Muskogee Man Pleads Guilty To Murdering Brother, 5 Children

A Muskogee who murdered six members of his family will die in prison after he pleaded guilty Friday and was sentenced to life without parole.

29-year-old Jarron Pridgeon was secured in leg chains and handcuffs as he changed his plea from not guilty by reason of insanity, to guilty, in Muskogee District Court.

He avoided a trial that could have resulted in the death penalty.

“The people of Muskogee, we needed to put this behind us. It would be very traumatic to go through all this evidence with the police, and for the jury to see this evidence and to make a decision on that, so we made a decision to plead it out today,” said District Attorney Larry Edwards.

The court had summoned 1200 jurors for the death penalty trial due to start in 10 days. It was expected to last 8 weeks.

“While the case is over, there's still lives destroyed and likely never to be repaired and that's not just the defendants and the victims, that's everybody involved,” said Ben Hilfiger, Pridgeon's attorney.

The murders were in 2021, when Pridgeon killed his adult brother and five of his own children. The mother of two of the children was shot but survived to testify against him.

Pridgeon claimed he had visions before the murders, but his attorneys say he has long had untreated mental health issues. They say he pleaded guilty to avoid the risk of a jury trial.

“It may not be the final result you're looking for, but at least you know what it is, and you're the one who controlled, and who made that decision,” said Hilfiger.

Pridgeon has ten days to withdraw his guilty plea before going back to prison, where he has been serving time in a separate case.

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