Inset: Terry Grant (Ottawa County Sheriff”s Office). Background: The Ottawa County Jail in Miami, Okla. (Google Maps).
An Oklahoma man is behind bars after running over his wife and killing her, according to law enforcement in the Sooner State.
Terry Grant, 56, stands accused of one count of manslaughter in the death of 55-year-old Cassandra Grant, according to the Ottawa County District Attorney’s Office.
On Monday, the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office began investigating what it termed a “suspicious death” along East 111 Road in Miami – a small town located some 30 miles southwest of Joplin, Missouri.
That morning, Terry Grant called 911 to report that he found his wife “deceased in the roadway,” according to an arrest warrant obtained by Pittsburg, Kansas-based CBS affiliate KOAM, which serves four states in the broader Joplin metro area.
“Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office responded to the location and discovered Cassandra deceased,” the warrant reads. “Initial appearance indicated that Cassandra had been run over by a vehicle.”
Deputies also noted the presence of a dark-colored Ford F-250 “parked in the roadway next to Cassandra’s body,” according to an affidavit.
Grant denied responsibility for his wife’s death, authorities say.
To hear the husband tell it, he went out to a Walmart in Miami the day before the grim discovery in order “to retrieve Cassandra’s phone, which had been left at the store,” according to the affidavit.
The defendant said he returned home around 6 p.m. the night before and had stayed inside the couple’s residence until the morning “when he discovered Cassandra’s body lying in the roadway.”
“Terry did not know where Cassandra was prior to leaving the residence,” the affidavit continues. “The roadway is a private drive from Terry’s residence to East 111 Road.”
The defendant, however, allegedly did tell investigators “if he did run over Cassandra, he might not have known it because of the condition of the vehicle and the unevenness of the roadway,” according to the affidavit obtained by Joplin-based ABC affiliate KODE and NBC affiliate KSNF which collectively publish online as FourStatesHomepage.com.
Investigators also spoke to a neighbor who said he last saw the victim the night before at around 5 p.m.
“Cassandra knocked on his front door wanting a ride,” the affidavit goes on. “[The neighbor] described Cassandra as ‘gassed.’ [The neighbor] said Cassandra was frequently intoxicated, when she would come to his residence. Cassandra left [the neighbor’s] residence walking alone, back toward Terry’s residence.”
The neighbor also told investigators “almost no vehicle drives on that roadway other than he and Terry and since it is a dead end into each of their properties,” according to the affidavit. The neighbor added that, aside from the morning of the grim find, he “had not left his residence since Friday, several days before Cassandra was found.”
Law enforcement cited additional evidence in making their case.
Investigators say city cameras – specifically Flock license plate readers – caught Grant’s truck some 10 miles away from home at 5:52 p.m. the night before. Authorities further allege the defendant was spotted at a Mexican restaurant in Miami that evening, where he allegedly drank two margaritas and downed two shots of tequila.
Then there was the physical evidence.
An initial look at Grant’s truck revealed human hair on the left rear tire and the front right tire, investigators said.
Agents with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation also allegedly noticed several parts on the underside of the vehicle that appeared clean – in juxtaposition with an otherwise dirty truck.
“These clean areas stood out as the general condition of the F-250 was dirty/dusty to the touch,” the affidavit goes on.
And, next to the deceased woman’s body, authorities also found clumps of hair that had been torn from her head.
On Tuesday, Grant was wanted on a $100,000 warrant; he turned himself in to deputies late Wednesday morning, jail records show.
