On the first day of the new year, January 1, 2020, the body of 17-year-old Kirstan Patterson was discovered at the Spring Creek Boat Ramp on the Neosho River, just south of Locust Grove, Oklahoma. The Mayes County Sheriff's Office, along with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, launched a homicide investigation after it was determined that the female teenager had sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the head.
Patterson was a student at Chouteau High School where she was involved in athletics, including volleyball and weightlifting.
The investigation quickly led to two individuals who knew Patterson. Cheyenne Blalock, a 17-year-old who attended school with Patterson, and her 30-year-old boyfriend, Andrew Hall, were both arrested in connection with the murder. Both were subsequently charged with first-degree murder and held on a $1,000,000 bond each. The motive for the killing was reportedly a dispute over a sexually transmitted disease.
Following their arrests, Blalock and Hall provided conflicting accounts of the events that led to Patterson's death. Blalock claimed that Hall had discussed various methods of killing Patterson and had instructed her to arrange a meeting with the victim on New Year's Eve. She stated that she was made to hide under a blanket in the back of Hall's car when they picked up Patterson and that she heard two gunshots but did not witness the act itself. In contrast, Hall alleged that Blalock was the one who shot Patterson with a hunting rifle. Ultimately, Andrew Hall was found guilty of first-degree murder.
