Christie pleads guilty, sentenced to life without parole

Christie pleads guilty, sentenced to life without parole By Marsha Miller News Editor

Christie Keith Christie ensured his own life Wednesday by pleading guilty to the decapitation murder of his 15-year-old brother.

Christie, shackled and wearing an orange county jail prisoner's uniform, appeared in district court with his attorney Debbie Maddox. The 31-year-old man sat quietly displaying no emotion as Maddox told District Judge Tom Walker she had no doubt her client was competent to enter a guilty plea in the case.

Christie's father, who watched the proceedings from the visitor's gallery, also sat quietly and dry-eyed as his son answered the judge's questions surrounding the gruesome Feb. 13 murder at the family's rural Tatums residence.

"The charge says you took the life of Richard Doyle Christie. Did you do that?" Walker asked.

"The plea bargain says you will waive your preliminary hearing and plead guilty and the DA will not seek the death penalty and will recommend you be sentenced to life without parole. Is that your understanding?"

Walker accepted the plea, telling the elder brother, "You are convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to spend the balance of your life in prison without the possibility of parole."

Maddox asked the court to order Christie transferred to a state prison immediately. The request was granted.

Minutes later Christie was escorted back to the Carter County Detention Center by Sheriff Harvey Burkhart.

District Attorney Mitch Sperry said the plea bargain that ensures Christie's life will be spared was based on several factors.

"All things considered, when we looked at the nature of the crime and compared the harm to the family, the victim to the family and society to the victim we felt the family's interest were more important in this case," Sperry said.

"The family has already lost one son. The family lost a son by a son. Because of that, and after consulting with the family and the defense, we felt the proper punishment was life without the possibility of ever being in society again."

The sheriff's department was alerted when a dispatcher received a 911 call about 11:30 a.m. from a Ratliff City store.

"The father ran into the store saying his son had just murdered his other son," Burkhart said at the time.

Carter County deputies, the county's Special Response Team, Ardmore Police Department's Special Response Team and Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers converged on the scene.

Upon arrival, Burkhart and Undersheriff Ken Grace immediately interviewed Christie's father.

"He said he and his wife had left the residence. When they left, everything was fine. But when they returned about 20 minutes later, they found their son's head laying on the front porch. Then Keith opened the front door. He was covered in blood and he had a machete."

During the subsequent stand-off, officers found the remains of the teen's body partially burned in the back yard. Christie remained inside the residence, refusing to talk to law enforcement negotiators. He was finally forced from the residence with tear gas.

Clutching a Bible, he surrendered peacefully on the front porch of the residence. Within hours, he had made admissions concerning the murder, but would give investigators no motive for the crime.

Ironically, Christie had been released from the Garvin County Jail less than 24 hours before the slaying. He had been held on a warrant charging him with driving under the influence. He was released after his father posted bond and drove him to the family residence.

Marsha Miller can be contacted at marsham@ardmoreite.com or by calling (580) 221-6529

This is the original story:

Story last updated at 11:14 a.m. Friday, February 14, 2003

Gruesome murder leads to standoff

Tatums man holds lawmen at bay for 5 hours after allegedly decapitating brother

By Marsha Miller
News Editor

Christie
A 31-year-old Tatums man, who had allegedly decapitated his 15-year-old brother Thursday morning, held authorities at bay for almost five hours before surrendering.

"We tried using the telephone. We used the PA system, asking him, pleading with him to give himself up. Finally, we used tear gas," Carter County Sheriff Harvey Burkhart said minutes after Keith Christie was taken into custody.

Burkhart said the sheriff's department received a 911 call about 11:30 a.m. from a Ratliff City store reporting the slaying.

"The father ran into the store saying his son had just murdered his other son," Burkhart said.

Special response teams from the Carter County Sheriff's Department and the Ardmore Police Department responded, along with the Task Force, Ratliff City Police Department, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. Shortly after authorities arrived at the rural residence, Burkhart said he and Undersheriff Ken Grace spoke with Christie's father.

"He said he and his wife had left the residence. When they left, everything was fine. But when they returned about 20 minutes later, they found their son's (identified as Doyle Christie) head laying on the front porch," Burkhart said.

"Then, Keith opened the front door. He was covered in blood, and he had a machete."

Staff Photo/Steve Biehn
A Carter County Sheriff's Department vehicle sits Thursday near the house in Tatums where the murder of a 15-year-old boy occurred.
Investigators later found the remainder of the teen-ager's body, partially burned in the back yard.

Discussing the standoff that eventually led to the surrender, Burkhart praised all the agencies involved.

"It was an excellent response," he said. "We shared information and worked well together. The end was what we wanted -- no one else was hurt."

District Attorney Mitch Sperry and Assistant District Attorney Craig Ladd were also on the scene. Sperry said Christie was being held at the county jail, pending the filing of formal charges.

"In all likelihood, the charge will be first-degree murder based on the outcome of interviews with the suspect and family members," Sperry said.

Christie had been incarcerated in the Garvin County Jail until less than 24 hours before the killing. Burkhart said he was arrested Jan. 24 on a warrant charging him with driving under the influence. His father had posted his bond Wednesday, and he was released.

Late Thursday night, the sheriff described the slaying as "a horrific crime." He said Christie has made admissions concerning the death of his brother. However, no motive for the killing has been established.

Marsha Miller can be contacted at marsham@ardmoreite.com, or by calling (580) 221-6529

Hold your grandchildren close and let them know that before they were children of a murderer, they were and still are Children of God. The crime is his alone; they are not defined by their earthly father's guilt, but by their Heavenly Father's love. The blood of Christ supercedes any blood that man can spill.

To the innocent, to the guilty; to the mothers and fathers and children who bear the burdens of sins they did not commit, and to the men and women who committed those sins in their darkness, unknowing, this is promised. This is the promise of God's love - we are not defined by the hatred which haunts our histories, but by the love that washes all sin away. It is Christ on the cross who takes the murderer's place...

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