For nearly three decades, the brutal murder of Gerthie Carolina remained a mystery.
The 81-year-old widow was hacked to death at her home on August 11, 1997, just four months after she finalized her trust and will, The Oklahoman reported.
Carolina, who was known as “Granny” in her small town of Sasakwa, Oklahoma, had been repeatedly stabbed and possibly attacked with an ax when she was found dead on her kitchen floor. Over 27 years no suspects were arrested and her case grew cold.
But agents with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) in 2023 revisited the investigation, and reexamined evidence, including a critically important bloodstain on the side of a shoe left behind and collected at the crime scene after the murder.
It was the breakthrough investigators needed to arrest two suspects — two of Carolina’s own relatives.
Carolyn Foreman, 81, the victim’s niece, and Dakota Davis, 45, Carolina’s grand-niece, were arrested on March 5, and were both charged last Friday with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the killing.
The motive
Seminole County District Attorney Erik Johnson said in a statement this week that the motive of the murder was to obtain quick money and to collect an inheritance from the victim.
The year before she was killed Carolina bought a $40,000 certificate of deposit. The following year the CD was transferred to a living trust with Foreman named as the beneficiary. Carolina also signed her will that year, again naming Foreman as her heir, noting she had no children, the OSBI said.
“Carolina left her estate to Foreman, who would then be responsible for dividing the estate up among the family,” the OSBI reported in court affidavits.
Just days after Carolina’s murder, her $40,000 CD was cashed out by Foreman.
The murder
The day of the murder, the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office responded to Carolina’s home in Sasakwa to find the widow dead in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor.
Her niece and her grand-niece, who were 53 and 17 at the time, claimed to have discovered her body when they arrived around 3:15 p.m. that day to take her to a doctor because she wasn’t feeling well, according to the affidavits obtained by The Oklahoman.
An autopsy revealed that Carolina’s cause of death was multiple stab, incised wounds and blunt force injury, the OSBI reported.
OSBI agents said they were later told that Davis had admitted to the murder over the years, and in some accounts, she reportedly said she used a machete, while in another, she allegedly used an ax.
“Foreman had a gun, but Dakota had an ax. When they arrived [at Carolina’s home], Dakota threw ammonia on Carolina’s face. Dakota then began hitting Carolina with the ax,” court documents said.
Davis’ father told agents that she told him in 2001 that she had “chopped up” the victim while Foreman was telling her to “hit her again, hit her again,” according to the affidavits.
He said Carolina had been upset because Foreman was taking money from her bank account to pay bills.
Initially there were few leads in the case until agents took another careful look two years ago.
A break in the case
A break in the case came in 2024 when an OSBI criminalist found a bloodstain on the side of Davis’ shoe, which had been collected from the crime scene in 1997, which was tested and proved to be the victim’s blood.
Based on the bloodstain evidence and information from interviews the OSBI conducted with several witnesses between 1997 and 2005, an arrest warrant was issued by the Seminole County District Court.
Foreman was arrested in Midwest City, Oklahoma, and Davis was arrested in Sacramento, California. Both women now face charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
Foreman had previously been charged with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old in 1999. That charge was dismissed later that year. Her son, Billy Earl Parker, who was also accused of the same murder, was found guilty in 2007 of first-degree murder, and is serving life in prison.
“This case is a testament to the relentless dedication of these investigators and our unwavering pursuit of justice, even decades after a crime is committed,” prosecutors said. “We hope this brings some measure of peace to Gerthie Carolina’s family after all these years.”
