Oklahoma Man Charged with Murder in 30-Year-Old Cold Case

James Ray Vogel, 55, of Muskogee was indicted Thursday in the death of a woman whose remains were found in 1988 in a Northeast Oklahoma river.      

The state’s multicounty grand jury charged Vogel with first-degree murder in the 1988 death of 31-year-old Jeanette Ellen Coleman, reported the Oklahoman. Vogel was also charged with two felony counts of engaging in a pattern of criminal offenses and perjury. 

Grand jurors also allege that Vogel conspired with others to commit criminal offenses for years. No one else has been charged in this case. 

Prosecutor Jack Thorpe said good police work and a key witness coming forward led to the indictment. He says, “the investigation is ongoing.”

Vogel is being held in the Cherokee County jail.