News Release
03/11/2013
Steven Ray Thacker – March 12 at 6 p.m.
Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester
Name: Steven Ray Thacker
DOB: 11/21/1970
Sex: Male
Age at Date of Crime: 29
Victim(s): Laci Dawn Hill, 25
Date of Crime: 12/23/1999
Date of Sentence: 12/23/2002
Crime Location: Victim was kidnapped from her home in Bixby and taken to a remote cabin in Mayes County
Judge: James D. Goodpaster
Prosecuting: Gene Haynes and Charles Ramsey
Defending: Silas Lyman II, Lynn Burch and Gretchen Garner Mosley
Circumstances Surrounding Crime:
Thacker pleaded guilty to the crimes of kidnapping and the first-degree rape and murder of Laci Dawn Hill, 25, of Bixby. Thacker was sentenced to death for first-degree murder, and also received 10 years for the kidnapping charge and 50 years for the rape charge. He met Hill in her home on Dec. 23, 1999, after answering an ad that Hill placed to sell a pool table. When his attempt to rob Hill failed, Thacker kidnapped her and took her to a remote cabin and raped her. Thacker first attempted to strangle Hill, but she resisted. He ultimately ended her life by stabbing her in the chest. Thacker fled to Missouri where he killed Forrest Reed Boyd and stole his car along with his credit cards. Thacker then drove to Tennessee where the stolen car broke down, and he called a tow truck. Thacker murdered Ray Patterson, the tow truck driver, after being confronted for using a stolen credit card. Thacker was apprehended in Tennessee.
Thacker was given a death sentence for killing the tow truck driver in Tennessee, and a life sentence for killing the Missouri man.
Statement from Attorney General Scott Pruitt:
“Steven Thacker was sentenced to death for savagely ending the life of an innocent young woman,” Attorney General Scott Pruitt said. “My thoughts are with the families of Laci, Forrest and Ray, who all lost loved ones due to Thacker’s heinous killing spree.”
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