Jarron Moreland and Alize Smith
Oklahoma, OK — After being horribly killed by three white men, the two black men from Oklahoma City who were found dead, dismembered and chained in a pond, were not considered victims of hate crime. The prosecutor believes that there is no evidence that it was racially motivated.
The dismembered bodies of Jarron Moreland, also known as “400” and Alize Smith, nicknamed as “Gutta Twin,” both 21 years old, were found on April 18 after being reported missing for four days.
The gruesome murder, having been committed by three white men, sparked protests from activists comparing it to modern-day lynching. The three white men, however, will not be charged with a hate crime.
“We definitely explored that, and the evidence absolutely shows that this was not racially motivated,” Cleveland County prosecutor Greg Mashburn said.
Brett Boettler, 16-year-old, was charged with one count each of first-degree murder and second-degree murder, desecration of a corpse, unlawful removal of a body and having a gun after a juvenile conviction. He is jailed on a $5 million bond.
Brett’s older brother, Kevin Garcia-Boettler, 22-year-old, faces charges of being an accessory to murder, desecration of a corpse and unlawful removal of a body. He is jailed on a $3 million bond.
The two brothers’ mother, Crystal Boettler, 40-year-old, is charged with being an accessory to murder. Her boyfriend, Johnny Shane Barker, was charged with being an accessory to murder and desecration of a corpse and unlawful removal of a body.
According to reports, the two brothers set up a meeting through Craigslist to buy a gun from Moreland and Smith. They first picked up Smith and then Moreland. During the gun sale, Boettler apparently heard a gun cock and so he immediately fired about four shots from his rifle.
After the murder, they reportedly picked up their mother and her boyfriend to help them dispose of the bodies. They burned their clothes, put cinder blocks to the bodies, and thrown it on the pond.
Moreover, the investigators found “cleaning products and a power washer around the vehicle, dried blood spatter on the ceiling of the van, and a bucket of water with a chainsaw bar inside and soaking in the water along with several jigsaw blades,” as stated in the arrest affidavit.
Meanwhile, Kenetha Moreland, the victim’s mother, questioned the prosecutor’s decision. She said, “To me, it’s like y’all planned to torture them.”