Authorities in northwestern Oklahoma have arrested a man who allegedly murdered a male employee and then buried him in a customer’s home’s septic tank, the sheriff’s office said Friday.
Tulsa County Sheriff’s deputies went to a home in Walkertown in response to reports of a deceased man. Upon arrival, deputies found 41-year-old Owen Timothy Ford, who was “naked, beat, stabbed, and then mutilated,” the Tulsa World reported.
According to an affidavit, Ford walked into the home of 22-year-old James Tanner Brinkman on Nov. 20, saying: “You’re next, n****.” After they left, Ford’s body was discovered in Brinkman’s living room, the affidavit stated.
Investigators said Ford ran and hid for hours, after telling Brinkman he was going to kill Brinkman. Ford eventually returned and led investigators to the septic tank of Brinkman’s customer’s home on Nov. 24, where he allegedly dumped the body and a blunt object used to beat him.
Ford was interviewed for hours by investigators and he told police he entered Brinkman’s home and beat him with a rifle butt “until he died,” according to the affidavit. He added that Brinkman “sucked up” to him and that they had a sexual relationship before he killed him.
Brinkman’s relatives said he had $3,000, an iPhone, and the clothing he was wearing the night he was killed, the Tulsa World reported.
Ford was indicted on a first-degree murder charge Friday and will remain in jail without bond.
The Oklahoma Department of Corrections website lists Ford as being released on July 19 from the Northwest Correctional Facility after serving nine years on a felony drug conviction. He had an aggravated assault on a police officer conviction from 2008.
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