Do you know who murdered Gabrielle? On a tragic Saturday morning, March 2, 2013, the life of 18-year-old Gabrielle 'Gabby' Bledsoe was horrifically cut short in her North Tulsa residence. Her mother, Lacrecia Bledsoe, made the devastating discovery, finding her daughter lifeless on the floor, the victim of a brutal stabbing. The promising high school junior, who dreamed of becoming a lawyer and maintained a 3.8 GPA, was found with a kitchen knife still in the back of her neck.
The night before, Gabrielle, a responsible and
high-achieving student, was home alone while her mother spent the night at a friend's house. Her social media posts from that evening gave no indication of any trouble, with her last tweet simply stating she was going to make something to eat. The scene of the crime suggested a possible entry through the kitchen door, as the front door was unusually unlocked, yet there were no signs of a struggle.
In the course of their investigation, Tulsa police collected DNA and fingerprint evidence from an unnamed person of interest, but this did not lead to a definitive match. Attention soon turned to James Roylee Barber, Lacrecia Bledsoe's ex-boyfriend, who was described as a person of interest. Barber was arrested on March 12, 2013, on unrelated warrants and was noted by police as being uncooperative in the investigation into Gabrielle's death. Despite speculation and a history of domestic assault charges against Lacrecia in 2010, which were later dropped, authorities lacked the evidence to charge him in connection with the murder.
While Barber pleaded guilty to unrelated gun and drug charges in June 2013 and was sentenced to eight years in prison, Gabrielle's case remains cold. Lacrecia Bledsoe has publicly stated her belief that she knows who is responsible for her daughter's death, theorizing that the perpetrator may have broken into the home not knowing Gabrielle was there. However, without sufficient evidence, no arrests have been made for the murder, leaving a grieving family and community still searching for answers and justice for a life taken far too soon.
