In the summer of 2008, a 31-year-old Caucasian man named Cory Jay Bodily vanished from his life in Norman, Oklahoma. He was last seen on July 29, 2008, after leaving his home to pick up his paycheck from the local Taco Bell where he worked. When weeks turned into months with no word, his family's hope began to wane, and in September of that year, they officially reported him as a missing person.
The search for Cory stretched on, a painful and uncertain time for those who knew and loved the man described as warm, kindhearted, and someone who loved to make others smile.
The festive cheer of Christmas Day in 2008 was tragically shattered when a dog in the nearby town of Noble brought a human skull to a residence. The grim discovery was soon identified as belonging to Cory Bodily. This led investigators to a ravine where the rest of his remains were located. A subsequent medical examination revealed the cause of his death was blunt force trauma, turning a missing person case into a homicide investigation. For years, the case grew cold, with investigators following hundreds of leads that led to dead ends, leaving Cory's family with no answers and no justice.
A break in the case finally came years later when a witness stepped forward with information that pointed investigators toward three individuals: Bobby Lee Perkins, Thomas Ryan Wilmeth, and Libby Cox. The investigation revealed a story of a robbery gone horribly wrong. Perkins and Wilmeth, who were also coworkers of Cory's, had allegedly attempted to rob him. It was reported that during the robbery, Cory was shot in the leg and then beaten to death when he resisted.
The wheels of justice began to turn for Cory Bodily's family. Bobby Lee Perkins pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison. Thomas Ryan Wilmeth was also charged with first-degree murder and ultimately pleaded guilty, receiving a 32-year prison sentence. Libby Cox, who was accused of helping to cover up the crime, pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact and was sentenced to 12 years in prison. After a long and arduous eight-year wait, the arrests and convictions brought a semblance of closure to the family and friends who had mourned the senseless loss of Cory Jay Bodily.
