Murder Trial For A Former Man Of The Year Begins Monday

Sunday, April 22nd 2007, 3:09 pm

By: News On 6

Roy Westbrook, a man once known as a model citizen, heads to court for first degree murder on Monday. Westbrook has been honored by the Hominy Chamber of Commerce and the Hominy newspaper for his efforts to improve a town park, and he was named the town's "Man of the Year" in 2004. The News On 6â€™s Joshua Brakhage reports thatâ€™s why Osage County residents were shocked when witnesses say Westbrook gunned down a waitress at a Hominy diner.

In July 2005, a gunman stormed into a Hominy Diner at lunch time and shot 26-year-old Rebecca Clements.

Sherri Hinton says she'll never forget holding a dying co-worker in her arms.

"And I had my hand on her and I was calling her, Becky, Becky. And the guy that shot her was standing one foot away from me," she said.

"I saw who was the shooter and I could not believe that was the shooter," diner owner Chad Filali said.

Restaurant regulars pointed the finger at a familiar face, the last person anyone would suspect, Roy Westbrook. Investigators think he bought a gun at a pawn shop an hour before the shooting.

Westbrook was named the town's Citizen of the Year just months earlier, and he was a lifelong Hominy resident and town philanthropist.

Osage County prosecutors believe it was an op-ed piece in the Hominy paper that pushed Westbrook over the edge. Clements wrote how unhappy she was with Westbrook as a landlord, and that he refused to give the property his attention.

Westbrook argued insanity in the case. The court ordered him to check into a mental hospital so doctors could determine if he should stand trial. After that, Westbrook paid for an independent psychological exam at his own expense. A jury of seven ruled him competent to stand trial, and after three delays Westbrook's trial is slated to begin Monday in Pawhuska.

Related stories:

7/19/2005 Hominy Diner Waitress Shot To Death

7/20/2005 Two Murder Charges To Be Requested In Killing Of Pregnant Waitress

7/21/2005 Coping With Tragedy

7/22/2005 Funeral For Hominy Waitress Held Friday

7/25/2005 Hominy Man Charged With Murder Scheduled For Court Today

10/20/2005 Man Accused In Fatal Diner Shooting Ordered To Undergo Evaluation

12/8/2005 Osage County Man Fit For Trial On Charges Of Killing Waitress

4/21/2006 Suspect In Hominy Diner Killing Will Face Trial

5/18/2006 Trial Set For Hominy Murder Suspect