Taylor Paschal-Placke (13) & Skyla Whitaker (11) R.I.P.

Aug 23 Taylor Dawn Paschal-Placke, Skyla Jade Whitaker
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Taylor Dawn Paschal-Placker (13), Skyla Jade Whitaker (11) - shot and killed on June 8, 2008, while taking a walk; they were shot a total of thirteen times, and police suspect their assailant was local
Weleetka, OK.

School year begins with killings unsolved
The Oklahoman - 08/23/09

Dusty Chancey, superintendent of Graham Schools, was sitting across the table, facing the video camera.

It’s been one year and two months since two of his students — Taylor Dawn Paschal-Placker, 13, and Skyla Jade Whitaker, 11 — were shot to death on a rural road near Taylor’s home in eastern Oklahoma.

Graham is more than two weeks into another school year. Still no arrests have been made.

I asked the superintendent to speak to the video camera as if he were talking to someone who knew something. I wanted him to explain why someone should come forward right now if they have information.

{complete case coverage below}


He strongly hopes the person considers the following: "Treat people like you want to be treated.”

Put yourself in the positions of the parents of the girls.

Wouldn’t you want somebody to tell, to talk?

"And I know if there’s somebody that does know something, they’re afraid,” he said. "They’re afraid that there will be retaliation, but that retaliation will be nowhere near as horrific as it was for the girls.”

Reward increased in girls' slayings
KTUL-TV - 07/30/09

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. A news conference is planned for 11:30 a.m. Thursday to discuss the 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.

One-year anniversary of the murder of two girls in Oklahoma

OSBI: DNA evidence discovered
WRAL - 06/08/09

Law enforcement officials will gather in Okemah Monday to discuss the unsolved double murder of two young Weleetka girls on the first anniversary of the shootings.

A spokeswoman for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, Jessica Brown, said detectives are expected to discuss any new developments in the case. However, Brown said published reports that investigators have discovered DNA evidence tied to the girls’ shooting deaths is incorrect.

“We did find something of significance,” Jessica Brown told The Oklahoman.

The news conference is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Monday, the one-year anniversary of the killings of Taylor Paschal-Placker, 13, and Skyla Jade Whitaker, 11.

The girls’ deaths stunned Weleetka, a working-class community of about 1,000 located 70 miles south of Tulsa.

Family Speaks Out On Weleetka Questioning
KOCO-TV - 09/11/08

The family of a young man questioned in the deaths of two Weleetka girls speaks out.

Grand Jury Questions 5 In Weleetka Killings
KOCO-TV - 09/08/08

Five people have been questioned in the deaths of two girls near Weleetka in June.

Autopsy results offer clues in two girls' slayings near Weleetka
The Oklahoman - 08/09/08

Two months after the bullet-riddled bodies of Taylor Paschal-Placker, 13, and Skyla Whitaker, 11, were found alongside a gravel road, the medical examiner's office has released results of the girls' autopsies.

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,” Brown said.

Medical examiners found no evidence of sexual trauma to either girl.

In all, reports show the girls were shot 13 times, but only one shot left powder burns, according to the report.

Dr. Mark McCoy, a former OSBI deputy inspector who now teaches at the University of Central Oklahoma, said powder burns are left when a gun is fired in close proximity of a target.

But "close” can mean anything from a few inches to three feet, McCoy said.

McCoy also said powder burns do not necessarily mean the victim may know the shooter, because it is extremely difficult to determine what order the shots were made in.

The killings occurred June 8 on a county road near Weleetka.

Taylor was shot a total of five times, three of which were in the face, one was in the groin and once in her right hand, but according to the report, the shot to the hand could have been one of the same shots that struck her in the head. Two of the shots were ruled potentially fatal.

Skyla was shot a total of eight times, including one shot to the neck, and seven spread out widely around the arms and torso.

Transcript: 911 Tape in Oklahoma Double Murder
Fox News - 07/21/08

The following is an excerpt of a 911 phone call made by a relative one of two girls found shot to death on a rural Oklahoma road on June 8, 2008. Investigators hope that releasing the tape will help lead them to those responsible for the murder of Taylor Paschal-Placker, 13, and Skyla Whitaker, 11. Officials have not released the identity of the relative who made the call.

911 OPERATOR: … Emergency.

RELATIVE: Somebody’s killed two girls on — My daughter, my grandbaby and — her friend. I’m on County Line Road.

911 OPERATOR: What happened down there?

RELATIVE: I don’t know. They went for a walk and they’re both, they’re dead.

911 OPERATOR: Your daughter’s dead?

RELATIVE: They’re dead!

911 OPERATOR: Your granddaughter?

RELATIVE: Yes and my, her friend

911 OPERATOR: Ok. Where’s this at ma’am? Stay calm.

RELATIVE: I’m on County Line Road.

911 OPERATOR: Which County Line Road?

RELATIVE: On Bryant Road.

911 OPERATOR: On Bryant Road?

RELATIVE: Yes, … oh my God, I’m having an, I don’t know, help me please.

911 OPERATOR: OK ma’am I need you to stay calm so we can get out there to you ok?

RELATIVE: OK.

911 OPERATOR: Let me pull my map and try and find out where you’re at.

RELATIVE: Route 1, 185.

911 OPERATOR: OK. We can’t look them up with the routes.

RELATIVE: Oh, please, please, please, please, please! Lord, help me, please.

911 OPERATOR: OK. Just stay on the line with me.

RELATIVE: Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God! My God, my God, my baby!

Cops Release Sketch In Murder Of 2 Girls
CBS News - 07/13/08

Police released a "person of interest" sketch in the murder case of two Oklahoma girls Friday, reports CBS News affiliate WKMV.

The sketch is of an American-Indian man, about 6-feet tall with black hair in a ponytail and around 35-years-old, said Oklahoma State Bureau Investigators spokesperson Jessica Brown said.

"We just want to talk to him," Brown said. "We think he might have seen something that can help us resolve this case."

According to Brown, the man is not considered a suspect and the Oklahoma State Bureau Investigators have several names they are investigating as leads. A witness reported to agents that the sketched man was standing outside of a single-cab Chevy or Ford white pickup truck on the same road the girls were shot, right around the time the girls were killed.

"We had several witnesses who saw the man and several other witnesses who heard gun shots," Brown said.

Brown said that each day brings more information from various witnesses that could help bring the case to an end.

"I feel confident this is a solvable case," she said.

Friends and relatives attended funeral services for the girls Friday.

Services for Taylor Paschal-Placker, 13, took place at the First Baptist Church in Dewar. The funeral for Skyla Whitaker, 11, was held at the First Baptist Church in Henryetta.

Investigators say they have no explanation for why the girls were gunned down near the small town of Weleetka, a working-class community of 1,000 people, 70 miles south of Tulsa.

On Thursday, crime scene investigators returned to the spot where the girls were found and searched nearby woods. Authorities also announced they had interviewed a witness who claims to have seen the girls just minutes before they were killed.

The girls, who were best friends, were shot a number of times in the head and chest with weapons of two different calibers, leading authorities to think two gunmen were involved.

Witness tells of seeing girls before they were shot
The Oklahoman - 06/12/08

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.

Police Seek 2 Suspects In Okla. Girls' Killings
CBS 2 - 06/11/08

Maybe they stumbled onto a crime in progress. Perhaps they were ambushed by "drunks and dopeheads." Or maybe it was some kind of thrill killing.

The slayings of two girls - ages 11 and 13 - who were shot along a rural back road have baffled investigators and struck fear into townspeople, who are now afraid to let their children out of their sight.

"Still no motive, and I hate to say that," Ben Rosser, an agent with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, said Wednesday. "This could be some kind of random thrill killing, it could be an attempted abduction, it could be somebody that just for whatever reason had a personal motive, maybe mistaken identity or possibly they did interrupt something down near the bridge. We just don't know."

Taylor Paschal-Placker, 13, and Skyla Whitaker, 11, were killed Sunday afternoon near a bridge. Both had been shot in the head and chest.

The brutality has rattled this working-class community of 1,000, situated 70 miles south of Tulsa.

Weleetka has long been the type of place folks moved to to escape many of the evils of the world. But townspeople said methamphetamine use - a particular scourge in small-town Oklahoma and elsewhere in the nation's heartland - has gotten bad around here, and crime is up.

"You think you're safe anywhere, but you're not. All the thugs is moving out here, too," said Skyla's grandfather, Jimmie Farrow. "It's a whole new ballgame."

Investigators said two guns were used in the killings, which suggests there were two gunmen. But beyond that, locals have been left to guess who did it and why.

"I could walk down Main Street in Weleetka and maybe pass the individual and I wouldn't know it right now," Rosser said. He added: "This should just hit to the very core of America. I just think two little girls can't go walking down a country lane road in this day and age. It's pretty sad."

Authorities are examining tire tracks, shell casings, bullets and shoeprints for any possible leads. They said they suspect a local person was involved because the killings occurred in such an isolated area. Rosser said that nothing is being ruled out but that there is no indication family or friends were involved.

Young Girls Shot To Death On Rural Okla. Road
KDKA - 06/10/09

he bodies of two young girls shot to death near the small town of Weleetka in Okfuskee County were discovered by the grandfather of one of the girl's, along a dirt road the two best friends used dozens of times to play on and walk to sleepovers, according to grieving family members.

The bodies of 11-year-old Skyla Whitaker and 13-year-old Taylor Paschal-Placker were found Sunday by Taylor's grandfather, Peter, after he became worried when his wife tried calling the girl's cell phone and got no answer.

The Oklahoman newspaper quoted a police official as saying there was a suspect in the case.

The girls, who were sleeping over at Taylor's house, decided to take a walk down the desolate road Sunday afternoon, something they were used to doing in their rural community. The Oklahoman said the girls were best friends and good students.

"I can't describe coming up on it," Peter Placker said, sobbing uncontrollably, as he tried to remember walking up on the scene, only about one-quarter mile from his house. "I done it once and I can't do it again."

Stan Florence, an inspector with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, confirmed the names of the girls. Florence said the victims were shot "multiple times" and it was unknown if they were molested.

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

By Monday afternoon, at least 20 investigators were examining the crime scene and pursuing leads that came in overnight.

Meanwhile, relatives tried to make sense of the grisly killings in a community where some folks still leave their keys in their cars and residents who live 10 miles apart still call themselves neighbors.

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

To know Taylor was to love her, her grandfather said. She was the 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.

She was home-schooled until the family moved to Weleetka, located about 70 miles south of Tulsa.

Still No Suspect in Murders of 2 Oklahoma Girls
AP @ youtube - 06/10/08

klahoma investigators have no suspects in the murders of two young girls but says the killer may be a local person. Authorities say the killings were in such a remote area it's not likely a stranger happened by.

2 Girls Found Shot to Death on Oklahoma Road
AP @ youtube - 06/09/08

Two young girls were found shot to death in a small Oklahoma town. Now, authorities say they're using every resource available to them to track down their killer.

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