In the winter of 1988, a turbulent and violent relationship in Oklahoma City culminated in the tragic death of 29-year-old Gloria Jean Leathers. The tumultuous connection she shared with her live-in girlfriend, Wanda Jean Allen, had been marked by frequent disputes, often requiring police intervention. The couple, who had originally met in prison, were entangled in a cycle of conflict that would ultimately lead to a fatal confrontation.
The events that sealed Gloria's fate began to
unfold on December 1, 1988, starting with a heated argument at a local grocery store. The dispute escalated at their home, prompting Gloria to call her mother, Ruby Wilson, for help. After packing her belongings under the watchful eye of a police officer who had been dispatched to the residence, Gloria and her mother drove to The Village Police Department with the intention of filing a formal complaint against Allen. However, Allen followed them to the station. As Gloria exited her mother's car in the police department's parking lot, Allen approached and, after a brief exchange, fired a single shot from a. 38-caliber handgun, striking Gloria in the abdomen. Although police officers inside the station heard the gunshot, Gloria's mother was the sole eyewitness to the shooting.
Gloria Jean Leathers succumbed to her injuries four days later, on December 5, 1988. Before she died, she was able to identify Wanda Jean Allen as the person who had shot her. Allen was arrested and subsequently charged with first-degree murder. During the trial, Allen's defense team argued that she had acted in self-defense, a claim the jury ultimately rejected. On April 19, 1989, Wanda Jean Allen was found guilty of first-degree murder. After learning of Allen's prior conviction for the 1981 manslaughter of a former friend, the jury took only two hours to recommend a death sentence. Following years of appeals, Wanda Jean Allen was executed by lethal injection on January 11, 2001.
