TULSA, Ok — 18 years ago, Karen Winans was found brutally murdered at a local hotel. Her killer is still on the loose. Investigators told 2 News the case continues to haunt them.
In 2007, Winans rented a room at the Western Capri Hotel in the Town West area of Tulsa County. That's when police say tragedy struck.
WATCH: Oklahoma's Cold Case Files: Karen Winans:
"Karen was staying at the Western Capri Hotel up in the Town West area, and we were called out there, and she was found stabbed to death in the bathroom of her motel room," Sapulpa Police Chief Mike Reed said.
Investigators quickly found what seemed like a promising lead when they discovered surveillance video from a local convenience store.
"Early on in the investigation, we found some video here in town at (a) convenience store that showed her with an individual. They pulled up to the store together and then left together, which was the day before she was found dead," Reed said.
The lead went cold when detectives cleared the individual of any involvement in the case after tracking him down and interviewing him.
Detectives thought they caught another break when they found DNA evidence at the crime scene.
"As part of working the crime scene, I know that detectives had found toenail in the bedsheets and that was sent off, and DNA was actually extracted from that, and they got a match on someone, and they were able to track that individual down and eventually clear him because he had rented the room the day before," Reed said.
Unfortunately, that also proved to be a dead end.
"Apparently, the motel didn't change the sheets out, and so we thought we had a positive there, but it ended up being where we couldn't tie that guy to the crime," Reed said.
Sapulpa police said the area it happened was known for criminal activity at the time, with the Town West area being common for sex workers and their clients.
Since taking over policing duties in Town West from Tulsa County in 2004, Sapulpa dramatically reduced crime in the area through constant presence.
"We had a constant presence 24 hours a day, whereas Tulsa County just responded to calls for patrolling since they had such a big area, so our presence over there really cut down on the amount of crime," Reed said.
Investigators hope for new leads, relying on state resources and DNA databases. Anyone with any information about Karen Winans' murder can contact the Sapulpa Police Department at 918-224-3862.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere --
- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices.
- Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- Watch LIVE 24/7 on YouTube
