Murder Victim's Family Asking Anyone With Information To Come Forward In Tulsa County Cold Case

The family of a man murdered eight years ago says they believe they know who the killer is, but say no arrest can be made until someone comes forward with new information.

Johnny Baker’s murder really has cold case investigators stumped.  The have one fingerprint and some DNA from Baker’s truck, neither of which have been identified.

Investigators say what they need right now are witnesses.

Carmen Matherly is Baker’s only child and his murder causes her great pain every single day.

“If it wasn’t for our Lord and Savior, I wouldn’t be able to get out of bed,” she said.

Baker was retired, had some rental properties, and loved to play poker – sometimes at homes, sometimes in casinos.

When he didn’t show up for an appointment in November of 2010, his daughter went looking for him and found his truck near I-244 and Memorial.  It was locked and inside were his keys and his shotgun and, even though his wallet was missing, his license and cards were tossed into the glove box.

“Then his body was found about nine weeks later in west Tulsa County near Keystone Dam,” said Jon Knehans from the Cold Case Task Force.

The Task Force is trying to solve about 30 unsolved murders.

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Task Force members say a motive is tough because Baker had no known enemies, didn’t do drugs, and had no debts.

“Several people told me he was known to carry large sums of money, as much as $20,000 in cash,” said Knehans.

Police say Greg Epperson was renting from Baker and might be the last person to see him alive, when Baker collected rent that day.  While Epperson is charged with a separate murder, investigators say there’s no physical evidence connecting him to this one.

“I just beg, I pray daily.  Just call Crime Stoppers and leave an anonymous tip to help bring closure to our family,” said Matherly.

Veteran investigators say people often say, ‘I know something but it wouldn’t matter.’  They say you never know, you might have that one nugget that’s all they need to solve a case.