TULSA, Ok — Suzanne Oakley loved coming to Riverside for her morning run. It was a place of peace and comfort for her, but that all changed one morning in August 1975 when a friend discovered her body between the river and the jogging trail she loved so much.
Her friends describe her as a vibrant woman with a bright smile and a zest for life. She was loved by friends and family, including her best friend and co-worker, Jean Winfrey.
After learning that I cover cold cases, Winfrey reached out to 2 News to see if we would feature her best friend's tragic murder.
"We were having Sunday lunch about two weeks ago, and my son-in-law said I need to call Sharon Phillips. I think he had been watching cold cases, and he knew it had been almost 50 years since we lost Suzanne," Winfrey said.
It was Aug. 27, 1974, and Suzanne Oakley left to go on her morning run, stopping briefly to have a quiet time. When she didn't show up for work, her best friend Jean became very worried and called her roommate at ORU.
"I told her roommate, 'Would you go look on the windowsill and see if her running shoes are there?' Well, they weren't. By 9 or 10 o'clock, I just walked across the plaza over to the police station, and I wanted to report a missing person," Winfrey said.
Her heartbreak deepened when she later found out the devastating news.
"They said we found Suzanne. I went huhh. She's with the Lord. And then I think I just dropped to my knees. I could not believe that it was reality and of course, the policeman were with them and Mike Huff was the detective and they took me down to the police station and I answered a lot of questions and then I was just hopeful that they could find the suspect," Winfrey said.
Tulsa police say Oakley had been beaten, stabbed and sexually assaulted. The news hit like a ton of bricks for Jean, but she says one thing Sgt. Huff said brought her a small amount of comfort.
"I think they took a tire jack and hit her in the back of the head and so he told me she was knocked out cold and he said a lot of times victims have stuff underneath their fingernails trying to fight or their hands are clinched and he said that she was just so relaxed and he said she never really knew what happened," Winfrey said.
For Jean, the aftermath was a terrible journey.
"Actually, for two years, I walked around like a zombie. I think I was still in shock," Winfrey said.
The women shared a profound bond — a kindred spirit that she says made the loss feel personal and piercing.
"I just began looking over my shoulder all of the time everywhere I went. It took about two years for me to overcome that fear," Winfrey said.
Though decades have passed, the story remains a poignant reminder of the toll violence can take on a community and the enduring strength of those left behind.
If you have any information about the death of Suzanne Oakley, you are asked to contact Tulsa Crime Stoppers at 918-596-COPS.
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