Reward In Weleetka Killings Upped To $160,000

Taylor Paschal-Placker, Skyla Whitaker Killed On June 8, 2008

They are coming for you, Mikey. Keep watching over your shoulder...

July 30, 2009
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OKEMAH, Okla. -- Two oil executives pledged to add $120,000 to an existing $40,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever killed two girls near Weleetka in June 2008.

At a Thursday morning news conference, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Jessica Brown said the $160,000 reward is good for the next 90 days. After that, the pledge would have to be renewed, a standard procedure.

Thirteen-year-old Taylor Paschal-Placker and 11-year-old Skyla Whitaker were gunned down June 8, 2008, along a dirt road in rural Okfuskee County, about 70 miles south of Tulsa.

No arrests have been made in the case and authorities still are searching for a motive.

Brown said leads in the case continue to come in and that the investigation is moving forward.

At the Thursday news conference, Brown said agents have been looking into crimes in other states to determine whether they have any commonality with the Weleetka killings.

Reward increased in Weleetka OK girls' slayings

July 30, 2009
ktul.com
Oklahoma

OKEMAH, Okla. (AP) - State investigators plan to announce an increase in the reward offered for information in the shooting deaths of two girls near the town of Weleetka last summer.

Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Jessica Brown says a donation from a private citizen will allow for a "sizable increase" to the current $40,000 reward.

...Thirteen-year-old Taylor Paschal-Placker and 11-year-old Skyla Whitaker were gunned down June 8, 2008, along a dirt road in rural Okfuskee County, about 70 miles south of Tulsa.

No arrests have been made in the case and authorities still are searching for a motive. Brown says leads in the case continue to come in and that the investigation is moving forward.

Shooting deaths of Oklahoma girls remain a mystery one year later

By Emanuella Grinberg

CNN
June 8, 2009

(CNN) -- William Whitaker is certain that somebody in the central Oklahoman community where he lives knows who killed his daughter.

The dirt road where the bodies of 11-year-old Skyla Jade Whitaker and Taylor Paschal-Placker, 13, were found is too remote for the killings to be the work of a stranger passing through, he says.

"There's absolutely no way that somebody from out of the area could've just stumbled upon the place," Whitaker said. "I know whoever did it told somebody, whether they were drinking or bragging or whatever, and whoever knows just needs to bring the information forward."

It has been a year since the two friends were shot multiple times in the stomach and chest less than a half a mile from Taylor's home in the rural community of Weleetka, with a population just over 1,000.

"Taylor was shot five times. My daughter was shot eight times. Thirteen shots between two little girls who never did anything to anyone," Whitaker said. "I don't know how a person can go to work, eat or sleep knowing what they did. I couldn't live with that on my conscience, but they've been doing it for a year now."

In the beginning, hundreds of tips poured in. Authorities pursued leads and analyzed evidence, but a year later, they have no suspects or witnesses leading them to any viable conclusions.
Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokesperson Jessica Brown said during a press conference Monday that authorities have "good evidence" in the case but lack the final piece to make an arrest...

"What we are frustrated about is the lack of cooperation we're getting from members of the public," Brown said. She stressed Monday that a $36,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to a conviction.

The girls were shot with two different guns, leading to the possibility that two people were involved, Brown said. The OSBI released a sketch of a person wanted for questioning last year, but they have not received information leading to him, she said.

But the killings remain fresh in the minds of Oklahomans. A billboard with the girls' faces and a tip hotline has loomed over Interstate 40 for several months. A memorial service was planned for Monday, June 4, in Weleetka to mark the anniversary...

Weleetka Police Officer Stacey Rice will never forget the image of the dead girls. He was the second officer on the scene after a relative called 911 around 5:30 p.m. that day.

"I really hope I never see anything like that again. It's just emotionally and visually traumatic. You see two small children lying on the ground like that and it's kind of hard to explain. Makes you want to go find your children," said Rice, a father of two teenage boys.

"It took me several minutes to realize what happened, but after a while, it kind of sank in, and that's when emotions started running ... anger, lots of anger, sadness, disbelief. Nobody wanted to believe what had happened."...

Whitaker finds solace in visiting the memorial site set up at the crime scene, where people leave bouquets of flowers, stuffed animals, cards and other mementos. The most recent addition to the site is an 8-foot cross donated by members of the community. stuff people

"I just get a feeling whenever I'm there. It's real quiet out there, and I see the brought and it's kind of comforting, it really is. I know she's in a better place right now, she don't feel sickness, don't feel pain. She's in a better place, and it's my way of remembering."

Weleetka Girls Remembered With Prayer Vigil

Feb 15, 2009

NewsOn6.com

Tulsa, Oklahoma

By Chris Wright, News on 6
WELEETKA, OK -- A tight-knit community is remembering two girls who were murdered last summer.

Eleven-year-old Skyla Whitaker and 13-year-old Taylor Paschal-Placker were found shot to death on a rural road near Weleetka. No arrests have been made in the case.

A prayer vigil was held Sunday in their honor at the road-side memorial where the two girls were found dead in June.

People in the community are still holding out hope that the killers would be found.
Time has done little to heal the wounds opened in Weleetka eight months ago.

"There's still a lot of grief, a lot of bewilderment," said Steve Gneich, pastor of First Baptist Church of Weleetka. "Until the murderer or murderers are discovered who they are, I don't think we'll have any peace."

Speakers discussed the pain and anguish the families and the entire town are still dealing with.
"It's been pretty rough," Weleetka resident Tyler Rudek said. "There's a constant feeling of what's going to happen next. It's pretty hard to handle."

The ceremony was also meant as a memorial and an appeal to a higher power for help in the case.

"Anybody who has been tied to this tragedy, we want to remind them to pray about it, ask God's intervention in this because it seems to be out of man's hands at this point," Charles Simmons of First Baptist said.

Participants also hope the vigil will bring the tragedy back into the public consciousness.
While Weleetka will never forget what happened to Skyla and Taylor, it worries the rest of Oklahoma may have, and the town says it needs all the help it can to solve the murders.

"There's always clues available," Gneich said. "I believe there is somebody who knows something. We just gotta find out who."

Weleetka residents say there have been other incidents in the past eight months or so as well, including another homicide, that have them feeling that they're on an incredible string of bad luck.

They hope Sunday's prayer vigil helps to bring an end to that.

Related Story: 09/04/2008

Grand Jury Targets Weleetka Murders

Read more stories related to the Weleetka murders

Grand jury grills three men in Weleetka Oklahoma double killings

All text in red italics reflects my own opinion. I could be wrong. But I doubt it...

By Nolan Clay and Johnny Johnson
Staff Writers

Three men who have come under suspicion in the fatal shootings near Weleetka testified Wednesday before a state grand jury.

Two other witnesses failed to appear. The grand jury’s judge ordered them arrested.
Agents at the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation turned to the multicounty grand jury for help solving one of the state’s most painful murder mysteries — the deaths of friends Taylor Placker, 13, and Skyla Whitaker, 11.

The girls were shot a total of 13 times June 8 on a dirt road between Okmulgee and Okfuskee counties.

“I just wish they would catch whoever done it so they would leave me alone,” said one witness, Toney Kelough, 30, who must return today to finish testifying. “I’ve told them the same thing over and over again.”

Investigators also may have some type of DNA evidence in the case. Some people have been asked to give DNA samples, The Oklahoman has learned.

Grand jurors are meeting at the Oklahoma County courthouse and the testimony is not public.
The involvement of the grand jury does not necessarily mean criminal charges are imminent. Law enforcement agencies and prosecutors often use the grand jury to gather evidence.

Testifying first Wednesday was OSBI Agent Ben Rosser, the lead investigator on the case since the inception.

Rosser said grand jury rules prevent him from discussing anything to do with the grand jury or his testimony.

“Name, rank and serial number,” he said. “That’s all I can give you today.”

The other witnesses were:

Dustyn Dailey

Dailey, 18, testified the longest Wednesday — about two hours. He was taken before the grand jury in shackles and wearing jail clothes with black and gray stripes.

Afterward, Dailey, who uses the nickname “Spud,” would not comment to The Oklahoman about the shooting of the two Graham School girls.

Dailey attended Graham School in the ninth grade until his family moved to Henryetta.
He is jailed in Okmulgee County on a second-degree burglary charge. He is accused of breaking into a home Aug. 1.

Some of his relatives have a protective order against him after he allegedly said in April, “I’m going to burn your house down and ya’ll will have nowhere to live” and “I am going to kill you.” On MySpace, he lists among his interests “all vampire books.”

Mike Gaddy

Gaddy, 19, who knows Dailey, testified for about an hour Wednesday.

His parents, David and Glenda Gaddy, confirmed their son has come under suspicion but they insist he has an alibi. They said he heard the fatal gunshots but did not witness the shooting. The guilty party often injects themselves into the crime with statements like that, "well I heard the gunshots," as a way of trying to distance themselves, the grain of truth theory. This is too weird to make up.

They also said they fear vigilantes seeking justice might hurt him because he has come under suspicion. They’ve already chased him with guns,” David Gaddy said. “Until they catch who really did this, Mike is in danger.” Now tries to becomes the victim.

The father said his son was at a friend’s house at the time of the shooting. The father said his son, along with the friend and the friend’s family, then went to Walmart. Did his friend and his friends family also hear the gunshots? He said agents have pulled Walmart surveillance videotapes to try to verify the story. In other words, they don't know where he was.

The father also said OSBI agents have been harassing his son, who he says is mentally retarded. Being stupid, uneducated and mean doesn't make one mentally retarded. Besides the term "mentally retarded" is a fairly wide umbrella of mental problems.

The parents said they have noticed undercover officers in an AT&T van taking photos of them. They said they believe their phone has been tapped due to an unmistakable clicking sound. If they are afraid for Mikes life, they should be glad there are police officers watching their house.

They said their son does not associate with Dailey anymore.

Toney Kelough

Kelough told The Oklahoman that agents suspect him. He denied having anything to do with the girls’ deaths.

He admitted seeing the girls playing in their yard the day before the shooting. He said he was with a girlfriend when they were killed. He lives about eight miles from the crime scene. Same thing here, he injects himself into the crime as a witness to knowing where the little girls live, even seeing them the day before.


“I’ve told them 100 times I had nothing to do with it, but they said I done it,” he said.

According to Kelough, he came under suspicion because of some red stains on his shirt and pants. Kelough, a casino maintenance worker, said he told officers the stains were from wood stain and he showed them his woodworking project.

He said agents have showed up at his house and looked in windows, and that the agents scare his 6-year-old son.

Kelough said he submitted to a DNA sample. This is interesting in that there was no sexual assault, and the crime scene evidence is bullet casings, boot and tire tracks. It's possible law enforcement was able to obtain surface DNA as well as fingerprints from the bullet casings.

“I’ve got nothing to hide,” he said.

Timeline

On June 8, Taylor Placker and Skyla Whitaker were finishing up a sleepover at Taylor’s house on County Line Road, about seven miles northeast of Weleetka.

About 5 p.m., the two girls left to go on a walk to Bad Creek bridge, about one-half mile north of the house.

At 5:30 p.m., Taylor’s grandfather found the girls’ bullet-ridden bodies. His wife frantically called 911.

The Crime Scene

The girls were shot a total of 13 times. Investigators said they appeared to have walked to the bridge and were returning home when they were killed.

Bullet casings, footprints and tire tracks were found.

Investigators said two different caliber guns were used. One was a .40 caliber Glock. The make of the second weapon has not been released.

Due to the two guns used, authorities said they believed they were looking for at least two suspects. Because of the remote locations of the shootings, authorities said they believed the gunmen were local residents.

The first person of interest

On the day of the girls’ funerals, the OSBI revealed agents were looking for a witness/person of interest described as an American Indian man with a long pony tail. He was said to be wearing a ball cap and driving a white pickup. The OSBI said witnesses saw the man on the road the day the girls were killed. Who were the witnesses? The suspects? And isn't that always the way, blame a different race--Susan Smith accused a black man, the guy in Boston who drove to the ghetto then shot his pregnant wife to death then shot himself and blamed a black guy. Hell, Casey Anthony is blaming an Hispanic woman.

The man was never identified and authorities never received further credible information about him.

Recent developments

A few weeks ago, the OSBI sent about 60 letters to registered owners of .40 caliber Glock handguns in the area, asking them to submit their weapons for testing.

About 40 gun owners submitted their weapons, five said they no longer owned the guns, and about 15 didn’t show up as requested.

The agency said they would be contacting the 15 who did not respond. Very interesting...

Witnesses conclude Weleetka testimony

http://newsok.com/article/3293276/

A woman and her boyfriend were arrested Thursday in Okmulgee and taken in clanging shackles to Oklahoma City to testify to what they knew about the fatal shooting of two girls.

Windy Espinosa, 34, and Larry Peyton Smith, 34, testified Thursday before a state grand jury that is helping state agents look into the tragic shootings near Weleetka.

The two were arrested after they failed to show up in court Wednesday. The grand jury's judge allowed them to go home after they finished testifying Thursday.

Agents with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation turned to the multi county grand jury for help cracking the frustrating case.

Two friends, Taylor Placker, 13, and Skyla Whitaker, 11, were shot to death June 8 along a remote Okfuskee County road, not far from where Taylor lived. The case has attracted national attention.

The two new witnesses said little in front of news reporters as Okmulgee County sheriff's deputies moved them to and from the grand jury room Thursday. The two live together in Okmulgee.

During a closed-door meeting before the judge, Espinosa could be overheard laughing briefly and saying she hopes she never sees lawmen at her door again. She wore a T-shirt with the words "Free Spirit” on the front. Asked by a reporter if she was glad her testimony was over, she said, "I doubt it's totally over over.”

Three testified earlier

Grand jurors heard Wednesday from three men who have come under suspicion in the case — Dustyn Dailey, 18, Mike Gaddy, 19, and Toney Kelough, 30.

Kelough returned Thursday morning and testified for about another hour. He told The Oklahoman Wednesday he has an alibi — that he was with a girlfriend at the time of the fatal shooting.

"I just wish they would catch whoever done it so they would leave me alone,” Kelough said Wednesday. Kelough declined comment after testifying Thursday. "I'm done, man,” he said as he rushed out of the courthouse.

Also testifying Wednesday was OSBI agent Ben Rosser. What the witnesses said is not known.
Grand jurors hear testimony in secret sessions.

The current multi county grand jury is not expected to hear more witnesses and is not expected to issue any indictments over the deaths. Another multi county grand jury is likely to be formed in a few months and could help the OSBI if the case is not solved before then.

Assistants for Attorney General Drew Edmondson guide the grand jury investigations.

Grand jury questions men in Weleetka Oklahoma murders of Skyla Whitaker and Taylor Paschal-Placker

KFOR.com
CHELLIE MILLS REPORTING

WELEETKA -- The double murder investigation in Weleetka this summer has taken a quick turn. A published report says three men testified Wednesday before a grand jury.

There have been few leads in the last two-and-a-half months on this investigation. The girls, 11-year-old Skyla Whitaker and 13-year-old Taylor Paschal-Placker were gunned down June 8th, 2008.

Their bodies were found near Weleetka on a dirt road in Okfuskee County. The girls had been shot numerous times; from two different guns.

The Oklahoman reports a grand jury heard the testimony of three men suspected, but not charged in the shootings.

One of those men is 19-year-old Mike Gaddy who lives near the girls. His parents tell the Oklahoman he was home at the time along with another suspect, 18-year-old Dustyn Dailey.

Dailey is currently being held at Okmulgee County jail for a burglary charge.
And Toney Kelough, who lives several miles from the crime scene, also testified.

These men have not been charged with anything.
They have only testified before a grand jury.

Two others did not show up to speak.
The judge has ordered them to be arrested.

The grand jury sessions are closed to the public.

Mike Gaddy was indentified early on as a neighborhood bully, and was mad at the girls for having told on him at one time.

Autopsies reveal Oklahoma girls were shot multiple times

OKLAHOMA CITY--Skyla Jade Whitaker, 11, and her friend, Taylor Paschal-Placker, 13, were shot June 8 a half-mile north of Taylor's home in the town of Weleetka, 70 miles south of Tulsa.

Autopsy results released Friday on two girls who were gunned down while walking on a country road show one had five gunshot wounds and the other had eight. No arrests have been made.

The state medical examiner's office said the younger girl had eight wounds to the arms, chest, abdomen and neck, and the older girl had five gunshot wounds to the head, groin and hand.

Investigators say two guns were used, leading to the presumption at least two people were involved. The isolated nature of the crime scene has led investigators to theorize local people might have been involved. No motive has been identified.

The autopsies did not indicate any sexual trauma.

Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Jessica Brown said the autopsy results speak to the brutal mindset of the killer.

"It tells the public the brutality, the determination of the killer or killers, by shooting the 11-year-old eight times and Taylor five times," she said.

She said investigators continue to pursue multiple leads and are using all available resources to work the case.

On July 21, the OSBI released the emotional 911 tape in which the grandmother of one of the girls called for help in hopes of pricking someone's conscience and getting a tip that could be useful in solving the murders.

After the killings, investigators released a drawing of a tall man whom witnesses described seeing near the murder scene around the time of the killings, but that man hasn't come forward for questioning.