The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation [OSBI] is examining a cross that once stood at the roadside memorial for 11-year-old Skyla Jade Whitaker and 13-year-old Taylor Dawn Paschal-Placker, two young girls who were shot and killed in Weleetka last month.
According to an OSBI spokesperson, someone recently vandalized a cross that had Skyla's name on it and wrote, "You'll never catch me." Despite the warning, investigators have their doubts that the message was left by the person(s) responsible for the murders.
"I don't really think it is relevant to the case and more than likely its just some kids being kids," OSBI spokesperson Jessica Brown said in a telephone interview with Investigation Discovery.
Despite their reluctance to take the message seriously, investigators are conducting forensic tests on the cross to determine if it contains any evidence that could be relevant to the case.
In regard to the current status of the investigation, Brown said:
"We are still running leads, interviewing people, polygraphing people [and] doing everything humanly possible. We have had more than 450 leads since the beginning of the investigation and we are in the process of running those down. We have more than half of that finished; it just takes time so we are going to continue doing that until it takes us to the killers."
Since the beginning of the investigation, there has been speculation about whether the two girls had been sexually assaulted prior to their death. Brown said that the OSBI has information pertaining to that but was unable to release it.
According to Brown, the case is solvable; investigators just need the right leads to come in and the right people to come forward with information.
"There are a lot of people that are scared to talk to law enforcement down there so they have to start doing that," Brown said. "It is going to be solved by law enforcement but law enforcement is going to have to have help from the public. Because it was such a remote area, everyone knows each other in that area. A person who would drive on this particular road would have to know how to get there. You or I wouldn't be able to get there. I have been there once but I guarantee you I couldn't get there again. Someone knows something [and] it is a matter of them coming forward and then we can build our case."
On Wednesday, Skyla's father broke his silence and spoke about the murders during an interview with FOX23.com.
While walking down the same road where the girl's were killed, William said that he is constantly reminded of his daughter death, especially in his own home.
"I get up in the morning. I'll look over where she slept. All curled up in a sleeping bag part of the time where she would watch TV all night. She's not there, she's not there," William said.
While he remains thankful for the community support he has received, William is also mindful that there is nothing anyone can do to take away his pain.
"The only thing I want or need I can't ever have," he said, adding, "Those babies didn't do anything to anybody."
The bodies of 11-year-old Skyla Jade Whitaker and 13-year-old Taylor Dawn Paschal-Placker were discovered on the evening of June 8, in a ditch along County Line Road in Weleetka, Oklahoma. Autopsies on the victims revealed that the girls had been shot in the head and chest. Investigators have yet to clarify how many times each girl was shot and will not comment on whether DNA evidence was found on their bodies.
Investigators are continuing their search for a "person of interest" who may have information about the slayings. The person of interest is described as an American Indian male, approximately 35-years-old and about 6-feet-tall, with dark hair and a ponytail. Witnesses said the man was standing near the crime scene, next to a white single cab pickup with an Oklahoma license tag.
The OSBI is offering a reward in excess of $30,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for the murders. Anyone with information is asked to contact the OSBI hotline at 800-522-8017 or the Okfuskee County Sheriff's Office at 918-623-1122.