New leads and “divine intervention” help solve 50

Recently discovered autopsy report sheds light on crime scene

by: Sheila Stogsdill

Posted: Aug 13, 2023 / 09:45 AM CDT

Updated: Aug 15, 2023 / 04:16 PM CDT

JAY, Okla. – A deathbed confession and a teenage boy’s penchant for strangling women were the keys to solving a 50-year-old Delaware County cold case.

Georgie Cannaday’s body was found on June 28, 1973. Her days-old decomposing body was found by Bill Loux, the Delaware County Undersheriff at the time, on the floor near the foot of her bed, in her rural Jay home. Her body was rolled up in a braided rug. The top of her dress covered her head and face. The lower part of her dress was pushed up around her waist. Georgie’s pet poodle was found alive snuggled up to her body.

For decades the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation classified Cannaday’s case as an “open-inactive cold case.”

“We have contacted the family and told them the case is officially closed,” said Delaware County Sheriff James Beck.

In 2021 Beck formed a Cold Case Unit to look at several Delaware County cold cases, making good on a campaign promise. The oldest case and perhaps the one thought to be the most unsolvable, was Cannaday’s case.

When the 48-year-old died, crime scene photos took days to develop, reports were painstakingly typewritten and if a mistake was made, the report had to be retyped. And in 1973, DNA were just letters in the alphabet to these lawmen.

Christina Asp, Georgie Cannaday’s great-niece, picked up the torch, searching for justice for a woman she had never met. Over time, Asp did get to know her great-aunt through family stories and photographs.

“I feel like I do know her from all the stories from my aunt and mother-in-law,” Asp said. “Their faces would light up when they shared memories of her.”

In October 2021, after a night of poring over photographs, Asp picked up the telephone and reached out to the OSBI inquiring about her great aunt’s 50-year-old case.

“Several of the aunts had made promises to Georgie’s mother they would continue looking for her killer,” Asp said. “Several of us family members are continuing what they started.”

What frustrated the family, as well as members of the Cold Case unit, was that the original crime scene photographs, reports, evidence and other pertinent documents could not be found.

Stephanie Bishop, a member of the Cold Case unit, spent hours scouring newspaper archives learning about the case.

A story we published here on Fourstateshomepage.com about the Cold Case unit and Cannaday’s homicide got people talking about the case.

After weeks of interviews, Wall and Beck compiled an investigation file, three inches thick, filled with old interviews, new interviews, a crime scene summary, and yellowed newspaper articles.

Just like a scene out of the television show Cold Justice, on Monday (Aug. 7) detectives met with Misty Barns, First Assistant District Attorney to discuss their findings. Barns released her report saying she believed the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office solved the case, but she did not believe there are any living suspects to prosecute for Cannaday’s death.

“We believe two men killed Cannaday – both were known to her, both had violent histories, and both lived close by,” Beck said.

“Since one suspect was a juvenile and both suspects are deceased, we cannot release their names because we can’t prosecute them,” Wall said.

Not being able to officially release their names to the family is frustrating for the lawmen.

Wall said both men had motive, means, and opportunity and he believes there might have been a third man involved, but investigators couldn’t prove it.

Named after her father, Georgie was one of eight children.

She beat the odds right as her life began – weighing just two pounds at birth, said Wanda Forster, Cannaday’s 85-year-old niece.

In 1925, there were no incubators for premature babies, so the family used a makeshift oven for those first few days of her life to keep her warm, she said.

“She was simple, child-like, almost like a 10-year-old in an adult body,” Forster said.

Forster remembered her aunt as “kind, fun-loving and very nice.”

“She took a special interest in her nieces,” Forster said.

“Georgie was child-like, simple, and she loved her family and family gatherings but not outsiders,” said Vicki Asp, Christina’s 75-year-old mother-in-law.

Family members said Cannady had some minor intellectual difficulties – it was noted on her autopsy that she was disabled and on welfare.

Winston Dunaway, a neighbor of Cannaday’s, told OSBI investigators Georgie and been declared incompetent in New Mexico and suffered from Tachycardia or a rapid heart rate and suffered from blackouts in 1969. Family members said this week they were unaware of this medical diagnosis but couldn’t discount Dunaway’s statements.

“We really don’t know,” said Christina Asp.

“She worked the farm, taking care of animals, hoeing, and planting gardens,” said Vickie Asp.

The petite woman barely weighed 130 pounds but was ferociously independent – living alone in the house her father left her when he died in March 1973, just three months before Georgie was killed. She rarely left home, and most people considered the plainly dressed woman a recluse.

In the final weeks of her life, she confided in neighbors, Johnnie and Francis Byrd, that she was worried about having to move and give up her home, the OSBI report states. Cannaday’s family members confirmed one of her sisters wanted Cannaday to sell the house and move in with her and her family who lived in Spavinaw.

Cannaday also confided in another neighbor, Elizabeth Landrum, that although she loved her family she didn’t want to move to her sister’s Spavinaw home, and “she was afraid someone would burn her house down,” because a month earlier a neighbor’s house was destroyed by fire the report states.

“She mentioned having heart trouble and was afraid she might die during the night,” the report states of Landrum’s interview.

“She would shy away from people she didn’t know,” Forster said.

She didn’t like attention – she avoided people and even sidestepped being alone with her brothers-in-law.

“I found out she would not talk to people very often and when she was on a dirt road picking berries she would hide when a car drove by,” Wall said of the woman he grew to know while looking through aged typewritten reports.

The last time Georgie was seen by anyone was June 26, 1973, when she stopped by the Byrd’s house to pick up her mail and visit, according to an OSBI report.

When she was found around 1 p.m. two days later, authorities believed she had been dead for a couple of days, due to the decomposition of her body.

Cannaday was an impeccable housekeeper, and nearly everything in her home appeared to be in order. Robbery was ruled out because her purse was found near her body and contained her personal papers and 18, one-dollar bills and some change. There were no signs of a struggle and no forced entry. The only thing investigators noted that was not neat and tidy in the home, was Cannaday’s bed.

Due to the hot Oklahoma sun in June, Cannaday’s remains were badly decomposed, according to the five-page autopsy report recently discovered by Forensic Anthropologist Angela Berg.

The discovery of the autopsy was a triumphant victory for the team of investigators and Georgie’s family.

Authorities had searched for years for the missing autopsy report as well as lab reports and crime scene photographs. Berg hand searched through decades of stored autopsy reports from the state’s 77 counties and finally found the 50-year-old report at the Medical Examiner’s Oklahoma City office, Wall said.

“Her commitment to Georgie’s case was amazing,” Bishop said.

Cannaday’s autopsy report was graphic even for the most seasoned law enforcement officers, she said.

Her body arrived at the Medical Examiner’s office in Oklahoma City with a homemade cover and the braided rug she was wrapped in. She was positioned face down with her head turned to the side, her knees slightly bent, and her buttocks extended upward, the autopsy report states. Examiners also noted Georgie’s red print sleeveless dress was up around her waist and she had no underwear on.

Cannaday was also wearing a multi-colored blouse with sleeves and a white bra. The report states that a pair of red patterned walking shorts were unbuttoned, wadded or twisted and were under her head along with a red scarf. None of the clothes were torn.

“Due to the condition of Cannaday’s body it could not be determined if she had been sexually assaulted,” Wall said.

Initially, Georgie’s death was ruled undetermined. But the report was amended to show she died from strangulation. Both sides of her larynx and hyoid bone were extensively fractured, the autopsy states.

“The entire family was very upset and heartbroken,” Forster said.

Forster was living in Portland, Oregon at the time and couldn’t make the trip back to Oklahoma for the funeral.

“I remember family members sending me newspaper clippings of her death,” Forster said. “I remember the family being frustrated with the authorities and the investigation into her death.”

According to an OSBI report, 16 people were interviewed in Cannaday’s death.

On July 3, this year, Wall received a telephone call from a woman who, as a child, lived in Cannady’s neck of the woods. For almost an hour she weaved a tale the detectives spent weeks unraveling.

She had read about Cannaday’s cold case here on fourstateshomepage.com and felt compelled to come forward with her father’s 40-year-old secret.

Click here to read the story.

“Her parents had bought the old Cannaday home and became good friends with one neighbor who eventually died from cancer,” Wall said.

On his deathbed, the cancer-ridden neighbor confided to her parents that years earlier he had heard a confession from a man who lived near Cannaday. He kept silent, fearing his family’s lives would be in danger if the suspect learned or even thought he had leaked the information.

The suspect was described as “strange.”

“He came to the cancer-ridden neighbor saying he had to get something off his chest,” Wall said. He was described as shaking and tearful as he confessed to killing Cannaday with two other men.

In his confession, which was later retold to the woman by her father, the suspect said, “They hadn’t planned on killing Cannaday, but the things got out of hand, and it went too far,” Wall said of the deathbed confession.

The identities of the other two men were not disclosed during the deathbed confessions. This first suspect would have been 67 years old at the time of Cannady’s death.

Kurt Titsworth, with the OSBI Cold Case Unit and Wall, spent weeks following up and interviewing friends and family members of both suspects.

What slowly emerged, Wall said of suspect one, was a portrait of a strange man, with quirky behaviors who was always suspicious of his neighbors.

When contacted on Tuesday (August 8), the woman, confirmed the deathbed confession but asked that her name not be published for fear of retaliation. The suspect had a reputation of always carrying a gun and sneaking around backroads in rural Delaware County all night long, she said.

“He was just really strange – he always thought people were stealing his cattle,” the woman said.

The man was interviewed by OSBI agents on July 1, 1973, and told investigators “He saw and heard a dark-colored Ford or Chevrolet pickup truck turn around at a local landmark, known as Teague’s Corner, at 3 a.m. on June 25, 1973.” After the pickup truck turned around it went back toward the east, he told investigators.

Teague’s Corner is a mile and a half northeast of Cannaday’s home, the report states.

The 16-year-old suspect was described as 5′ 7″ tall, with brown hair, brown eyes, weighing 175 pounds. He also lived in Cannaday’s neighborhood.

The report said he appeared to “possess a lot of strength in his hands and forearms” despite missing the first two fingers on his left hand. The report stated the teenager was left-handed and had “not lost the grip” in his left hand.

His history of strangling women pushed his name to the top of the list of suspects by OSBI agent Leo Albro. So much so, Albro wanted him to take a lie detector test, according to an OSBI report dated July 19, 1973.

Wall said he didn’t believe the teen ever submitted to a test due to him being a juvenile.

Already known for having a dangerous reputation the teen was notorious for telling people he was attracted to older women and not teenage girls his own age, Wall said.

One witness relayed a story about when her mother was recovering from surgery and the teenage suspect brought the woman a gift of a nylon nightgown and a couple of pairs of women’s underwear.

“The woman’s family thought it was a very inappropriate gift and thought the juvenile had stolen the items from his own mother,” Wall said.

“He also got a thrill by strangling women and his family had a key to Cannaday’s home,” Wall said.

Georgie had told the Byrds the suspect “teased her by jumping up and down on the beds” and she didn’t want him to come to her home, according to the OSBI report. The teenager denied to authorities he jumped on her beds and “did not go around her,” the report states.

Wall interviewed a former classmate of the juvenile suspect who confirmed the suspect’s habit of strangling and attacking people.

The juvenile suspect referred to himself as a “juvenile delinquent” according to the OSBI report.

Wall followed up with a witness who was 17 years old in 1973 and a victim of strangulation by the suspect.

“She reported a few weeks before Cannaday’s death she was in her house caring for a sick infant,” Wall said.

The front screen door was locked but her front door was open, Wall said. She turned around and saw the juvenile suspect and asked him what he wanted. He did not speak and when she turned her back to him, he made his way inside her house. He grabbed her from behind, threw her onto the floor on her back, then sat on her and put both hands on her neck and began strangling her, he said.

“She eventually broke free and ran for help,” Wall said.

The juvenile suspect told OSBI investigators in 1973 he “choked a girl until she nearly passed out because she was teasing him about stuttering,” according to the report.

“As an adult, the suspect was convicted and served a stint in the State Department of Corrections for assault and battery with intent to kill and solicitation for murder,” Wall said.

The case summary noted “choked, strangled, and suffocated the victim in a manner likely to produce death.

According to a July 19, 1973, OSBI report, it was noted that Cannaday was so concerned about someone having access to her home that she considered having the locks changed, he said.

“Additionally, the original OSBI report states that upon the arrival of Undersheriff Loux, the doors were all locked and he was required to force entry to the home,” Wall said.

The doors were locked from the inside; however, the front screen door was unhooked and the front door was equipped with a night lock, the OSBI report states.

Loux went to Cannaday’s rural home after an insurance investigator reported to authorities he went to her home and became suspicious when she failed to answer the door.

“The original Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation report stated that robbery did not appear to have been the motive,” Wall said.

A small amount of blood was discovered on the nearby bed, according to published reports.

“She (Cannaday) told Ruth (a sister) she was sleeping upstairs because something or someone had scared her,” Forster said.

Forster said she didn’t believe there was any money hidden in the house. Other family members report Cannady’s father had hidden money and jewels in the home.

Forster said there were two teenage brothers that would do odd jobs for the neighbors and Cannaday may have hired them.

“I’m not sure if those brothers scared Georgie – but I do know those brothers tormented Ruth,” Forster said referring to her other sister.

“Ruth heard that one of the brothers was hiding in her backyard with a stick or a piece of wood,” Forster said. “Ruth was told “don’t go out the back door.’”

Not to shy away from trouble, Ruth went out the back door and although the teen was not there, she found a piece of wood in the backyard.

“She loaded up her gun and slept in her vehicle for two days waiting for the boys to come back,” Forster said.

Cannaday was spooked and all her sisters would look in on her and check in on her daily, she said.

Georgie didn’t want to give up her freedom that’s why she didn’t want to move in with her sisters, Forster said.

The family has always wondered “What if she had moved in with a sister?”

“It’s a very sad ending to a beautiful life,” said Christina Asp.

“She was very loved and all who knew her were devasted by how her life ended,” Asp said. “May those men serve time for her murder in the afterlife.”

The first suspect died in 1994 and the juvenile suspect died in 2020.

For Wall, who retired after 44 years on the job, working on cold cases is time well spent.

“I rely on my faith with difficult cases,” Wall said. “I am not afraid to seek direction and guidance from Christ.”

Cannaday’s case was a seemly impossible case to solve, he said.

“We had no records, no evidence – no autopsy but when Georgie’s case was profiled on social media witnesses came forward,” Wall said.

“It was as if divine intervention revealed to us secrets,” Wall said. “To paraphrase a scripture in Isaiah ‘the Lord loves justice’ and so does the Delaware County Cold Case unit.”

“The Cannaday family never gave up and neither did we,” Wall said.

A brief graveside memorial service to honor Cannaday will be held at the Delaware County cemetery where she’s buried.

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