Today, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S. District Judge Gregory K. Frizzell sentenced Kellie Lee Crawford to 15 years of imprisonment for voluntary manslaughter in Indian Country. Following her release, Crawford will serve an additional three years under supervised release.
Court records reveal that the incident occurred in September 2021. Crawford, 57, was drinking with her 70-year-old neighbor, Richard Strade. Influenced by methamphetamine, Crawford believed Strade was attempting a sexual assault. She confessed to hitting Strade in the head with a cookie jar lid and a plastic hanger before ultimately strangling him to death.
Crawford is a member of the Potawatomi Nation. She will remain in custody pending her transfer to the United States Bureau of Prisons.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations, and the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Stacey Todd prosecuting the case.