzpatrick's death by saying police were still investigating it as suspicious. "Homicide is just a legal term," he said. "You investigate them in the same way."
In today's Oklahoman, a front page story written by Carmen Foreman and Matt Dinger, says Bethany police have charged one Luis Ruiz with the murder of Carina Saunders. She was the first of the women to perish last fall. Her dismembered body was found in a duffel bag in a field behind a grocery store.
Luis Ruiz, who is 37 is the only person actually charged with Saunders' death, at least so far. Two other men, Francisco Gomez and Jimmy Lee Massey have been named as persons of interest. They are being held on separate charges, although it is reported, Massey has confessed to kidnapping and forcing an unnamed woman to watch Saunders' gruesome murder.
Foreman and Dinger report, Ruiz's brother, Jorge told them he guessed Luis was in a drug ring. He also was quoted as saying he "might" have seen his brother hanging out with Saunders, but couldn't be sure. The police are being mum on any hard evidence in the case.
Two people are being held in the Kelsey Bransby murder. She was found shot in a south side apartment and died a short time later. Cole Hopper and Danielle Cooley have been charged in connection with the case. Hopper is looking at murder two and Cooley is being charged as an accessory. They were friends of the victim.
Jaymie Adams' husband was charged with her death. Her body was found out by Lake Stanley Draper. She went missing after going to meet a "friend" at a Midwest City McDonald's. She had four kids and a fifth was on the way. To make ends meet she had advertised on Craig's List as a massage therapist, but in reality was pulling down tricks with the seeming approval of her spouse. He was into "the swingers lifestyle" and had a taste for wife swapping and Lord only knows what else.
Finally Emily Matheson and Fabion Brown were accused of hiring Brodric, Savage, Glover to kill Brown's estranged wife, Jessica Lynn Brown. Glover's year end close out sale price for the hit was reportedly $250.
So, it appears the police in both OKC and Bethany have their suspects in hand. No one has gone to trial yet and there is no telling what plea bargaining has and will take place. The families of Saunders and Bransby, while never attaining the mythical status of closure, because there can never be complete closure when it comes to losing a child, can at least begin to see an end to the ongoing nightmare of not knowing who and why.
Only the third and youngest victim's death remains a dreadful mystery. Make no mistake about it, for the family of Alina Fitzpatrick, even as the summer heat settles down onto this dusty burg, their daughter is still out in the cold. And until they too find out who and why, she will, tragically, stay there.
7-6-12
No comments:
Post a Comment