Nearly 30 years after an 81-year-old woman was found murdered in her Oklahoma home, authorities have arrested two of her relatives.
Deputies found Gerthie Carolina’s body on the bloodied kitchen floor of her Sasakwa, Okla., home at around 5:30 a.m. on Aug. 11, 1997, according to an affidavit filed in Seminole County District Court and obtained by PEOPLE. An autopsy revealed she had been repeatedly stabbed, cut and hit in the abdomen. Her death was ruled a homicide but the case soon went cold.
In November 2023, investigators with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation revisited the case and tested blood found on the side of a shoe taken from the initial crime scene, per the affidavit. The blood turned out to be a match for Carolina and the shoe belonged to her great niece, one of two relatives now facing charges in connection with the case.
Carolyn Foreman, 81, and Dakota Davis, 45, were arrested on March 4 and charged with first-degree murder, the OSBI said in a statement. Foreman is Carolina’s niece and Davis is Carolina’s great niece. It’s unclear if they have entered pleas or retained attorneys to speak on their behalf.
Authorities allege in the affidavit that both women killed Carolina in order to obtain her $40,000 inheritance. Four months before Carolina’s killing, in April 1997, she had appointed Foreman as the beneficiary of a $40,000 certificate of deposit she had put into a living trust, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit states, “Prior to CAROLINA’S death, CAROLINA left her estate to FOREMAN, who would then be responsible for dividing the estate up amongst the family.”
Authorities said Foreman and Davis initially told police in 1997 that they found Carolina dead inside the home when they arrived earlier that morning to take her to a doctor’s appointment since she wasn’t feeling well, per the affidavit.
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Throughout the years, authorities said Davis allegedly told multiple people of her involvement in Carolina’s killing, according to the affidavit. In 2001, Davis allegedly told her father that she “chopped up” Carolina while Foreman allegedly told her to “hit her again, hit her again,” the affidavit states. The father claimed Davis also said that Carolina was upset with Foreman for using her money to pay bills.
Two others close to Davis also allegedly told investigators that she admitted to using either a knife or axe to commit the murder, according to the affidavit. Authorities also believe Foreman helped her.
According to records cited by The Oklahoman, Foreman was previously charged with first-degree murder in a separate case involving the 1999 shooting death of a teenager. However, the charge was later dismissed.
Her son Billy Parker was convicted of the killing in 2007. He’s serving a life sentence, per the outlet.
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