In May of 2019, 29-year-old Chelsey Nicole Chaffin vanished from Stillwater, Oklahoma, under deeply concerning circumstances. The last known contact anyone had with her was on May 25, 2019. Just a day before her disappearance, following a disagreement with her fiancé, Chelsey had moved into the residence of a coworker named Earl Oswalt Jr. This decision would prove to have tragic consequences, as Oswalt, a registered sex offender with a violent past, would soon become the central figure in the
investigation into her whereabouts. When Chelsey failed to make contact with her family and friends, concern grew, particularly because her beloved dog had been left behind.
The investigation into Chelsey's disappearance quickly focused on Earl Oswalt. Initially, he claimed that Chelsey had left his home with an unknown man. However, his story soon unraveled. In June 2019, the Payne County Sheriff's Office, with assistance from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, arrested Oswalt for her murder. Investigators stated that Oswalt had killed Chelsey in the early morning hours of May 26. According to his confession, he, Chelsey, and another resident of the home had been drinking when an altercation occurred. Oswalt admitted to grabbing her by the throat and later punching her in the face, an assault which resulted in her death. The account of what happened next varied slightly, but the horrifying conclusion was that her body was wrapped in a blanket and disposed of.
Following his confession, Oswalt claimed that he and his fiancée had taken Chelsey’s body and thrown it from a bridge into the Cimarron River in the early morning hours of May 27. His fiancée, however, told authorities she was not present at the time of the murder but that Oswalt had picked her up later, covered in blood with a swollen hand, and that she saw Chelsey's body at the house before helping to dispose of it. Despite extensive searches of the Cimarron River by authorities, Chelsey Chaffin's body has never been recovered. In November 2020, Earl Oswalt Jr. was convicted of first-degree manslaughter for Chelsey's death and was sentenced to life in prison. The case is a heartbreaking story of a young woman's life cut short and a family left without the closure of bringing their loved one home for a final rest.Last Seen: May 26, 2019
