Message Board

[Admin]

Two girls, 11 and 13, found shot on roadside near Weleetka

Johnny Johnson and Sheila Stogsdill
The Oklahoman
06/09/2008

WELEETKA — The two girls found dead in a ditch Sunday along a dirt road in Okfuskee County were good students and best friends, school officials said Monday afternoon.

Taylor Dawn Paschal-Placker 13, and Skyla Jade Whitaker, 11, were found shot to death in a ditch on a dirt road less than a mile from Taylor's home. Family members said Taylor and her friend went for a walk down the road at about 5:30 p.m. to a bridge and appeared to be heading home when they were killed, said Sheriff Jack Choate.

Taylor's grandfather found the girls' bodies after he went to look for them when they did not return, Choate said. Investigators combed the area last night before heavy rains hit the area. Tire tracks were found on the dirt road and were preserved, as well as other evidence found at the scene. Choate said there is a suspect in the case.

The girls were found in a ditch on a county road along the Okmulgee-Okfuskee county line, said OSBI investigator Stan Florence. The girls were found fully clothed in T-shirts and shorts. Both had multiple gunshot wounds, Florence said.

Investigators are still trying to figure out a motive in the killings and what type of gun was used.

"They were little girls, what possible motive could there be?" Choate said. "You have to wonder, did they see something they were not supposed to? Were they at the wrong place at the wrong time?"

Their bodies were found along an isolated road. Hardscrabble homes along the county road are spread out and as much as mile apart in some places. Crime scene tape had blocked the road, but already mourners had dropped off flowers near the field where the girls were found. Lawn chairs filled the front yard of the modest home where Taylor's family lives.

Joe Mosher, Taylor's uncle, said the family is struggling with Taylor's loss. An account for donations to pay for her funeral expenses has been set up at Weleetka Commerce Bank.

"Her parents are really distraught," said Mosher, who is the brother of Taylor's mother. "They're a very poor family."

Mosher said his niece was vibrant and full of energy.

"Taylor was the most lively, beautiful little girl you ever met," Mosher said. "She was very intelligent and had good grades. She didn't have an enemy in this world. People who didn't even know her loved her."

Many in the small community of Weleetka, located about 90 miles east of Oklahoma City, were stunned to hear the news.

"Taylor was a top student," said Wanda Mankin, who serves as the elementary school principal and counselor. "She had been home-schooled before she came to us."

Taylor was the only girl in the sixth grade and Skyla was in the fifth grade at the Graham school district. Located in the four corners of Okfuskee, Okmulgee, Hughes and McIntosh counties, the school is about four miles from Dustin.

The school has 100 students from prekindergarten through the 12th grade and another 70 students in an on-line pilot program, she said.

Mankin described Skyla as an outgoing, bubbly, tall lanky brunette who played basketball, while Taylor was a sandy blond student who was quiet and studious.

Taylor was also elected elementary queen after selling the most raffle tickets for a fundraiser.

"In a school this size, we all feel their (parent's) pain," Mankin said. "Their parents want people to know these were good kids."

Mankin said school counselors will be available for students from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesday and from 10 a.m. to noon on Wednesday.

[Admin]

Clues sought in slaying of girls in Weleetka

Johnny Johnson
The Oklahoman
06/10/2008

WELEETKA — Investigators continue to interview people in hopes of finding a suspect in the brutal murder of two young girls found dead along a dirt road in Okfuskee County. So far there are no suspects, no proposed motives and little known about the killings.

Taylor Dawn Paschal-Placker, 13, and Skyla Jade Whitaker, 11, were shot in the chest and head Sunday, according to the State Medical Examiner's Office.

"We have no solid suspect information," OSBI Agent Ben Ross said at 2 p.m. news conference. "We have no person of interest. We have nobody we can put a finger on. We've received phone calls and we're looking into those leads."

Taylor's grandfather, Peter Placker, found the girls about of a mile from their home after the girls went for a walk Sunday evening and didn't return. Placker went looking for the girls after Taylor couldn't be reached on her cell phone. Placker used Taylor's cell phone to place a 911call, Ross said.

Authorities were notified about 5:40 p.m. Sunday and spent most of Sunday night looking for evidence.

Ross said shell casings were found at the scene, as well as tire tracks and footprints. Ross would not release the caliber of the gun believed to have been used in the shooting. The girls had walked to a bridge along the dirt road, which is a popular gathering place for residents in the rural county, which is about 90 miles east of Oklahoma City.

"We're not sure whether it was somebody passing by," Ross said. "It's an active area for people to throw from the bridge, shoot from the bridge."

Ross said the road, while remote, the road gets a fair amount of local traffic. The investigation so far has been focused on people who may live in the area or be familiar with the country roads.

"It's not likely someone pulled of the interstate or the highway and just stopped there," Ross said. "It's possible they went to meet somebody, or interrupted something or maybe it was a personal attack."

The OSBI this morning announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the shootings. Ross said the reward could increase as the OSBI gets calls of people wanting to donate. America's Most Wanted will also be doing a segment on the slaying, he said.

Autopsies performed Monday on the girls show that they had been shot in the head and chest, said Kevin Rowland, chief medical examiner. Rowland did not release any other details. The girls were found wearing T-shirts and shorts.

Ross said DNA is being recovered from the girls, samples from their clothing and under their fingernails are being tested for substances, or anything that might give investigators a clue about the last minutes of their lives.

The girls were found close together. It is unclear if they had tried to flee, Ross said.

While the girls were found fully clothed in T-shirts and shorts, Ross said there is no conclusive evidence to show that the girls were not sexually assault.

"We have no information on whether the girls were sexually assaulted or not," Ross said. "In that time frame, I doubt it, but we're still looking into it."

Taylor and Skyla, who were classmates at the Graham school in eastern Okfuskee County, had walked down the dusty road to a bridge about 1/2 mile from the home where Taylor lived with her grandparents.

Investigators spent most of the evening Sunday looking for clues in the area where the girls were found. Tire tracks preserved before heavy rains hit the area late Sunday show that a vehicle traveled down the road, then turned around near the ditch where the girls were found.

Taylor was the only girl in her sixth-grade class, and Skyla was the only girl in the fifth grade in the Graham School District.

"Taylor was a top student," said Wanda Mankin, principal.

Taylor was homeschooled until the family moved to Weleetka, a town of 1,014.

Taylor was a big-hearted girl who rescued turtles crawling in the middle of the road and wanted to become a forensic scientist like the ones she saw on TV, said Peter Placker, Taylor's grandfather, who said he raised Taylor.

Skyla was the carefree adventurer — the girl who walked barefoot almost everywhere and rode her bicycle down dirt roads. Where Skyla went, her many cats and a pet goat followed. Skyla wanted to become a veterinarian, said her grandmother, Claudia Farrow.

Mankin said school counselors were to be available from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. today, and from 10 a.m. to noon Wednesday. School is out for the summer at Graham.

A fund has been set up to help pay for the funeral expenses for both girls at the Bank of Commerce, P.O. Box 48, Weleekta, OK, 74880. For more information call 405-786-2216.

[Admin]

Slaying of girls shocks town
The two were shot after going for a walk Sunday, the Okfuskee County sheriff said.

Manny Gamallo
Tulsa World
6/10/2008

WELEETKA — The slayings of two girls along a rural road near here has left Okfuskee County Sheriff Jack Choate Sr. searching for answers.

The bodies of Taylor Dawn Paschal-Placker, 13, and Skyla Jade Whittaker, 11, were found Sunday afternoon along County Line Road, which separates Okfuskee and Okmulgee counties. They had been shot.

"What reason could a person have to kill an 11- and 13-year-old girl?" Choate asked. "There's no reason for that."

"For any kid like that, any child, it's such a needless waste" of life.

No one has been arrested in connection with the deaths.

By Monday afternoon, residents were leaving flowers and other mementoes as a makeshift memorial to the girls at the site where their bodies were found.

The longtime friends lived in the outskirts of Weleetka, more than two miles northeast of the city. They attended the rural Graham school district, Choate said.

Their bodies were found along the west side of County Line Road, about three-fourths of a mile north of Coleman Road, the sheriff said.

Each girl had been shot several times.

Choate said the girls' bodies were found by Taylor's father, who had gone looking for the pair.

However, family members told The Associated Press it was Taylor's grandfather, Peter Placker, who found the bodies.

Choate said the Okmulgee County Sheriff's Office contacted his department shortly after 4 p.m. after receiving a 911 call.

Skyla was visiting the Placker home when the girls decided to go for a walk "as they often did," Choate said. Their bodies were found about 30 minutes later.

According to Choate, Skyla's mother called the Placker home and said she would drop by to pick up her daughter.

At that point, the sheriff said, Taylor's family went looking for the girls, and their bodies were found about one-fourth of a mile north of the home.

"I can't describe coming up on it," a sobbing Peter Placker told the AP as he tried to remember walking up on the scene. "I did it once, and I can't do it again."

Skyla was the carefree adventurer, the girl who walked barefoot almost everywhere and rode her bicycle down endless dirt roads, said her grandmother, Claudia Farrow. Where she went, her many cats followed, along with her pet goat. Skyla wanted to become a veterinarian, Farrow said.

Taylor was a big-hearted girl who rescued helpless turtles crawling in the middle of the road and wanted to become a forensic scientist, like on the TV shows, said Peter Placker, who said he raised Taylor like she was his daughter even though he was her biological grandparent.

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has been called in for help in the case. Choate said authorities combed County Line Road for evidence Sunday and again on Monday.

The sheriff said some clues have been found and that his office has come up with possible suspects. He would not elaborate on any evidence found, nor would he say how many suspects are involved.

Choate said authorities still are trying to determine if the girls were killed by someone driving a car along the road "or whether someone just walked out of the woods and shot them."

"We're not eliminating anything at this point," he said, as the OSBI and his deputies continued their search for more clues or possible witnesses.

Choate asked that anyone with information call his office at (918) 623-1122 or the OSBI at 1-800-522-8017.

Their killings have shocked much of the area's residents, he said.

"Murders are rare in this county," Choate said, noting the last homicide there occurred nearly three years ago.

[Admin]

Girls' shooting deaths rattle rural Oklahoma town

Emanuella Grinberg
CNN
06/10/2008

(CNN) -- Residents of a small Oklahoma town were warned Tuesday that the shooting deaths of two schoolgirls may be the work of someone who lives in the area.

"If it were me, I wouldn't let my kids out walking unless there were other people around that you knew," Okfuskee County Sheriff Jack Choate said Tuesday. "We don't know what the threat is."

Authorities said Tuesday that they were offering a $14,000 reward for information related to the deaths of close friends Taylor Dawn Paschal-Placker, 13, of Weleetka and Skyla Jade Whitaker, 11, of Henryetta.

The girls had planned a sleepover at Taylor's house Sunday night, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation Agent Ben Rosser said Tuesday.

The two left Taylor's home about 5 p.m. Sunday and headed north on the rural county road where Taylor lived, toward a bridge that is a popular gathering spot, Ross said.Watch Rosser talk about the case »

A few minutes later, Taylor's grandfather and guardian called her cell phone to tell the girls to return home. When she didn't answer, he went out to look for them, according to Rosser.

About a quarter mile down the road, which Taylor and Skyla had used many times before, he found them lying side by side in a ditch. They had multiple gunshot wounds in the head and chest. There were no signs of sexual assault, Rosser said.

"It's just not likely that somebody pulled off U.S. 75 or I-40 and went there," Rosser said, referring to where the girls were found, about three miles from the nearest major thoroughfare. "We're thinking it's a person from the local area."

The shooting occurred outside Weleetka, a town of about 1,000 residents 75 miles from Tulsa. Taylor and Skyla were the only girls in their sixth- and fifth-grade classes, according to The Oklahoman newspaper.

"Believe it or not, I have never pulled any shades in my house and I keep my doors unlocked," said Dena Priddy, a teacher's aide at the school the victims attended, The Associated Press reported. "You just don't expect these things to happen here."

"I can't put it into words," said Jake Fenley, Skyla's basketball coach, according to the AP. "This doesn't happen in rural middle America."

Rosser also said that although authorities were considering all avenues of investigation, they had not closed in on any suspects or persons of interest. Rosser said evidence from the scene, including DNA and ballistics, had been sent to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation lab for processing.

Rosser said authorities were also investigating tire tracks and footprints in determining a possible motive for the shootings.

"They were close together, as far as if they were fleeing, that's one thing we're trying to consider," he said. "We're looking at everything."

Choate said that since the killings, his office has received numerous calls from concerned parents.

"I think anytime that you have people this age killed, regardless of whether it's a girl or a boy, it has an effect on everyone," Choate said. "The first thing that crosses my mind is, 'What if that ever happened to me?' "

By Tuesday morning, a makeshift memorial consisting of rosary beads, stuffed animals and flowers had replaced the yellow crime scene tape where the bodies were found, according to the AP.

Police are asking members of the public with information about the case to call (800)522-8017.

To make a donation to a burial fund for the victims' families, the public can also contact the Bank of Commerce in Weleetka, Rosser said.

[Admin]

Girls' deaths draw a torrent of sympathy

Susan Simpson
The Oklahoman
6/11/2008

The Mitchell family of North Little Rock, Ark., likely never met Taylor Paschal-Placker. But news of her death and that of a young friend touched them greatly.

"Every human's heart must be breaking at this moment in time,” the Mitchells wrote on the online guestbook for Placker on www.NewsOK.com.

The Arkansas family was among hundreds of readers to sign online guestbooks for Placker, 13, and Skyla Whitaker, 11, two friends shot to death Sunday as they walked down a country road near Weleetka.

Comments came from across the country and close to home. Many were from strangers to the family, but not strangers to heartbreak and grief.

"Speaking from experience, no one should ever have to bury their child,” wrote Vickie from Eufaula. "Keep the faith and know that she has a pair of beautiful wings that she is wrapping around you all.”

Denise from Thomasville, Ga., wrote that she is praying for the families. "Please know that even way down here in Georgia, Skyla and Taylor are in our hearts.”

K.D. from Edmond wrote, "There are so many people right now who are holding you close to their hearts, in thoughts and prayers. Our entire community grieves with you.”

Chelsea Woodard of Cocoa, Fla., posted a poem questioning why two innocent girls had to die. It ends with the refrain: "Just trust in the Lord because only God knows why.”

Shiricka of Okemah left a message of hope.

"I know for certain that we never lose the people we love, even to death. They continue to participate in every act, thought and decision we make. Their love leaves an indelible imprint in our memories. We find comfort in knowing that our lives have been enriched by having shared their love.”

Why the outpouring?

Cindy Washington, a licensed professional counselor at Oklahoma State University, said the random, senseless nature of the deaths is difficult for even strangers to comprehend. "It makes everyone feel vulnerable. It could happen to them. It scares them.”
Washington said people also want to do something. "Sending a message gives you a sense of helping in some small way.”

"Just knowing that many people reached out is meaningful,” Washington said. "It's an acknowledgement of their loss. It demonstrates to this family that people care and are sharing in their sorrow.”

David Knottnerus, an OSU sociology professor, said electronic media access quickly spreads news of such tragedies, which can lead to a collective outpouring of grief and outrage, human traits that serve to reinforce societal beliefs and morals.

[Admin]

Murder probe builds
Reward is offered as agencies join hunt

Manny Gamallo
Tuksa World
June 11, 2008

OKEMAH — Authorities on Tuesday vowed to bring all of the state's law-enforcement resources to bear in the hunt for the person or persons who killed two young girls on the outskirts of Weleetka.

A $14,000 reward is now being offered for information leading to the arrest of the killer or killers.

Ben W. Rosser, special agent for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, told a small army of reporters gathered at the Okfuskee County Courthouse that authorities are still trying to piece together and analyze evidence taken from the scene of the heinous crime.

"We're making headway on our forensics evidence," Rosser said, noting the state crime lab is now analyzing ballistics, along with DNA evidence taken from the scene.

However, at this point, Rosser said there are no suspects, not even a "person of interest" in the Sunday afternoon slayings of Skyla Jade Whittaker, 11, and Taylor Dawn Paschal-Placker, 13.

Both were shot several times each along the west side of County Line Road (N. 3890 Road), about one-fourth of a mile from Taylor's home, near Coleman Road.

The location is more than three miles northeast of Weleetka, about 70 miles south of Tulsa.

Both girls had gone for a walk, as they often did, along the dirt road around 5 p.m. Sunday.

Thirty minutes later, their bodies were discovered by Taylor's grandfather, Peter Placker, who had gone looking for them after she did not answer her cell phone.

Authorities were still working to determine a motive for the crime.

Rosser said neither of the girls appeared to have been sexually molested. An estimated 30 minutes had elapsed between the time they went for the walk and when they were discovered.

Both bodies were together along the side of the road.

By Tuesday, the scene was marked with several bouquets of flowers and a pair of Teddy bears as a memorial to the girls. Torn pieces of yellow crime-scene tape provided the only clue that a crime had taken place there.

Authorities, working on tips, have so far interviewed about 50 people in connection with the murders, and Rosser said, "We're still checking their alibis."

Rosser said authorities believe the person or persons responsible are local, given the isolated area where the killings took place.

County Line Road is more than two miles east of U.S. 75 north of Weleetka. The road is flanked by dense woods and underbrush.

Rosser said investigators found shell casings at the scene, but they don't know if they are related to the crime.

Once the ballistics examination is complete, authorities hope to learn what type of gun and caliber of bullets were used to kill the girls.

Rosser also said vehicle tracks and footprints at the scene are being analyzed to determine if they are related to the murders.

The road is frequently used by farmers and ranchers in the area.

Rosser said area law enforcement is pitching in to find the killer or killers.

In addition to the OSBI and the Sheriff's Office, the Weleetka and Okmulgee police departments have aided in the investigation, along with the McIntosh County Sheriff's Office.

Okfuskee County Sheriff Jack Choate Sr. said he has received many calls from worried parents wanting to know what to do with their children, especially since school is out for the summer.

"If it was me," the sheriff said he told them, "I wouldn't let kids walk around without being watched."

The sheriff is still trying to understand why anyone would shoot two young girls.

Both girls were described as big-hearted and fun-loving.

Rosser asked that anyone with information on the crime call Choate's office at 623-1122 or the OSBI at 1-800-522-8017.

He also said the television show "America's Most Wanted" is planning to feature the crime.

[Admin]

Investigation: No suspects, officials say

Johnny Johnson
The Oklahoman
June 11, 2008

WELEETKA — Shortly after two girls were found brutally murdered along a dirt road near this small town Sunday afternoon, the rumors around Okfuskee County started to spread like wildfire:

•"They caught the guy who did it.”

• "They have three guys in custody.”

• "He confessed, and said he didn't have a motive.”

It was the rampant rumors and "misinformation” surrounding the fatal shootings of Taylor Dawn Paschal-Placker, 13, and Skyla Jade Whitaker, 11, that led to a time-to-set-the-record-straight news conference Tuesday in front of the Okfuskee County Courthouse in Okemah.

Part of the confusion apparently came from remarks Sheriff Jack Choate made during media interviews. Choate, who has been in office two years, said Monday that his office had "suspects” in the case. He later said his office had identified "persons of interest.”

So when word got out that Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation officials were calling a news conference, many residents lined up behind the news cameras to hear for themselves whether investigators had any idea who shot the girls, whether that person was still out there, and whether they should be worried for their own children's safety.

They didn't find any comfort.

"We have no solid suspect information,” OSBI agent Ben Rosser said at the afternoon briefing. "We have no person of interest. We have nobody we can put a finger on. We've received phone calls and we're looking into those leads.”

Rosser told the crowd he thinks the shooter or shooters were locals, based on the secluded location several miles from Interstate 40 and three miles from the nearest highway.


What do officials know?
Taylor's grandfather, Peter Placker, who was raising her, found the girls about 300 yards from his home after the girls went for a walk Sunday evening and didn't return. Placker went looking for the girls when Taylor didn't answer her cell phone. Placker used Taylor's cell phone to place a 911 call, Rosser said.
Authorities were notified about 5:40 p.m. Sunday and spent most of Sunday night looking for evidence.

Rosser said shell casings were found at the scene, as well as tire tracks and footprints. Rosser would not release the caliber of gun thought to have been used in the shooting. The girls had walked along the dirt road to the bridge over Bad Creek."We're not sure whether it was somebody passing by,” Rosser said. "It's an active area for people to throw things from the bridge or shoot things from the bridge.”

Rosser said the road, while remote, gets a fair amount of local traffic. The investigation so far has been focused on people who may live in the area or who would be familiar with the country roads.

"It's not likely someone pulled off the interstate or the highway and just stopped there,” Rosser said. "It's possible they went to meet somebody, or interrupted something, or maybe it was a personal attack.”

The OSBI announced a $14,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the shootings. Rosser said the reward could increase as the OSBI gets calls of people wanting to donate. "America's Most Wanted” plans to do a segment on the slaying, he said.

Autopsies performed Monday on the girls show they had been shot in the head and chest, said Kevin Rowland, chief investigator for the medical examiner's office. Rowland did not release any other details, including the number of times each girl was shot. The girls were found wearing T-shirts and shorts.

Rosser said DNA is being recovered from the girls.

Samples taken from their clothing and under their fingernails are being tested for substances or anything that might give investigators a clue about the last minutes of their lives.

"We have no information on whether the girls were sexually assaulted or not,” Rosser said.

"In that time frame, I doubt it, but we're still looking into it.”

The Okfuskee County district attorney's office declined Tuesday to either confirm or deny whether any search warrants have been issued in the investigation.

[Admin]

Police look for multiple suspects in girls' shootings

By Emanuella Grinberg
CNN
June 11, 2008

(CNN) -- Two Oklahoma schoolgirls were killed with two guns, leading investigators to believe that more than one person was involved in their deaths, authorities said Wednesday.

Taylor Dawn Paschal-Placker, 13, of Weleetka and Skyla Jade Whitaker, 11, of Henryetta, were shot multiple times Sunday on a rural road about a quarter-mile from Taylor's home.

Investigators don't have any suspects or motives, but a forensic examination of the bodies indicated that two guns had been used, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations Agent Ben Rosser said Wednesday.

"This leads us to believe that we're probably looking for two shooters," Rosser said at a news conference Wednesday, where he also announced that authorities had raised the reward to $25,000. Watch what officials are doing to solve the case »

With two shooters, Rosser said he was hopeful that one would turn on the other and come forward.

Rosser said investigators were considering a variety of motives as they searched for suspects, including the possibility of a "random thrill kill."

Because of the girls' ages, Rosser said investigators were looking at computer evidence and questioning young people in the area to develop possible leads.

Authorities said Tuesday that they believed the shooters were most likely from the area, considering the remote location where the bodies were found.

The two girls had planned a sleepover at Taylor's house the night they were killed. They left the house about 5 p.m.

Less than 30 minutes later, Taylor's grandfather discovered the girls' bodies in a ditch on the side of a road, near a bridge that is a popular gathering spot in the area.

"It is an isolated area." Rosser reiterated Wednesday. "They had to give my agents explicit directions Sunday on how to get there, in broad daylight."

The killings have rattled the community of Weleetka, a town of about 1,000 residents 75 miles from Tulsa. Taylor and Skyla were the only girls in their sixth- and fifth-grade classes, according to The Oklahoman newspaper.

Taylor's uncle, Joe Mosher, described his niece as an intelligent girl who loved animals.

"She rescued turtles on the highway and wrote her name on them and turned them loose in the country," Mosher said Wednesday.

Mosher said Taylor was at the top of her class in public school after being homeschooled most of her life.

"She was very smart," said Mosher, who last saw Taylor two weeks ago at a family reunion.

In the wake of the shootings, authorities have urged parents in Weleetka to keep a close eye on their children.

"Two little girls can't go walking down a country lane," Rosser said. "I think that's pretty sad."

Police are asking members of the public with more information about the case to call (800) 522-8017.

To make a donation to a burial fund for the victims' families, the public can contact the Bank of Commerce in Weleetka, Rosser said.

[Admin]

Around Weleetka, shock but no answers

Bryan Painter
The Oklahoman
June, 11 2008

WELEETKA — "This is the mother of all wrongness.”

Tension far exceeded the thick June humidity as Graham School Superintendent Dusty Chancey cut to the point Tuesday.

"There's a lot of anger out there right now,” said Chancey, a man with a stern look, a shaved head and a salt and red pepper goatee.

Less than 48 hours earlier two of his students — Taylor Dawn Paschal-Placker, 13, and Skyla Jade Whitaker, 11 — had been shot to death along a rural Okfuskee County road about a quarter-mile from the older child's home.

But to understand Chancey's statements, one must understand that the bruise this community bears is not fresh. They were still healing.

Many people will for years talk about this horrible crime in June '08. But it's important to listen when Chancey starts a sentence with "The last time ...”

During the summer of 2004 Becky Johnson, who was pregnant, was shot. Her former boyfriend, Cody James, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of second-degree murder in the shooting death of Johnson and first-degree manslaughter for the killing of Johnson's unborn child.

Johnson and James were closing in on their junior year at Graham.

Think about these two tragedies. And then think about the families of the victims and the community left mourning.

School brings counselors

The Graham School District only covers about 48 square miles, which includes about 600 residents. The K-12 school has about 100 students. Chancey and Wanda Mankin, the elementary school principal, aren't concerned about the numbers but rather the children within the numbers.
That's why on Tuesday they invited two counselors to come to the school and meet with any children who wanted to come in and talk, even though school is out.

"You don't want it to fester,” Chancey said, following up his statement about anger. "You want to address it. Don't let it build.”

Chancey, who has worked in the Graham School District for 16 years and has been superintendent for 13 of those, said "The last time ...” the school had counselors available after Johnson's death.

Mankin said, "The last time, some students couldn't come back and walk the same halls.”

They don't want to lose children to the anger and all that comes with a horrible act such as what occurred Sunday.

At Graham School, east of Weleetka, two grades share the same classroom. Fifth and sixth are in the same room, and physical education and computer training are the only courses outside that classroom. The students are very close.

Chancey and Mankin don't want to lose anyone to this pain — children or adults.

Placker, who was the only girl in her sixth-grade class along with four boys, and Whitaker, who was in a fifth-grade class with four girls and one boy, had an incredible impact on adults.

In such a small school, the teachers and administrators wear many hats. Chancey drives the bus.

At five minutes to 8 each morning, he would pull to a stop on the rural road in front of Placker's house.

Amid all the pain, this memory makes him laugh.

"Taylor would pop out of the door and come flying down the hill,” he said. "She would slow just enough for me to let her know if it was OK to cross the road. Then she would continue flying down the hill so fast that she would have to go past the bus to stop and then circle back.

"Every day she came through the door of that bus, she had a smile on her face.”

That was lost Sunday.

And so was this.

Ida Lawson has taught at Graham for 31 years. Her many hats include not only teaching seventh- through 12th-grade science, but also serving as a local 4-H sponsor. Whitaker had taken rocketry and was enrolled in an arts and crafts class scheduled for this week.

But it was a quilting class that Lawson remembered on Tuesday as the 4-H club held a fundraiser for the families of the girls, selling drinks and cookies as the Oklahoma FreeWheel bicycle tour came through. By noon, more than $2,000 had been raised at the 4-H fundraiser alone.

Bryan Smith, 13, shared about how Placker and Whitaker never caused trouble.

"Taylor was the smartest in the whole class,” he said. "And I remember Skyla was always laughing and always had a smile on her face. If you look at her pictures, she always had a smile.”

Those things and so much more were lost Sunday night.

[Admin]

Investigators screening computers, searching for classmates of girls found slain near

Johnny Johnson
The Oklahoman
June 11, 2003

Taylor Dawn Paschal-Placker, 13, and Skyla Jade Whitaker, 11, were found shot to death in a ditch along a dirt road near Weleetka, less than a mile from Taylor's home Sunday evening. They had gunshot wounds to the head and chest, according to the State Medical Examiner's Office.

So far there have been no arrests in the case and the motive remains a mystery.

Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation Agent Ben Rosser said in a news conference this afternoon that agents are trying to find kids who may have talked to the girls frequently or knew their patterns.

"We're talking to young people because the victims were young," Rosser said. "We've got leads and we're talking to their friends, but a lot of people are harder to find than others."

Earlier in the day, investigators said shell casings from two guns were found at the scene, leading investigators to believe that more than one person may have been involved in the killings.

Ballistics testing by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation show the girls were shot with two different caliber weapons, said Jessica Brown, spokeswoman for OSBI.

"They suspected that there were two weapons early on in the case, but they wanted to wait for ballistics to confirm that," Brown said this afternoon.

Agents are hoping a $25,000 reward might bring forth information in the killings. Local banks contributed $5,000 towards the reward.

"When two people know about it (a crime), it's more in our favor," Brown said.

Investigators today were screening a computer that Taylor used at the Placker home, which is common in this type of investigations, Brown said.

Officials believe people connected to the slayings may be from the local area or are familiar with the rural county roads in Okfuskee County.

"That's my gut feeling. It's an isolated area. We don't know if this is some kind of random thrill killing or an attempted abduction or a case of mistaken identity," OSBI Agent Ben Rosser said during the afternoon press conference. "It's possible they may have interrupted something at the bridge."

The bridge along County Line Road is a popular place for teens to gather and shoot guns, Rosser said.

Agents looked into a tip this morning that someone reported a pickup full of boys were in the area around the time of the killings.

"We contacted those individuals, and yes, they had a shotgun," Rosser said. "They told us they were down there shooting, just like they would have been on any Sunday. There's nothing to indicate that they are suspects."

The Placker family said Taylor and her friend had walked down the road to the bridge about 5 p.m. Sunday. When they didn't return and couldn't be reached by cell phone, Taylor's grandfather went looking for her and found the bodies. Peter Placker placed a 911 call from Taylor's phone.

Funeral services for the two girls are set for Friday. Services for Taylor are 10 a.m. Friday at Dewar First Baptist Church. Services for Skyla are 2 p.m. at the First Baptist Church in Henryetta.

Shurden Funeral Home in Henryetta will handle funeral services for Taylor and Rogers Funeral Home, also in Henryetta, will handle services for Skyla.

HOW TO HELP:

Donations may be sent to:

Bank of Commerce, P.O. Box 48, Weleetka, OK 74880.

For more information call (405) 786-2216.

REWARD OFFERED

The OSBI is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the shootings. Agent Ben Rosser said the reward could increase as the OSBI gets calls of people wanting to donate. "America's Most Wanted" plans to do a segment on the slaying. For more information, call the OSBI hot line at (800) 522-8017.

[Admin]

Weleetka school mourns slain girls

Jeff Billington
Tulsa World
June 12, 2008

WELEETKA — Taylor Paschal-Placker and Skyla Jade Whitaker were like most girls their age — involved in cheerleading, sports and their friends.

Their lives ended Sunday when they were shot to death on a rural road northeast of town. Both suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the head and chest, according to the state Medical Examiner's Office.

Since their death, their classmates and teachers at Graham School have spent countless hours trying to memorialize them and raise money for their families.

"They were very sweet, loving girls. They were good with their grades and active in everything we had going here," said Kim Moore, an employee of Graham School where both girls attended.

Taylor, 13, was the only girl in the sixth grade. Skyla, 11, was in the fifth. But both girls were in the same class because there were only 10 students in both grades combined, Moore said.

Both girls also were on the cheerleading squad, and Skyla was on the basketball team.

"There were only six girls on the fifth- and sixth-grade squad, and one of those was a fourth-grader. We only have 100 students in the entire school, pre-kindergarten to 12th, so everybody was involved," Moore said. "Everybody knows everybody, we're all family. Pretty much everything we have here, both girls were involved in it."

On Wednesday, about eight students at the school put together posters with the girls' pictures that will be passed around and signed at the funeral services scheduled for Friday.

Services for Taylor are set for 10 a.m. Friday at the Dewar First Baptist church under the direction of the Shurden Funeral Home of Henryetta.

Services for Skyla are set for 2 p.m. Friday at the First Baptist Church at Henryetta under the direction of the Rogers Funeral Home, also of Henryetta.


Helping hands


The students created donation jars to help raise money for the families and placed them at businesses in Weleetka, Okemah and Henryetta, said elementary computer teacher Tammy Smith.

Jaycee Weeks and Katelyne Pippen, classmates of Taylor and Skyla, spent about eight hours Tuesday baking cookies that they sold, with the proceeds going to the girls' memorial funds. "We thought it was a good way to help their families," Jaycee said. "The posters, we're going to get signed. The jars, we're going to take them to the businesses so we can hopefully get more money for them."

Smith said Taylor's and Skyla's classmates were frightened about the murders when they found out Sunday. Grief counselors have been at the school the past few days, but no student has taken advantage of the counseling, she said.

Moore said having the students helping at the school has been therapeutic for everyone involved.

"They're scared and were very upset at first. They're doing a little better after we've had them involved in stuff here at the school, fundraising and things for Taylor and Skyla," Moore said.

"We're all just concerned, scared and worried. We're just heartbroken and I can't get past it. I used to drive every day taking my daughter to my Mom's, and I can't drive down that road anymore. I'm scared; I don't want to see where that happened. I just can't do it."


A perfect pair


The girls were described as opposite from each other, yet the perfect pair. Their teachers said it was rare to see one girl without the other.

"Skyla was real bubbly and always smiling, she was kind of silly. Taylor was kind of shy, more reserved and shy and quiet. When she talked to you, you had to really listen," said Wanda Mankin, elementary school principal. "You couldn't ask for better kids."

Taylor was also the top student in the sixth grade, with straight A's, Smith said. Both girls also were active in 4-H and SWAT, or Students Working Against Tobacco.

Burying the girls will not be easy for the school, its students or its teachers, Mankin said.

"Friday's going to be a hard day. It's going to be traumatic for us and the kids," she said. "A lot of these kids, I'm sure, have never suffered a loss and some of them may have never been to a funeral. They're all very young and when school starts back, it's going to be another rough day or two.

"These kids shouldn't have to deal with something so tragic."

[Admin]

Double murder is high profile, high pressure for police

Ken Raymond
The Oklahoman
June 12, 2008

Detectives investigating high-profile child slayings face intense pressure.

"The case grabs everyone's attention immediately,” said Oklahoma City police homicide Detective Cris Cunningham. "The interest that these cases generate is so much more magnified.”

And much of that pressure comes from the sheer horror of seeing innocent children who were senselessly slain.

"You do your job,” said homicide Inspector Kyle Eastridge. "You're professional. But it bothers you. If it doesn't bother you, I don't know, there's something wrong with you.”

Cunningham and Eastridge are not investigating the Weleetka slayings of Taylor Dawn Paschal-Placker, 13, and Skyla Jade Whitaker, 11.

Aside from the external pressures, child death cases are little different from other homicides, Cunningham said.

"Our goal is not to rush to judgment and put someone in jail,” she said. "Our goal is to do a complete and thorough investigation that finds the person responsible for the crime, sends that person to jail, gets them convicted ... and then withstands the scrutiny of all the appeals down the road.”


How are slayings investigated?
Homicide cases usually involve two parallel lines of inquiry, Eastridge said. One is standard: canvassing the area of the crime, seeking out witnesses, performing detailed background checks on everyone associated with the victim.
The other is dictated by the particulars of the crime scene. What evidence was left behind? What do the bodies tell you?

In the Weleetka case, the victims were apparently killed at the same spot where they were found. They were clothed, and there is no evidence of sexual assault.

"It's almost like they walked up on something they shouldn't have seen,” Eastridge said.

Learning who did it and why probably will bring little solace, Cunningham said.

"Everybody wants it to be a monster because they don't want to believe it could happen in their town,” she said. "But monsters come in all shapes and sizes. It's not like a Disney movie where you can see the villain right away.”

[Admin]

For slain Weleetka girls' kin, pain keeps coming

Johnny Johnson
The Oklahoman
June 12, 2008

WELEETKA — Rose Whitaker took one look at the man waving at her in the road Sunday and knew something was terribly wrong.

"They're gone,” the man said when she pulled up alongside him. "They're both gone. The girls are dead.”

Whitaker's daughter, Skyla Jade, 11, and Skyla's best friend, Taylor Dawn Paschal-Placker, 13, lay lifeless in a nearby ditch. Each had been shot multiple times in the chest and head.

Ballistics tests and autopsies indicate two weapons of different calibers were involved, raising the possibility of more than one killer.

For Skyla's family, Wednesday was the hardest day.

Forensic investigators returned the girl's body to a funeral home, giving her mother, father and grandparents their first chance to see her since her death.

Last weekend, Whitaker let Skyla sleep over at Taylor's house. At 5:08 p.m. Sunday, Whitaker called to let Taylor's grandfather know she was on her way to pick up Skyla.

A short time later, the grandfather, Peter Placker, found the girls in a ditch about 300 yards from his home. He waved Whitaker down as she drew near.

"Placker stopped her and wouldn't let her get close,” said Claudia Farrow, Skyla's grandmother. "He just held her and said, ‘They're gone.' ”

When Farrow found out, she and her husband, Jimmy, broke the news to Skyla's father, James Whitaker.

"When we told him, he just went numb,” Claudia Farrow said.

At the crime scene, Claudia Farrow bolted toward her granddaughter's body, making it about 50 feet before she was stopped. She just wanted to see her special granddaughter, who'd been in the process of finishing her first quilt for 4-H.

The family waited at the scene until 3 a.m. hoping for some answers. There were none to give.

Still no suspects

Three days later, the families of both of the victims don't know much more than they did that first night.

In a news conference Wednesday, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agent Ben Rosser said investigators are trying to find children who talked to the girls often and knew their habits.

"We're talking to young people because the victims were young,” Rosser said. "We've got leads, and we're talking to their friends, but a lot of people are harder to find than others.”

Earlier Wednesday, investigators said two guns were used in the killings.

Jimmy Farrow said he'd been told that the first night.

"They said there was a high-powered weapon and a low-powered weapon,” Jimmy Farrow said. "One of the TV stations showed shell casings piled up in the road where it happened.”

Jessica Brown, OSBI spokeswoman, said ballistics examiners confirmed the use of two weapons.

Investigators are also screening a computer that Taylor used at the Placker home, Brown said.

Agents are hoping a $25,000 reward might lead to information that will crack the case. Local banks and community members contributed $5,000 toward the reward.

Investigators think killers were familiar with area

Officials think the slayings may have been committed by people from the local area or who are familiar with the rural Okfuskee County roads.

"That's my gut feeling,” Rosser said. "It's an isolated area. We don't know if this is some kind of random thrill killing or an attempted abduction or a case of mistaken identity. It's possible they may have interrupted something at the bridge.”

The bridge along County Line Road is a popular place for teens to gather and shoot guns, Rosser said.

Agents looked into a tip Wednesday morning that someone reported a pickup full of boys in the area around the time of the killings.

"We contacted those individuals, and yes, they had a shotgun,” Rosser said. "They told us they were down there shooting, just like they would have been on any Sunday. There's nothing to indicate that they are suspects.”

The Placker family previously said Taylor and Skyla walked to the bridge about 5 p.m. Sunday.

When they didn't return and could not be reached by cell phone, Peter Placker went looking for them and found the bodies. He called 911 using Taylor's phone.

Wednesday, Joe Mosher, Taylor's great uncle, said the family is distraught and not interested in talking to the media.

Funeral services for Taylor will begin at 10 a.m. Friday at Dewar First Baptist Church. Services for Skyla will begin at 2 p.m. Friday at the First Baptist Church in Henryetta.

Shurden Funeral Home in Henryetta will handle funeral services for Taylor, and Rogers Funeral Home, also in Henryetta, will handle services for Skyla.

[Admin]

Witness tells of seeing girls before they were shot

Johnny Johnson
The Oklahoman
June 12, 2008

WELEETKA — Investigators have talked to a witness who reportedly saw Taylor Dawn Paschal-Placker, 13, and Skyla Jade Whitaker, 11, walking down an Okfuskee County road just before they were shot Sunday night, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agent Ben Rosser said today.

Rosser said at an afternoon news briefing that a handful of people have been interviewed and in some cases, polygraph tests were administered.

Investigators are continuing to interview people in connection with the killing of the two girls in rural Okfuskee County, Rosser said. But so far, no arrests have been made and investigators are still trying to determine the motive in the shooting deaths.

Rosser said the information gained didn't add much to the criminal investigation, but did help establish a timeline.

"We're looking for people who may have seen something out of the ordinary," he said.

Investigators have received numerous tips, but many haven't panned out, Rosser said.

Earlier today, the road where the girls were found was blocked off as investigators comb the crime scene again. Agents could be seen using global positioning devices and aircraft was used to survey the area, Rosser said. The road is expected to be closed for much of the afternoon.

In total, 14 investigators are working on the case, he said. Airplanes have also been used to comb the ditch and surrounding fields were the girls were found.

Taylor and Skyla were found shot to death in a ditch along a dirt road less than a mile from Taylor's home Sunday evening. They had gunshot wounds to the head and chest, according to the State Medical Examiner's Office.

Results from ballistics tests yesterday confirmed that two guns were used in the slaying, said Jessica Brown, OSBI spokeswoman.

Yesterday, investigators said the bridge is a common gathering place for teens, and it's also common for people to shoot or throw things from the bridge. Investigators say their search for suspects is focusing on people who live in the area, or might be familiar with county roads there.

Taylor, a sixth grader at Graham school, and Skyla, a fifth grader at the same rural school, left Taylor's home to walk down to the bridge Sunday evening. When they did not return and Taylor could not be reached on her cell phone, her grandfather Peter Placker went looking for the girls. He discovered their bodies in the ditch.

Both girls were fully clothed when they were found, and so far there is nothing to indicate that they had been assaulted, investigators have said.

Agents are hoping a $25,000 reward might bring forth information in the killings. Local banks contributed $5,000 towards the reward. The OSBI and U.S. Marshals have contributed $10,000 a piece.

Funeral services for the girls will be Friday.

[Admin]

Hitting a roadblock in 2 girls' slayings

Johnny Johnson
The Oklahoman
June, 13, 2008

WELEETKA — In the biggest and most visible investigative effort since two girls were gunned down Sunday, state agents and local officials closed an isolated stretch of County Line Road on Thursday for another look at the scene.

Investigators hovered over the area in a helicopter, searching the nearby creek bed and marking important points with coordinates.

The community was abuzz. It had to mean something, residents said.

It was enough to bring Graham Elementary School Principal Wanda Mankin to Okemah for the regular afternoon news conference — instead of waiting to read about the situation in the news.

"I heard they were going to have a big announcement, so I wanted to come up and see what it was,” she said.

Both 13-year-old Taylor Paschal-Placker and 11-year-old Skyla Whitaker had gone to Mankin's school, and she remembered them as good girls who couldn't have done anything to deserve being shot multiple times in the head and chest area by two guns.

Mankin wrung her hands in anticipation as OSBI agent Ben Rosser prepared to speak in front of the Okfuskee County Courthouse.

She, like the other members of the community who have been paralyzed by fear since the killings, wanted an answer.

But as Rosser started his briefing, her face fell, and she knew that answer was not coming Thursday.

"There's not a whole lot of new information this afternoon,” Rosser said.

Scattered details emerge

Here's what Rosser did say:
•Investigators had identified a witness who saw the girls on the road before they died, but that the witness would probably only help "nail down” a timeline surrounding the shootings.

•Police had previously administered lie detector tests to some of the people they had interviewed, but the tests did not produce a suspect.

•Agents were back out at the scene doing more work.

•Both girls were shot multiple times by two guns.

"I think ‘angry' is a good word for it,” Mankin said of her mood, and the mood of others from the area.

"Rumors are still everywhere that this happened or that happened. I just want some answers. I want to know why this happened.”

One of Mankin's biggest fears, echoed by other townspeople, is that the return to the crime scene was not hopeful, but rather desperate, she said.

"I'm getting scared about what we're going to do when school starts back and we have to run bus routes and we still don't know who did this,” she said. "How are we going to be able to leave kids at bus stops or drop them off, knowing these people are still out there?”

Another community member, Tammy Smith, said she came with her two children to the news briefing Thursday so they could see that police are working to find the people who killed their friends.

"I want them to know they are working on it,” she said.

"I know there are people who want answers right now, but I also know they are working as hard as they can.”

Since the shooting, Smith said, her 11-year-old daughter, Destiny, and her 13-year-old son, Bryan, who was in class with Taylor and Skyla at school, have been too scared to sleep in their own beds.

"I'm scared this could happen to me,” Bryan said. "The killer is still on the loose.”

Daily life near the scene

Cody Nelson, who lives near the Plackers, was a little nervous Thursday while mowing his lawn. "I'm out here,” he said. "But this thing has still got me watching my back.”
Nelson says he is a cautious man. He's not planning on letting his wife or kids get far from the house anytime soon.

He also said he's a little distraught by some of the implications he's been reading that he says make his neighborhood look like a place where drug dealers are hiding in the woods just off the roads.

"It's just not like that here,” he said. "I never see anything going on at that bridge. Kids don't go there to drink or shoot, and it's not a place to buy and sell drugs. I've seen those places, but this is not one of those places.”

A little farther up the same road from Nelson is the community of Bryant, where residents are also concerned about such a gruesome crime committed practically at their back door.

As resident Eugene Hood put it, Bryant was a one-horse town, but that was before the horse died. Less than two miles from the spot where the girls were shot, Hood said he is still shocked something like that could happen.

Hood said he didn't want to sound coldhearted because he felt bad for the girls and their families, but he said a part of him was hoping to just be able to move on and forget about it.

"As long as people are around here asking questions, we're gonna dwell on it,” he said. "And if you dwell on it, you're gonna go crazy wondering how the hell a human being could do that to another person, let alone two little girls. There's just no rhyme, reason or justification.”

Telling his grandchildren they couldn't go play outside earlier this week was a pretty tough thing to do, Hood said, because that's what children are supposed to do in the summer.

But he said there will need to be a break in the case or some serious passage of time before he feels comfortable letting them out in the neighborhood again unsupervised.

About the shootings

Taylor and Skyla were found in a ditch along a dirt road less than a mile from Taylor's home Sunday evening. They had gunshot wounds to the head and chest, the state medical examiner's office said.
Both girls were fully clothed when they were found, and so far there is nothing to indicate they had been sexually assaulted, investigators have said.

Agents are hoping a $25,000 reward might bring forth information on the killings. Local banks and community members contributed $5,000 toward the reward. The OSBI and the U.S. Marshals Service have contributed $10,000 each.