Do you know what happened to Johnny? In the early hours of March 6, 1981, the quiet of a north Tulsa apartment complex was broken by a grim discovery. Inside an apartment at the Commanche Apartment Complex, located at 1339 E. 36th Street North, lay the body of 23-year-old Johnny Ray Fortenberry. A male, he had been fatally stabbed, his life cut tragically short. The discovery was made at approximately 1:00 a.m., leaving behind a scene that would puzzle investigators for decades to come.
The initial investigation into Johnny
Fortenberry's death yielded few answers. Information regarding a motive for the brutal slaying was unclear, and no immediate suspects were identified. The case, like so many others from that era, eventually grew cold. The trail of evidence faded with the passage of time, and the quest for justice for the young man seemed to hit a dead end.
Decades later, the murder of Johnny Ray Fortenberry remains an open wound for the community and law enforcement. His case is now in the hands of the Tulsa Police Department's Cold Case Unit, a testament to the enduring hope that new leads or advancements in forensic technology might one day shed light on what happened in that apartment so long ago. To this day, no arrests have been made, and the identity of any suspect or suspects remains a mystery. The case stands as a somber reminder of a life taken too soon and a quest for answers that continues.
