Profile: Carol Daniels
VICTIMOLOGY
Without having access to the official victimology reports, the information regarding the victim will not be exact and will be comprised of information gathered from the news media and quotes from the family members via the media.
The victim is Carol Daniels. She was a 61 yo, divorced, African-American female who worked a regular job and was also an ordained minister. From 2004 until her death in Aug. 2009, Ms. Daniels would drive 65 miles, one way, from her home in Oklahoma City to Anadarko, Oklahoma. While in Anadarko, Ms. Daniels would spend her time at the Christ Holy Sanctified Church. There was rarely a congregation to hear her preach. Yet, Ms. Daniels continued to make the weekly trek all because she was committed to God and due to that commitment, she wanted to offer any services she had to those who might be in need. The friends and family members who knew her describe her as; generous, sweet, friendly, quiet demeanor, not flashy, witty, a woman with a great sense of humor, dedicated to her position as a Pastor, and a woman of God. The lifestyle of Ms. Daniels would put her low risk to becoming a victim of such a horrific crime.
CRIME SCENE ANALYSIS
Without having access to the professional crime scene photos the information regarding the crime scene will not be exact and will be comprised of information gathered from the news media. The information regarding the physical condition of Ms. Daniels has been garnered from the publicly released autopsy results.
The crime occurred in a small, somewhat run down church building. The church was located in an area of Anandarko, OK that was ½ mile from a pretty high crime area, per Jessica Brown, OSBI Spokesperson. The area located ½ mile from the crime scene was noted as an area troubled by drugs, including crack cocaine. The church is located near an alley where men were known to congregate and drink. While it is important to note the church was on the perimeter of a crime ridden area, it is also important to note it was located, ½ block from the City Police Department and 2 blocks from the Sheriffs Department.
Veteran law enforcement officers have described this crime scene as, spooky, horrific, and one of the worst they have ever seen. Ms. Daniels body was found behind the church alter, nude, laying in a crucified position. What has not been released is whether her nude and mutilated body was found face up or face down. While finding a nude body, lying in a crucified position would be considered troubling to most long term law enforcement officers, something else must have occurred for them to describe the scene as horrific. I believe not only was Ms. Daniels found nude in the crucified position, but she had also been the victim of a sexual assault. She was most likely raped with some sort of an instrument. (Possibly an ornamental cross).
The victim was attacked with some sort of sharp instrument, perhaps a knife. According to the autopsy notes, Ms. Daniels sustained such significant injuries that she was almost beheaded. The majority of the physical trauma occurred in the neck and chest area. Some wounds were noted to be post-mortem. The autopsy notes show a large gash on Ms. Daniels back. I believe this was the first area of injury. The offender attacked Ms. Daniels from behind. There were defensive injuries on her hands which indicate, she did put up a struggle and fought for her life. After Ms. Daniels was initially attacked, the offender toppled her to the ground and began the assault on the chest and neck area. In such a frenzy, he attacked with such viciousness, that Ms. Daniels was almost beheaded. Eventually he removed her clothing and set her hair on fire. In some instances, the clothing is removed for ease of the crime, or sometimes it is removed and taken as a trophy. In this instance, I do not believe it was taken as a trophy. I believe the clothing was taken to remove evidence. The offender might have kept a piece of clothing (perhaps the cassock) but to remove all the clothing is an indication of proactive measures to evade detection. Setting the hair on fire, was done to destroy evidence. It is my opinion this offender set Ms. Daniels hair on fire in the hopes that it would ignite, burn the body, and burn down the church building. Again, this indicates proactive measures in destroying evidence. This offender sprayed a dissolving chemical around the body of Ms. Daniels. The offender did this to destroy the physical evidence and he also hoped this might act as a accelerant in setting the fire.
OFFENDER CHARACTERISTICS-
When evaluating an offenders characteristics, one must ask
1) What did the offender bring to the crime scene to help in the commission of the crime?
2) What did the offender use from the area of the crime scene to help in the commission of the crime?
3) What did the offender take when they left the crime scene?
The above questions will be difficult to answer due to the fact this crime remains an open case and many of the official documents have not been released to the public.
-This offender will be male of an African American or Native American ethnicity.
- He will be in his mid 20s to late 30s.
- He will have a criminal past / record.
- He will have known Ms. Daniels or at least known of her. She was not a random victim. She was targeted. Targeted because she was female and a minister.
- This offender is not a serial killer. He is someone who felt that Ms. Daniels had wronged him or did an injustice to him. His only thought about Ms. Daniels was to prove he was superior to her.
- He will be local to the area. If he is not presently living in the area, he has lived there previous to the murder of Ms. Daniels.
- Prior to the murder, he scoped out the church. Prior to her murder, he may have visited Ms. Daniels at the church.
- He will have completed high school or will have obtained a GED.
- He will drive an older model car or truck.
- He will have a job that would be considered blue collar employment.
- He would be considered an individual that is a risk taker. (His crime occurred on a Sunday morning, within a 2 hour time table. The two hour time table was during the hours the church was officially open. He took a risk that no one would interrupt his crime).
- He will be narcissistic.
- His economic status will be lower class to middle lower class.
- This offender will have followed the media coverage of this case.
- He will have discussed this case, in detail, with those around him.
- Not long before this murder, the offender will have suffered some sort of stress. Possibly job related, or within an intimate relationship. Whatever the stress, the offender will attach blame to Ms. Daniels.
ORGANIZED / DISORGANIZED OFFENDER STATUS
This offender displays characteristics of both an organized offender as well as on disorganized offender.
Arguments for an organized offender would be; he prepared for the crime. This was not a crime of opportunity. He deliberately sought out Ms. Daniels. He brought a chemical agent to the crime scene, brought a fire starting agent to the crime scene, removed the victims clothing to stymie the investigation, removed the sharp instrument from the crime scene. Other than removing the victim from the crime scene, this offender did everything possible to remove or destroy physical evidence from the scene of the crime.
It could be argued this offender displayed one extremely important characteristic of a disorganized offender. This characteristic is the fact that Ms. Daniels was attacked, killed and left in one area. It does not appear this offender attempted to abduct Ms. Daniels. (As is common amongst organized offenders). I believe it was because sexually assaulting and murdering Ms. Daniels in the church was part of this offenders fantasy.
If pressed to answer whether this offender would fall into the organized or disorganized category, I would say, organized.
RECOMMENDATIONS-
-Review video tape of all areas near the church. Prior to this murder, the offender has been in this area. Review all video that might show the offender driving by the church.
- Interview attendants and review video tape at all Pike Pass stations. This offender has travelled to and from Anadarko. Someone might recognize a person that was agitated before or after this crime occurred. I would begin looking at tape from Saturday (the day before the murder) to Sunday evening.
- Review all criminal records that have an individual arrested for domestic violence, or criminal assault within Anadarko and Oklahoma City. Start the search with men of African American or Native American descent.
- Discuss with the high school Principal, Counselor, Teachers any student from 2004 to the date of Ms. Daniels death that might have discussed a boyfriend that was abusive.
