Grove Woman Sentenced for Strangling 70-Year-Old Neighbor to Death

TULSA, Okla. – Today, U.S. District Judge Gregory K. Frizzell sentenced Kellie Lee Crawford, 57, for Voluntary Manslaughter in Indian Country. Judge Frizzell ordered Crawford to 180 months imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release.

According to court documents, in September 2021, Crawford was drinking with her 70-year-old neighbor, Richard Strade. Crawford was under the influence of methamphetamine and unreasonably believed that Strade was attempting to assault her sexually. She admitted to repeatedly striking Strade in the head with a cookie jar lid and a plastic hanger before strangling him to death.

Crawford is a citizen of the Potawatomi Nation and will remain in custody pending transfer to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.

The FBI, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations, and the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stacey Todd prosecuted the case.