Plea deal in case of 3 bodies found in Oklahoma septic pit
BRISTOW, Okla. (AP) - An Oklahoma woman originally charged with first-degree murder in the 1992 deaths of two women and a girl whose bodies were found in a septic pit pleaded no contest Tuesday to reduced charges.
Beverly Noe, 67, was sentenced to 15 years in prison after entering the plea to being an accessory to first-degree murder in the deaths that prosecutors said stemmed from a custody dispute over Noe's grandson. Noe covered her face with her handcuffed hands as she was taken into custody at Creek County District Court in Bristow.
"Get away from me. Get out of here," she yelled at reporters while being led down a hallway.
Her attorney left without comment.
Prosecutor Max Cook said the age of the case and issues with witness availability were factors in the decision to offer the plea deal, which he called the best resolution for the victims' families.
Noe previously had pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of 23-year-old Wendy Camp; Camp's 6-year-old daughter, Cynthia Britto; and Camp's 22-year-old sister-in-law, Lisa Kregear.
Camp had been married to Noe's son and prosecutors have said Noe feared Camp planned to take away the former couple's son. Camp, her daughter and sister-in-law had traveled from Oklahoma City on May 29, 1992, to visit the boy, who was with his father.
After the three disappeared, Beverly Noe acknowledged being the last person to see them alive. She told investigators she dropped them off at a Wal-Mart in Chandler after getting into a fight with Camp.
The bodies were found in 2013 after Noe's brother, Grover Prewitt Jr., directed authorities to a property that he and his mother owned at the time.
Court documents show Prewitt told investigators he dug the hole for a septic tank and that after the two women and the girl disappeared. His mother asked him to fill in the hole and sprinkle the ground with pepper to cover up any odor, according to records.
Prewitt's mother died in 2011. He is charged as an accessory and has pleaded not guilty in the case.