|
|
Post by Joanna on Dec 4, 2014 21:15:40 GMT -5
Who Killed Debbie McClendon?Tuesday, September 8, 1987, was an unusually warm day in Ardmore, Oklahoma. That afternoon, 27-year-old Debra Jean “Debbie” McClendon left the chiropractor’s office where she had worked several years and drove to the Mountain View Mall. According to Robin Peal, spokesperson for the local police department: “She went to a few stores in the mall. She purchased a pair of shoes, I believe. Some of her friends and acquaintances saw her shopping. Mrs. McClendon appeared to be going about her routine day.” However, the day would turn out to be anything but “routine” when someone shot Debbie – the mother of a 5-year-old child – in the back of the head with a large caliber handgun as she sat in her red and silver pickup truck in the parking lot.
Recently, Ricky Lawrence, retired police officer and Debbie’s former brother-in-law, said: “On that day she had been working for Dr. Rupert ... She went to do some errands that evening, I can’t remember them all, but bank and the mall. Dennis [McClendon’s husband] reported her missing several hours later.”
Before contacting the police, McClendon called his father-in-law, Bill Lynn, who drove to the mall in search of his daughter. There, Lawrence recounted: “Debbie’s dad found her in the parking lot on the back side of the mall behind Kmart at the time. We were not aware of how she died at the time. We later found out she had been shot in the back of the head at close range.”
Ardmore attorney Ronald Worthen, who was working for the district attorney’s office at the time of the murder, was a regular patient at the chiropractic clinic where she worked. Debbie’s father asked Worthen to look into the case. “Her dad came by and talked to me about it and of course I knew the officers that were investigating,” Worthen said. “So I talked to the DA and I talked to the Chief of Police to see if they would mind if I talked to the officers, and they gave me permission. and so I talked to the detectives and the guys that worked the crime scene.” Unfortunately, there was never enough to charge anyone. “We had some ideas,” he admitted, “but never were able to tie the chain together at that time.”
“What we don’t know is what happened in those last few hours of her day,” Beal confirmed.
Lawrence, who honorably served in the Marine Corps until 1989, returned to Ardmore and joined the police force, where he was a deputy chief by the time he retired in 2009. He contends his sister-in-law’s murder was one of the primary reasons he became a police officer. When he joined the force, he investigated the case, but was unable to discover any new information. “The only possible motive I ever heard was life insurance,” Lawrence said. “It appears someone had something to gain from her death. Someone I believe does know what happened that day and we just need them to come forward.”
According to Lawrence: “When we returned home, we found a letter from Debbie being excited about her future visit to see us. Debbie was a great person. She had been making plans to come to North Carolina and visit her sister and myself.”
A 2009 article in the Daily Ardmoreite by Daniel Armbruster attempted to renew interest in the cold case.
“Oftentimes people will see it 10 or 20 years later on television and they’ll remember something that maybe they hadn’t remembered before, or they’ll be willing to share some information now that they weren’t willing to share then,” Beal said.
Dennis McClendon still lives in Ardmore. He declined a recent request for an interview concerning his former wife’s murder.
Debra McClendon was 27-years-old when she was killed and it’s been 27 years since her murder. If anyone has any information, please contact the Ardmore Police Department at (580) 223-1212.
Sources: Shaun Perkins, Red Dirt Report, November 14, 2014, and KXII News.
|
|
|
|
Post by okieload on Dec 16, 2014 11:30:26 GMT -5
That photo is of Debra Bowser and her son, not of Debra McClendon. Both women were from Ardmore: Both stories are at reddirtreport.com. Shaun Perkins
|
|
|
|
Post by Joanna on Dec 16, 2014 17:31:31 GMT -5
That photo is of Debra Bowser and her son, not of Debra McClendon. Both women were from Ardmore: Both stories are at reddirtreport.com. Shaun Perkins |
|
|
|
Post by natalie on Dec 19, 2014 13:19:11 GMT -5
Does anyone else find it strange that the husband would set the father up to go look for Debra, rather than going himself, or at least going together? If my husband had not shown up after several hours of being due back, I think I would call the police first (something he did not do), and then do my own search, either alone or with some relatives. And then the fact that the husband declined the interview, plus the mention of life insurance money, is making me think he was behind this. Does anyone else feel the same way?
|
|
|
|
Post by asixxdionysia on Aug 14, 2021 15:10:26 GMT -5
Does anyone else find it strange that the husband would set the father up to go look for Debra, rather than going himself, or at least going together? If my husband had not shown up after several hours of being due back, I think I would call the police first (something he did not do), and then do my own search, either alone or with some relatives. And then the fact that the husband declined the interview, plus the mention of life insurance money, is making me think he was behind this. Does anyone else feel the same way? Those were my first thoughts after reading those details. But not only that, the father is the one that found her right? He says he didn't know how she had died/that she had been shot, until the police told him. Which begs the question: Was the window of her truck shattered/broken from the bellet? I am assuming it was not broken or shattered if the father didn't know she had been shot immediately. If it had been shattered/broken it wouldn't have taken more than a couple seconds to realize it. Obviously,common sense tells you, if the window had been broken it meant someone outside the car pulled the trigger. If it had not been broken then someone is inside the vehicle did. &1 I That being said..... it was someone she definitely knew. HAD to have been. Most people don't let complete strangers into their vehicles. Not only that it was CLOSE RANGE!!!!' |
|
|
|
Post by catherine on Aug 14, 2021 21:38:46 GMT -5
Those were my first thoughts after reading those details. But not only that, the father is the one that found her right? He says he didn't know how she had died/that she had been shot, until the police told him. Which begs the question: Was the window of her truck shattered/broken from the bellet? I am assuming it was not broken or shattered if the father didn't know she had been shot immediately. If it had been shattered/broken it wouldn't have taken more than a couple seconds to realize it. Obviously,common sense tells you, if the window had been broken it meant someone outside the car pulled the trigger. If it had not been broken then someone is inside the vehicle did. &1 I That being said..... it was someone she definitely knew. HAD to have been. Most people don't let complete strangers into their vehicles. Not only that it was CLOSE RANGE!!!!'
|
|
