Police Chase Leads In Murder For Hire Case

By Lori Fullbright, The News On 6

TULSA, OK -- Nearly seven weeks later, the death of Neal Sweeney remains an unsolved murder.  Sweeney, a former TU football player, was shot to death inside his east Tulsa business on September 4^th.

It may seem the case has stalled because police aren't talking about it, but the detective working the case, says nothing could be further from the truth.  In fact, they feel they are closing in on the information that will help them solve the case which they believe to be a murder for hire.

Tulsa Police say they have ruled out anything in Neal Sweeney's personal life that would make someone want him dead.   That puts the focus on his business life as head of Retail Fuels Manufacturing, near 31^st and Garnett.

They say they've methodically sorted through piles of information, ruling out options as they go which helped them narrow the focus of the investigation to Texas.  Because motives aren't always obvious in hired hits, cases like Sweeney's take time.

"Without a motive, we have to look down every strand of information that comes across our desk and that's time consuming," said Tulsa Police Detective Victor Regalado.

Police released a composite sketch of the gunman who walked into Sweeney's business, went directly to his office and shot him, with no warning or conversation.  They also released a picture that is similar to the man's getaway vehicle.  However, they'd much rather people focus on a type of person, like a man whose job gave him access to cargo vans in early September or other unusual behaviors.

"Did anybody in their lives around that time, act differently? Did they come across an unexplained amount of money?  Do they know anybody who lived out of town and came in during that time frame and potentially fits the description of the suspect, then left immediately after?" said Tulsa Police Detective Victor Regalado.

They believe the shooter is still in Oklahoma and, if they find him, perhaps they could learn who hired him and why.

Despite the slow nature of contract killing cases, detectives believe they will solve Sweeney's murder.

"I'm absolutely confident we'll eventually get to the reason why he was killed and, at some point and time, get to the person who did it," said Tulsa Police Detective Victor Regalado.

Detectives say in addition to trips to Texas, much of their investigation has focused on going through records.  They're hoping someone has remembered something or has a hunch about a suspect. 

Anyone who may have information about the case can report it anonymously by calling Crimestoppers at 596-COPS.

Related Story:

09/16/2008  Probe Continues Into Businessman's Death