Skyla Whitaker, 11, & Taylor Placker 13 - Found Murdered - #21

Very bad Tornado going thru this area tonight.....

As of 7:30 p.m., there had been some injuries reported from storms that moved across the state. However, none of the injuries had been confirmed.

Eyewitness News 5's Linda Mares did confirm with authorities that Love's Travel Stop was destroyed but that no serious injuries were injured in that part of the storm. A witness told Eyewitness News 5 that nearly 100 people took cover in a cooler at the store, which is located near ....

http://www.koco.com/mostpopular/23508569/detail.html

WHILE SURFING I FOUND THIS INFO .. .. Things I did not know about Weeletka..
History

Weleetka was once a major railroad town, serving as the division point for the Fort Smith and Western Railway. All train crews changed out in Weleetka, the town also housed major shops and repair facilities for the Steam Locomotives. Headquartered in Fort Smith, Arkansas, the Fort Smith and Western was a railroad that operated in the states of Arkansas and Oklahoma. The railroad's main line extended 217 miles, from Ft. Smith, Arkansas, through Weleetka to Guthrie, Oklahoma. The Fort Smith and Western owned a subsidiary, St. Louis, El Reno and Western which began operating 42 miles between Guthrie and El Reno, Oklahoma in June 1904. The railroad also acquired 32.5 miles of trackage rights over the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad from Fallis, Oklahoma to Oklahoma City.
The railroad supported much of the business and hotels of the City in the first half of the 1900s. Trains entering town from the East were switched and broken down in Weleetka, and dispatched Northwest for either Oklahoma City, Guthrie or El Reno. Thanks to the railroad yard in Weleetka, the single Westbound train could thus become two Westbound trains. The reverse was true for Eastbound Trains. Weleetka was vital to the life of the railroad. The railroad provided regular passenger service and at one time boasted through Pullman sleeping cars to and from St. Louis and Oklahoma City. The route of the FS&W served no major population centers, but did serve major coal mining operations in eastern Oklahoma at Coal Creek, Bokoshe, and McCurtain. Other towns served included Crowder, Okemah, Boley, Prague, Vernon, Indianola and Meridian. A major portion of the road's freight traffic was metallurgical-grade coal from San Bois Coal Company mines near McCurtain. As coal traffic declined, an oil discovery near Okemah brought additional traffic, which postponed the abandonment of the railroad. The Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad withdrew trackage rights between Fallis and Oklahoma City in January 1939 after FS&W defaulted on rental fees, and when the Fort Smith and Western ceased operations on February 9, 1939, Weleetka lost its major employer.

GetSmart said:

Very bad Tornado going thru this area tonight.....

As of 7:30 p.m., there had been some injuries reported from storms that moved across the state. However, none of the injuries had been confirmed.

Eyewitness News 5's Linda Mares did confirm with authorities that Love's Travel Stop was destroyed but that no serious injuries were injured in that part of the storm. A witness told Eyewitness News 5 that nearly 100 people took cover in a cooler at the store, which is located near ....

http://www.koco.com/mostpopular/23508569/detail.html

Click to expand...

My most vivid memories with my grandparents in Tuttle, OK was running for the cellar. Afterwards my grandpa would sadly look out into the hay field to see how flattened his hay was after the large hail. It is a tough life for farmers in OK.

In less than one month it will be 2 years since these little girls were gunned down by monsters. One hundred sixty thousand dollars is a lot of money! Please call the OSBI with info!

I always thought the killer was the grandfather that found them. I thought maybe it was because he had sexually abused his grand daughter and knew she was getting ready to tell. The other girl was just there and had to be killed also. He could have used two different guns.

Another thought was it was two thrill killers just driving through the area and deciding to kill them.

Welcome to WebSleuths, ChickyGirl!

IMO the grandfather was only a suspect when he didn't call 911 immediately. If he was attempting to keep females away from seeing the girls (having to hold them back) or if he thought another relative was calling 911, I can't envision one person shooting these girls 13 times with two guns.

These guns have to be out in there somewhere. Praying that they show up, but not after another murder. Grant this o Lord!

Because it has been continuously raining, I read through the bizillion of pages on that one Weeletka forum where everybody fights and points fingers. On this forum it stated that there were many spray paintings around Weeletka and I40. The paintings stated that TK was a baby killer. IMO, he would be the least of the grand jury subjects to be the killer. Why and who painted that TK was the baby killer? (IMO, this would be something the 2 real killers might have done since they are probably unemployed, dumb teenagers with a lot of time on their hands. ? )

Pensfan said:

IMO the grandfather was only a suspect when he didn't call 911 immediately. If he was attempting to keep females away from seeing the girls (having to hold them back) or if he thought another relative was calling 911, I can't envision one person shooting these girls 13 times with two guns.

These guns have to be out in there somewhere. Praying that they show up, but not after another murder. Grant this o Lord!

Because it has been continuously raining, I read through the bizillion of pages on that one Weeletka forum where everybody fights and points fingers. On this forum it stated that there were many spray paintings around Weeletka and I40. The paintings stated that TK was a baby killer. IMO, he would be the least of the grand jury subjects to be the killer. Why and who painted that TK was the baby killer? (IMO, this would be something the 2 real killers might have done since they are probably unemployed, dumb teenagers with a lot of time on their hands. ? )

Click to expand...

I followed this case in the beginning on another board, but haven't kept up with it. I plan to do some reading to try to catch up a bit. Thanks for the information.

Thanks for the welcome bfgodot!

With the second anniversary approaching, I am curious if JB and company will present a press conference with pie charts and power point presentations to impress us with how hard they are working on this case - or will the day just quietly slip by with not even a slight mention? (You know....like it has been from day one). Sad and pitiful! moo

Boots-OK said:

With the second anniversary approaching, I am curious if JB and company will present a press conference with pie charts and power point presentations to impress us with how hard they are working on this case - or will the day just quietly slip by with not even a slight mention? (You know....like it has been from day one). Sad and pitiful! moo

Click to expand...

SAFE BETS
Tulsa World, Daily Oklahoman, and Muskogee Phoenix will all run two-year anniversary articles of varying lengths and depths, the Oklahoman's being the best as they've now run pieces critical of OSBI's repeated failures, and will want to continue that theme via an anniversary article (I hope).

JB will once again stress that one missing piece of the puzzle (which, personally, I think translates into, "Would someone please tell us who did these crimes, as we have no idea"), stress OSBI's working "through hell and high water" to solve this case, then be goaded into whining about the legislature's failure to pass the OSBI-requested bill to allow our fine (ha!) state medical examiner's office to withhold autopsy results, and somehow blame anyone but LE for failure to solve the Weleetka tragedy.

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

wfgodot said:

SAFE BETS
Tulsa World, Daily Oklahoman, and Muskogee Phoenix will all run two-year anniversary articles of varying lengths and depths, the Oklahoman's being the best as they've now run pieces critical of OSBI's repeated failures, and will want to continue that theme via an anniversary article (I hope).

JB will once again stress that one missing piece of the puzzle (which, personally, I think translates into, "Would someone please tell us who did these crimes, as we have no idea"), stress OSBI's working "through hell and high water" to solve this case, then be goaded into whining about the legislature's failure to pass the OSBI-requested bill to allow our fine (ha!) state medical examiner's office to withhold autopsy results, and somehow blame anyone but LE for failure to solve the Weleetka tragedy.

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

Click to expand...

Skyla's Father has already been interviewed by the press in regards to the 2 year anniversary. I am not sure which newspaper interviewed him.

I'm betting, too, that News on 6 will feature the case prominently; more than any other media representative, they took the state agency to task in their "OSBI's Track Record Investigated After Criticism From Lawmaker" report in late April, including Taylor and Skyla among other unsolved OK crimes in a sequence of names which concluded, "and the list goes on." I'm hoping that State Representative Morrissette will continue to ask questions about the failures. Oklahoma deserves better.

Ruflossn said:

Skyla's Father has already been interviewed by the press in regards to the 2 year anniversary. I am not sure which newspaper interviewed him.

Click to expand...

IMO - the only information that will be shared by William W. or any other family member will be related to their personal feelings of loss at this point.

I am of the opinion that JB & OSBI have convinced these families to keep every tidbit of information regarding the murders absolutely quiet. I will even venture further on a limb and suggest the families have been led to believe that the murders can never be solved if this secrecy is broken.

The $160K reward expired the end of January. I have repeatedly emailed OSBI and requested they update their website. I'm still waiting on a response - so, perhaps they're holding this bombshell for their news conference. My, my, my....I'll just hush now.

Christopher Placker will be having a parole hearing next month (June).

http://docapp065p.doc.state.ok.us/s...RTAL30&doc_num=282586&offender_book_id=172202

What is going on in Oklahoma?? Between the case, little Aja Johnson, the Neff and Riley cases, the pastor, and I'm sure a ton others that I haven't heard about, I think it's pretty obvious OSBI is full of a bunch of incompetent individuals. If they haven't managed to solve these high-profile cases, which I'm sure they put 'more' work into for that very reason, imagine how many low-profile cases are going unsolved! Also, I don't know who hired Jessica Brown as their spokesperson, but she always seems to be on the defensive and gives the impression of chastising the public for demanding that these cases be solved. I don't know what Oklahomans can do to remedy this situation, but I'm sure the murder rate will continue to increase as criminals realize they have a very good chance of getting away with their crimes.

Two 13-year old girls shot to death on a public road in a town of 1000 people, and over two years later this case has not been solved. Simply unbelievable! And the OSBI had the audacity to refuse help from the FBI. These little girls deserve justice. I think of them daily, and hope they will receive it, but with each day that passes I become less optimistic.

RIP Skyla and Taylor. You will never be forgotten.

Auction to raise reward money in Weleetka-area killings
A bar in Henryetta is holding an auction this weekend to raise money for the reward fund in the 2008 slaying of two girls near Weleetka

HENRYETTA — A bar in Henryetta will hold an auction Sunday to raise money for the reward fund in the slaying of two Weleetka- area girls two years ago.

The auction will be at 1 p.m. Sunday at Marvin's Place, 9720 Hornbeam Road, a bar employee said. There is no set time for the auction to end.

It's the bar's third auction to raise reward funds in the June 8, 2008, shooting deaths of Taylor Paschal-Placker, 13, and Skyla Whitaker, 11, on a county road near Weleetka. No arrests have been made in the slayings, and authorities have never publicly identified a suspect despite continuing pleas for information.
---

and more, at
http://www.newsok.com/auction-to-bo...s/article/3465446?custom_click=pod_lead_crime

Anniversary of Weleetka Murders Approaches, Case Unsolved
posted 06/02/10 10:21 pm
---
Skyla Whitaker's's father says it's a day to day process and the nightmare won't be over until the killer is caught.

"Are you anxious?"

"Put an end to this whole ordeal," says William Whitaker.

But the families of the two girls, 13-year-old Taylor Placker and 11-year-old Skyla are surrounded by support.

From the roadside memorial covered in two years worth of dust to the new remembrance garden being planned at the girl's school. The same school Skyla's parents work at and younger sister Jaime still attends. Jamie helped plan the garden to be unveiled on the anniversary of her sister's death.
---
"Many times we have felt close, that we thought we had a good idea of who the person or people may have been because of different statements that have been made," [Jessia] Brown explains.
---

and more, at
http://www.ktul.com/news/stories/0610/742223.html

(I won't comment on Miss Jessica's pronouncements!)

I'm still here and monitoring this situation. It still bugs the livin' daylights out of me of what happened to Taylor and Skyla, and that the case is unsolved after nearly two years. If this would have happened in Weleetka when I was growing up there I believe the case would have been solved by local LE, and quickly. I still say there's a connection to having the road graded, and by whom. If there was an existing schedule of road maintenance for grader operations, and the road was just graded but not on the schedule. Remember, its usually easier to hide in plain sight. RIP Taylor and Skyla.

Authorities, families beg for help in '08 slayings
Tulsa World 06 June 2010

WELEETKA — Vicki Placker is convinced someone in the area knows something about the killings of her daughter and her best friend two years ago.

"Have a heart," Placker pleaded. "Be a man — or a woman — and help us solve this case so our babies can rest.
---
Two years later, the OSBI is still actively pursuing the investigation, though the manpower spent on the case has been reduced greatly.

Jessica Brown, OSBI spokeswoman, said two agents now work the case, although only one of them focuses on it full time.
---
Meanwhile, Brown said the OSBI believes the killers live in the Weleetka area.
---
During the past two years, the OSBI has questioned hundreds of people about the killings and performed more than 700 lab tests on hundreds of items possibly linked to the crime.

The agency has gone as far as test-firing dozens of .40-caliber Glock pistols owned by area residents in an attempt to find one of the murder weapons.
---
At 10 a.m. Tuesday, the Placker and Whitaker families will gather at the scene of the killings where a memorial to the girls now stands.

The OSBI also will hold a press conference to update the media on the progress of its investigation. .
---

and more, at
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20100606_12_A1_WELEET144124

This is so sad......these girls deserve justice. Light the way girls...led them to whoever did this to you. I also didn't understand the road being graded and that's a good cliche about hiding in plain sight.

On my grandparents' roads, gravel and red dirt, the county never told them when they were coming to grate and put down more gravel/rocks. Farmers would call and complain for weeks/months about the ruts in the road and the mud. Finally the county would grate the road without any announcements. My guess is that the residents had been calling for months and some idiot county employee, from out of the immediate Weleetka area, accidently came to fix the ruts (AT THE WORST OF ALL TIMES). Many times the farmers/ranchers just give up on the county and grate their rural route themselves.