Alta K. Lang was an 18-year-old female with her whole life ahead of her when she was killed in a sudden act of violence in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Her death on February 13, 1971, was the first known homicide committed by a man who would go on to kill again, leaving a trail of shattered families in his wake.
On that Saturday evening, Alta was at a house party in the Hamilton Courts neighborhood. An argument broke out between one of the guests and a 17-year-old named John Michael Hooker.
The dispute quickly escalated, and in the ensuing scuffle, Hooker pulled out a gun and opened fire. Alta was struck by the gunfire and killed. Two other people at the party were also injured: the 20-year-old host, Claudia Boyce, and another 17-year-old guest, Charles Edwards Nathenia.
Police were called to the chaotic scene and broke up the party, taking four men, including Hooker, into custody on various charges. Investigators conducted a paraffin wax test on Hooker's hands, which indicated he had recently fired a weapon. Based on this evidence, he was charged with Alta's murder. However, the prosecution faced a significant hurdle as witnesses to the shooting were uncooperative.
Without clear testimony on whether the shooting was targeted or a random act of violence during the argument, the case against Hooker was weakened. Ultimately, the murder charge was reduced, and he was convicted of first-degree manslaughter for killing Alta K. Lang. He was also convicted of assault and battery with a deadly weapon with intent to kill. After serving a portion of his prison sentence for these crimes, Hooker was released.
For years, the full story of Alta's killer remained incomplete. That changed seventeen years later, on March 27, 1988. Enraged after his common-law wife, 28-year-old Sylvia Stokes, had moved out with their three children, Hooker armed himself with a butcher knife and broke into her new apartment. He brutally stabbed her to death. When Sylvia's mother, 53-year-old Drusilla Morgan, arrived to check on her daughter, Hooker attacked and killed her as well. He was arrested nine days later, with bloody footprints and witness testimony connecting him to the gruesome double murder.
This time, the justice system would not be hampered. The evidence against John Michael Hooker was overwhelming, and his prior conviction for killing Alta Lang served as a powerful aggravating factor. A jury found him guilty on two counts of first-degree murder and sentenced him to death. The victims' families expressed their support for the sentence. After years of failed appeals, John Michael Hooker was executed by lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary on March 25, 2003. He was 49 years old. His death finally closed the last chapter in the violent life of the serial killer responsible for the deaths of Alta K. Lang, Sylvia Stokes, and Drusilla Morgan.
