Man arrested a year after ‘heinous’ break-in that left 95-year-old dead, OK cops say
_fitted.png "Nearly a year after a 95-year-old woman was fatally beaten inside of her Oklahoma home, authorities have arrested the man they say killed her.")
Almost a year after a violent home invasion left a 95-year-old woman dead, an Oklahoma man has been arrested, officials said.
Kristopher Coffelt, 20, is accused of breaking into the home of Gladys Land and attacking her and another woman on Aug. 29, according to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. Investigators say Coffelt forced his way in through the back door of Land’s house in Antlers, the OSBI said in a July 17 news release.
Land and a 73-year-old woman “suffered significant injuries” and were taken to a hospital, officials said.
Land ultimately died as a result of her injuries, investigators said, while the other victim lived and still receives medical treatment to this day.
That other woman was Land’s daughter, Brenda Vanbeber, KXII reported.
Vanbeber recalled the attack, saying Coffelt beat her severely, then did the same to her mother.
“Then mom got up because she had a little dog and it was barking … and he beat her to a pulp, knocked her out,” she told the station in a December interview.
Then their attacker left without taking anything, she said.
Land had no enemies, Vanbeber told the station, adding that her mother would regularly make muffins and cookies for the garbage collectors and mailman.
The Antlers Police Department called the home invasion “one of the most heinous crimes ever committed” in the town. Immediately following the attack, police contacted the OSBI for assistance in the investigation.
On July 17, officials announced they had arrested Coffelt.
He was booked into the Pushmataha County jail on three charges including murder, burglary and assault and battery with great bodily injury, the bureau said.
Investigators did not say what evidence led them to Coffelt.
Antlers has a population of about 2,200 people and is a roughly 160-mile drive southeast from Oklahoma City.
This story was originally published July 18, 2024 at 3:25 PM with the headline "Man arrested a year after ‘heinous’ break-in that left 95-year-old dead, OK cops say."