Missing mom died from blunt force trauma, husband charged

By John Dobberstein, Editor

The Tulsa Police Department says the husband of a Tulsa woman who had gone missing has been charged with her murder.

Chris Edward Morland is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Cassidy Ritchie, 39, whose body was found Sunday in the back of her car along Highway 412. Morland is currently in custody at the Tulsa County Jail awaiting a court date Tuesday. 

Police laid out a timeline for the events Monday and also answered questions as to why she hadn’t been found in the car when it was initially discovered. 

Ritchie’s parents filed a missing persons report with Tulsa police on Jan. 25 after she hadn’t spoken with them or her children since Jan. 21.

Morland had been arrested on warrants out of Texas on Jan. 24 and brought to TPD Detective Division. Police said Morland told multiple stories, and multiple versions of those stories. “Morland would not come off any of his stories and maintained that she was just somewhere visiting a friend, police said,” police said. 

Police learned about the location of Ritchie’s vehicle 2 days later out by the I Don’t Care Bar & Grill 7 miles east of Catoosa. 

Detectives went to the vehicle and recovered it to preserve any evidence and “do a thorough forensic examination in a secure environment it was towed to with a no-touch hold,” police said. 

“We attempted to get Morland to sign a waiver for the car, but he refused and told us to get a warrant.”

While waiting on the warrant, police and Ritchie’s family searched for Ritchie and located witnesses who said the car was wrecked off a creek at 30200 E. Admiral Pl. last Monday at around 10:30 am and was out of the creek and running around noon pulled out by persons unknown.

On Sunday TPD investigators served the search warrant on Ritchie’s vehicle and found her in a very small space and covered with clothing and boxes. She had several injuries from blunt force trauma, police said.