Oklahoma's Most Notorious Cases Volume#2: Valentine's Day Murder, Clara Hamon a Woman Scorned, Roger Wheeler's Bad Investment, Geronimo Bank Case, ... the Talking Pharmacist, Death Oklahoma Style

by Kent Frates

An Ardmore millionaire killed by his jealous mistress, an iconic western gunslinger shot down in the street, and a prominent doctor whose valentine to his wife was said to be death--those are just some of the seven stories captured in Kent Frates's sequel to his acclaimed true crime collection Oklahoma s Most Notorious Cases. In Volume #2, the cases span the state from Seminole County to the small town of Geronimo, from the Oklahoma City metro to the city of Tulsa. They tell tales of outlaws and murderers and the dedicated law enforcement professionals who hunted them down. Many of the cases stir memories of bloody crimes, such as the Geronimo Bank murders and the daylight shooting of Tulsa businessman Roger Wheeler in the parking lot of Southern Hills Country Club. And as he has done in the past, the author explores not just the crimes committed, but also the trials and players involved, including the judges, prosecutors, defense lawyers, and juries that determined the outcome of each case. Many of the cases remain controversial. Some defendants convicted by Public Opinion went free, while others found guilty still plead their innocence. But then, that is what makes them so notorious. Includes, eight pages of historic photographs.

Genres: True Crime

400 pages, Hardcover

Published November 7, 2017

Reviews

[John Sharp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author Kent Frates, an Oklahoma City attorney, has penned the second volume of “Oklahoma’s Most Notorious Cases.” Indeed, some gained national prominence either at the time of the crime, or later, as in the case of the murder of Tulsa millionaire business man Roger Wheeler, when mob leader Whitey Burger was eventually caught, tried and convicted of arranging for the murder more than 30 years later.
All in all the stories of these cases are well-told, fact-based, and it will be interesting to see if there is a volume three in this series, for there are several other very notorious and famous cases from Oklahoma’s past that could be told.

[Keisha Frantom · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second story was the most fascinating to me. Clara Hamon was the mistress of Jake Hammond. She was accused of shooting him. This took place in the 1920's in my hometown of Ardmore. Jake Hammond was an unscrupulous man who interfered in the presidential election of 1921 and ran lots of unethical scandals. Clara moved to California where she starred as herself in a movie about the event.

[Courtney (Campbell_Reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as the first volume. There were a few cases where I couldn’t keep up. My attention wasn’t captured and I kept zoning out. They were The Death of Bull Tilghman (an old Western story) and Death, Oklahoma Style (It was all over the place).

[Amanda DeLana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting and easy to read book about Oklahoma’s most notorious crimes