Do you know who murdered Larry? In the summer of 1986, the city of Tulsa was marked by a mystery that began in the early morning hours of the Fourth of July weekend. On Saturday, July 5th, the body of a 41-year-old male, Larry Denton Nelson, was discovered in his vehicle. The car was parked behind the Tiki Club, a local establishment on East Apache. An employee of the bar, arriving for their shift at 10:00 a.m., was the first to notice the vehicle and the grim scene within.
Investigators determined that Nelson had been
shot to death. The timeline of the crime was narrowed to a window between 3:30 a.m. and 10:00 a.m., as the vehicle was not present in the parking lot at the earlier time. When authorities arrived, they found no identification on the victim, which initially complicated the process of notifying his family and understanding who he was.
The investigation into the death of Larry Nelson has continued for decades, yet the case remains unsolved. No suspects have ever been publicly named, and no arrests have been made in connection with the murder. The circumstances surrounding his death, including a motive for the killing, are still unknown. The case is now considered a cold case, one of many that linger in the files of the Tulsa Police Department, a silent testament to a life cut short and a story without a final chapter.
