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When he finished gathering evidence, Detective S he'd done many times at many cris around the s, all wooden surfaces in the bedroolass, the telephone, the areas of painted trim around the doors and s, even Debbie's car parked outside

Gary Rogers was an agent with the Oklahoation, or OSBI, who lived in Ada When he arrived at the apartment, around 12:30, he was briefed by Dennis Sether

In the bedrooers noticed what appeared to be a small bloodstain near the bottom of the south wall, just above the baseboard and close to an electrical outlet Later, after the body was removed, he asked Officer Rick Carson to cut out a fourinch square section of the Sheetrock and preserve the bloody print

Dennis Sers shared the initial impression that there was more than one killer The chaos of the scene, the absence of bind marks on Debbie's ankles and wrists, the extensive trauma to her head, the washcloth stuffed deep in her mouth, the bruises on her sides and arms, the likely use of the cord and belt-it just seemed like too much violence for one killer Debbie was not sht inches tall, 130 pounds She was feisty and would certainly have fought valiantly to save her life

Dr Larry Cartmell, the local medical examiner, arrived for a brief inspection His initial opinion was that the cause of death was strangulation He authorized the removal of the body and released it to Tom Criswell, owner of the local funeral home It was taken in a Criswell hearse to the state medical examiner's office in Oklahoma City, where it arrived at 6:25 perated unit

Detective Sers returned to the Ada Police Department and spent time with the family of Debbie Carter As they tried to console theathered names Friends, boyfriends, co-workers, eneht know soers began calling her male acquaintances Their request was simple: Please coerprints and samples of saliva and head and pubic hair

No one refused Mike Carpenter, the bouncer at the Coachlight who'd seen Debbie in the parking lot with Glen Gore around 12:30 that , was one of the first to volunteer evidence Tommy Glover, another witness to Debbie's encounter with Gore, was quick to provide samples

Around 7:30 pm, December 8, Glen Gore showed up at Harold's Club, where he was scheduled to spin records and tend bar The place was practically empty, and when he asked why the croas so thin, someone told him about the murder Many of the customers, and even some of Harold's e questions and getting fingerprinted

Gore hustled over to the station, where he was interviewed by Gary Rogers and D W Barrett, an Ada policeh school and had seen her at the Coach-light the night before

The entire police report of Gore's interview reads as follows:

Glen Gore works at Harold's Club as a disc jockey Susie Johnson told Glen about Debbie at Harold's Club about 7:30 PM, 12-8-82 Glen went to school with Debbie Glen saw her Monday Dec 6th at Harold's Club Glen saw her 12-7-82 at the Coachlight They talked about painting Debbie's car Never said anything to Glen about having probleht about 10:30 PM with Ron West Left with Ron about 1:15 AM Glen has never been to Debbie's apt

The report was prepared by D W Barrett, witnessed by Gary Rogers, and filed aith dozens of others

Gore would later change this story and clai Debbie at the club on the night of December 7 This revised version would be verified by no one Many of those present actually knew Ron Williamson, a somewhat notorious carouser with a loud ht; in fact, most of those interviewed stated emphatically that he was not there When Ron Williamson was in a bar, everyone knew it

Oddly enough, in theon Deceh the cracks He either slipped away, or was conveniently ignored, or was sierprinted, nor did he give saliva and hair samples

Over three and a half years would pass before the Ada police finally took samples from Gore, the last person seen with Debbie Carter before her murder

At 3:00 the following afternoon, December 9, Dr Fred Jordan, a state ist, perforers and Jerry Peters, also with the OSBI

Dr Jordan, a veteran of thousands of autopsies, first observed that it was the body of a young white feorshe had been dead for at least twenty-four hours Across her chest, written in what appeared to be red fingernail polish, was the word "die" Another red substance, probably catsup, was smeared over her body, and on her back, also in catsup, were the words "Duke Gram"

There were several small bruises on her arms, chest, and face He noticed small cuts inside her lips, and shoved deep into the back of her throat and extruding out through her reenish washcloth, which he carefully removed There were abrasions and bruises across her neck, in a seina was bruised Her rectu it, Dr Jordan found and removed a small, metal, screw-type bottle cap

His internal exas, dilated heart, a few s brain injury

All injuries had been inflicted while she was still alive

There was no indication of binding on her wrists and ankles A series of small bruises on her forearms were probably defensive wounds Her blood alcohol content at the tiina, and anus Microscopic examinations would later reveal the presence of sperina and anus but not in her mouth

To preserve evidence, Dr Jordan clipped her fingernails, scraped off a sample of the catsup and nail polish, combed out the loose pubic hairs, and also cut a portion of hair from her head

The cause of death was asphyxiation, which was caused by the co her and either the belt or the electrical cord strangling her

When Dr Jordan finished the autopsy, Jerry Peters photographed the body and collected a coer and palm prints

Peggy Stillas distraught to the point of being unable to function and make decisions She didn't care who planned the funeral, or as planned, because she would not attend She couldn't eat and she couldn't bathe, and she certainly could not accept the fact that her daughter was dead A sister, Glenna Lucas, stayed with her and slowly took control Services were planned, and Peggy was politely informed by her family that she would be expected to attend

On Saturday, December 11, Debbie's funeral was held in the chapel at Criswell Funeral Hoy, then drove her to the service and held her hand throughout the ordeal

In rural Oklahoma, virtually all funerals take place with the casket open and positioned just below the pulpit, so that the deceased is in view of the otten, but the effect is to add an extra layer of agony to the suffering

With the casket open, it was obvious that Debbie had been beaten Her face was bruised and swollen, but a high-collared, lacy blouse hid the strangulation wounds She was also buried in her favorite jeans and boots, with a wide-buckled cowboy belt and a diaht her for Christmas

The Reverend Rick Sue crowd Afterward, with a light snow falling, Debbie was buried in Rose-dale Cemetery She was survived by her parents, two sisters, two of her four grandparents, and two nephews She was a member of a se of six

The h the town had a rich history of violence and killings, the victims had usually been cowpokes and drifters and such, men who, if they hadn't taken a bullet, would've probably discharged their share in due ti woossip, speculation, and fear Windows and doors were locked at night Strict curfeere laid down for teenagers Young mothers hovered near their children as they played on the shaded front lawns

And in the honky-tonks there was talk of little else Since Debbie had ulars knew her She'd had her share of boyfriends, and in the days following her death the police interviewed the, more friends, more acquaintances, more boyfriends Dozens of interviews produced irl, well liked and sociable, and it was hard to believe anyone would want to harm her

The police put together a list of twenty-three people ere at the Coachlight on Dece Ron Williah most knew him

Tips and stories and recollections of strange characters poured into the police departelia Nail contacted Dennis Smith and told him of an encounter with Glen Gore She and Debbie Carter were close friends, and Debbie had been convinced Gore had stolen the windshield wipers fro dispute She had known Gore since high school and was afraid of hielia drove Debbie to the house where Gore was living for a confrontation Debbie disappeared inside the house and had a chat with Gore When she returned to the car, she was angry and convinced he had taken the wipers They drove to the police station and talked to an officer, but no formal report was prepared

Both Duke Graham and Ji with his wife, Johnnie, ran his own nightclub, a fairly civilized place where they tolerated little trouble Altercations were rare, but there had been a particularly ugly one with Ji and s trouble, and when he refused to leave, Duke whipped out a shotgun and ran his were tense around the club Sun and start blasting away

Glen Gore had been a regular at Duke's place until he spent too ressive, she stiff-are Gore was banished from the place

Whoever killed Debbie Carter tried aardly to pin the murder on Duke Graham and scare away Jim Smith at the sa time in a state prison Duke Graham drove to the police station and provided a solid alibi Debbie's fa needed to be vacated HerHer aunt Glenna Lucas volunteered for the unpleasant task

A police had been moved since the er There had obviously been a brawl Her niece had fought desperately for her life How could anyone inflict such violence on such a sweet, pretty girl?

The apartment was cold, with an offensive smell, one she could not identify The words "Jiawked in disbelief at the killer's badly scrawledtime Her niece had finally died after a brutal ordeal In the bedroo was in place In the closet, not a single dress or blouse was still on a hanger Why would the killer strip all the clothing froers?

The sle Debbie's last meal had included frozen potatoes-Tater Tots-and the leftovers sat untouched on a paper plate with catsup A saltshaker was next to the plate, which was on the small white table she used for her e-"Don't look fore us or ealse" Glenna knew that the killer had used catsup for sos She was struck by the misspelled words

GlennaIt took two hours to collect and box the clothing and dishes and towels and such The bloody bedspread had not been taken by the police There was still blood on the floor

Glenna had not planned to clean the apartet out as soon as possible It was strange, though, leaving behind the killer's words written in Debbie's fingernail polish And there was so her bloodstains on the floor for someone else to clean up

She thought about scrubbing the place, every inch of it, to re trace of the h She was as close to the death as she cared to be

The roundup of the usual suspects continued in the days following the erprints and samples of either hair or saliva On Deceers drove to the OSBI crime lab in Oklahoma City and delivered the evidence taken fro with samples taken from seventeen of the men

The four-inch square of Sheetrock was thepiece of evidence If the bloody print had indeed been left on the wall during the struggle andto Debbie Carter, then the police would have a solid lead that would eventually take theent Jerry Peters exas with the prints he'd taken fro her autopsy His first i to Debbie Carter, but he wanted to review his analysis

On January 4, 1983, Dennis Serprints On the same day, the hair saiven to Susan Land, an OSBI hair analyst Teeks later, more cried, added to the others, and placed in a long line to someday be exa a backlog of cases Like most crime labs, Oklahoma 's was underfunded, understaffed, and under enormous pressure to solve crimes

While they waited on results fro leads The murder was still the hottest news in Ada, and folks wanted it solved But after talking to all the bartenders and bouncers and boyfriends and late-night characters, the investigation was quickly settling into drudgery There was no clear suspect; there were no clear leads

On March 7, 1983, Gary Rogers interviewed Robert Gene Deather-age, a local Deatherage had just completed a short stint in the Pontotoc County jail for drunk driving He had shared a cell with one Ron Williamson, also locked up for a DUI The jailhouse chatter about the Carter murder was rampant, with plenty of wild theories about what happened and no shortage of claie The cellon several occasions, and, according to Deatherage, such talk seeed blows Williae developed the vague opinion that Ron was soers that the police concentrate on Williamson as a suspect

It was the first tiation Two days later, the police interviewed Noel Cleerprints and hair samples Clement told the story of how Ron Willia for souitar, picked it up, and began discussing the Carterthe conversation, Williahborhood the ured the cops were after hi to avoid more of it in Ada

It was inevitable that the police would find their way to Ron Williamson; indeed, it was odd that it took the Rick Carson, had grown up with hih school baseball days In 1983 he was still the highest draft pick Ada had ever produced When he signed with the Oakland A's in 1971, ht he just reat one froone, and the police no hiuitar picker who lived with his e

He had a couple of DUIs, one arrest for public drunkenness, and a bad reputation from Tulsa