Taylor Paschal-Placker, 13 & Skyla Whitaker, 11 killed
Date: Mon, 9 Jun 2008 22:23:34 -0400 Two girls, 11 and 13, found shot on roadside near Weleetka 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. http://newsok.com/two-girls-11-and-13-found-shot-on-roadside-near-weleetka/article/3254870/?tm=1213059480

Best Friends Murdered on Sleepover Stroll Oklahoma Police Say They Have No Suspects in Shootings, Offer $14,000 Reward By DAVID SCHOETZ June 10, 2008 Authorities in Oklahoma announced this afternoon that they have no suspects in the double murder of best friends fatally shot as they walked along a dirt road Sunday evening in the remote town of Weleetka, about 60 miles south of Tulsa. "We don't have a person of interest," said Ben Rosser, special agent for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations. "We don't have a suspect." Skyla Whitaker, 11, and Taylor Paschal-Placker, 13, described as best friends, both died of multiple gunshot wounds, according to the state's medical examiner. The two girls, classmates at the local elementary school, were found in a ditch on the side of a dirt road in a rural part of the state. Rosser said authorities did not believe the girls were sexually assaulted before the murder, but DNA samples and their clothes were being processed for evidence. State law enforcement officials sent investigators to help local police comb the crime scene, located in a densely wooded area. Authorities were looking into tire tracks near the spot where the girls were found, as well as shoe imprints. Heavy rains throughout the day Monday did not help the investigation. "We photographed and tried to record those as best we could," Rosser said. "We don't know whether they are relevant or not." They also recovered empty shell casings near the scene, but were not sure whether they had any connection to the murders. Rosser said that investigators have an idea what kind of gun was used in the crime, but he did not want to jeopardize the investigation by publicly releasing that detail. The OSBI, with help from local banks, offered a $14,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the crime. Accounts were also established to help pay for the girls' burial services. Authorities have followed up on several leads and tips, interviewing family and friends of the two girls and and vetting alibis. Rosser and Ofuskee County Sheriff Jack Choate said that investigators believe whoever is responsible for the murders likely had a knowledge of the area where the girls were killed, a dirt road near a busy highway overpass known as a spot where trash is often illegally dumped. "The reason we're looking at a local person is because of the location," he said. "It's unlikely someone just pulled off there." Authorities also have not identified a motive for the crime and are considering several scenarios. The girls may have known the killer or killers and were fleeing when they were shot; they could have been surprised; they also could have stumbled upon something that the killer did not want anyone to see. The bodies of the girls, wearing shorts and T-shirts, were found by Peter Placker, Taylor's grandfather and legal custodian. He went looking for the girls after one of them failed to pick up a call on her cell phone. They were about a quarter-mile from Taylor's house, where they were having a sleepover. "They were the best and I'm not just saying that because they are gone," Wanda Mankin, the girls' principal and school counselor, told ABC News. Taylor was a new student last fall at the local K-12 school, which had very small classes. "There were five girls in that classroom and they were all best friends," Mankin said. "The other three girls are devastated." Mankin, who said that counseling resources have been made available, said the child murders shattered the perceived security in the rural area. Choate, the sheriff, said that his office has heard from citizens who are concerned about a killer on the loose. The public has reason to be concerned, he said. "We've had a few phone calls from parents that are worried about their children," Choate said. "If it was me, I wouldn't let my kids out walking unless they were with someone they know." Joe Mosher, identified by ABC News' Oklahoma City affiliate KOCO as Taylor's uncle, described his 13-year-old niece as a girl who did not have an enemy in the world. "She got along with everyone," Mosher said. "She didn't have an enemy in this world. People who never met her fell in love with her." The double murder has left authorities pushing for a quick arrest as members of the quiet Oklahoma community grasp for answers. "Nobody can understand what's going on right now," Mosher said. http://abcnews.go.com/US/Story?id=5037169&page=2

'Person of interest' sketch released Posted: June 13, 2008 03:34 PM EDT Updated: June 13, 2008 04:42 PM EDT News9.com WELEETKA, OKLA. -- A "person of interest" sketch was released today during a 2 p.m. press conference on the deaths of Taylor Paschal-Placker and Skyla Whitaker in Weleetka. The sketch is of an American Indian man, about 6-feet-tall with black hair in a ponytail and around 35-years-old, said the 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 OSBI have several names they are investigating as leads. A witness reported to OSBI 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. The girls were shot several times after going to take a walk Sunday afternoon down a dirt road near Taylor's home. Officials ask that if you have any information regarding the case to call the OSBI Hotline at 1-800-522-8017. http://www.kwtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=8488535

Mon July 21, 2008 Investigators call for Weleetka murder witnesses to step forward By Hailey R. Branson Staff Writer WELEETKA — Investigator have eliminated nearly 100 names from a list of suspects in connection with the June 8 murder of two young girls, an Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation official said this morning. The OSBI initially had around 500 persons of interest, said Jessica Brown, spokeswoman for the OSBI. Brown said many people had been reported as suspects as pranks or out of revenge. "We've gotten these folks out of the way," she said. The OSBI released a tape of the only known 911 call made the day of the murder made by a shocked and emotional family member. "My god, my god, my baby," the caller screamed." The OSBI would not release the name of the caller. "Someone knows something, and we hope that if they hear this tape, they will understand," Brown said. Brown said the FBI and U.S. Marshals Service are now involved in solving the case. The OSBI is also using victimology — the in-depth study of victims and their habits and acquaintances — in the investigation of the murders of 13-year-old Taylor Paschal-Placker and her best friend, Skyla Jade Whitaker, 11. Investigators are looking for a "person of interest" who was reported as a suspicious person in the Weleetka area when the two girls were shot. Authorities have never called the man a suspect, but said he may have seen something and may even be a possible witness. He is described as an American Indian male, about 6 feet tall, with black hair and a ponytail. He was reportedly seen standing near a white Ford or Chevrolet single cab pickup with an Oklahoma tag. http://newsok.com/investigators-call-for-weleetka-murder-witnesses-to-step-forward/article/3272925

Family of murdered girls frustrated Associated Press - July 27, 2008 1:15 PM ET WELEETKA, Okla. (AP) - Seven weeks after two girls were shot to death in Okfuskee County, their grieving families are coping with mounting frustration at the progress of the investigation and its lack of answers. 11-year-old Skyla Jade Whitaker and her friend, 13-year-old Taylor Paschal-Placker, were gunned down on June 8th while walking along a rural road a half-mile north of Taylor's home. Both girls had been shot several times with two guns, leading authorities to believe that at least two killers were involved. The remote location makes authorities think the killers live in the Weleetka area. But Skyla's father, William Whitaker, says the family hasn't hear anything new from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. They've asked plenty of questions, but he says there's been no answers. http://www.newson6.com/global/story.asp?s=8742229

Slain girls' classmates return to school Associated Press - August 5, 2008 11:45 PM ET WELEETKA, Okla. (AP) - Students at the Graham Independent School District will remember two slain classmates when their summer vacation ends and they return to school Thursday. Students will receive rubber bracelets inscribed with the letters BFF -- Best Friends Forever -- in honor of their classmates, 11-year-old Skyla Jade Whitaker and 13-year-old Taylor Paschal-Placker. Both were shot to death on June 8th while walking along County Line Road, four miles northeast of Weleetka in rural Okfuskee County. No arrests have been made. Taylor, a straight-A student, would have been entering the seventh grade, while her best friend, Skyla, would have been entering the sixth grade. Together they served on the school's cheerleading squad, and Skyla was on the basketball team. http://www.newson6.com/global/story.asp?s=8795430