Carol Daniels, 61yrs old Pastor, found dead inside church 8/23/09

[klaasend]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,541987,00.html

Oklahoma Pastor Found Dead Inside Her Church

Monday , August 24, 2009

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ANADARKO, Okla. —
Authorities continue to search for leads in the killing of a pastor a day after she was found inside her Pentecostal church in southwest Oklahoma.

The body of Carol Daniels, 61, was found at noon on Sunday inside the Christ Holy Sanctified Church in Anadarko, a town of about 6,600 people roughly 60 miles southwest of Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Jessica Brown told FOXNews.com that Daniels had trauma to her body but declined to elaborate. An autopsy is scheduled to be conducted today, she said.

Brown said Daniels, who served as the church's pastor for "many, many" years, was at the tiny, one-story building on Sunday for the off chance that a worshipper attended congregation.

"She was there just in case someone showed up, but there wasn't a regular congregation," she said. "We're trying to find anyone who might have seen or heard anything unusual in the area and we'll go from there."

Daniels' mother, Charlesetta Dunlap, said the family had no further information about the crime and wasn't ready to talk about Daniels.

"We don't know anything yet," she told the Associated Press on Monday.

Investigators said they have no suspects in Daniels' death and few leads to follow. Officials on Sunday spoke with several people who gathered around the building after word about the slaying spread. Many of them wept and hugged each other.

Brown said Daniels lived in Oklahoma City and drove to the church each Sunday for services.

Daniels was a graduate of Douglass High School in Oklahoma City and the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond. She is survived by her adult daughter, Raina.

Attempts to reach Daniels' relatives were unsuccessful early Monday.

Mitchell Pendarvis, who lives next door to the church, was surprised to hear about the killing.

"I don't know what to think and I'm trying to think," Pendarvis told Oklahoma City television station KWTV. "I mean, who would do this to this woman?"

According to 2000 census data, roughly 6,645 people live in the Anadarko, Okla., earning a median income of $24,035. More than a quarter of the town's residents lived below the poverty Iine, including 38 percent of those under age 18. Caucasians and Native Americans each comprise about 41 percent of the population, and African-Americans make up about 6 percent.

Two buildings near the church where Daniels' body was found were destroyed during a fire early Saturday. The Anadarko Daily News, a daily newspaper, and the Tornado Alley bar — both one-story buildings — were reportedly destroyed in the fire.

[klaasend]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-08-26-pastor-killing-in-oklahoma_N.htm



Police: Slain Okla. pastor's body was 'staged'

 

By Donna Leinwand, USA TODAY

Police in a small Oklahoma farming community are warning local religious leaders to secure their churches after a pastor was brutally stabbed while awaiting parishioners in her church.

Caddo County District Attorney Bret Burns called a private meeting Wednesday where he and law enforcement officers told more than 30 local pastors to "be safety-conscious with their staff and their surroundings."

"We had a brutal murder, and it happened in a church," Burns said in a telephone interview after the meeting.

Burns would not say whether police had evidence that the killer was targeting churches or pastors.

No arrests have been made.

Police on Sunday found the mutilated body of Carol Daniels, 61, in Christ Holy Sanctified Church in Anadarko.

Authorities said Thursday that Daniels' body was "staged," meaning it was moved into an unnatural position, after the slaying.

Police are reviewing video surveillance tapes for clues in the brutal killing. A preliminary autopsy found she died of "multiple sharp force injuries," and a local prosecutor described the crime scene as "the most horrific" he's ever witnessed. Authorities said they have not ruled out the possibility that the killer specifically targeted a pastor or a church.

Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Jessica Brown said that on the surveillance video, Daniels' car can be seen pulling up to the church about 10 a.m. Sunday. She declined to say whether any suspect was seen.

"The most they've gleaned from the tape so far is to give them a timeline of when she arrived," Brown said.

A visitor who arrived at the church shortly before noon saw Daniels' car but found the door to the church locked, District Attorney Bret Burns said Thursday. The person walked to the nearby Anadarko police station and notified officers, who discovered Daniels' body. Burns did not identify the visitor.

The agency is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

Daniels, a pastor with the Fort Worth-based Pentecostal-holiness church, had traveled 60 miles each week from her home in Oklahoma City to conduct services in the rural community of 6,600 people where farmers grow peanuts, wheat and cotton.

The town bills itself as the "Indian Capital of the Nation." More than half of the population identified themselves in the last U.S. Census as Native American, from tribes including Apache, Comanche and Delaware.

The once-vibrant congregation at the white, wooden church in the dilapidated downtown had dwindled, and the church building had fallen into disrepair, said Craig Brown of Los Angeles, first vice president of the national church executive board.

Daniels, who joined the national church in 1972 as an administrator, volunteered to rebuild the congregation, he said.

The marquee outside the church listed worship times, Daniels' name and position as pastor, and a simple message: "God loves you."

About a half-mile from the church is a neighborhood that Brown describes as "a pretty high-crime area" troubled by drugs, including crack cocaine. The town's last homicide occurred about a month ago, and police made an arrest, she said.

Daniels was last seen at 10 a.m. Sunday outside the church, said Jessica Brown, who is not related to Craig Brown.

A retired church bishop and his wife arrived at the church shortly before noon that day, Craig Brown said.

The couple saw Daniels' car parked at the church, but when they were unable to get into the building, they became alarmed and went to the police, he said.

The police entered the church, found Daniels' body and discouraged the couple from looking because of the condition of her body, Craig Brown said.

"They said it was just very, very bad, as she'd been stabbed so many times," he said. "We're all baffled. I don't know who would want to do that to her or to anybody."

Craig Brown said he saw Daniels 10 days ago at a church conference, where they sat together at several meetings. He said she teased him about being from "wealthy" churches in California.

"She had a quiet demeanor. She wasn't flashy," Brown said. "But she was very witty and very businesslike."

"We don't have a motive yet. It's pretty much a wide-open case," said Jessica Brown.

Burns, a prosecutor for 17 years, described the scene as "horrific."

"I've never seen any other like it," he said. "It's a tragedy that a lady comes to town to preach and help people and she winds up dead."

[klaasend]

http://www.thehinkymeter.com/?p=447


The Hinky Meter
Carol Daniels: When Murder becomes Mystery
November 13th, 2009

On Sunday,  August 23rd, 2009, Carol Daniels’ body was found murdered, mutilated and staged in a small church in Anadarko, Oklahoma.  Since the discovery the murder has quickly gone to “mystery” as the local police and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations (OSBI) work the investigation behind a barrier of silence and lack of communication with the local media.  At this time little  to nothing is known of the state of the investigation, and only leaks in the first days after the murder from unnamed sources reported to be involved or close to the investigation have given what little information is public about the scene and nature of the crime.  I have chosen to write about this murder not only because it took place just an hour and half from my own home, but because the initial indications point to the possibility of a serial killer.  While some experts will argue that point, the scant evidence released to date (primarily by leaks, brief public statements, and the reaction of those involved in the investigation), it is my personal opinion there is a killer at large who will strike again.

(snipped)

[SunnyinTX]

Thanks Klaas...this is a very interesting case....a serial killer?  a signature killer?  lot more to add to this .....

[Nut44x4]

DA criticizes OSBI over Carol Daniels inquiry

ANADARKO PASTOR WAS KILLED, MUTILATED IN AUGUST
BY RON JACKSON The Oklahoman   
Published: December 6, 2009

ANADARKO — Concerns are mounting over the investigation into the death of pastor Carol Daniels.

Caddo County District Attorney Bret Burns and Charles Etta Dunlap — the pastor’s mother — spoke publicly for the first time last week about the direction of the case. The overriding theme is one of deep concern.

No arrest has been made, and Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Jessica Brown said there is no primary suspect and leads have all but dried up.

"I’m concerned about the progress of the investigation,” Burns said. "We have all placed our trust in the OSBI to catch the killer or killers.”

Burns added one other thought — one that Caddo County residents have often shared while reflecting on the grisly Aug. 23 slaying. "I live here,” said Burns, an Anadarko native who lives in nearby Amber. "This is my community.”

Dunlap said she is baffled by OSBI’s silence.

"I’m concerned with the progress of the investigation because I haven’t heard anything,” she said. "They (OSBI agents) talked to us in the beginning, but we haven’t heard from anyone since then. Yes, I’m concerned. They seem to be solving all these other cases.”

The Oklahoman’s request to interview OSBI Director A. DeWade Langley was denied by Brown, who said it is her job to speak to the media. She defended her agency’s handling of the case.

"The media has stymied the investigation by releasing all the information it has,” Brown said. "It’s hard for us to bring someone in for questioning. The answers to the questions are all out there.”

Police found Daniels’ mutilated and nude body in what appeared to be a "crucifix position” behind the altar of her tiny Christ Holy Sanctified Church. The initial autopsy report, which OSBI officials fought to withhold, was released through an Open Records request, revealing the pastor’s hair had been set on fire and her head nearly cut off.

Daniels, 61, drove to Anadarko from her Oklahoma City home to preach to whoever walked into her empty church. The pastor drove to Anadarko every Sunday, even when the weather was bad.

"I think all options should be on the table,” said Burns, referring to the investigation’s resources. "I’ve offered OSBI anything they need. They have my full support.”

Burns said he offered the services of his own investigator, Lewis Garrison. To date, Burns said, Garrison has been called on by OSBI to handle only a few investigative tasks.

OSBI agents are historically swamped with cases. An average workload for agents is "between 15 and 17 cases,” noted Brown, who said no agent has the luxury of working solely on one case. She then clarified the issue of whether state agents have enough resources in this case.

"They (OSBI agents) will ask if they need more resources, and if they ask, they know they will get more,” she said. "This is not an agent problem as to why this case hasn’t been solved. We have the resources. What we don’t have are the leads.”

Last month, a multi-agency task force was created in Le Flore County to investigate two unsolved cases — the homicide of Poteau bar owner Joe Neff and the suspicious death of Jody Rilee Wilson. The task force includes investigators from OSBI, the FBI, the U.S. Marshal’s Office, the Le Flore County Sheriff’s Department and the Le Flore County District Attorney’s office.

Asked whether a task force might be needed in the Anadarko case, Brown said, "A task force means nothing without leads.”

She compared the Anadarko case to the June 8, 2008, killings of Taylor Placker, 13, and Skyla Whitaker, 11, in Weleetka — another high-profile OSBI case that remains unsolved. In Weleetka, OSBI staged several news conferences on the steps of the Okfuskee County Courthouse and even set up a command post.

None of those steps were taken in Anadarko.

"In the Weleetka case, we had hundreds of leads come in,” Brown said. "We didn’t have anything like that in this (Anadarko) case, not even a tenth of the amount of leads.”

The OSBI’s most notable progress appears to be the clearing of potential suspects. A number of people have been cleared by alibis, Brown said.

"At first they (OSBI agents) said they had three people they were suspicious of, but I guess nothing ever came of that,” Dunlap said. "We just hope they can catch whoever did this because they’re still out there.”

As for updates for Dunlap from OSBI, Brown said, "We don’t have anything to tell her. If she wants to call us, she has our number, and she’s welcome to call. We just don’t have anything to tell the family, certainly nothing that will bring them peace. ... I wish that weren’t the case.”
http://newsok.com/da-criticizes-osbi-over-carol-daniels-inquiry/article/3422863

[Nut44x4]

Autopsy on slain pastor is released
posted 05/14/10 7:17 am posted by: Kevin King

Oklahoma (AP) - OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The state medical examiner's office has released the autopsy report on a pastor found dead inside an Anadarko church. The report released Thursday cites "multiple incised wounds" as the cause of death of 61-year-old Carol Daniels of Oklahoma City. The report says Daniels had a gaping cut to her neck in addition to numerous stab wounds and cuts to her body. Daniels was found Aug. 23 inside Christ Holy Sanctified Church where she traveled to conduct services. No arrests have been made. Medical examiner's spokeswoman Cherokee Ballard says the autopsy report was delayed by the firing of Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Collie Trant in February. Trant conducted the autopsy but was fired before completing the report. Another pathologist completed the report. http://www.ktul.com/news/stories/0510/735939.html

[MuffyBee]

http://enidnews.com/state/x334296883/State-bill-to-keep-autopsy-details-secret-derailed
State bill to keep autopsy details secret derailed
May 18, 2010

OKLAHOMA CITY — A bill that would allow the state medical examiner’s office to keep secret the details of how a homicide victim was killed will not be revived this session, the House author said Monday.

After the bill prompted several questions on the House floor, Rep. Leslie Osborn withdrew the bill from consideration and said it won’t be heard again this session.

“We just got more questions and concerns about it than I expected,” said Osborn, R-Tuttle, who said she planned to request an interim study on the issue and introduce a revised bill next year. “I still think there’s a fine line there, and I still think we can find it.”

The bill would have allowed district attorneys and law enforcement decide whether autopsy details, including the cause of death, should be withheld from the public in homicide cases. Under the proposed law, even the family of the victim would not be able to learn how a person was killed.

The most recent version of the bill would have required the medical examiner’s office to release only the manner of death, such as homicide, accident or natural causes, along with some biographical information about the victim.

Osborn said the bill was requested by Caddo County District Attorney Bret Burns after the high-profile slaying last year of the Rev. Carol Daniels inside an Anadarko church. An autopsy report showed that the 61-year-old pastor suffered numerous gashes to her neck and throat, as well as stab wounds to her chest, back, stomach and hands. The case remains unsolved.

“I don’t think the press should be plastering autopsy reports on the front page of the paper during a pending investigation,” Burns said. “Those details should not be released to the public when you’re trying to catch the killer.”

But the bill drew opposition from the Oklahoma Press Association, which argued that the public has a right to know details about how a person died and that the medical examiner’s office should remain independent from prosecutors and law enforcement.

“Anytime law enforcement and prosecutors want to withhold the details of a person’s murder and how they were killed, we should be very wary,” said OPA Executive Director Mark Thomas. “That’s why we have the medical examiner’s office — to tell the truth about how a person was murdered, and that’s the way it should stay.”

Rep. Lucky Lamons, a 22-year veteran of the Tulsa Police Department who opposed the bill, said he was concerned that law enforcement or prosecutors could withhold details about a fatal police shooting or the killing of an inmate at a jail or prison.

“You have to have checks and balances,” said Lamons, D-Tulsa. “Transparency in law enforcement is always better.”

 

[MuffyBee]

http://newsok.com/completed-autopsy-report-released-in-anadarko-pastors-death/article/3461176
Completed autopsy report released in Anadarko pastor's death
Description of wounds changed in completed autopsy report on Anadarko pastor, who was slain and nearly decapitated
May 14, 2010

The completed autopsy report of slain Pastor Carol Daniels was released Thursday by the state medical examiner’s office, nine months after her mutilated body was found behind the altar of her tiny Anadarko church.

The report was delayed by the firing of Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Collie M. Trant, agency spokeswoman Cherokee Ballard said. Trant conducted the autopsy, but Ballard said only "handwritten notes on a body diagram” were left by the doctor at the time of his termination Feb. 4.

Autopsies generally take anywhere from three to five months to finalize, Ballard said. Dr. Chai S. Choi, a pathologist with more than 25 years of experience, was called on to finish the report.

"She had to finish the autopsy from handwritten notes, a body diagram and pictures,” Ballard said. "I’m sure that was not an easy task.”

Choi made one noticeable change from Trant’s preliminary autopsy report: The cause of death.

Choi changed "multiple sharp force injuries” to "multiple incised wounds.” Daniels suffered cuts all over her body, including an apparent attempt by her killer to leave her decapitated. The autopsy showed "gaping incised wounds across the larynx, extending lateral and toward the back of the neck.”

"Dr. Choi said she thought the initial cause of death was too broad,” Ballard said.

"She thought something more specific would be more appropriate.”

No arrests have been made in the case, which is being handled by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. Police found Daniels’ mutilated and nude body Aug. 23 inside the Christ Holy Sanctified Church.

"I haven’t seen it, and my agents have not seen it. So, it would be premature to talk about the report,” said Jessica Brown, OSBI spokeswoman.

Trant has filed a "whistle-blower” lawsuit and asked a judge to reinstate him.

[Nut44x4]

REWARD OFFERED:
The Rev. Carol Daniels: A $15,000 reward is offered for information in her homicide.


Pastor's murder remains unsolved
A year later, the OSBI has received fewer than 100 leads.

ANADARKO - It's been a year since the body of an Anadarko church pastor was found mutilated behind the altar of the sanctuary where she preached on Sundays to small congregations.

Authorities are still waiting for a break in the investigation into the killing of the Rev. Carol Daniels.

The victim's mother has not given up hope, although no arrests have been made.

Daniels, 61, was pastor of Christ Holy Sanctified Church. On Aug. 23, 2009, she traveled from Oklahoma City as she always did on Sundays. It apparently was one of those Sundays when no church members showed up for services. But someone did enter the building.

http://newsok.com/pastors-slaying-still-unsolved-one-year-later/article/3487848

[MuffyBee]

http://newsok.com/proposal-would-keep-oklahoma-autopsy-files-secret/article/3449249
Proposal would keep Oklahoma autopsy files secret
March 26, 2010


Information on autopsy reports would be confidential under a measure approved by a Senate committee on Thursday.

The Senate Health and Human Services Committee approved House Bill 3155 by Rep. Leslie Osborn, R-Tuttle, and Sen. Ron Justice, R-Chickasha. The committee, however, removed the bill’s title. A bill must have a title to become law.

HB 3155 would keep the cause of death and other information contained in an autopsy report secret. Details in those reports are sometimes the only evidence an investigator has to develop leads and releasing that information to the public can make it more difficult to solve a case, said Jessica Brown, spokeswoman for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.

Brown said information released on autopsy reports in two recent high-profile cases may have made it more difficult to find suspects because information that only some close to the crime would know is now common knowledge and published.

In the 2008 murder of two Weleetka girls, the autopsy reports showed the location of gunshot wounds on the two young girls. In the case of the Rev. Carol Daniels, who was killed in Anadarko in August, the report showed that Daniels’ hair had been burned.

Brown said releasing these details to the public hampered the investigations. Both cases remain unsolved.

"When there’s not an abundance of evidence, that information becomes very important in developing leads,” she said.

Under the proposed changes, very little information would be available and the cause of death would not be included in information given to the public.

This provision would also apply to all deaths investigated by the state Medical Examiner’s Office. That could make it difficult for family members to get information on their loved ones, said Mark Thomas, president of the Oklahoma Press Association.

Thomas said he continues to work with law enforcement and the District Attorneys Council on compromise language that would allow public access to the government records and not jeopardize investigations.

"We don’t want to be an impediment to solving crimes,” Thomas said. "But there are times when the public needs to be confronted with the facts, there is a very dangerous killer living in our midst. It’s a balancing act.”

Officials are looking at laws in several different states for examples of how to keep pertinent details under wraps. Sunne Riedl Day, legal counsel for OSBI, said there are several states that limit the release of information from autopsy reports. The agency is currently looking at Iowa state laws that allow an autopsy report to be released to family members upon request, unless disclosure would jeopardize an investigation.

The measure now goes to the full Senate for consideration.

[MuffyBee]

http://newsok.com/anadarko-church-where-oklahoma-city-pastor-was-killed-is-torn-down/article/3475485
Anadarko church where Oklahoma City pastor was killed is torn down
March 12, 2010


Peter Belgarde leaves flowers for The Rev. Carol Daniels, Friday, Aug. 28, 2009, at The Greater First Baptist Church of Anadarko in Anadarko, Okla. Photo by Sarah Phipps

ANADARKO — The church building where an Oklahoma pastor was killed last August has been torn down and a memorial is planned for the site.
The body of 61-year-old Carol Daniels of Oklahoma City  was found Aug. 23 inside Christ Holy Sanctified Church in Anadarko. She had multiple gashes to her neck and throat, as well as stab wounds to her chest, back, stomach and hands.

No arrests have been made in her death.

Since Daniels' death, the church has been closed. Ezra Randle, the Oklahoma overseer for the Christ Holy Sanctified Church, says authorities recently turned the building back over to church leaders.

Church leaders decided to demolish the weathered building so that a memorial could be built for Daniels. He says they are accepting donations to help pay for the memorial.

[Sister]

They may never solve this one . . . Rev. Daniels has assuredly received her reward for her faithfulness.  God bless her.

[Nut44x4]

Still no suspect/s yet, I guess......................


Memorial Dedicated To Slain Pastor

Daniels Found Dead Inside Anadarko Church In 2009

UPDATED 7:51 AM CST Jan 23, 2012
ANADARKO, Okla. -
More than two years after someone killed an Oklahoma pastor, her church has found a way to keep her memory alive.
 ::snipping2::

Her slaying remains a mystery, but it's clear her congregation will never forget.

The church where pastor Daniels was murdered has since been torn down.

Now a memorial to Daniels stands in its place.
 ::snipping2::


There are two stone benches, a marker with Daniels' photo and, across from that, another marker with a Bible verse.
http://www.koco.com/Memorial-Dedicated-To-Slain-Pastor/-/9844716/10735948/-/q4991rz/-/index.html

[Sister]

Still no suspect/s yet, I guess......................


Memorial Dedicated To Slain Pastor

Daniels Found Dead Inside Anadarko Church In 2009

UPDATED 7:51 AM CST Jan 23, 2012
ANADARKO, Okla. -
More than two years after someone killed an Oklahoma pastor, her church has found a way to keep her memory alive.
 ::snipping2::

Her slaying remains a mystery, but it's clear her congregation will never forget.

The church where pastor Daniels was murdered has since been torn down.

Now a memorial to Daniels stands in its place.
 ::snipping2::


There are two stone benches, a marker with Daniels' photo and, across from that, another marker with a Bible verse.
http://www.koco.com/Memorial-Dedicated-To-Slain-Pastor/-/9844716/10735948/-/q4991rz/-/index.html

Thanks for this update Nut.
I have thought of this woman often, particularly when I am doing counseling in the prison.