Mayes County D-A To Prosecute Thacker First

Thursday, January 13th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Mayes County District Attorney Gene Haynes will get the first chance to prosecute Steven Thacker for murder. Though Thacker is jailed in Tennessee, authorities there have agreed to send him to Oklahoma to face his first murder charge. A trial could begin by the end of summer. "I think that's probably the soonest we could conceivably have a trial in this case," Haynes said.

In Oklahoma, Thacker is charged with the murder of Laci Hill. Authorities say Thacker admitted kidnapping Hill from her home in Bixby, and told authorities he killed her in Mayes County. â€œWe feel certain that the murder happened at the cabin between Chouteau and Locust Grove in Mayes County,â€ Haynes said. â€œWe found evidence at the the location that a person had been bound to a chair, which would indicate that Mrs. Hill was alive at the cabin where her body was found.â€

Authorities believe they have plenty of evidence to link Thacker to Hillâ€™s murder, but they are awaiting additional tests on DNA collected from Hill's body. â€œWe are pursuing the possibility of DNA evidence to further link Mr. Thacker to this crime,â€ Haynes noted. â€œA knife has been recovered which may have been the murder weapon in the Laci Hill case, and we want to see if her DNA is on that weapon. Also samples were taken from her body to determine if there was some DNA left behind by Mr. Thacker.

Thacker has already had a preliminary hearing in Tennessee. Authorities described him as talkative and cooperative with investigators, so they do not expect he will challenge his extradition. At the earliest, Thacker could be back in Oklahoma within two weeks to stand trial as soon as August.