TULSA, Okla. — "I felt relief that he admitted to killing and murdering my daughter and the other victims."
Those words came from LaDonna Whitaker, the mother of Tyra Whitaker. She's one of three women killed by Terryl Brooks in early 2022. Today, Brooks pled guilty to those charges.
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"How we want Tyra to be remembered is just as every word that was spoken about her," Renee Givens, Tyra's aunt, said. "Loving. Kind. Loud. Strong."
Givens read a victim impact statement in court Monday morning, along with her mother and grandmother. Givens made sure she looked directly at Brooks during the statement, and that he looked at her.
"And when he didn't, I moved the podium so that he could continue to look at me," Givens said. "He needed to hear from Tyra's family. He needed to be made accountable from Tyra's family."
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This all comes over three years after the murders. Brooks killed Elizabeth Dillard and Rainbow Star Dancer in March of 2022. In January of that year, Whitaker went missing. Police found her body a few months later in April.
"What he did devastated myself, her child and our family," LaDonna Whitaker said.
Brooks received two life sentences and another 15 years, all to be served concurrently. He read his own statement to the family, saying he's "truly sorry." He added he regrets not getting help for things he dealt with mentally during that time. 2 News asked Tyra's family how they took his words.
"I don't have any reaction to his statement," Givens said. "Everyone has an opportunity to seek help. He is not the only victim of whatever he was claiming. It means nothing. Absolutely nothing."
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Givens gave a powerful statement, saying in part, "There is now a forever hole in our hearts, forever a missing place at the table, forever a memory instead of her presence." She added, "Terryl Brooks is not a man. He is a monster."
LaDonna Whitaker also had a statement read, saying in part "no sentence can bring Tyra back, but I pray that justice is served and that no other family has to suffer what we have endured."
Oretha Verner, Tyra's grandmother, said in her statement, "I was supposed to leave her, not the other way around. No grandmother expects to bury her granddaughter."
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