Heinous Double Homicide: Murders of Two Oklahoma Girls, Taylor Paschal-Placker, 13, and Skyla Whitaker, 11, Shock Community

 

The double murder of Taylor Paschal-Placker, 13, and Skyla Whitaker, 11, have left an Oklahoma community stunned and searching for answers. The two girls were killed as a result of gunshot wounds. According to reports they had been shot multiple times. The bodies of Taylor Paschal-Placker and Skyla Whitaker were found on the roadside near the small town of Weleetka in Okfuskee County.

OK_Girl_murder1

Taylor Paschal-Placker, 13, and Skyla Whitaker, 11

OK_girl_murder2

They left the older girl’s home late Saturday afternoon to take a walk along the rural road.   An hour or so later, the Skyla’s mother called to say she wanted to pick up her daughter, and Taylor’s father left the home to go looking for them, “Her dad come down the road and found her.  It’s pretty hard,” said Taylor’s uncle Joe Mosher. Sheriff Choate tells 2NEWS that his investigators have interviewed “persons of interest” in the case, as well as several possible witnesses. The sheriff says Okfuskee County had not had a homicide in more than five years.

VIDEO: 2 Girls Found Shot to Death on Oklahoma Road

Police are continuing to look for a motive for this double murder where Taylor Paschal-Placker and Skyla Whitaker who were found in a ditch on the roadside. Taylor’s grandfather, Peter Placker, found the children after he became worried when his wife tried calling a cellular phone the girls had with them and got no answer.

Okfuskee County Sheriff Jack Choate told the paper that they have a suspect in the case, but no motive.

“They were little girls,” Choate told the paper. “What possible motive could there be? You have to wonder, did they see something they were not supposed to? Were they at the wrong place at the wrong time?”

Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation Inspector Stan Florence said it was unknown if they were molested.

“This is a case that involves two innocent girls that were walking out on their own,” Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation Inspector Stan Florence said. “Some evidence has been found at the scene which may be useful to us. We have spent a lot of time going down this road looking for evidence.”

UPDATE I: Listen to Clint Van Zandt on Scared Monkeys radio discuss this terrible case.

UPDATE II: Funerals Held for Slain Oklahoma Girls as Cops Release Sketch

OK_girls_Suspect_sketch

sketch of person of person of interest

A person of interest is sought by police for questioning in the deaths of  Taylor Paschal-Placker, 13, and Skyla Whitaker, 11.

Investigators released a sketch Friday of a person of interest, possibly a witness, in the slaying of best friends shot to death along a country road. The development came on the same day their families laid the girls to rest.

Police are seeking a man who was seen in the area where Taylor Paschal-Placker, 13, and Skyla Whitaker, 11, were killed Sunday along a dirt road in Weleetka, Okla.

He is described as a 6-foot American Indian man, possibly having European heritage, about 35 years old, with long black hair pulled into a ponytail.

Brown called the man a “witness” and a “possible person of interest,” and said someone saw him standing in front of a white Ford or Chevy single-cab pickup truck on County Line Road around the time of the girls’ death.

“He was stopped on the road actually kind of blocking the way there, standing outside his pickup truck, doing something,” she said. “And they couldn’t really tell what he was doing, so they kept driving because it looked a little suspicious.”

 



If you liked this post, you may also like these:

  • Authorities Release Partial 911 Tape in Double Murder of Oklahoma Girls Taylor Paschal-Placker & Skyla Whitaker
  • Scared Monkeys Radio Daily Commentary – Wednesday, June 10, 2008 – Another Tragic Crime Against Children. Taylor Paschal-Placker, 13, and Skyla Whitaker, 11
  • The Dana Pretzer Show On Scared Monkeys Radio – Tuesday, June 10, 2008 – Guests Include Aden McEvoy, Rhonda Wheelus, Robin Sax, Pat Brown and Dr. Clint Van Zandt
  • Tough Judges make Safe Communities
  • Endangered Child Alert Issued Monday for East Tennessee by the TBI for Missing 2 Year Old Skyla Lashay Wilson of Cleveland, TN




  • Comments

    46 Responses to “Heinous Double Homicide: Murders of Two Oklahoma Girls, Taylor Paschal-Placker, 13, and Skyla Whitaker, 11, Shock Community”

    1. A New Girl on June 10th, 2008 3:26 pm

      Scary…..someone really wanted these 2 poor girls dead.

      And you wonder why my teenaged children are literally on LOCK DOWN? Thank goodness for cell phones and all the GPS Systems currently available…. handy tools for parents to have in these times ! Sad, really- when America’s youth are out just going about “life”

    2. da_wench on June 10th, 2008 5:28 pm

      Awful…just awful. My heart goes out to the families of these little girls.

    3. The Dana Pretzer Show On Scared Monkeys Radio - Listen LIVE TONIGHT at 9PM Eastern - Guests Include Aden McEvoy, Rhonda Wheelus, Robin Sax, Pat Brown and Dr. Clint Van Zandt | Scared Monkeys on June 10th, 2008 5:48 pm

      [...] Clint Van Zandt – Discussing a double-child murder in small-town [...]

    4. jodi on June 10th, 2008 6:56 pm

      If they were found SO close to the home with multiple gunshot wounds…why wouldn’t the parents have heard the shots???
      seems very suspicious.
      This is a terrible story and I’m praying for all involved.

    5. larry on June 10th, 2008 7:42 pm

      Doesn’t Oklahoma have the death penalty and a conservative base? Oh yeah. A lot good that tough-on-crime stuff does you. I promise the killer is an ex-con who was hardened in prison, probably sent there was non-violent drug offenses and came out hating society. It’s epidemic in the USA and why people don’t recognize it is borderline funny. The country breeds human beings and then rears them in to becoming animals. These two girls are dead because Oklahoma deserved it, I’m sorry to say that is the way karma works whether we want to recognize it or just continue on our lost ways.

    6. Scared Monkeys on June 10th, 2008 8:01 pm

      Yea Larry that’s right, its karma.

      And ya know what … nothing in this story is remotely borderline funny … fool.

      You and Sharon Stone should maybe hang out together. What a couple you would make.
      R

    7. Kay on June 10th, 2008 8:15 pm

      I was just wondering if perhaps the girls saw something they weren’t supposed to see–maybe some drug business or something?? Having two girls close to their ages makes it really hit home for me….

    8. LilPuma on June 10th, 2008 8:47 pm

      I sure hope this doesn’t turn out to be another serial sniper-type case like those recently in AZ and D.C.

    9. always 1 on June 10th, 2008 9:15 pm

      I live not too far from where this happened. The OSBI has offered $14,000.00 reward so far and Larry – shame on you.

    10. The Dana Pretzer Show On Scared Monkeys Radio - Tuesday, June 9, 2008 - Guests Include Aden McEvoy, Rhonda Wheelus, Robin Sax, Pat Brown and Dr. Clint Van Zandt | Scared Monkeys Radio on June 10th, 2008 9:37 pm

      [...] Clint Van Zandt – Discussing a double-child murder in small-town Oklahoma    The Dana Pretzer Show On Scared Monkeys Radio – Tuesday, June [...]

    11. Wylie Kyote on June 10th, 2008 10:38 pm

      Larry, were you dropped on your head a lot as a child? ANY SOB that ends up in prison for drugs or anything else is a complete fool. The people they end up with in prison are the same assholes they ran with on the street.

    12. misskatie on June 10th, 2008 11:15 pm

      this was totaly a senseless murder at the hands of a mental case I am sure..
      These days people dont have to have a motive to kill.. they do it because they are sick individuals that do not belong in society..

      It is tragic and sad that these two best friends were killed and thrown in a ditch like garbage… I am sure that the killer was someone that lived close by and this case will be wrapped up pretty quick…

      It saddens me to the core of my being

      my heart goes out to the parents of these girls…

      R.I.P

      LITTLE ANGELS

    13. downloadingdaddy on June 10th, 2008 11:42 pm

      My heart is bleeding for these two little girls, I am sickened by what has happened to society.
      As for the trolls, please don’t feed them!!!

    14. brenda on June 11th, 2008 8:32 am

      This will wind up being a local. Whether or not they were ever in prison…time will tell.

    15. always 1 on June 11th, 2008 12:03 pm

      Channel 6 News in Tulsa is reporting two guns were used in this shooting. The reward is up to $25,000.00

    16. brenda on June 11th, 2008 12:18 pm

      Always1…that explains alot. Early on it was reported shell casing were found at the scene, but the authorities were “trying to determine” what type of gun was used. Now we know why…they needed autopsy results to know if two types of ammunition were found to be used on the girls.

      I am leaning towards revenge killing of these children, but revenge at who is the question.

      One poster mentioned a mentally unstable person, I say an EVIL person…maybe two. Then again, if this individual wanted to take them by surprise, he or she may have come out with a pistol in each hand. How else could he have shot both in the face? If he shot one…the other probably would have taken off running. I’ll put my hat in the ring saying one person using two guns. If I’m wrong, we’ll all know soon enough.

    17. kev on June 11th, 2008 2:11 pm

      A hate crime is a possibility.

    18. kev on June 11th, 2008 2:15 pm

      Anybody given any thought to the possibility of a hate crime???

    19. greta on June 11th, 2008 4:51 pm

      as i said before, i suspected that white teenage boys were responsible for killing these girls just because maybe they were shy, or not terribly popular. the guns most likely came from their homes. it was a crime of opportunity done by kids looking for some excitement. these are the monsters we are creating in this country. it’s called not making our children accountable for their actions from a young age. have you loved (disciplined verbally and effectively) your child today??

    20. brenda on June 12th, 2008 6:07 am

      Greta, the girls were popular…cheerleaders and A students. Community is small (like 100 kids in the K-12 all together) so they had to be well known. That said, jealousy maybe a motive?

      As for the poster who mentioned hate crime…maybe. Hate crime and revenge are quite similar. I truly hope the police get a break quickly on this case. No doubt they are determined and troubled by this one.

    21. kev on June 12th, 2008 1:57 pm

      I just read online news. Investigators have found a witness who they say road by and saw the girls minutes before their slaying.

      That is all that was said in the article.

    22. nokidding on June 12th, 2008 2:56 pm

      Mexicans, perhaps blacks.

      But with a name like Skyla in the family, meth is also a distinct possibility.

    23. Brenda on June 12th, 2008 3:25 pm

      nokidding…perhaps whites?

    24. Jeany on June 12th, 2008 7:29 pm

      This was a terrible tragedy. Many prayers go out for the two girls families. We truly hope that these killers are brought to justice. Many of us can learn from this situation. Unfortunately, we see that we must continue to watch them at all times, even when they are just outside in the yard. We just never know who is watching and waiting for the opportunity to take our little ones away from us. There is no such thing as “being too careful”. We will keep these families in our prayers.

    25. D. Roberts on June 15th, 2008 10:08 am

      Our hearts are with these little Angel’s families and friends.

      Some of the ignorant postings are disgraceful and should not be allowed.

      These were little children enjoying their day!

      When I read negative postings, I can’t help but wonder, are you guilty of a crime? This one perhaps?

      Innocent children are being slaughtered each and every day in this country. We need to enforce our death penalty laws.

      This kind of crime makes me wonder why death penalty cases aren’t enforced.

      Whoever hurts a child should be executed!

      God Bless these innocent babies.

      They were the victims of a cold blooded society who refuses to hold people accountable for their horrendous crimes.

      Defense lawyers must not have a conscience. How could they?

    26. annie on June 17th, 2008 2:48 pm

      it isw realy bad what happend to the two girls there is no telling how did it weleetka is full of indians and blacks there is some whites it could have been anyone i think they walked up on a drug deal there is a lot of that down that road my grandparents live down ther about 1/2 mile or so people r always going by on 4 wheelers i worrie a lot because my niece also lives down there weleetka is a good town there is just some bad people that live there but not all of them i pray for the girls and there familys and i hope the guy or guys grt cot soon they need to be shoot in the head the court hearing just shoot

    27. Barb Bainer on June 19th, 2008 9:03 pm

      The offender will be someone they know enough to get into a car with them. (White male 50 yrs old)

      Abuse involved

      I feel like there is one offender who made it look like more. This person is educated.

      This is intuitive info***

    28. JVS on June 29th, 2008 12:11 am

      There are a couple of cop shows on TV where the hero uses two guns one in each had and so does the lady that backs him up.
      I would not be surprised if some kid with access to a couple of guns and who may have been slighted by one or both of the girls is found to be responsible.
      The senselessness of the crime smacks of an immature mind of a child who has a grudge. Like the kids at Colombine.

    29. Melissa Gomez on June 29th, 2008 8:01 pm

      I would like to say that losing a child is one of the most devastating thing that can happen to a parent and my heart is saddened by what these families have gone through and will have to go though when they catch these animals. I too believe these are locals probably young and white probably drugs are involved. I feel these scumbags were intentionally waiting for these girls. Children even the best of them can get caught up in bad situations. I hope they check e-mails and text messages that might have been on their computers and cell phones. I know when I was 13 I talked to boys I shouldn’t have. Now days that can be extremely dangerous. I pray the culprit or culprits suffer every day for this atrosity.

    30. Jack Straw on July 21st, 2008 9:07 pm

      A white man or men killed these girls. I am a profiler and from what I have learned about the case I believe that to be true.

    31. Authorities Release Partial 911 Tape in Double Murder of Oklahoma Girls Taylor Paschal-Placker & Skyla Whitaker | Scared Monkeys on July 22nd, 2008 11:00 am

      [...] has been a seven weeks since the stunning discovery of the double murder of Taylor Paschal-Placker, 13, and Skyla Whitaker, 11, shocked their Oklahoma community.  Officials [...]

    32. Les Schroeder on July 23rd, 2008 7:17 pm

      Every day my wife and I think about them girls. Everybody need to keep that family in there thought’s. And remember that every day that whoever did this is one day closer to hell. They cant hide from god. and its only a matter of time. Be strong and have faith. Our lord will deliver them to justice soon.

    33. Joseph on July 28th, 2008 12:27 pm

      Maybe someone ought to check up on Jack Straw (Comment #30)?

    34. Mark T. on July 29th, 2008 7:32 pm

      I have had my own various speculations at times.

      What are the law enforcement looking for?
      Are you monitoring this forum?
      You have to get leads where ever you can.
      If not, for the children.

      Was there a small group of bikes in a campground
      at or around the time of the incident?
      Where they from out of town, or even out of state?
      Ponytails are often made to keep the hair from flying around in the wind.
      People remember these things, especially when there aren’t too many new faces to be seen.

      Did this campground have a small building that was used rarely but accommodated one or two pool
      tables, with not much of anything else in the small one room cottage like building?

      where there a thicket of trees around this small building, where the first contact would have been made, between two of the parties involved.
      Or was this pool table in a very small out of the way location?
      If this was the setting of a small out of the way place or town, within a 50 to 100 mile radius of the scene,
      Are there video cameras at the local convenient /gas store that may have some information in the previous days before the incident?

      Had the drinking/loud wife or girlfriend of one of the perpetrators found out?
      Is she alive today?
      Is she of Indian decent?
      Did she have a key chain with her picture in it
      that may have been dropped by one of the perpetrators and missed by the investigators???

    35. Mark T. on July 29th, 2008 8:05 pm

      Did the first shooter tell the other to shoot the next victim, in order that they couldn’t tell on each other?
      Did the first shooter than cock the gun and put it to the head of the second shooter?
      Was this a clear, square part of a hanging key chain that was broken off during a slight struggle and
      embedded into the ground by one of the feet, possibly a boot, of the parties?
      Could this be what the person of interest was looking for?
      Was the girl in the picture buried while still alive, just as her face in the key chain?

    36. Amy (20) on September 5th, 2008 1:25 am

      We all know where Larry is going when he gets killed. Which he will most likely because, karma IS a bitch. To say these 2 little girls deserved to die is beyond evil. And you will most definitely get what’s coming to you.

    37. james freemantle on September 24th, 2008 5:15 am

      Soul destroying. beautiful innocents dying in your f**ked up violent country, by AMERICANS with LEGAL guns, and your the worlds super power!?
      America your country is lost. god help you
      ___________
      SM: I guess you must feel the same about Finland. You may want to expand your horizons and not just focus on hating America when you are looking at violence.

      Gunman kills 10 at school in Finland, then self
      http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D93CHJMG0&show_article=1

      A masked gunman whose violent YouTube postings prompted police to question him a day ago opened fire Tuesday at his trade school in western Finland, killing ten people before shooting himself in the head.
      Witnesses said panic broke out as the gunman, dressed in black and carrying a large bag, entered the school in Kauhajoki and started firing in a classroom where students were taking an exam. The shootings began just before 11 a.m. local time (0800GMT), as about 150 students were at the Kauhajoki School of Hospitality, 180 miles (300 kilometers) northwest of Helsinki.

      I guess you must feel the same way about a bomb a day in the Middle East.
      Suicide bomb guts Pakistan Marriott hotel; 40 dead
      http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080920/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan_explosion

    38. james freemantle on September 24th, 2008 5:56 am

      Thats right, pass the blame on to someone else, stupid ignorant yank. I Like most Americans, but you have got to look at the way you live, blood thirsty john waynes who want to shoot first ask questions later. That was proberly the first time thats happened in Finland, get rid of capital punishment and guns and you might have a decent society were it is safe for your kids to walk down the road. Learn from us Brits.
      ________-
      SM: Don’t passing the blame … you don’t be a fool and think that murder does not go on every you, you BRIT.

      I forgot, you have no murders in Britian. Clean up your own house first before you look across the pond. Maybe we can meet at a safe soccer match and discuss the issue.

      Frenchman killed in London ‘was stabbed 196 times’
      http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article4260737.ece

    39. Dan on December 8th, 2008 11:56 am

      I really don’t understand this. For people to sit around and speculate on who it may have been. One person said it was either Mexicans or Blacks. One person blaming the State of Oklahoma. Another person saying it’s the fault of American society, and damned near starting a major international arguement.

      I see it as this. One or two people, who are definately sick, sad people, shot two pretty, loving little girls. And probably for no real good reason. It seems to me, on the face of it, that the perpetrator(s) knew the girls. The probably saw something that they shouldn’t have, like, yeah, maybe a drug deal. I’m very saddened that this happened to them, and I really do hope that the individual(s) are caught quickly, tried, and sentenced as appropriate to the Oklahoma state laws.

      But what really bothers me is the reactions and responses of those who are posting here. You should, if you’ve said something that is offensive, be totally ashamed of yourself. You are not helping the situation at all. You’re simply spreading more hate.

    40. little Miss on March 10th, 2009 10:34 pm

      You know to whoever killed these babies deserve to have the death penailty but thats much to easy… MAY THE LORD JESUS CHRIST REAK HAVOC UPON YOU AND YOUR LIFE. BECAUSE THERE IS NOTHING MORE GREAT THEN THE POWER OF THE ALMIGHTY JESUS. AND HE KNOWS WHO YOU ARE, AND WHERE YOU ARE AND HE WILL GET YOU IN DUE TIME…. AND MAY SKYLA AND TAYLOR WATCH OVER YOU WHILE YOU SLEEP……..

    41. Lori on March 25th, 2009 12:11 pm

      I think about these little girls often. I don’t understand why so many other stories seemed to stay in the spotlight, ie: Caylee and Haleigh or even Natalie Holloway, yet, this case is not?

      It is so tragic and my heart goes out to these families who loved these little girls. I certainly hope justice comes to the cowards who did this.

      Praying for these families and for justice too!

    42. BOBBY JOHNSON on May 23rd, 2010 10:29 am

      i have some interesting info. about a person of interest. also a picture i will send if you can give me a e-mail to send to. thanks bob johnson

    43. ron on September 12th, 2010 9:51 pm

      Can someone comment on some questions I have? What is the criminal background of Skyla’s mother? Where was her fugitive son, who had escaped from prison where he was incarcerated for homicide, at the time of this incident? Why was Skyla’s mother dismissed from her job at the school shortly after this incident?

    44. Renee on September 13th, 2010 1:49 pm

      Ive been to weleetka plenty of times, never thot anything like this would happen. It seems like there is too much he said she said. Someone in that area has to know something that went on that day. That town is waaay to small for this case to go unsolved. I hope th killer/killers get caught when they least expect it.

    45. Mark T on December 9th, 2011 5:31 pm

      Glad to see that they now have a suspect.
      I see that the suspects girlfriend is not alive and that he has been charged with his murder.

      Is law enforcement still monitoring this forum?
      Did the suspects murdered girlfriend have a friend that she may have confided in, as to what she may have knew about the murder of the two little girls.
      Was this friend/hearsay witness of the murdered girlfriend be more of a one-on-one relationship/friendship of the murdered woman?
      If the murdered girlfriend of the suspect had a small circle of friends, could this one friend that she confided in, be more of a friend outside of the murdered woman’s main circle of friends, whereas the murdered girlfriend of the suspect would feel safer to confide in this girl or man, because she may have known that the story would not be spread throughout her main circle of friends, through gossip, or for any other reasons???

    46. Mark T on December 9th, 2011 5:32 pm

      Sorry…
      Correction:
      “I see that the suspects girlfriend is not alive and that he has been charged with her murder.”

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