Teen jailed for fatally stabbing another teen

OKMULGEE, Okla. (AP) -- A Jenks teen-ager accused of fatally stabbing another youth at a weekend party will remain in jail on a first-degree murder complaint, an Okmulgee County judge ruled Tuesday.

Special District Judge Duane Woodliff also ordered former Jenks High School wrestler Thomas Connell Curran III to be held on two complaints of assault and battery, Undersheriff Eddy Rice said.

Curran, 19, was arrested Friday at a hospital, where Justin Archambo and two others were taken after Curran allegedly stabbed them at a party near Hectorville, an unincorporated community north of Okmulgee.

Archambo, a 19-year-old Coweta resident, died of a stab wound to the chest, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Medical Examiner's office said Tuesday. Archambo graduated last year from Broken Arrow High School, and a school rivalry may have been the catalyst for the violence, Rice and others say.

Curran "showed up to a party and was jumped by eight subjects," Rice said. "What we believe happened was that he escaped from those trying to beat him up, went into the house and grabbed some steak knives."

Curran tried to get back to his vehicle, and when he was confronted again, he "just started slicing," Rice said.

"A boy died over something as stupid as two different schools," Candace Partridge, a Jenks High School student who held the party, said Monday. "It's been a real eye-opener for all of us."

Corey Hall, a high school senior, and Lance Schneeberger, a junior at Broken Arrow High School, were hospitalized with knife wounds, but they were not life-threatening. Schneeberger was released by Monday. Information about Schneeberger's status was not available Tuesday. Neither of the teens' families would comment.

Prosecutors are expected to determine whether to file charges at Curran's next court appearance, set for Jan. 23.

Partridge said she didn't see who attacked Curran, who attended Jenks High School last semester, but withdrew with the intent of attending another high school.

She said she had asked some of the Broken Arrow youths to leave earlier in the night, and they did so. But some returned later and several fights broke out between Jenks and Broken Arrow youths, Partridge said.

Officials from Broken Arrow and Jenks schools took extra precautions to ease any remaining tensions between students. A wrestling match between the schools set for Tuesday was canceled.

"In light of the incident Friday where we had students involved from both schools and there was violence, we don't want to bring them together too soon," Broken Arrow Superintendent Dennis Shoemaker said Monday.

"We don't have any reason to be suspicious, but we don't want to provide an opportunity for anything to happen."