By John Dobberstein, Editor
TULSA — The Tulsa Police Department has arrested a family member in connection with a double homicide that happened Friday in south Tulsa.
Police said the suspect, a grandson entered a senior living complex near 61st Street and Mingo Road through a side entrance at about 8:20 a.m. According to police, he used a knife to murder his grandparents and exited the building.
Six minutes later, emergency dispatchers received a medical call from a woman stating her husband is unresponsive. The line goes silent as she stops responding to questions.
First responders found Richard and Katherine Garwood, both 93, dead from severe stab wounds. Katherine was still holding her cell phone.
At 9:30 p.m. detectives reviewed hallway surveillance footage and staff members recognized the man in the video as the victims’ grandson and noted that he drives a red truck.
About an hour later, TPD’s Real Time Information Center analysts identified the truck’s license plate and, realizing the potential danger, officers were dispatched to protect other family members living nearby.
License plate readers spotted the suspect’s red Chevy pickup truck traveling northbound on Highway 169. Officers immediately begin flooding the area.
Just before midnight a 911 call reported a severe wreck on westbound Interstate 244. The suspect had crashed his truck into an abandoned car while driving at a high rate of speed.
Tulsa police and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol responded to the crash site but the suspect refused to leave the vehicle. Officers breached breached the window, deployed pepper balls and took the man into custody.
Police said the suspect, whose name hasn’t been released, suffered a broken hip in the crash and remains under heavy police guard in the hospital. After being read his rights, police said the man confessed to detectives that he attacked his grandparents with a knife.
When released from the hospital, he will be charged with 2 counts of murder and his name will be released.
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