Mario James Jerrell Normore: Oklahoma City Serial Killer and Armed Robber
Early Life and Criminal Background
Mario James Jerrell Normore was born on April 23, 1991, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Relatively little has been publicly documented about his childhood, family life, or education. By his late teens, however, he had become involved in serious criminal activity and was reportedly associated with the Rollin’ 20s Crips street gang.
Normore began committing robberies in 2009. In 2010, he was convicted of robbery and sentenced to eight years in prison. He was released in May 2017. Within approximately two months of regaining his freedom, Normore began a series of killings and armed robberies that terrorized the Oklahoma City area.
Normore eventually admitted responsibility for four murders committed between July 10 and October 3, 2017. His victims included a coworker and the coworker’s girlfriend, a young woman kidnapped for her automobile, and an apartment maintenance worker whose remains have never been recovered.
The Murders of Bashar Burks and Ashley Easton
After leaving prison, Normore obtained employment at a recycling plant, where he met 27-year-old Bashar Burks. On July 10, 2017, Normore asked Burks to give him a ride home. Burks agreed and arrived with his 30-year-old girlfriend, Ashley Easton.
During the trip, an argument developed between Normore and Burks. Normore later claimed that he believed Burks was reaching for a firearm. Normore drew his own gun and shot Burks in the head. He then turned the weapon on Easton and fatally shot her, eliminating the surviving witness to Burks’s murder.
Burks was left inside the vehicle, which was set on fire near Wilshire Boulevard and North Air Depot Boulevard in Oklahoma City. Emergency personnel initially encountered what appeared to be a fatal vehicle fire. The discovery that Burks had been shot established that the fire had been deliberately used to conceal a homicide.
Easton’s body was removed from the vehicle and abandoned in a nearby roadside ditch. She was found the following day. The separate locations of the victims initially complicated the investigation, but detectives ultimately determined that Burks and Easton had been killed during the same incident.
The Kidnapping and Murder of Searra Howe
Normore later began working with his cousin, Brandon Lee Butler, during a series of armed robberies. Butler generally served as a getaway driver. According to Butler’s subsequent testimony, Normore decided that they needed another vehicle and targeted 20-year-old Searra Howe, an acquaintance of Normore.
On August 18, 2017, Normore and Butler went to Howe’s residence. Howe was restrained and kidnapped, and her automobile was taken. The men drove her to a wooded or isolated area near Jones, east of Oklahoma City.
Butler later testified that Normore intended to kill Howe so she could not identify them. Butler claimed he did not want her murdered and offered to carry out the shooting himself. His alleged plan was to untie Howe, tell her to run or pretend to be dead, and fire the gun harmlessly into the air.
Before Butler could carry out that plan, Normore reportedly became impatient. He took control of the firearm while Howe begged for her life and shot her in the head. Howe was reported missing on August 19, one day after she was killed.
Her abandoned vehicle was discovered in Oklahoma City. Howe’s remains were not immediately found, leaving her family without an answer for several weeks. Her body was eventually recovered during the autumn of 2017 in a remote area of northeastern Oklahoma City. Investigators determined that she had died from a gunshot wound to the head.
The Murder and Disappearance of James Steven Knowles
Normore’s fourth known victim was 57-year-old James Steven Knowles, who was also known as Steve. Knowles worked as a maintenance man at the Carva Apartments in Oklahoma City. Normore had lived at the apartment complex and had reportedly performed work for Knowles, including painting vacant units.
On the evening of October 3, 2017, Knowles disappeared from his apartment. A woman sharing the residence left for a store sometime after 7:00 p.m. When she returned, Knowles was gone. His cellular phone, keys and cigarettes remained inside, even though it was considered highly unusual for him to leave without those possessions.
Investigators concluded that Normore murdered Knowles that night and disposed of his body. Normore offered different explanations for the killing. According to one witness, Normore said that Knowles had to die because he was a “snitch.” Another acquaintance reported that Normore claimed he killed Knowles over a disputed debt of approximately $20.
Knowles’s body has never been recovered, and the location where Normore concealed his remains remains unknown. Despite the absence of a body, investigators accumulated sufficient witness testimony and circumstantial evidence to charge Normore with his murder. Normore later pleaded guilty to the crime, legally confirming that Knowles was murdered on or about October 3, 2017.
Confirmed Victims
- Bashar Burks, 27 — July 10, 2017 — Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: Burks was shot in the head after giving Normore a ride. His body was left inside a vehicle that was deliberately set on fire near Wilshire Boulevard and North Air Depot Boulevard.
- Ashley Easton, 30 — July 10, 2017 — Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: Easton, Burks’s girlfriend, was shot after witnessing Burks’s murder. Her body was removed from the vehicle and abandoned in a nearby ditch, where it was discovered the following day.
- Searra Howe, 20 — August 18, 2017 — Near Jones and northeastern Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: Howe was kidnapped and restrained so Normore and his accomplice could take her automobile. She was driven to an isolated location and shot in the head after pleading for her life. Her remains were recovered later in 2017.
- James Steven “Steve” Knowles, 57 — October 3, 2017 — Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: Knowles disappeared from the Carva Apartments after leaving behind his phone, keys and cigarettes. Normore admitted murdering him, although Knowles’s body has never been found.
Armed Robbery Spree
At the same time Normore was committing the murders, he was carrying out a prolonged series of armed robberies around Oklahoma City. The targeted businesses included banks, restaurants, convenience-oriented establishments and discount stores. Normore frequently disguised himself and used a firearm to intimidate employees while Butler or another participant assisted with transportation.
Investigators eventually connected Normore to ten robberies, including two bank robberies. Surveillance recordings, witness accounts and information supplied to police helped detectives identify him as the suspect. His robbery activity provided the initial basis for his arrest before detectives were able to connect him to the four killings.
Alleged Attempt to Kill an Accomplice
Brandon Lee Butler became one of the most important witnesses against Normore. Butler said he participated in robberies and was present during the kidnapping and murder of Searra Howe. He maintained that he had attempted to prevent Howe’s death but was unable to stop Normore from shooting her.
Normore allegedly attempted to kill Butler during the final months of 2017. According to accounts of the incident, Normore pointed a firearm at Butler and attempted to shoot him, but the weapon malfunctioned. Butler survived and ultimately agreed to cooperate with authorities in exchange for immunity from prosecution connected to the murders.
His testimony gave investigators a firsthand account of Howe’s kidnapping and killing. Butler also provided information about statements Normore made concerning the murders of the other victims.
Arrest and Murder Charges
Normore was arrested on October 27, 2017, after investigators linked him to the Oklahoma City robbery spree. He was initially jailed on ten armed robbery charges rather than the murders.
Detectives continued examining several unsolved killings and disappearances. By September 2018, they had connected Normore to the deaths of Burks, Easton and Howe, as well as the disappearance and presumed murder of Knowles. On September 28, 2018, prosecutors charged him with four counts of first-degree murder.
The prosecution’s case relied on physical evidence, witness statements, Normore’s reported admissions and Butler’s detailed testimony. The cases were prosecuted together because they demonstrated a continuous period of violent criminal conduct beginning shortly after Normore’s release from prison.
Violence While in Custody
Normore continued to display violent and disruptive behavior while awaiting trial in the Oklahoma County Detention Center. On September 23, 2018, he and two other inmates broke out of their cells during a disturbance, damaged security equipment and confronted jail personnel. Normore was reportedly armed with a makeshift weapon secured to his hand.
In March 2022, Normore was accused of another violent escape attempt. After asking a detention officer for a tablet, he allegedly forced open his cell door, demanded the officer’s keys and attacked the officer when the demand was refused. The assault reportedly continued for approximately two minutes before other jail employees intervened.
Normore attempted to reach another inmate’s cell during the disturbance but was forced back into his own cell. He subsequently faced additional charges related to assault and battery upon a detention officer.
Guilty Plea and Sentencing
Prosecutors initially sought the death penalty against Normore. His murder prosecution remained pending for several years because of the complexity of the case, court delays and proceedings involving the potential capital sentence.
On March 21, 2023, Normore entered guilty pleas to four counts of first-degree murder and ten robbery counts. The agreement removed the possibility of a death sentence. Normore stated that hearing from members of the victims’ families influenced his decision and that he wanted to spare them the additional pain of a prolonged capital trial.
On March 23, 2023, he was formally sentenced to four consecutive terms of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. He also received punishment for the robberies. The consecutive life sentences ensure that Normore will remain incarcerated for the rest of his life.
Some relatives questioned why prosecutors agreed not to pursue execution, while others expressed relief that Normore’s guilty pleas eliminated the uncertainty of a trial and possible appeals. The resolution also established his legal responsibility for the murder of James Knowles, even though Knowles’s remains had not been recovered.
Classification and Legacy
Normore has commonly been classified as a serial killer because he murdered four people during separate incidents over a period of nearly three months. Some law-enforcement descriptions have also referred to him as a spree killer because the crimes occurred during a concentrated period of robberies, kidnappings and escalating violence.
His crimes were not associated with a single consistent motive. Burks and Easton were killed following an argument and to eliminate a witness. Howe was kidnapped and murdered so that her automobile could be stolen without leaving someone able to identify her attackers. Knowles may have been killed because Normore considered him an informant or because of a minor financial dispute.
The case demonstrated Normore’s willingness to use lethal force for comparatively minor reasons and to kill acquaintances who trusted or recognized him. His efforts to burn evidence, abandon bodies in remote areas and silence potential witnesses reflected an attempt to conceal his crimes rather than impulsive violence alone.
Normore remains imprisoned under four consecutive life-without-parole sentences. The burial or disposal location of James Steven Knowles remains one of the case’s most significant unresolved questions. Knowles’s family has continued to seek information that could allow his remains to be recovered and properly laid to rest.
