In the cold of a January morning in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the life of 32-year-old Ashley Tobey was tragically cut short. On January 15, 2018, in the parking lot of an east Tulsa QuikTrip convenience store, a dispute described by investigators as a 'petty argument' escalated to a fatal encounter. Unarmed, Ashley was shot from a distance of nearly 15 feet with a sawed-off shotgun.
The brazen act of violence in a public space sent shockwaves through the community.
Within hours of the shooting, Tulsa homicide detectives moved swiftly, leading to the arrest of a suspect in what was the city's second murder of the year. The man taken into custody was identified as Ty Austin Rutledge, who was 23 years old at the time. Authorities reported that Rutledge had a history of drug-related crimes in other parts of the state and associations with various criminal groups. Despite these affiliations, the motive for the deadly confrontation appeared to be a simple, yet devastating, disagreement.
The legal proceedings against Rutledge, however, would never reach a conclusion. On May 19, 2018, while being held at the Tulsa County Jail, Rutledge was found unresponsive in his cell. A detention officer discovered him with a towel wrapped tightly around his neck. Despite efforts to save him, Rutledge was pronounced dead at the scene. His death, which occurred just before his scheduled preliminary hearing, was investigated, with evidence pointing towards suicide. This development brought a sudden and unexpected end to the criminal case, leaving behind unanswered questions for the family and friends of Ashley Tobey.
