On the evening of April 22, 2018, in the small community of Bessie, Oklahoma, a tragedy unfolded within a mobile home on Seventh Street, forever altering the lives of a young family. Inside, 23-year-old Ciara Dawn Sloan was found dead, the victim of a brutal beating that left her with multiple skull fractures and injuries to her brain. The Oklahoma State Medical Examiner’s Office would later determine the cause of her death to be blunt force head trauma, ruling it a homicide.
Among the disturbing discoveries at the scene was a plastic bag found in her oral cavity.
The suspected perpetrator of this horrific act was Ciara's 27-year-old husband, Tyler Scott Sloan. He was also found deceased in their home, having apparently taken his own life. His death was caused by a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head and neck. The Washita County Sheriff's Office initially responded to a call about a shooting at the residence. Upon securing the scene, the investigation was turned over to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.
The investigation that followed pointed to a murder-suicide, with no other suspects sought in connection with the deaths. The incident left the community in shock and a family devastated. Ciara was a mother to four children, two sons and two daughters, who were left without their parents. She was survived by her parents and several siblings. The couple had been married in 2015, just three years before their violent deaths.
