Anadarko, Oklahoma — August 23, 2009
Every Sunday morning, Reverend Carol Daniels made the nearly 60-mile drive from Oklahoma City to Anadarko to preach at Christ Holy Sanctified Church.
She was 61 years old.
A pastor.
A servant to her congregation.
A woman devoted to her faith.
On August 23, 2009, two church members arrived for Sunday service and immediately noticed something was wrong.
The church doors were locked.
That was unlike Reverend Daniels, who was always there preparing for worship.
Concerned, they contacted authorities.
When officers entered the church around noon, they discovered a crime scene that the Caddo County District Attorney later described as the worst he had seen in 17 years.
Reverend Carol Daniels Was Found Behind the Pulpit
Reverend Daniels was found behind the church pulpit.
She had been stabbed multiple times.
Her throat had been cut so deeply that investigators said she was nearly decapitated.
Her body had been left nude and posed in what investigators described as a crucifix position.
Authorities also discovered evidence that someone had deliberately altered the crime scene.
Her hair had been burned.
A cleaning chemical had been sprayed around her body in what investigators believed was an attempt to destroy DNA evidence.
Her clothing, purse, and briefcase were missing from the church.
None of those items have ever been recovered.
A Blurry Figure Captured on Camera
A surveillance camera at a nearby convenience store captured a blurry figure dressed in white running away from the church around the estimated time of the murder.
The image was too poor to identify the individual.
Investigators have never publicly identified the person seen in the footage.
A Witness Came Forward Years Later
In 2014, investigators received information from a witness who claimed to have seen someone carrying a bloody knife into a nearby shed around the time of the murder.
Days later, that witness died from a drug overdose.
Whether the information could have helped solve the case remains unknown.
A Grand Jury Examined the Case
In 2017, prosecutors presented evidence to a grand jury involving Denise Kay Cooper, a deceased individual with a violent criminal history.
No indictment was returned.
Cooper had already died from cancer before the case was presented.
A Murder That Remains Unsolved
Investigators initially explored whether robbery, possibly connected to drug activity, played a role in the killing.
However, the extreme violence and the staging of the crime scene led many to question whether Reverend Daniels had instead been targeted because of something deeply personal—or whether hate played a role.
Despite years of investigation, no one has ever been charged.
The church where Reverend Daniels lost her life was demolished in 2010.
Today, a memorial park stands where the sanctuary once stood.
More than 15 years later, the murder of Reverend Carol Daniels remains one of Oklahoma’s most disturbing unsolved homicide cases.
Anyone with information regarding the murder of Reverend Carol Daniels is asked to contact the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation at 800-522-8017 or email [email protected].
© The Vivid Faces of the Vanished