Tulsa Killer To Be Executed For 1995 Murder

By Lori Fullbright, The News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK -- Clemency is denied for a convicted killer.  The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board refused to save Darwin Brown's life on Wednesday.  Brown is set to be executed, but asked the board to reduce his sentence to life without parole.  Brown is one of four men who murdered Richard Yost while robbing a Tulsa QuikTrip in 1995.

Richard Yost's widow, Angie and her sons, now 16 and 22, were at the hearing.  She had never told her sons the details of their father's murder, but had to now, because the surveillance tape of the killing was played at the clemency hearing.

On that tape you can hear the four killers hitting Richard Yost with an aluminum bat over and over and you can hear him moaning in pain.

Michael Wilson, Billy Alverson, Richard Harjo and Darwin Brown are the killers.

Wilson worked at the store, so knew how to find the money and skirt the security system by stealing the surveillance tape.  In his confession, Wilson said they'd planned the robbery for two weeks and the plan included killing Richard Yost.  Wilson waited on customers, while the other three were in the back room with Richard, beating him to death and stealing the 400 pound drop safe.

Tulsa Police found Yost's bloody jacket, with his name tag still on it and the bloody bat on Wilson's front porch.

They also found the safe and the surveillance tape at one of the men's home.

When police arrested the four, they had hundreds of dollars each on them; some still in the bank wrappers and had five pair of new Nike tennis shoes.

The trials made Oklahoma history because two men were tried together in one courtroom, but with separate juries.

Richard Harjo and Billy Alverson were tried together.  Harjo was 16 at the time.  He's serving life for the robbery and life without parole for the murder.  Alverson was sentenced to life for robbery and death for the murder.

Michael Wilson and Darwin Brown were tried together and both juries gave them life for the robbery and death for the murder, even though their attorneys claimed they didn't do the beating.

Yost was married with two sons when he died.  His boys were two and eight at the time.

Angela Yost told The News On 6 Brown spoke over closed circuit TV at Wednesday's hearing and apologized several times. 

QuikTrip has continued to pay Richard's annual salary to Angela and will do so until Kyle, the youngest, turns 18, plus the company set up a $30,000 trust fund for each boy.

Angela never remarried and says it feels she's been carrying a heavy load on her back during a very long journey and is glad it's finally coming to an end.

She and her sons plan to be at Brown's execution on January 22nd.