Man Arrested, Accused Of Setting Fire That Killed His Grandfather

Wagoner County Deputies say an 18-year-old recently came forward and confessed to setting a fire that killed his grandfather in March of 2023. 

Prosecutors charged Joshua Headrick with First Degree Murder and First Degree Arson after they say he admitted to lighting a mattress on fire while his grandfather, Clarence Headrick, was sleeping. 

Investigators say after the fire, family members told them Joshua Headrick was violent, and they believed he had something to do with it. But investigators didn’t have enough evidence for an arrest until Headrick called deputies last week and came clean. 

Investigators say Headrick told them he had so much guilt about what he had done, and with the anniversary of his grandfather's death last month, he wanted to confess. 

Headrick told investigators he heard voices in his head saying he needed to kill his grandfather and needed to set his grandfather’s house on fire. Investigators say Headrick went into his grandfather’s house in Broken Arrow, got a lighter, walked past his grandfather sleeping on a recliner, then set a mattress on fire, then put the lighter back and left the house. They say Headrick then went back to another home on the property with his family. 

Investigators say they likely wouldn’t have been able to solve this case without Headrick confessing, but they are thankful to finally give the family answers. 

“It’s very frustrating. Especially when at the end of the day, you know what you know. But evidence is king," said Investigator Jake Carey with the Wagoner County Sheriff’s Office. “I spoke to his mother and his mother's reaction was this is going to be some healing for him. This is what he needs to have to be able to heal. From all of this stuff we know he’s been riddled with guilt.”

Headrick is now in the Wagoner County jail and is being held without bond.