Brumley woman charged in 2001 murder case

Tabatha Carter
Tabatha Carter

A Brumley woman has been charged in connection with a 19-year-old murder case in Miller County.

Tabatha Carter, 53, was arrested Monday in Oklahoma on outstanding Morgan County warrants and, as of Tuesday, was being held in the Miller County Jail, according to a news release from the Miller County Sheriff's Department.

Prosecutors charged Carter with first-degree murder and accessory armed criminal action in connection with the death of Jerry Jeffries in July 2001.

Deputies found Jeffries dead in the parking lot of the Mill Creek Lounge in Brumley after receiving a call about a deceased person, according to Sheriff's Department reports. An examination of the body found he had died from a gunshot wound.

At the time of the killing, family members said Jeffries frequented the lounge and was there much of the night he was last seen alive. One family member said he had left the bar shortly before it closed and went to sleep in his pickup.

He apparently still was asleep when the owners left the bar a few minutes after the midnight closing.

During the course of the investigation into Jeffries' death, Carter was implicated as a suspect, according to a Miller County Sheriff's Department probable cause statement.

After being taken into custody in Oklahoma, Carter was questioned and allegedly said another person was the one who had actually shot Jeffries in the head with a rifle. The person Carter named has not been charged in this case.

Carter also said she was there when Jeffries was shot and that Jeffries had begged for his life before he was killed.

Carter allegedly told authorities she had left Jeffries in the parking lot of the lounge and was a willing participant in the killing. Authorities said there were no signs of struggle the morning Jeffries' body was discovered.

The probable cause statement listed no motive for the shooting, but the Sheriff's Department has said it appeared two power saws were missing from the bed of Jeffries' pickup.

Miller County authorities said the investigation is ongoing.

This article, first posted Jan. 28, 2020, at 10:45 a.m., was updated at 11:15 a.m. with additional information.