Fifteen-year-old arrested in stabbing death of 16-year-old Sperry student

SPERRY, Okla. (AP) -- Tulsa County sheriff's deputies arrested a 15-year-old boy in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old Sperry High School student.

Deputies found Brenton Epperly dead from a stab wound when they responded to an emergency call about 6:20 p.m. Monday at a house on far north Cincinnati Avenue. The 15-year-old, whose identity was not released, was taken into custody and arrested after more than three hours of questioning, Sgt. Sherri Carrier said.

The stabbing occurred about six blocks from Sperry High School, where both the victim and suspect were students.

Epperly was a sophomore and the suspect is a freshman, Sperry Superintendent Jerry Burd said.

Parent-teacher conferences were being held at the school at the time of the attack.

Since Epperly has siblings in elementary, middle and high school in the district, counselors will be made available at all three schools Tuesday, Burd said.

Jay Bridgeman, a sophomore at Sperry High School, said Epperly was well-liked.

"He always seemed like a pretty decent guy. I didn't know of any problems between those two," Bridgeman said.

He said the suspect had a reputation for being a loner. He was often seen riding his bike home from town, he said.