An eyewitness to murder

A young couple happened to be at the Tulsa Git-N-Go last week when a robber came, he waved around a gun, demanded money, then shot and killed the storeâ€™s clerk. <br><br>News on 6 crime reporter Lori

Wednesday, August 13th 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

A young couple happened to be at the Tulsa Git-N-Go last week when a robber came, he waved around a gun, demanded money, then shot and killed the storeâ€™s clerk.

News on 6 crime reporter Lori Fullbright tracked down two witnesses Wednesday afternoon and talked to them in an exclusive interview.

The two, in their 20s, seem so young to have witnessed something so horrible. Dustin and Mindy lived near the store and as fate would have it that night, their oven was broken and they needed a cake for a baby shower the next day. So they went out for that and stopped at the convenience store for a soda.

Dustin and Mindy no longer live near the Git-N-Go; it was just too scary to stay, since the killer is still on the loose. Mindy stayed in the car that night while Dustin went inside.

He heard the man screaming cuss words and demanding cash. "I peeked over the counter and saw the gun being waved around and his head bobbing. The clerk handled himself. You could tell he was scared, but he looked the guy in the eye and even asked him if he wanted the change."

The man got the money, and then shot the clerk in the head, a man named Paul Silkey [pictured], a newlywed with a baby on the way. "I went behind the counter and saw he was face down. So I rolled him over to see if there was anything I could do, but it was beyond me."

Mindy says the killer never seemed to notice Dustin in the store or her and another man sitting in cars right outside the store doors. "He had a mask and the gun and we could tell his intention right away. I looked the guy and he was already on the cell phone and was saying just stay there and be calm."

Tulsa Police recently asked Mindy and Dustin to look at this videotape of a west Tulsa robbery that happened just a week earlier, where the clerk was also shot. Tulsa Police did recover the bullet from Silkey's body and are now comparing it with the bullet found at the west Tulsa robbery to see if it's a match, but these two witnesses believe the gunman is one in the same.

Dustin: "He looked exactly like the same guy, way he held the gun, same mannerisms, same outfit. It was just so cold-blooded, he had no reason to pull the trigger, no reason at all."

Dustin and Mindy immediately called 911 and tried to keep other customers from coming into the store, even though they were terrified with what they'd just witnessed.

Admittedly, they're still scared, but they refuse to let that fear keep them from helping with the investigation. They fully intend to testify in court, once this man is caught.