The Dark Path of Wayne Henry Garrison

Wayne Henry Garrison's life unfolded like a chilling tale of horror, a narrative of violence that gripped the nation with its grim details. Born on August 26, 1959, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Garrison's name would become synonymous with a series of macabre crimes that left an indelible mark on all who encountered his story.

Early Life and First Crimes

From a young age, Garrison displayed disturbing behavioral patterns. His early years were marred by an incident that would foreshadow darker deeds to come. At the tender age of 13, in 1972, Garrison committed his first known act of violence. On Halloween night, he visited his uncle's house in Tulsa, where he dragged his four-year-old cousin, Dana Dyane Dean, into a crawlspace beneath the house. There, he tied a felt headband around the little girl's neck, suffocating her. Her father, James, raised the alarm early the next morning when he could not find Dana, and by 7 a.m., she was reported missing. The police swiftly located Dana's lifeless body under the house, leading to Garrison's arrest and confession.

Following his arrest, Garrison was sent to Griffin Memorial Hospital in Norman, Oklahoma, for psychiatric evaluation. Despite his violent tendencies, he was granted a 10-day leave from the hospital in 1974, during which he committed another heinous act. On May 29, he abducted and suffocated three-year-old Craig Neal, hiding the child's body under an abandoned house. It took authorities until June 3 to discover Craig's remains. Once again, Garrison was arrested, this time charged with murder. However, he pled guilty to the lesser charge of second-degree manslaughter, receiving a four-year prison sentence. He was released on March 9, 1977, at age 17, and managed to graduate from high school thereafter.

A New Life—and a New Crime

In the years that followed, Garrison attempted to build a semblance of a normal life. He married and became a father. However, the darkness that seemed to follow him reemerged on June 20, 1989, when he abducted 13-year-old Justin Delbert Wiles, who lived just five houses away. Garrison molested and ultimately killed the boy, dismembering his body and disposing of the remains in Lake Bixhoma. Four days later, a fisherman made the gruesome discovery.

Despite being the prime suspect, Garrison evaded charges due to insufficient evidence. Witnesses had identified him and his vehicle as being involved in Wiles' abduction, but Garrison maintained an alibi, insisting he was fishing at the time—although his accounts of the location varied. Eventually, he relocated with his family to Charlotte, North Carolina, where he attempted to start anew.

The Final Capture

Garrison's past caught up with him in 1996 when he was arrested for an unrelated charge of insurance fraud. In a separate incident, he had provided a strong prescription of narcotics to an 11-year-old boy, leading to his imprisonment. With his release approaching in 1999, Oklahoma investigators intensified their efforts to link him to Justin Wiles' murder definitively. During his incarceration, they collected a bite mark from Garrison's body. They exhumed Wiles' body to compare dental records, and the match was conclusive. Garrison was released from the Columbus Correctional Institution on October 22, 1999, only to be immediately rearrested on charges of first-degree murder.

Trial and Sentencing

Despite the mounting evidence, Garrison maintained his innocence. He was extradited to Oklahoma to face charges. His defense team attempted to introduce alternate suspects, including George Kent Wallace, a convicted serial killer. However, Wallace was never linked to Wiles' murder, and the trial proceeded in 2001.

The jury deliberated for six hours before delivering a guilty verdict in November 2001. Garrison's sentencing was delayed due to a suicide attempt while imprisoned, but in January 2002, he was sentenced to death. This sentence was later overturned on appeal. In 2007, Garrison accepted a deal that commuted his sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, relinquishing his right to a resentencing trial. Dorothy Farrar, Wiles' mother, expressed relief that Garrison would never again harm another child.

Conclusion

Wayne Henry Garrison's story is a chilling reminder of the darkness that can lurk within, leaving a trail of tragedy in its wake. His life, marked by violence and deception, ended in the confines of a prison cell, ensuring that he would never again pose a threat to the innocent.

Sources

For further details, please refer to the original Wikipedia article: Wayne Henry Garrison.