Police Arrest Teen Son, His Friend For Murder Of South Tulsa Woman

Hank Laird, 17, and Josiah Sklar, 19, have been arrested and booked for first-degree murder in the death of Laird&#39;s mother.<br />

Wednesday, January 23rd 2013, 10:32 am

By: News On 6


Two teenagers have been arrested and are expected to be charged with first degree murder.

Henry "Hank" Laird, 17, is accused of killing his mother, while Josiah Sklar, 19, is accused of helping him get away.

Police are still sorting through what happened in that South Urbana home on Monday night, but they say Hank Laird and his mother had a violent relationship.

The 17-year-old surrendered to police this afternoon.

1/23/2013 Related Story: Arrest Warrant Issued For 17-Year-Old Son Of Woman Found Dead In South Tulsa Home

Investigators say he had been inside a home on South Boston and it took them 20 minutes to convince him to surrender.

Laird's 56-year-old mother was found dead Tuesday morning.

Around 3:30 Wednesday morning 19-year-old Josiah Sklar was arrested at a motel on Admiral.

He told police he was there when Laird beat his mother to death with what he says was the butt of a shotgun.

According to jail records, police found Linda Laird's body at the bottom of a staircase in the living room.  The Oklahoma State Medical Examiner's Office determined the cause of death was a homicide due to "blunt force trauma to the head and neck."

Police said Sklar claims Ms. Laird was still alive but he was afraid of Hank Laird and did not call police. Sklar told police he gave Ms. Laird a pillow and went back to sleep.

By Tuesday morning, Ms. Laird had died and Sklar and Laird left the home together.

Jail records state a tip led officers to a Starbucks at 61st Street and Yale Avenue. Store employees told them Hank Laird used the store's phone. Officers traced that call to Sklar.

"We really can't get into what we know about Sklar at this point, but we do know that he left the house with Hank," said Sergeant Dave Walker.

Walker said Hank Laird was arrested as a juvenile for beating up his mother.

He said family members have told him that Hank ran the house and his mother was very afraid of him.

Police said there are no other suspects and both men are expected to be charged with first degree murder.

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