In the early hours of February 28, 2024, the sounds of a heated argument followed by a single gunshot shattered the quiet of a north Tulsa neighborhood near North Yale Avenue and East Pine Street. Responding to calls from concerned neighbors, police arrived to a grim scene. Forty-year-old Jeremy Wilkes, a White / Caucasian male, was found lying unresponsive in a front yard, the victim of a fatal gunshot wound under his left arm.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators followed a trail of blood from where Wilkes was discovered to a nearby house, piecing together the moments that led to his tragic death. Evidence suggested that Wilkes had been at the residence prior to the shooting. Witnesses recounted hearing a vehement argument between Wilkes and his girlfriend, 40-year-old Kerri Jo Stevens, just before the fatal shot was fired. By the time law enforcement arrived, Stevens was nowhere to be found, sparking an immediate search.
A first-degree murder warrant was swiftly issued for Kerri Jo Stevens. The manhunt was short-lived, as she was located and taken into custody on February 29, 2024. Following her arrest, Stevens was charged with first-degree murder and held in the Tulsa County Jail. In a later development, she pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter in May 2024. As a result of her plea, she was sentenced to 10 years in prison and is required to register as a violent offender.
