There is a town in Oklahoma. It is a very small town. The town is called Anadarko and it has about 7,000 people. The whole town is about seven square miles, it is smaller than three by three miles (that would be nine square miles). I drove through Oklahoma a couple of times, I didn't really care for it. I don't like flat land and the last time I drove through I saw a tornado, I despise the thought of tornadoes. Pastor Daniels chose to live there, she would drive every Sunday to Anadarko to pastor a flock who had mostly died off or were bedridden. She was a Pastor of a very small church.
In July of last year she was found murdered. The brutality of the murder left her head nearly severed off, her hair had been set on fire, she had been stripped (but not sexually used), had multiple stab wounds and was intentionally placed in the form of a crucifix. One prosecutor said it was the most horrific murder scene he had seen in over 20 years.
For almost a year the police have had custody of the church and have sought clues, they have nothing. Today the church was taken down and a memorial is to be built in honor of Pastor Daniels.
All murders are horrible; but, some catch our attention. This one caught mine. I was impressed by the commitment of Pastor Daniels. To drive all that way every Sunday on the chance that someone would need her is quite impressive. No dishonor to Anadarko; but, I can't think of one reason to go there other than the one Pastor Daniels had.
I wish to begin my discussion by saying that I pray to God that he bring peace to the family and hold Pastor Daniels in his heart. It is my intent of this post to discuss the failure of the police and this will require some rather blunt comments. I do not in anyway wish to take away from the importance of her murder, it is too tragic an event; but, the ongoing problem is that the police have not found and arrested the murderer and it should not be that difficult.
My therapist mentioned a type of logic he read about in a book, it is called thin slicing. That is what I am about to do. It means to cut to the quick of the issues and see some answers. Lets begin with the most important fact. The killer knew who Pastor Daniels was, where she would be and that it was unlikely anyone would come to the church. He felt safe and knew he could escape. I say he; but, there is a chance it could have been a female, I doubt that happened but we cannot exclude the possibility at present.
How do we know that the murderer knew her and the church. It is a town of 7,000 people in the middle of nowhere and the murderer came prepared. Lets start with some basic facts. Two of Pastor Daniels friends came by the church, they found the front door locked, they called the police. The police enterred and found Pastor Daniels nude, murdered and placed in the form of a crucifix. The weapon was some sort of blade and blood was everywhere. The police removed the back door so we can assume it had writing on it, probably in her blood (like the Manson murders). Prior to the murders two different suspicious fires had been started in the town. The church is situated next to a house and a convenience store. The store had a camera that showed the front of the church, nobody was seen coming in through the front door. That means they entered through the back door. Nobody was seen exiting the front door. That meant they left through the back door. The windows had wire mesh on them or were boarded up.
Now lets look at the most obvious facts. According to reports, Pastor Daniels showed up every Sunday. The murderer used a blade, not a gun. Using a blade is risky and means there is a good chance that the victim will be able to scream. While there is the remotest possibility that some traveling serial killer randomly found a small town 50 to 60 miles from Oklahoma City and was lucky enough to find a church that nobody attended so that he could kill a Pastor, it is not very likely. A stranger in a town of 7,000 risking walking the streets covered in blood is likely to get caught very quickly. Lets talk about the blood.
My ex-wife almost died in child birth. She hemorrhaged. The room was covered in blood to the point where the doctor apologized for my having to see it. Blood from knife wounds that are sufficient to kill someone will get everywhere. Pastor Daniels had multiple wounds. You can find the autopsy on line; but, I prefer that you don't. I usually recommend that people read the source documents and will provide links to them, in this instance the news articles should be sufficient for the reader.
The murderer planned this murder, he even brought some chemical to destroy dna evidence according to the police. Behind the building was some sort of field that could be seen from houses across the field. The neighbors would certainly notice a vehicle parked behind the church. That means the murderer walked or rode a bike to the church. We have every reason to believe he broke in through the back door and left the same way. How did the murderer know that a camera could see the front door?
As we know the murder was premeditated (he brought the chemicals) we begin to limit the number of suspects. Firstly, he knew Pastor Daniels (he at least knew who she was, where she would be and that it was unlikely anyone else would be at the church on a Sunday). That really limits the number of suspects. His weapon of choice, a blade, ensured that he risked being covered in blood. That means, because it was premeditated, that he either brought a change of clothes or did not have to walk far enough that he risked being seen covered in blood. How far would you walk covered in blood and not worry about being seen? I am going to bet it is a lot less than a block.
If you want to believe that the murderer brought a change of clothes, you still have the same problem. What was the change of clothes brought in and how do you get all of the blood off your face, arms, hands...
The area is getting smaller, the likely suspects are limited. I lived in towns of 6,000 people twice. Small towns mean everyone knows everyone's business. I don't like small towns anymore than I like flat land. Now lets talk about killers, there are organized and disorganized killers. This one was organized. The propping of the body and whatever was written on the door were meant to distract the police, the use of a chemical to destroy evidence proves that the murderer thought about the killing for awhile. He was organized and everything he did was planned.
We have a killer who knew the habits of the victim and the area. He knew to use the back door, he felt comfortable in the area and believed the screams would not be heard. How could he know such a thing if he was not within a block regularly on Sundays? He couldn't. That does not leave many suspects and the police still have no clues.
There was killer in Kansas City (actually he lived in Park City but killed mostly in Kansas City) who went by the moniker BTK. He managed to not get caught for over 40 years because the Kansas City police wanted to believe he was not one of their own. We want to believe that killers are unlike us, we want to believe that we would notice them. It is usually a relative or someone we know. That is 70% of all murders.
Now we can dissect what we know and believe me the options are limited. How many people were within one block of the murder on Sundays and knew that nobody was likely to go to the church or hear the screams? I bet you the number is less than ten. If one goes to Google earth and looks at the street view you will see that it is not possible for there to be more than that number.
I pray that Pastor Daniels murderer is caught, I am frustrated that it has not happened yet. I hope I do not have to post on this again in a year. I will say one more thing, a year ago I contacted the police in Oklahoma regarding this matter. I never received a response and provided them with my personal information.
2018 UPDATE:
