In the late summer of 2016, the life of 34-year-old Lana Ellsbury was violently cut short in what would become part of a string of connected homicides plaguing Tulsa, Oklahoma. On Sunday, August 21st, she and a 41-year-old man named Dustin Grisham were discovered deceased inside a residence on South 111th East Avenue. The scene was one of disarray, with the home visibly ransacked, suggesting a targeted and brutal intrusion.
Both victims had suffered fatal gunshot wounds, and investigators noted the use of different caliber bullets, leading them to believe that more than one assailant was involved in the double homicide.
The investigation into the deaths of Ellsbury and Grisham quickly expanded as law enforcement began to piece together a timeline of violence that had unfolded across the city. Her death was linked to at least two other homicides that occurred within a close timeframe. Authorities began to suspect the involvement of the 'Irish Mob,' a known criminal gang, in this series of brutal crimes. It was reported that Lana Ellsbury had connections to another murder victim, Casey Jones Adkins, whose body had been found just days prior.
As the investigation intensified, a primary suspect in the murders of Ellsbury and Grisham emerged: a man by the name of Marlow Barnes. It is believed that after fatally shooting the pair, Barnes continued his violent spree. He reportedly shot a woman in the shoulder, stole her vehicle, and then set it ablaze. The chaotic chain of events culminated in a hostage situation, after which Barnes was found dead from a gunshot wound. In connection to the broader series of related crimes, authorities arrested Cory Lee Kuebler, who professed ties to the Irish Mob, for his role in another one of the fatal shootings that occurred during this violent period in Tulsa. The complex investigation highlighted a web of interconnected violence that left a trail of victims and a community in shock.
